Even before the recession, working families were being squeezed by the rising cost of living, by healthcare costs and by home foreclosures. We are suffering from the loss of manufacturing jobs which once meant decent wages and benefits for workers. Our nation faces a painful economic transition which requires our government to be a good partner with America’s workers, researchers, and small businesses.

I supported the Health Insurance Reform bill signed into law this past year. Health insurance reform was essential to ensuring coverage and controlling health care costs, now and in the future.

The goal of the bill is to ensure affordable insurance coverage to all Americans. This bill builds on our existing system of private insurance, but ensures that coverage will be affordable, and that once you get sick, your benefits are guaranteed.

It is easy to talk about supporting the troops. But in though times like these, those who have served our country deserve more than just talk. I have fought to provide real benefits for returning soldiers. I voted for a new GI Education Bill to restore the promise of a full, four-year education for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. The GI Bill following World War II provided opportunity for millions of Americans, and we should do no less for those who are fighting for us today.

The public schools are where we deliver on the promise of equality of opportunity. I know because I have lived it. Every opportunity I have had, including the opportunity to serve in the United States Congress, I owe to the education available to me in North Carolina's public schools.

Congress needs to reform our immigration system. The first step is to secure our borders. Funding is a simple place to start. We must adequately fund the agencies responsible for protecting our borders. Congress must also provide enough funding for the agencies that process the paperwork of people seeking to enter our country to determine who should and should not be here.