Rob Portman

Our country needs people who are maybe a little less focused on themselves and on the flash and a little more focused on how do we actually create a better environment for success for our young people, how do we get people back to work, how do we regain our standing internationally.

I hope that the entire Senate votes to say that if you're on the terrorist watch list - not just the no-fly list, which is a much more targeted list, but the terrorist watch list - you should not be able to buy a weapon.

I talked to a lot of employers who just are, are fearful of what's coming next out of Washington. It's all the spending, it's all the debt. It's their national energy tax, they want to call it cap and trade - more mandates, higher costs, more taxes. Their healthcare bill - more mandates, higher costs, higher taxes.

I want to tell mayors, county chiefs and heads of big companies: don't just chase GDP growth; don't chase the biggest profits at the expense of our children and grandchildren and at the cost of sacrificing our ecological environment.