Rodney Frelinghuysen

The Keystone pipeline is one of those things that's sort of a political driver. And mostly, the Republicans use it to sort of embarrass the president and embarrass quite a few Democrats who feel that there's a potential for an environmental disaster.

Let's take up the most important issues first. Let's take up the reauthorizations first; let's take up the appropriations bill first, not wait until four days beforehand - no one has mentioned anything, and, all of a sudden, somebody looks at their watch and says, 'Hey, in four days, the government is going to run out of money.'

Having a Congress with a more diverse educational and professional background would serve the country well. And given the budget challenges facing America today, we might benefit from a few more cold, calculating problem solvers, and fewer courtroom impresarios.