“ 1. The human cost of our recent wars overseas has been too high a price to pay. We've also spent more than a trillion, trillion with a t, on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thankfully we are bringing our brave troops home and ending these conflicts, but we must not rush into unnecessary conflicts overseas, as we did in the Bush years.

2. Ending the $20 billion per year subsidy to the largest oil companies. These companies are already raking in record profits - the five largest companies reported a combined profit of $140 billion in 2011.

3. Ending agriculture subsidies for the most profitable commercial farms -- which receive 74 percent of all farm payments, more than $7 billion -- while preserving them for the family farms for which the program was designed.

4. Asking millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share by passing the Buffett Rule, returning federal personal income tax rates for those making more than $250,000 per year to what they were before the disastrous Bush tax cuts for the rich, and closing the hedge fund loophole, would generate approximately an additional $1 trillion over ten years, and restore some semblance of tax fairness to our society.

After all, it is fundamentally unfair for hedge fund managers, bankers, and Wall Street tycoons to pay a lower effective tax rate than the people who teach their children, clean their offices, or build the roads they drive to work on. ”

“ We must tackle the budget deficit, but we have to do so in a way that protects the needs of middle class families. That’s why I support ending the Bush tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, closing corporate tax loopholes, and eliminating wasteful subsidies for big oil and big agribusiness (the 2012 Farm Bill which passed the Senate last month would be a good start). At the end of the day, budgets should reflect our priorities, and right now middle class families must be the priority of every Representative. Far too many middle class families are struggling to find jobs, stay in their homes, and just get by. We need a fair budget that promotes job creation, cuts the deficit, includes a fair tax structure, and protects Medicare and Social Security. It’s just common sense. In Congress, I will always fight for commonsense budgets that benefit the middle class. ”

“ Balancing our federal budget will require greater accountability, cutting wasteful spending, generating new revenue, and making smart investments. To realistically address our burgeoning federal deficit, the government will need to rein in spending and streamline expenditures. Any government spending must be balanced with new revenues or savings elsewhere. We also need to raise revenues by closing tax loopholes, so that billionaires, corporations, and special interests pay their fair share to lower our deficit and get America back on track.

As to cutting government spending:

First, I would recommend a 15 percent reduction in White House and Congressional budgets. In these tough economic times, our politicians must lead by example. This initial cut should set the stage for an agency-by-agency overhaul of our domestic discretionary spending. We cannot have any more waste, such as that which was epitomized by the recent General Services Administration scandal. It is time to return to the Clinton era pay-as-you-go policies.

Second, I would work to get rid of subsidies for oil companies, whose prices have not been controlled by government assistance. The funds saved by ending these wasteful giveaways could go toward balancing our budget, or much-needed investment in growing energy fields that will create jobs and economic growth.

Third, we need to take a serious look at our defense budget. I am not in favor of the looming sequestration that would lead to a trillion-dollar cut, but Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has identified a number of ways to reduce our military budget by almost half a trillion dollars over the next 10 years and we would be wise to implement the majority of these policies while simultaneously strengthening our Buy American laws. ”