I have long maintained the military budget is not a jobs bill... and will continue to support the lowest budget possible.

If being an advocate of peace, justice, and humanity toward all human beings is radical, then I'm glad to be called radical. And if it is radical to oppose the use of 70 percent of federal monies for destruction and war, then I am a radical.

I was part of the peace movement and part of the civil rights movement. You know what we heard? 'The majority of people don't support you.'

I have been a lot of 'firsts' on the national political stage, including the first African American congressman from the Bay Area and one of the first Democratic Socialists in Congress.

The Affordable Care Act's requirement that certain individuals pay a financial penalty for not obtaining health insurance may reasonably be characterized as a tax.

The reality is: By the time swine flu got on the radar screen of global public health, it had already spread. It was already in the States, it was in Mexico, it was in New Zealand. By the time it reaches that point, you've lost the ability to contain it.

I actually did not like to run. It was probably my least favorite thing that I had to do, and then in 1999, I was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic. It was really strange. One good thing to do for diabetes is to exercise. I don't really like gyms anymore, and I travel quite a bit, so I realized that you can just take shoes and shorts and run anywhere.

Whether I'm being influenced by new music that I'm listening to, books I've read, my friends, or my faith, I'm learning all the time.