U.S. State Attorneys General

I certainly support the chairwoman's initiatives in this regard.

The national security of our country is greatly dependent on the implementation of energy security efforts.

I was happy to see, in your written testimony, that you remain committed to improving the conditions of our Navy shipyards.

I would say that that should be a top priority for our committees and our subcommittees.

I think that, as you focus on issues such as the productivity at our shipyards... that recognition should be reflected in what you consider productivity numbers.

What do you think about flexibility grants or block grants or making finite--instead of an open-ending fee for service kind of structure--what about taking a finite amount of money and saying look, this is what you have to spend, State X…

The EPA is overstepping its congressional authority and seizing rights specifically reserved to the States.

Thank you, and I thank the Chairwoman's leadership in the wildfire issue.

Do you have enough money in your Fiscal Year '17 budget proposal to do the kinds of things that you are doing because it is not just happening in Hawaii.

Ohia is significant because this tree makes up 80 percent of our native forests and is ecologically and culturally the most important native plant in Hawaii.

There is nothing like actually visiting a place to gain a fuller, I think, appreciation of what is going on.

I did want to take a moment to thank you for your commitment to protecting Hawaii's precious landscapes in the President's 2017 budget.

Thank you very much, Chief, for making the clear connection between climate change and the continuing challenges of fighting forest fires.

We have to get this right, and this is a very specialized area of the law.

I have continuing concerns about the changes that we are contemplating to patent law.

I was one of the handful of House Members who voted against that bill.

The Federal education bureaucracy certainly has grown immensely. I would argue it has gotten out of control.

Whenever possible, I believe we need to act on our responsibility to ensure a leaner and more accountable Federal Government.

Make no mistake, if we stay on our present course, no one disputes that the country they inherit will be mired in debt, plagued by a weak economy, and left with fewer opportunities to earn a lifetime of success.

The concerns I have with out-of-control spending and skyrocketing debt is not just about dollars and cents, it is about the kind of future we are leaving our children and grandchildren.

I would say embezzled, from taxpayers to use on other things? That's embezzlement.

$1.5 million does not go far enough, that is for sure.

Our country has a responsibility to meet our obligations under the compact with Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands.

Your attention to the unique needs in Hawaii is appreciated.