In my home State of Oklahoma, one convenience store chain experienced a 30 percent drop in fuel sales once they began selling fuel blended at E-10 levels.

These mandates allow no room for error in a fuels industry already constrained by tight credit, dwindling capacity, environmental regulation, and volatile market conditions.

I hope that the Chair will agree with me that we need to aggressively exercise our jurisdiction over the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) which is in desperate need of a thorough evaluation on a host of issues.

I am looking forward to working with Chairman Cardin and Ranking Member Crapo on the water infrastructure bill.

Using water more efficiently is one way we can help extend the life of current systems and is important for planning for the future.

Today we are focusing on a very small piece of a very large issue: water efficiency.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing today.

I appreciate the timeliness of this hearing, as USDA works to implement the 2008 Farm Bill, including several new rural development programs.

These are the challenges rural America faces, and it is why I take very seriously our charge to create programs that will give rural communities the tools and resources they need to expand economic opportunities.

Fortunately, we were able to secure funds within the stimulus package to address some of the needs for rural water systems, rural broadband, and essential community facilities.

I don't want to take that risk. The only way I see to make this happen is to have the best of everything.

I am troubled by the Service's recent congressional mandate to revise and reissue ESA rules concerning the listing of the polar bear.

I wanted to get this on the record, and if you would make that statement perhaps in your opening remarks.

I think that you guys are smart and we have a lot of smart generals, and if you're asked what we're going to have to have 10 years from now you're going to come out with some real good answers and you're probably going to be wrong.

My only point is this, and I find there's something in my own mind, perhaps my narrow mind, that it is almost un-American that we would have a soldier on the battlefield or in the air or in the water that would be up against something that…

I think we are quite capable of paying at a level of 4.5 or 5 percent absolutely indefinitely until the end of time.

I would like to put the entire opening statement in the record.

I think each side has a pretty good argument to make because at the end of the day we just underfund the program.