GAO has found that because the Department of Defense (DOD) starts more weapon programs that it can afford.

the common understanding on Capitol Hill--I think this is very fair to say--is that that would be paid to reduce the Federal debt and would be a permanent reduction of the initial $700 billion.

I think the political rationale behind it is to avoid coming back to us for anything.

I do not have any doubt that Dr. Groves is up to the challenge and that he commands the respect both inside and outside the Census Bureau to fully restore confidence in the agency's competence and integrity.

I feel the need, though, to reiterate that although Census Day may officially last 1 day, its impact is felt over the course of a full decade.

I believe in putting kids before special interest groups, and that is really what this is about.

Despite some criticism in GAO's initial assessment, DCPS appears to be on the right path to improving public education for the District's children.

If it is working well enough to be continued for those children currently in the program until they graduate from school, then it should also be continued for succeeding generations of new students.

The work Chancellor Rhee and Mayor Fenty have done to reform the school system is remarkable.

If the Opportunity Scholarship Program is not working, it should be terminated for all children.

We need to have choices. And if choices and experiments can show that one thing is working, maybe the public schools will see that one thing that is working and copy it.

Without an equal education for all there cannot be equality for all, the kind of equality that our founding documents promised.

In America it should not be a privilege for any of our children to get a first rate education.

I take the increase that the President has recommended as a testament to this Administration's commitment to the Department's critical mission of keeping our homeland safe.

I think that this use of the mechanisms you have now put in place to work on this long-term recovery from Hurricane Katrina give us an ideal way to test some of these thoughts and build into the national recovery framework.

I am particularly concerned that there is not enough new support being directed to inspections of southbound traffic to disrupt the flow of illicit guns and cash that the drug cartels use to wage war against each other and too frequently…

The problem is some of these communities, particularly in our State--Cameron Parish, South Cameron, that comes to mind, Grand Isle--are historic communities, they have been here for hundreds of years.

I think, rather significant increase in pre-disaster mitigation grants, that it is penny-wise and pound-foolish when we do not put money in on the front end to try to avoid the disasters and the expense of recovery.