Opening statement

Therefore, it is imperative to the millions of Americans who rely on these projects that we ensure they are operating well into the future and serving the purposes for which they were developed.

I think it is a Congress issue. I think it is a people issue that we have to agree that what we are doing right now is unsustainable.

I think we have got to get back to that place where there is bipartisan support for doing these things, and that is really the key.

As a matter of fact, this is my third term in Congress, and this isn't the first hearing I have had on the Pebble Mine.

The facts are that there is a process that is underway, a process that has been established by Congress.

Alaska is a beautiful place, and we certainly want to keep it a beautiful place.

Today would be better spent discussing how to move forward the next Water Resources Development Act, a traditionally bipartisan effort.

I want to be clear--I understand the charged nature of this proposal and the potential for environmental disruption that can occur when mining operations are present.

I think that broadband has become part of the site location analysis that--when I started this role that nobody even knew what we were talking about.

This divide is significant. I don't think when we look at Pennsylvania as an example that we realize that Pennsylvania is one of the most rural states in the country.

I said in my opening remarks that--and this is kind of a prayer that I have for our country--that we would spend as much time trying to use lessons learned in history to better protect ourselves against a recession, a potential recession…

But here we are today talking about how can we add to more mandatory spending in this country when any person with half a brain and decent in eighth grade math can figure out that when 70 percent of your federal spending is on the…

I believe that $22.5 trillion of debt is way too much, and we are going to spend $400-plus billion this year on servicing that debt.

The members of America's Armed Forces are promised care for life due to the sacrifice they make to serve our Nation.

We owe it to them to ensure that promise is kept, and that the care they receive is of a high quality.

As Members of Congress, how can we support the VA, and are there legislative changes we need to make to help stem leadership and accountability failures?

It is indisputable that as a percentage of our economy, discretionary spending... is going down, and that as a percentage of the economy, mandatory spending is continuing to skyrocket.