I am happy to support the nomination of Elizabeth Harman to become Assistant Administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

I urge the subcommittee to include the President's fiscal year 2011 budget request for Metro in the fiscal year 2011 THUD Appropriations bill.

Safety is my Department's highest priority.

I am proud to sponsor Senator Mikulski's National Metro Safety Act (S. 1506) to establish Federal safety standards for America's transit systems.

I want to once again send my deepest sympathies to the families, friends, and all those whose lives the victims of this tragedy.

I believe that we must look at this not only as the responsibility of the local jurisdictions--Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC--but also as a Federal responsibility.

I really want to thank you for your national leadership on transportation safety in general and also on this transit safety issue in particular.

Washington Metro is America's subway.

Today's hearing is yet another reminder why we must build upon the success of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or risk a backslide into conditions like those we saw earlier this year when we were losing over 700,000 jobs every…

It is a national security issue in terms of safety and reliability.

I feel like it is a new day, that there is a freshness in leadership and a commitment to rigorous follow-through.

There is a clear Federal responsibility to this system.

There have been 11 metro deaths this year.

I have three criteria that I use to evaluate all Executive Branch nominees: Competence, integrity, and commitment to the core mission of the Department.

I am proud to join the Fraternal Order of Police, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, and many others in endorsing this nomination.

How do you hold them accountable? What do you do if you find corruption?

This is an urgent issue, and I just want to emphasize the urgency of action here.

The men and women who are serving under extremely difficult circumstances are the best in the history of America.