I agree that anybody who wants to work should have the opportunity to work.

Congress needs to fully invest in reducing the backlog.

Does that deter legitimate claimants from appealing their cases and receiving benefits?

I know that you're aware that we have one of the most significant disability and behavioral health problems in the country per capita.

And like every Member here, I certainly want a system that's objective and fair.

We need strong oversight mechanisms.

But I have plenty of practice with that situation where you are trained to deny up front, because that is one way to manage resources, no question.

I want accountability not only from the claimant level, from everybody who's making decisions in the Social Security system...

the due process system is clearly broken

our job is to make sure that every tax dollar is being used the way it was intended

Reducing waste and fraud and abuse in the Medicare program is critically important, not only to protect taxpayer funds.

Under Mr. Bay's leadership FERC has increased transparency in its work, opening in a number of enforcement actions that have helped protect the integrity of energy markets.

This authority provided FERC new tools to combat the type of market manipulation that produced the devastating power crisis in the West.

I join Senator Domenici in strongly supporting this nomination.

Medicare is an incredibly complex system and the reality is that, if we don't start dealing up front with the Medicare complexities, we are not--we can chase this all day long and go from one extreme to the other and we are going to find…

we've now--with the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals, we've recently announced that we're going to suspend the ability of providers to have their appeals heard by administrative law judges

President Obama is in support of an open Internet, and I would encourage you to speak with him.

I would certainly make the statement that, and you've heard this, or heard this theme, I think, throughout this hearing, we have providers who would differ with you about these administrative burdens and whether 14 percent is reasonable in…