I commend you and your administration for taking the steps for the first time to do something about mercury.

To say that the past year for the Corporation and its grantees was frustrating and stressful is, at best, an understatement.

Maybe we should seek some clarification on that, because is time wearing it out? Is the number of flights wearing it out?

The President's directive is very clear on that.

When everybody wants to stand up for their troops, I think we need to stand up for them right here and today.

I thank you for that. That is good news.

I would be interested in knowing what specific steps the VA is taking to respond to the needs of returning Persian Gulf War vets.

We are going to give this very serious attention.

the VA was created with the central purpose of being a safety net for our veterans

We believe that this will not only continue to cause greater stresses on local governments' budgets, but on the poor themselves.

If it turns out that the Aldridge Commission has recommendations that contradict what NASA is asking for in fiscal year 2005, are you going to come back to us, or are you doing some back channeling?

Are the guidelines or criteria outlined by the NSF and are those good criteria?

Are we going to be tempted to force more missions in to get the space shuttle, to get the International Space Station fully established by 2010 as the President indicated?

Yes, but what do you want to do at NSF?

your record identifies you as the finest VA Secretary I have ever worked with

I continue to be disappointed that OMB or somebody somewhere has chosen to strike out the priorities that this committee and Congress have put in, in the past.

Well, we commend you for progress in that area. And as you might have gathered, I am very much concerned about this.

I am a big supporter of plant biotechnology, because it is generating exciting possibilities for improving human health and nutrition.