the best description of Russian foreign policy I ever heard was that they were like a hotel thief who goes down the hall, trying every door until they find one that's open, and then they go in.

Donald Trump was not my second choice. He was not my third choice. And I'm going to see what happens at the convention. It is going to be very important to me whom Donald Trump chooses as his running mate. And that is arguably the most…

This pilot will allow States to create their own assessments that can be imbedded with instruction and assess deeper knowledge.

During the reauthorization process, I worked with the junior Senator from Vermont and others to develop and improve an innovative assessment pilot program.

Senator Alexander and Senator Murray, who are the authors of this rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, are still here. They know what their intent is.

I started off by pointing out that I was Collins, I am Collins, I'm still around, and I know what my intent is.

To me it's obvious in the law what is required, so I hope you'll take a look.

But, by writing them in and requiring that they be established, isn't that almost a contradiction in terms?

I'm very supportive of this concept, as a general principle.

I think that may be what we're talking about here, is, if you have a structure that is overly bureaucratic and rigid, the policy will be slow, cumbersome, and itself not responsive to immediate problems.

Allowing Medicare patients to receive home health services before they are finally homebound, but when it is cheaper and better to serve them at home, ought to be another restriction we can work around.

Allow patients to receive Medicare coverage in skilled nursing and without these 3-day inpatient hospital stay rules ought to be something that we can work through.

Allowing Medicare patients to receive hospice care and curative treatment at the same time ought to be a sensible solution.

In many cases hospice care enables dying patients to remain in the comfort of their own homes, free from unnecessary pain, and surrounded by family and friends.

As Senator Collins pointed out, most everybody would prefer to die at home, and yet, most die in an acute care hospital or a nursing home.

The Gosnell Memorial Hospice House provides an alternative when care in the home is no longer possible or sufficient.

I think this is a very important issue, and I know you recognize we are inadvertently making the problem worse by not providing sufficient funds for the management of these lands.

I hope you will convey back to the Administration the importance that this committee puts on that position and that we believe an appointment in the immediate future is appropriate.