It is absolutely unacceptable, in my opinion.

Pingree and I, in this case, we represent about 650 very hard-working, honest Mainers up and down the coast.

I do understand the mechanics of why you need a certain amount of time to make sure the inspectors are available...

I have never seen the reports of shipments that have had to be seized coming into the country...

Now, as Congresswoman Pingree just mentioned, this is a very perishable critter.

I think they will; so far we have not been able to come to an agreement.

I guess that is the way I look at it, that they have plenty of endangered species that they do need to watch out for.

I appreciate very much your having this hearing today, and I am glad to be here with my colleagues.

My understanding is that it was not enforced until 2012.

They talk about it, but all they want is bigger government, more spending, and more debt, which results in higher taxes.

If it is a short enough time, it is not going to be worth the amount of money that the manufacturer--well, they are not manufacturers; they are more like what I would call hedge fund pharmaceutical companies--would pay to get the rights to…

What we are finding is that a lot of these companies are not doing the manufacturing, and so it is a very new and interesting business model, and I am convinced that it is one that is really negative for patients, providers, hospitals, and…

Mr. Chairman, may I follow up with one additional question?

It appears that the Russians violated the INF Treaty. Is the INF Treaty still in our best interests?

We'd still be dealing with this.

It seems to me there's a real dilemma at the core of this discussion, and that is, How do we increase our deterrence in Europe with a NATO deterrent without at the same time feeding Putin's paranoia about aggression from the West?

That may be good.

That's reassuring.