It is clear to me that government can and should be doing a better job, especially when it comes to engaging the agricultural communities.

It is important that Federal regulations be clear, concise, uncomplicated, and to make the necessary regulatory compliance as easy and affordable as possible.

I certainly appreciated and can empathize with your remarks about the level of expertise it takes in your family to navigate and respond and work to comply with the regulatory burden.

Having a hearing on the impacts of environmental regulations and voluntary conservation solutions is an important opportunity for the entire Committee to better understand the challenges that our farmers and ranchers and foresters face…

To be clear, I support Federal efforts to reduce waste, but I also believe there needs to be a balanced approach that encourages producers to reduce emissions without inadvertently causing producing wells to be capped.

I do not think any of us up here support waste. Natural gas is an important energy source and too valuable of a commodity not to take all practical steps to capture it and to put it to beneficial use.

These are both important industries to the economic benefit of citizens in New Mexico, but I can see that left alone, it could take too long to create an environment where competing for water resources means choosing.

Agriculture and the oil and gas sector are really important industries, certainly, in my state as well as for most of the Members on this Committee.

Do you see advances or areas that Congress could be looking to, much like my colleague talked about, in investment strategies and incentive strategies?

Given that 3 years has gone by--and I apologize for interrupting you, but this--as a physician, I was a cabinet secretary for health, this is untenable.

It has taken us 3 years to get this administration to require the Human Services Department to repay these providers the millions of dollars that they are--but they are defunct.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And I am going to kind of go off topic, and I apologize kind of.

Can you talk about that a little?

But given the situation in our State, our governor determined that all, 100 percent, of our behavioral health providers were engaged in billing practices that rose to the level of a credible allegation of fraud and so suspended payments to…

people lost their lives in my State and continue to do so.

I think it is important that we all work together to get to the meat of what is going on here that there has been a disaster and it has had a big impact.

I agree that someone senior from the EPA needs to attend this hearing.

I think it is very important that both the Chairman and the Vice Chairman work together and work through these issues.