I said many times that there have never been five better qualified people to serve as Commissioners than those who serve today.

I am not going to be holding a hearing like Chairman Issa did to delve into personnel matters and to delve into character assassination of anybody.

I think the future of nuclear power is at stake, when I look at my own State and the angst of the people who live near those nuclear plants.

We will have another round. We will stay here as long as we can.

So do you support having a system running for a period of time without being hooked up? Do you support that recommendation?

According to experts, including the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, the loss of electricity, as Senator Alexander has said, triggered the meltdown at the Fukushima plants.

Moving forward, I will continue to encourage cooperation and collegiality among the Commission members.

I am confident that the NRC will continue its critical mission--ensuring the safety and reliability of our nation's nuclear reactors now and in the future.

I will sit here as long as you want. I am a fair person.

So let's put this thing to bed here. I have to be honest with everybody, there are times when I am intense when I talk to my staff.

the importance of transparency

Now, Senator Vitter opened up the issue of treatment of women. So I am going to take that up, because what is said here reminds me of the days--oh gosh, am I dating myself, of Joe McCarthy.

I am willing to change it.

My fear is, we are going to wait 10 years to get this done.

I think this is really about culture at an agency, the safety issues.

I think we proved today that this can't possibly be about what you four say

Safety must always be our top priority.

Mr. President, I am going to eventually make a unanimous consent request. We have alerted our Republican friends to it. But before I do, I want to set the stage for why I am going to eventually ask we be allowed to go to H.R. 3630, which…