The law is clear. We debated the issue of pot 2. That money was expressly and solely directed to ecosystem restoration. Period.

This plan has been signed off on not by one Governor but by six. Republicans, Democrats, Members of Congress stand behind, unified this plan.

Of course, it was Senator Boxer's legislation, the Clean Water Act, that assesses a strong penalty for violators that pollute our rivers, our streams, and our oceans.

It has been my number one issue since being elected to the Senate to advocate on behalf of coastal restoration.

Moving forward, we must also be sure that the ecosystem projects ultimately selected are steps toward the comprehensive, large-scale restoration without regard to geographic state boundaries.

The coast of Louisiana is the largest section of land in America that is being eroded.

I urge the Department of Commerce to read our plan and to start funding some of these important projects that were anticipated as we passed the RESTORE Act.

I felt like it was the most fair thing to direct 80 percent of that penalty back to the Gulf where the accident happened, which is what the RESTORE Act did and passed.

This bill gives the BLM the security to hire the staff and make the investments needed to process oil and gas permits efficiently and with thorough environmental review.

S. 2440 is bipartisan right down the middle--seven Democrats, seven Republicans, including Senators Barrasso, Henrich, Udall, Lee, Heller, and Hoeven on this committee.

It is both an environmental priority and an economic priority, and it is absolutely essential that we are successful.

I led the effort to secure the only known or identifiable source of revenue that could come back to the state to help us restore our coast.

Unless Congress does its job, full benefits can't be paid on time beginning in just two years for those receiving disability benefits.

To promise additional benefits before you have paid for what you have already promised, it just confirms all the stereotypes people have about politicians.

I again urge you to schedule a hearing on the Social Security Administration's budget so that we can examine these budget cuts.

I think we should be careful about how we discuss Social Security.

It is growing in the number of people that it has to serve. Yet its budget is smaller today than it was 4 years ago.

Social Security? With $2.8 trillion in reserves? Is that a crisis today? No, I would call a federal budget operating deficit in the hundreds of billions as something that we have to tackle today.