And how are you going to coordinate with others that get into energy and climate change policies, such as Carol Browner, Dr. Chu, Nancy Sutley, as well as the NOAA Administrator?

I want it established that then-candidate Obama clearly came out and stated that he wanted to reactivate the National Space Council within the White House.

Picking up on the Ranking Member's questions--and by the way, Mr.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

It is hard to register, hard to vote, hard to count votes. All the difficulties are clear and navigating through these difficult areas is not always that easy.

One disenfranchised service member is one too many but, when two out of three ballots are not counted for whatever reason, we have got a serious problem on our hands.

There are some real questions, frankly, as to whether the different proposals would, in reality, provide the taxpayer with the best return on their investment.

Finally, we have to do something, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Ranking Member and Mr. Oberstar, as soon as we get an FAA Administrator in place, about getting airspace redesign in the New York City area.

We must ensure that effective oversight is there to avoid wasteful spending, so I agree with the Chairwoman.

We cannot afford another repeat of the TARP bailout fiasco that we have been hearing and reading about.

I am mightily impressed. And as the Director-designate indicated yesterday, so much of the success of his agency will be in human intelligence.

think outside the box; don't be limited by lease lines or contractual issues.

Secretary Gates, please describe the risks to the Nation should implementation of the Navy's decision be delayed.

Under current law, if the surviving spouse of a servicemember is eligible for Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), that annuity is offset by the amount of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) received.

How will Special Representative Richard Holbrooke's new mandate coincide with that of General Petraeus?

Secretary Gates, please provide plans, which Congress can consider, that would eliminate this offset over time.

there is significant national security value in establishing an additional east coast CVN support base

Secretary Gates, you have publicly stated that a new Afghanistan strategy is a high priority for the Obama administration.