Madam President, I wanted to come to the floor today because 2 days ago I got the results of an inspector general's report that I requested 18 months ago having to do with the endangerment finding of the EPA. While it is a little bit…

I think it points out the need for us to be more aggressive in this area.

I had suggested you answer those for the record, because we are using too much time here.

It is very important for us to hear the States' perspective.

I hope we can learn from these expensive, heavy-handed approaches and find ways to support States in developing scientifically sound management approaches.

These strict regulatory approaches are costly and have questionable environmental gains attached to them.

Having some nutrients in the waterway is normal. The question is, how much is too much, and that is what we look to the science to answer.

I appreciate the Committee's broad approach to the extremely complex and difficult topic of nutrient pollution.

I recently released a report exposing the high cost of the EPA's water regulations and the impacts on State and local government.

States need room to innovate and respond to local water quality needs. So a one size fits all solution to nitrogen and phosphorus pollution is neither desirable nor necessary.

This is clearly unacceptable.

I have worked with Senator Tom Coburn, with Senator Brown, and with others on this panel to work on bipartisan legislation that curbs waste and fraud in both Medicaid and in Medicare.

I look forward to hearing more about this suggestion from our witnesses today.

We need to be honest about what these findings mean. They mean that Federal dollars intended to address the health needs of the elderly and the poor are instead being used to feed addictions or to pad the wallets of drug dealers.

This is an important change, and, again, I want to hear more about that today as well.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the short time I am asking for as in morning business not be taken from either side in this agreement. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. President, let me say, as far as the subject is concerned right now, I am very proud to have one of the first signatures on this effort. It is good for every reason the Senator from Texas mentioned. On top of that, we have allies we…

Mr. Chairman, let me just mention, I congratulate my counterpart from Oklahoma (Mr. Sullivan) in bringing this forward and giving us a chance to work through this process. We both come from the beautiful State of Oklahoma. And I invite…