If I could just say this, I want to tell you how much I appreciate you holding a meeting on Monday.

Tell me why you would not involve stakeholders.

And I am saying that you are saying the right thing, but your actions are not.

This reduced amount of funding... is going to hamper progress on many large projects.

Senator Reid and I have worked hard in our position of chairman and ranking member and vice versa in this effort the last few years.

Do you have people that are keeping track of the litigation that is ongoing with Yucca Mountain?

So that would be about a year-and-a-half or something like that?

I am very pleased that someone, somehow, has worked through the Office of Management and Budget, and the Executive Branch has finally recognized that this is a truly long-term initiative of great significance.

But you see, that is the problem that a number of people had, and that is, how can you have a license application if you have not done anything about transportation, because they should be one and the same.

But you do not necessarily agree that was a good decision, do you?

But you cannot do that with no money, can you?

This is about $600 million less or a 14 percent cut from the amount enacted in 2003.

The administration's proposals are inadequate to fund ongoing projects at anything other than minimal levels.

I am not going to defend any counties that are spending Federal dollars inappropriately if that, in fact, is the case.

And do you expect to involve stakeholders in the development of this transportation plan?

Congress has to. So I plan to work with the subcommittee, Chairman Stevens, Ranking Member Byrd, and Chairman Domenici to ensure that this subcommittee gets the resources needed to fund these vital organizations properly.

When do you expect to release a transportation strategic plan?

The budget that OMB submitted for the Army Corps is totally inadequate.