As higher energy prices hit other areas of our economy, farmers and ranchers will pay more for seed, equipment, steel, and other supplies.

Our national economy... should be encouraging a revitalization of the manufacturing sector, not placing unwelcome signs at its doorstep.

It is rare to see that now but the thought crossed my mind, what a waste.

Forestry has been a vital component of this country and its economy for more than 400 years.

Wood is the original renewable energy resource.

The future of forestry is an essential issue for all of us, all Members of this Committee.

Demand for lumber has dropped more than 50 percent since 2005.

I cannot understate the concerns from my constituents when it comes to accountability and transparency in how government spends taxpayer money.

Farmers cannot afford rising water costs, and I hope we can all agree on the need to repair and safeguard aging infrastructure before beginning any new initiatives.

My constituents have raised concerns with this action, stressing the importance of state primacy on this sensitive issue.

We are trying to get more people more interested in this idea of being creative, how we can finance and fund...

If we announce this in August, no one in the world will even pay any attention to this at all.

If you can't make investments in human infrastructure and physical infrastructure... then that ability to grow in the 21st century is going to be severely curtailed.

I think, if I can be presumptuous and suggest that, Mr. Chairman, that we drive towards some number like that that gives Congress a quantifiable goal as a measure to potentially reduce costs in the name of health and well-being.

48 percent of the costs of obesity are born by government programs.

That is an aggregate savings, $16 billion, or just a public----

60 percent of adults are either overweight or obese, 31 percent of children.

I want to point out that the gentlelady from Wyoming made some very important observations.