I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. 228th Anniversary of the Signing of the Constitution

If an individual or a private company had done this, EPA would have already made sure there was hell to pay.

I'm very pleased with what you do over there, and I'm particularly pleased with what you're doing in this area.

I do not actually allow that in my committee, because I think it is important that the Administration--or any administration, actually--sits at the same table with those people over whom they make decisions.

Both the EPA and the Department of the Interior will be held accountable, today and in the future, as the recovery efforts continue.

Let me be clear. Secretary Jewell's refusal to testify today is especially egregious and disappointing, given the magnitude of this disaster and the breadth of its effect on her agency.

Over a year ago, EPA began remediation on the Gold King Mine in Colorado that ultimately led to 3 million gallons of orange crap that went down the Animas and San Juan Rivers from Colorado into New Mexico, Utah, and perhaps even into…

I ask unanimous consent that the attached documentation from the Office of Compliance be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: --U.S. Congress, Office of…

Refusing to sit alongside representatives of the states and tribes that have traveled across this country to discuss this disaster is simply unheard of, and is wrong.

I expect we will hear the words '1872 Mining Law' repeatedly from both the Administration and the minority, as they attempt to ignore EPA's culpability, shift blame, and pursue action on an agenda that would decimate the mining industry.

I want to also emphasize the fact that you have three districts of the EPA that are involved in this area.

EPA documents show the Agency was aware as early as June of 2014 that a massive blowout was possible.

The United States officially does not take positions on sovereignty issues with respect to territorial and maritime disputes in the East and South China Sea.

Are we currently on schedule to meet this goal?

I am having a hard time seeing why it is that a country like the United States that has used its power, its blood, and its treasure to protect navigation all over the world for 200 years has to, in order to gain some moral high ground…

I would take issue with one aspect of what you said, though, that regardless of what benefits you might see from this, I would not say that signing onto a treaty is without any cost on our part without us giving up anything particularly…

More than $5 trillion worth of international trade traverses the South China Sea annually.

The media was receiving faster and fuller information from the EPA than the Navajo Nation.