I want to commend you for holding this very important hearing.

I want to commend you for holding this very important hearing.

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to work with the Bush administration on a bipartisan basis.

the single most important thing to improve emergency response and to save lives is to enable these first responders to talk to each other

I want you to know that I am going to be working closely with you and the Administration

I happen to think the Federal Trade Commission, as Senator Hollings suggested, is one of the most important places in government from the standpoint of the consumer.

Remember, the history of deregulation is supposed to bring more competition, but what it has really done is bring consolidation.

Most of the Western states refiners prevented their jobbers from competing with them to supply branded gasoline to independent dealers in metropolitan areas, a practice called redlining.

I think it is an extraordinarily important agency, both from the standpoint of your tools under existing law, and the bully pulpit function that the Federal Trade Commission can perform.

I think it is about as anti-free enterprise as anything you can find.

I want to figure out a way to help you and the Republicans and folks on both sides of the aisle to try to find some common ground on issues that we have spent

Well, again, I would hope that when you find anticompetitive practices, you do more than say, 'Gosh, that is just too bad.'

We Oregonians are very proud to see nominated for this position, and look forward to his confirmation.

the President would be vigilant in ensuring that consumers will be protected from price-gouging at the gasoline pump this summer.

That would have been one thing. But to just say, there is anticompetitive practices going on, and that is the way it goes, is unacceptable to this Member of Congress.

I thought it was a very unfortunate opinion that the Commission issued last week on gas prices.

I appreciate your thoughtfulness, and it is really a pleasure to be able to introduce Sean O'Hollaren to the Committee and to support his nomination as Assistant Secretary.

I send my best wishes and congratulations to Republic of China President Chen Shui-bian and his people on the occasion of their 89th National Day.