Thank you, Senator Thune.

no industry is more dependent on a good, viable transportation infrastructure than agriculture.

Obviously, everybody here, and all of you, want to make sure that we're taking whatever steps we can to make airline travel as safe as is humanly possible.

I'm interested, too, in something that was raised in--and I'm not sure which of your testimony--but, it had to do with this.

I can see where that would be fairly complicated, and certainly be an imposition on pilots.

Given the primary thrust of the stimulus was job creation, can anything be done to speed up the timing of some of those awards?

Let me just ask one question with regard to an issue that I think is on everybody's mind these days, and that is the fiscal situation that we find ourselves in as a nation, trillion dollar deficits projected out as far as the eye can see.

I can say, having served for a number of years with her in the House, there is not anybody who cares more about the people that she represents or works harder on behalf of the people that she represented when she was a Member of the House…

Well, I can say I think we look forward to working with you on that subject as well.

I think public service is a very high calling.

I think that is the correct one. It makes it possible for many of these areas of the Country to participate in renewable fuel production.

It seems to me at least that the government is being viewed more and more to folks in production agriculture as almost an adversary as opposed to an ally.

There is a different definition in the Farm Bill, however, than exists in the Energy Bill which many of us have tried to rectify.

My view is that Congress and the Administration should be helping farmers and ranchers compete in a global marketplace and not hamstringing their everyday production decisions.

I would hope that this Committee would work toward making a change because that, to me, is not something that ought to be a part of any equation or calculation of the carbon footprint of renewable energy.

If that kind of a law is enacted, a cap and trade program would have sweeping implications for agriculture and for the entire economy.

Those are many things that we've been trying to do here, for some time, and reforms that I think would help lower costs.

I think our pharmacists want two things. I think they want a level playing field, and I think they want fair reimbursement.