We thank the Committee for considering legislation on this critical need for the forest products industry.

This authority would significantly enhance the FERC's ability to protect consumers by providing it with the ability to stop market manipulation and other market abuses in a timely fashion.

This is a critical consumer protection tool that the current and past FERC Chairmen and sitting Commissioners have themselves recognized that FERC is lacking.

Your legislation will bring parity to the manner in which electric customers versus gas customers are treated.

I believe President Obama has made an excellent choice and I strongly support Mr. Strickland's nomination.

I will apologize ahead of time for my voice today.

I have certainly had constituents who have been directly impacted by the challenges that the national wildlife refuges, the parks along the border have imposed on people visiting those facilities.

Notwithstanding this success energy efficiency continues to be the most cost effective strategy for enhancing economic and energy security.

This is a hearing on legislation to strengthen two programs that are central to improving the Nation's efficient use of energy.

This provision alone is expected to save enough electricity by 2020 to serve 350,000 homes.

We thank Senators Bingaman and Murkowski for introducing this bill and for moving the discussion forward.

I think we're very lucky to have you as Chairman, and this expertise that you've developed over time as chairman of the Intelligence Committee, I think, is going to be shown here today.

I think you can see there is a real consensus on the Committee, on both Democratic--the Democratic and Republican side that we want to see those things happen.

I just hope that you make sure that that is administered in a very transparent way.

Nuclear power is an essential part of our energy mix.

For nearly 30 years, utilities did not order a single new nuclear power plant.

My questions fall exactly in line with where Chairman Thompson left off and talking specifically about the technology and some of the advantages that we could be using to assist you in meeting these goals.

The current generation of nuclear power plants was mostly built in the 1960s and 1970s and 1980s.