I want to welcome you all here today and I'm honored to be joined by the ranking member of this Subcommittee, Senator Jim DeMint.

I think you've all talked about the other threats that our NATO is facing and Europe and the United States are facing: cyber security, energy security, others.

Though Afghanistan--NATO's first 'out of area' military commitment--remains the most pressing issue for the Alliance, we are here today to consider those institutional questions which will define NATO's composition, scope, relationships, and ultimately, its success in the long-term.

However, it was also a time to take stock of NATO's long-term future, which we intend to discuss today.

I just want to follow up on Senator Kerry's question about what more can be done to close the loopholes that exist.

I think it's important to point out, as I'm sure everyone here knows, that last month, NATO members converged on France and Germany to celebrate the alliance's 60th anniversary.

There's been a lot of discussion about the conduct of the war in Afghanistan, but I guess the real alternative is United States withdrawal.

I do want to thank you for being here, for your insights, and for your sacrifices for our country.

we look forward to significantly increasing our energy efficiency investments in the state.

it's going to be very important to have a position that Congress and the United States have taken to go to Copenhagen.

we have to deal with climate change, that we are experiencing now in New Hampshire.

It's not just to put a price on fossil fuels, but it's really to try and put a price on carbon.

Now, I know that back in 1980, President Jimmy Carter actually directed the SBA to provide liquidity to auto dealers to meet a similar credit crisis.

I certainly want to commend the President for your nomination and for elevating the SBA to a cabinet-level position.

As Senator Snowe said earlier relative to some of the stresses that small businesses are facing, this is an area that is quickly rising to a level of a crisis if we can't provide some help to some of these auto dealers.

I do echo Senator Casey's comments about the importance of being clear with the American people about what our strategy is there and what we hope to accomplish.

Shouldn't the goal of our oversight of markets be to avoid or prevent the kind of manipulation that we saw over the last year, regardless of whether there was intent involved or not?

New Hampshire, as you may know, is home to the Seabrook nuclear power plant, which I believe was the last power plant licensed in the United States and actually constructed and operating.