This is especially important as we seek to make good on President Obama's commitment to end childhood hunger in America by 2015.

I hope, that you and other members of the committee are now getting to know the Tom Vilsack that those of us in Iowa have known for a long time, a very dynamic, smart, and progressive leader who is not afraid of change.

But farmers and ranchers are a great strength of this economy. And I am confident that they will help lead the way to recovery.

it is imperative that we all work together to come up with a solution that will bring transparency, accountability, and stability to our derivatives markets.

We must restore proper regulatory oversight if we are going to get this economy built on a solid foundation.

If Congress is truly interested in addressing the problem as opposed to politicizing a solution, we can no longer ignore the complexities of these markets.

I think we agree on the need to enact significant regulatory reform--significant regulatory reform--of the derivatives market.

We cannot continue to do what we have been doing. We have got to make some changes.

He wants to end childhood hunger by 2015. He is committed to it. We are committed to it.

I think what I would like to be able to say, Senator, is that I would like to see it rolled into a program that essentially extends those kinds of opportunities all over the country, including Philadelphia, not necessarily only…

I think there is a real strong desire on the part of rural America to participate in helping reduce our dependence and our addiction to foreign oil.

Senator, I think we have done a reasonably good job of getting a significant amount of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act money out.

We do believe that there are ways in which we can have a strong, adequate safety net.

We are committed to working with you.

There has been concern expressed by some Members of Congress about whether or not the investment that is being made today by the Federal Government, now in excess of $130 million, is money well spent.

The administration, first and foremost, is committed to an expansion of the biofuels industry.

I do not want this Congress to lose confidence in the system, not provide funding, and then send I think what would be a very poor message to our trading partners.

This is an aggressive agenda. We believe that this budget, as presented to you, is a start.