Promoting green energy jobs and strengthening Colorado's competitiveness both in the U.S. And internationally has been a major focus of your administration.

Your appointment recognizes Colorado's major education reforms that you and Lieutenant Governor O'Brien have initiated since taking office in 2007.

America is a place, but it's also an idea; and you keep both alive by pursuing what you're proposing.

Knowing its own history will make this nation as world leader much more credible and effective.

Thank you for your service, on behalf of all the members of this subcommittee and the Senate in general.

I, too, want to offer my welcome to the York family. I think every American is familiar with that phenomenal story from World War I.

I can think of no better way to honor Mr. Buckles and his departed comrades than by passing this bill which would provide long overdue recognition of all World War I veterans in our nation's capital.

I want to thank all of you for your time and the insights you provided.

What's your response to those who would question whether it's appropriate to have a national war memorial that's privately owned and operated and that charges an entrance fee?

We urge you during the December 3 hearing of the Subcommittee on National Parks to shine new light on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center project.

Thank you for that additional detail, and for the work you've done, again, and for--as I said earlier, for your service and your example.

The Subcommittee on National Parks will come to order.

We look forward to working with you, and the Senators that are here, to find a reasonable way forward.

One of the enormous frustrations to me over the last months and weeks... is to sit here and listen to Senator after Senator... talk about what we are hearing anecdotally on the ground about lending to small business.

You mentioned something early in your testimony this morning about the importance of withdrawing from this economy in a way that creates jobs.

I do not see any way to get this unemployment rate down without having our small businesses have access to credit.

I just think it would be useful to everybody if we were able to agree upon a set of metrics going forward.

I would be very willing to work with you and your staff on this because we have got to move past this he said/she said aspect of what is going on.