Mr. President, I am here to talk about the importance of a bipartisan, commonsense, 5-year farm bill to Indiana's agriculture and rural communities as well as our entire country. This bill, passed with bipartisan support in the Agriculture…

This is not the best way to do it. It is going to have a negative impact on the outcome, the product that we need for situations like in Oklahoma or Sandy and otherwise.

I want to make that clear.

I just make sure that you are committed to looking at this program.

Can I get a commitment from you that you will reexamine the decision of the hiring freeze and how they are handling furloughs in the Weather Service?

The key to me is as quickly as possible because...

I want to just say that when you start to talk about Pebble Mine, a mine in Alaska, we would encourage you to talk to us also.

Is that enough?

Should she be confirmed, I hope that Ms. Pritzker will be a strong voice on the President's Cabinet for lowering regulatory burdens, lowering tax rates on businesses large and small, and promoting job creation in the private sector.

We have to be sure we are there with them.

One of the most important functions that our Federal Government must fulfill, of course, is the care of our veterans.

Like our urban veterans, our rural veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are coping every day with both the visible and the invisible wounds of war.

Thank you for scheduling this hearing to consider the re-nomination of Dr. Allison Macfarlane to be Chairwoman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

I want to hear feelings of improvement, of moving forward.

I believe that spurring job creation and economic growth in rural regions across the country is absolutely essential to U.S. economic health and competitiveness.

I can tell you, particularly coming from Arizona, which was the scene for a lot of this, there is a lot of mistrust, and people do not think that anybody is held to account at any time.

This TTIP is an incredible opportunity for us, and for the transatlantic partnership.

Too many rural areas of our country, including my home state of West Virginia, remain insular and isolated from the prosperity that more populated and urban regions take for granted and enjoy every day.