No, actually, she wasn't. I mean, I am fine with her saying that she thinks they are going to win; she has good lawyers. That is fine. That is actually a strong statement from the EPA Administrator.

Did you find any violation of the Clean Water Act in that investigation?

I am someone who is a strong Second Amendment supporter. I believe in an armed citizenry, but I don't believe in an armed bureaucracy.

We thank the Committee for its consideration of this bill, and Senator Sullivan for his leadership on it.

Thank you also to Senator Sullivan, for championing legislation today that will help SCF make important progress.

The answer is no. There were no Clean Water Act violations in that raid that was conducted.

I find that statement to be remarkable because, in my view, it ignores the rule of law.

Why has nobody in the EPA been held liable, been criminally charged?

Well, my first amendment as a U.S. Senator, my first bill was actually to disarm the EPA, because I don't think you need the weapons.

Then why has that not happened and people have gone to jail for doing something less than you did?

But no one is civilly liable or going to jail, as has happened in the past.

There was actually very little coordination with law enforcement when you came in, scared the living daylights out of a bunch of Alaskan miners.

But it seems to me that she has that as part of EPA's strategy, kind of like it doesn't matter whether we were right or wrong on the rule because the companies had to comply.

I think it is not just us, but it is frequent court cases.

I think the EPA has not shown that it needs these weapons, and I think that is something that the Chicken, Alaska raid in particular demonstrated.

one of the great things about being able to come to the floor and preside--as is the Presiding Officer, and it is something I have had the opportunity to do a lot--is that when you are in the Chair, you get to hear a lot about the home…

I have been on the floor quite a bit in the past several months talking about a topic I think the vast majority of Americans want us to focus on, and that is the economy. That is, in my opinion, something we don't do enough here, and…

I want to rise to also support my colleagues on the Veterans Affairs' Committee. It is an honor to serve with the chairman of the committee, the distinguished senior Senator from Georgia, and the ranking member from Connecticut, Senator…

Who makes the final decisions on expenditures like this and how are you combating waste?

I totally agree with you and that is actually what FITARA says.

for months now I have been coming to the floor to talk about an issue that I know the American people want us to talk about, and that is the economy and the importance of growing our economy. I am highlighting what unfortunately has been a…

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

rebuilding the trust between the VA and our veterans.

I think it is a very, very dangerous precedent.

We should not--if there is a major change in policy, we should not be reading about it in the newspaper.