The jobs are being crushed because of political decisions made by this Administration that decided that coal was politically incorrect.

The brick industry is a very good case example of how the proverbial straw will break the camel's back.

So you think the Federal grant program also has to be part of that option.

I actually, in my State, have the challenge of no infrastructure.

As you know, particularly those from the rural communities, that can actually lead to very high levels of disease, third-world disease levels in some of these communities in America--in America.

The agency has, instead, assumed the role of a prosecutor.

But I mean in terms of financing, should it be grant programs?

I think we can build more controls and more process improvements into it so that I can get capability out there that is at the lowest cost to the taxpayer but actually produces things that we really need.

In the eyes of Americans, the terms 'low readiness' and 'the United States Marine Corps' is kind of an oxymoron.

today is St. Patrick's Day. It is a great day for those of us in this country whose ancestors came here to find a better life. And today, like many of us here, I got up and put on a green tie, but I switched it out for this one, a red one…

Importantly, what we think we should be looking for is that it should be a fast lane not to know but a fast lane to fix our appeals process.

It is predicated on concessions the veteran makes in order to expedite the appeal.

What is surprising I believe to many of us, and also unacceptable, is the wait time that we have seen for the VA to resolve an appeal.

S. 2473, introduced by Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican, with two Democrats and one Republican original cosponsors, is an attempt to break any logjam before it reaches crisis proportions.

I think that is music to everybody's ears.

It is not a total fix.

We can do it twice in one Congress, I am convinced.

It does not go far enough. I am fine with that, especially if you guys want to be more ambitious.

No. It is the bulge, right? I mean, it is a real----

I think creating a less bureaucratic system is something that we all agree on.

Good. Well, again, we look forward to working with you and the service organizations because I know they have been very, very involved in this as well.

I will certainly take you up on that offer and look forward to working with all of you.

I know today we have been focusing on a really important bill, the CARA bill, which has been led by Senator Portman, Senator Ayotte, and many others. It is a very important bill for our country, for States like Alaska that are seeing this…

I certainly want to work with this Committee on not only addressing Flint, but other places that don't have any of the benefits that most Americans just assume they have.

Sounds like a king to me.