Lisa Murkowski

I think that we could have avoided some of these budget increases had we not been dealing with healthcare reform.

I would like to begin by welcoming the three of you--Mr. Dodaro, Mr. Tapella, Dr. Elmendorf.

We do recognize that we task you with a lot, and I know certainly, Dr. Elmendorf, the requests that have been made on CBO just this past year with all of the legislative initiatives as they relate to healthcare have been daunting.

We are struggling with some issues as they relate to recruitment and retention.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I appreciate your concern.

I would like to think that that is one of those that should absolutely not be necessary for something as routine as chemotherapy treatment.

I remain concerned, though. We're moving forward with the Arctic study that the Coast Guard is moving.

But I guess my question to you is, recognizing that our heavy icebreakers are reaching the end of their service lives, is the Coast Guard currently positioned to address the safety and security missions that we know we will be faced with…

I appreciate your advocacy. I appreciate your work in trying to understand how we can really be making a difference with some of our schools.

The law compels me as EPA Administrator to follow the Supreme Court decision of April 2007.

In order to protect U.S. interests in the Arctic region, I believe that it is vital for the Senate to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

So many of us have had an opportunity to travel recently to Afghanistan, and certainly recognize the challenges.

So what do you figure the path forward will be?

We look forward to recognizing their accomplishments because they are significant.

In just a few weeks here, the Elmendorf Air Force Base is slated to receive the Commander-in-Chief Award from the Secretary of Defense. This is a pretty big deal.

I am convinced that it is a very fair process.

Obviously, the cost of energy is a key issue up there, but even more so, the opportunity to provide the Air Force with a fuel source that could be ready and affordable is something that we all want to focus on.

And I think part of this issue was, again, it was a contractor who brought up folks from outside.

It has been an issue that has generated some controversy and a great deal of discussion.

So you do not think it is necessary or perhaps appropriate to change the laws governing the military privatization to require that some level of local contracting be utilized.

I had a chance to discuss this issue with Dorothy Rabin a few weeks ago and she suggested at that time that the issues that I raised were concerns that were uncommon in privatized housing projects.

I was just visited yesterday in my office by some in the Alaska construction trades that are concerned that some of the contractors that utilize construction workers on Alaska Army bases may be engaging in this process of misclassification.

Well, we continue at the State level to try to do what we can to further open up training ranges.

The opportunities that Alaska presents with its joint training ranges... are superlative.