We believe that it is time to revisit that and to shorten the lease terms to further incentivize prompt development of oil and gas resources.

We don't want to be sitting in the--if something horrible happens, we don't want to be sitting in a situation where we are held off from using a tool in the toolbox because we haven't done the background or the research that we need on…

Of course, as we are trying to advance oil and gas exploration offshore and we look to the proposals and the plans that are out there, I think this is one of those areas that we need to know and understand how dispersants work in the…

I think the President's announcement this week, as it related to Alaska and the efforts on the annual lease sales up in the NPRA, the permitting, I think these are positive signals.

I think we recognize that we have got a lot to do, but we have got to find a path forward there.

Let us take this conversation up north then to the Arctic. It is my understanding that in Alaska, the use of dispersants has not been preauthorized.

I would certainly concur. You know, one of the great disappointments following the Exxon Valdez tragedy was a lot of lessons learned there.

Is it really good policy to require our deepwater operators to prove access to subsea dispersants?

I will also reiterate my comments from a year ago that the Senate should follow the example that you set here.

I commend his decision to increase leasing and to extend the leases that have been delayed.

I am hopeful that this is just a start and that the administration will also quickly issue permits to projects that are stalled all across the country right now.

But would you agree that the facts on the ground in Alaska are somewhat different than we have in the lower 48, in terms of advancing those leases?

Is the Air Force aware of the urgently needed repairs to the 168th Air Refueling Wing's Communications Facility?

We strongly support: S. 508, the Chimney Rock National Monument Establishment Act; S. 564, the Valles Caldera National Preserve Management Act.

oil wells to be drilled from the western Alaska state-owned lands, outside of the refuge's boundary, or from state waters to the north, and still to be able to tap oil and gas deposits located between eight and 10 miles inside the refuge.

I feel very, very strongly about [opening up portions of ANWR].

New technologies present new opportunities for the responsible development of our nation's tremendous energy resources.

I think, again, we need to recognize that our technologies have allowed us to do it safer, better, faster.

In Alaska, we are very concerned with the President's decision to decommission another WHEC in the fiscal year 2012 budget.

we really have made some transformational, transformational movement in how we access our resources and reducing that footprint and reducing our emissions

We are kind of on the verge of trying to understand the resource that would be in these residual oil zones.

This is just another in a long line of drill bills for the Arctic refuge.

I hope that we hear this morning perhaps some more success stories.

But isn't it more than just, I mean, the CO2 is what has enabled us to really gain the advantage with the enhanced oil recovery.

If you believe what the President says, you know, you've got 2 percent of the reserves out there.