it has been a sea change practically in how things have been done

the increasingly open Arctic Ocean also presents unique opportunities for our nation, and specifically for the people of Alaska.

Do you feel like 2014, again, anticipating that Shell will be back in the waters, as well as potentially Conoco Phillips, that you are prepared even under the sequestration levels that we are at, or is that a risk factor that we have to…

We need to get things in place there that are going to be some economic advantages for the region.

The consequences of losing a treasure like the Arctic are simply unacceptable.

So safety requirements.

Thank you very much for your testimony.

fortune favors the prepared.

this amendment deals with labeling genetically engineered fish, the first hybrid animal being proposed for human consumption. The FDA is reviewing this precedent-setting action not as a food but as a drug. They haven't studied the…

I call up amendment No. 341. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment. The assistant legislative clerk read as follows: The Senator from Alaska [Mr. Begich], for himself, Ms. Cantwell, and Ms. Murkowski, proposes an…

I rise in support of amendment No. 136, which creates a prohibition on funding for the Medium Extended Air Defense System, MEADS. This amendment is consistent with the House Appropriations, House Armed Services, and Senate Armed Services…

Out of that, will you derive ideas that will say here is the list of structural changes we need, maybe in FEMA or whatever other agency?

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I do look forward to the opportunity to continue to work on these issues around emergency preparedness.

One of the things that Congress did in this supplemental that was terrific was give FEMA more authority to say do not just rebuild exactly what was there before----

Fantastic. Thank you for that.

I would like to get some additional information from you on those relationships and how they are doing.

Let me end on that to say, Ms. Darcy, see that, you did not have to answer the question. That is not bad.

I think this is a smart recommendation, and it is essential we put it on our to-do list as a Congress.

I was not planning to come down here. I was at several meetings. As we all have in our offices, I have the screen view of the floor to figure out what action might be occurring or not occurring. I kept looking. The floor was empty. The…

I am not sure who mentioned it in their opening statement, but the issue we always hear about FEMA dollars replacing in the current location after something is destroyed, but the Corps--

Thank you for having that in the package.

I will be very anxious--and maybe, Mr. Chairman, as we move forward on these issues, as you finish your work there, at least start preparing some of these recommendations...

I believe it's an important step toward better understanding and addressing mental illness in our greater communities.

Will you also look at--and I think Senator Coburn was talking a little bit about it, but to expand on this--one of the issues you always hear is how long it takes from one point of entry into the system for an individual and then how they…

Yes, it's an important part and we should be looking at it, but it's something that's got to be done carefully.