I mentioned it as much today to send a message to the Japanese yet again that we have not forgotten, that it really, really is time to step up to the plate and solve this problem.

I just wanted to put on the record again today that the situation specifically with Japan is not yet solved.

One of the frustrations for me, and I know for you and I think for every person who has served as ag secretary in recent years has been market conditions relative to U.S. beef.

I voted against it, and I wish more of my colleagues would have.

We cannot guarantee that a single consumer will get any benefit from that legislation.

The only way to achieve that was to have a sufficient and predictable flow of funding into those programs.

The one thing I could always get business and labor to agree on was investment in infrastructure.

We have to build roads. We have to build bridges. We cannot allow, as a Nation, for our bridges to fall into the river as one did fairly recently.

If we do not address the issue before us the competitive nature of this system is going to be decreased.

I believe it is time we stop watching other countries make the moves that have been teed up for this country for about 5 years. Implementing the agreement would increase U.S. exports by more than $1/2 billion annually and create almost…

If you did a study on 62,000 chemicals, we would be here into the next century.

I wish to start my comments today by complimenting Senator DeMint. Those were very thoughtful comments. Many of my friends on the other side of the aisle are now acknowledging the problems with the health care law. It was a fascinating…

I think it is very clear that there are some that are more deserving of immediate attention than others.

In issuing that guidance, which causes people out there to do things, and I am guessing you hope they do, and spend money and et cetera, what scientific analysis or study did your folks rely upon that would cause you to take that step?

There is nobody out there employed by any water system that wants to provide a dangerous product to their customers.

We have known for over 30 years that inhaled chromium VI definitely causes cancer in people.

I think it is very important that when you try to extrapolate from animal studies to humans, animals have to drink a much higher concentration than people do to get the same amount into their bodies.

As we look forward to tonight's State of the Union Address, we are hearing a lot of talk about jobs and the United States being more competitive. Unfortunately, the American people have heard the talk, they have heard the rhetoric, but…

I rise today to briefly discuss the so- called omnibus spending package that is apparently headed this way. This budget-busting, trillion-dollar spending behemoth is nearly 2,000 pages in length, and it is laden with over 6,000 earmarks…

this is a rather remarkable moment. On each side, Republicans and Democrats are standing to describe a problem that literally jeopardizes not just the future of our children and our grandchildren, but it jeopardizes our security; that is…

if there had been better oversight, a lot of these problems would not have occurred.

I cannot get credit.

But that kind of describes what small businesses are struggling with.

if the whole system, whether it is banks or credit unions or whatever, if there had been better oversight, we would have avoided a lot of these problems.

I would like to see whatever charts or analysis you have available of what happened over the last 2, 3 years relative to lending.