Mark Pryor

I think that's what the public wants and I'd have to commend PHMSA for doing it, even though it's at the expense of the pipeline industry.

For a community to be connected to the world, it has to have broadband.

But, I've noticed that there are a lot of--seems like, in recent years--more private foundations and patient groups who are pushing very hard to get certain things through the approval process.

Thank you for conducting this hearing today.

There is no doubt that this merger will affect Cleveland.

From a consumer's point of view, this is a massive mistake, but DOT has drunk the airline Kool Aid over the objections of Justice.

There may be some people who are not pursuing claims because they are afraid they will not be able to sue.

As I understand it, in Louisiana you have something we do not have in Arkansas. You have an oil spill coordinator's office.

The goal is to get money into the hands of the folks that need it the most as quickly as we possibly can.

So in your State government, are you the one who is responsible for coordinating, or is it the State Police through the oil spill coordinator?

I think it is hard to know if the plan is going to work unless you know how much oil is there.

OK. And is BP alone in this, or are there other companies that you are working with on this particular well in the Gulf of Mexico that are stepping up to help?

Have you heard or been party to any conversations at BP about the possibility that BP might have to declare bankruptcy as a result of this spill?

And how much money has BP spent so far in response to this?

And do you know if BP has any insurance to cover these type of payments?

But apparently there is a lot of frustration with that, and it sounds to me like the system that Homeland Security has in place or the system that these plans put in place is not working very well.

Because of the resiliency, the fortitude, and the battle experiences of our people, Louisiana will recover from yet another catastrophic disaster.

Thank you for that very touching testimony.

So as long as they can justify their out-of-pocket losses, you pay 100 cents on the dollar?

To the best of your knowledge, is BP balking at anything right now in terms of are they balking at paying for things or doing things?

90 days is a long time in this circumstance.

Does BP have an estimate of how much oil is actually in the Gulf, how much oil is on the surface of the Gulf or underneath as a result of this spill?

It sounds like, though, with millions of gallons out in the Gulf, I mean, it sounds like a lot of vessels, but it also sounds like you are only getting a small percentage of the oil. Is that fair to say?

I have been watching BP's stock, and I notice it is not going in a positive direction right now.

Does BP have any plans to either compensate or at least consider compensating cities, counties and parishes, school districts, etc., for loss of tax revenue?