The President's 2005 budget request would decrease EPA's funding $606 million, 7.2 percent, from fiscal year 2004 amounts.

This is stunning. Your own people in the field are telling you beware.

EPA's proposed fiscal year 2005 budget--along with the Bush Administration's never-ending attempts to roll back decades of environmental and public health protections--demonstrates yet again that this Administration is not committed to…

Mr. Administrator, seeing that box you are giving to Senator Wyden, if it has everything in there that he wants, that is a good change from the past, because it has been tough to get information.

I want to know about the Administration's position.

As a small person, I do not think it is in stature so much as that they are developing and also they tend to play around on the ground and they put things in their mouth from the ground, et cetera.

EPA's mission is to protect human health and the environment. It is critically important, but you would not know that from this budget.

We know there is no safe level of mercury in the blood.

This seems to be a cavalier attitude taken by EPA regarding its inability to determine where this 65 tons of mercury goes each year.

I am concerned about this. Have you changed EPA's position on whether children are more vulnerable? Do you think they are more vulnerable or they may be more vulnerable?

Will you support Senator Chafee and I and try to get this polluter fee back on the books?

Sure, get it from the taxpayers, not the polluters, sir. That is not right.