The Affordable Care Act introduced many substantial changes to health care, and these reforms will improve access to and adequacy of coverage.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased that we are holding this hearing today.

California knows how to do things right. We have already had 59,000 enrollees in Covered California.

I for one would not be in favor of cutting this agency from what the President has asked, which is still sort of bare bones.

sequestration certainly has had a drastic impact on all of our Government agencies, and smaller agencies are much more sensitive to any funding reductions since, really, every dollar counts.

It seems easy around here sometimes to defund agencies like yours, because, frankly, I think a lot of folks aren't exactly clear on what FMC's mission really is as opposed to, for instance, the Coast Guard.

In fact, it is questionable how effective any other recommendation will be without addressing this issue.

But you would be in favor of getting more of your Harbor Maintenance Tax dollars back.

Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member Rahall both said that when it comes down to finding ways to finance our Nation's transportation system, all options need to be considered.

According to a recent report, nearly 64 percent of our roads in Los Angeles County are listed in poor condition and costing our drivers $832 a year, well over the national average of $377.

So as I said in my opening statement, one of the options I am interested in exploring is the VMT.