Jeff Denham

I look forward to exploring this matter with our witnesses.

So why not have a trust fund? And for that matter, why not, like the Department of Transportation, have a separate line item for the overhead expense of just having a national rail system?

You can only put so much lipstick on a black hole financial operation, and you still have great losses to the taxpayer.

I intend to move forward with trying to open all passenger rail service in the United States currently operated by Amtrak to private competition.

As you know, Chairman Shuster and I are committed to rail reauthorization this year, and hopefully this hearing will continue that bipartisan effort.

First of all, my belief obviously with Dodd-Frank was it was designed for the big banks, yet in my community we are dealing with a lot of challenges on a day-to-day level with some of my smaller irrigation districts.

I would like the committee to notice that we are going to finish exactly right on time today.

I really want to try to do something to reform Amtrak, to make sure that--it may never make a profit, but we need to make it move in that direction.

What are USDA's specific plans to provide financial assistance and much needed relief to dairy producers in California?

When the courageous Americans who volunteer to fight our wars come home, they should not have to fight for jobs. Unemployment is one of the biggest problems currently facing America's veterans. In addition to our gratitude and support, our…

As we have heard the hearing, the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have created extraordinary demands for care as veterans return from theater. For those with PTSD or other mental health issues, long waits for treatment can put them at…

``But neither United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debtor obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts…

The Sandy Recovery Improvement Act will speed up recovery efforts and reduce costs. I want to just touch on one important piece of this legislation. It will allow greater flexibility to reduce rebuilding time and lower costs. This gives…

I wish to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, the new chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Mr. Shuster.

Just in closing, I want to talk about one final example, and it deals with the debris removal. Our bill dealing with debris removal will change, literally saving hundreds of millions of dollars. Without the change in law, FEMA was able to…

I want to thank Chairman Shuster of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for his leadership on this legislation. His knowledge and years of experience on these issues have been critical to crafting this legislation and…

I would just remind the gentleman from New Jersey that this bill was passed in September by this House and has been sitting in the Senate since September. Even though the President's own appointee, Director Fugate, has been asking for this…

I send to the desk a joint resolution and ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration. The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from California…

I have been hearing this story for many years now.

I would say they did a very, very good job of going out and doing a lot of outreach to farmers throughout the Central Valley.

So when the Federal Government really wants to get something done on time, on budget, avoid some of the lawsuits...

I would think that the two parties wanting to get high-speed rail is their number 1 priority...

When you can show me that this project is fully funded and we have a private investor.

What is critical to communities and people devastated by a disaster is not only the initial response but also how quickly people can rebuild and get back to normalcy.

As a Representative from California, my constituents and I know very, very well how important it is to plan and prepare for disasters.