Congratulations on the chairmanship of this committee, a very important one in my mind, and certainly for all of the Nation.

Well, it then appears that there--is there going to be a 20-percent--21-percent reduction in the operations of the cutters, other boats, as well as the aircraft?

We also recognize that our maritime economy contributes almost $649 billion annually to the U.S. gross domestic product, and more than 13 million jobs.

I would like to move in just a moment to the issue of how we can actually help other parts of our economy grow as we build our infrastructure. But before I do I am just thinking about the previous discussion from our Republican colleagues…

Last year, you and I talked--or last Congress, which was last year, you and I talked about this Make It in America, this manufacturing. We spent a lot of time talking about it. I had introduced in that session of Congress legislation that…

If I might interrupt you for just a moment. This had to be 6 or 7 years ago, I was Lieutenant Governor of California, and 3M, the manufacturing company, came in to talk about exactly that issue; and they had researched and developed a new…

Thank you, Mr. Tonko. The bill now is out of this House. It's over in the Senate. We expect the Senate to pass it probably tomorrow or the next day, certainly before the inaugural on Monday, and then the President will undoubtedly sign it…

Well, we have a little bit more time. I think it's about time for us to wrap all of this into one piece. And I will take the first shot at it, and then if you would be so kind as to finish it up. I'm thinking of Chicago. It's not my…

It's always a pleasure to work with you, Mr. Tonko. With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. ____________________

You're speaking of something that is very close I know to your heart. I've heard you speak on this issue some months ago about some of the historic buildings that date back to the pre-Revolutionary War era in New York. And it's interesting…

I thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's good, it is very, very good that the new 113th Congress acted today to reach out in sympathy, compassion, and with real support to the people who were so severely impacted by Superstorm Sandy. One of our…

You couldn't be more correct. You used the word ``holistic,'' meaning whole and in total, a total package. For years I've said that to have a growing economy and a just social environment, we needed to make, as Americans, critical…