"It is time that the Survey get back to its roots, providing the foundational knowledge of the nation's geology, energy, and mineral resources."
"I just wish that the budget that we just talked about, that the line items in particular were more reflective of a stronger priority on the core mission of USGS, at least the original core mission up ..."
"I am concerned about that. It sounds wonderful, but to me it does not sound like a core function of the U.S. Geological Survey."
"I approve of what--and am happy that President Obama in his State of the Union address addressed duplication."
"the problem is right up here on Capitol Hill as well."
"Thank you. I would like to thank the witnesses for their valuable testimony and their patience and for being here today."
"Do you agree that that would be a violation of, apart from whatever a Court might say, that is a violation of private property rights?"
"With all the near-term position and personnel cuts and freezes (both contractors and defense), are they all synchronized so that we don't have a gap in covering the mission and services?"
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I also welcome everyone to this hearing, which is the first of our 2nd session, and I look forward to continuing the progress that we have made so far in the 111th Congres..."
"The backlog is a major concern for everyone who is a stakeholder in veterans' issues, and I believe that through a bipartisan, collaborative effort, we will begin to resolve the issues that have hampe..."
"I look forward to hearing about how all of these pilots and laboratory initiatives will put VA on track to processing its compensation and pension claims in a virtual environment using a twenty-first ..."
"It is imperative that this subcommittee continue to exercise its oversight responsibilities to ensure that this time the IT program works and is on time."