Joe Lieberman

I think it is likely, if the parties even get to the negotiating table, that the negotiations will likely not succeed.

I wouldn't want, just as a former diplomat, I certainly wouldn't want to impose on President Obama an outsider's view of what his deadline is.

We need to listen to people... talk about the use of weapons.

I think it is very important that diplomacy and the threat of force be combined here so that we bring the national power of the United States to greatest effect.

It is especially important, and I know the Secretary feels this, that we fill this position right away.

As chief medical advisor, Dr. Garza, should you be confirmed, you will play a vital role in our Nation's response to the H1N1 outbreak, which is continuing.

This will be one of our legislative priorities this year, which is to legislatively beef up the oversight and protection that we provide to the American people from bioterrorist attack.

I hope that, if you are confirmed, you will not simply be there waiting for the Secretary to ask you for advice.

The position of Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Homeland Security was created by the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 that was authored, I am proud to say, by Senator Collins and me.

I think that Senator Collins has very eloquently laid out what that Committee's charge was in trying to come up with rules that protected privacy while still meeting the 9/11 Commission's goals of flexibility, of standards for issuance and…

That difference would have picked up some of the September 11, 2001, hijackers.

The key point of authenticity of identification tools, in this case, drivers' licenses or ID cards: Identity theft is a tremendously large problem.

I would particularly like to thank Senators Akaka and Voinovich for their leadership on PASS ID and moving this forward.

We give the States flexibility on how to do the re-enrollment so long as everything is complete by 2016.

I want to challenge each of us to work together urgently because my goal, and I know Senator Collins' would be, is to get this PASS ID before that markup on July 29.

I would like to work with you and my colleagues on the Committee to see if there is some way we can strengthen this section of the PASS ID without going over the tipping point where we continue to encourage the States not to comply because…

This is a classic example in this post-September 11, 2001, world of our responsibility to weigh those privacy concerns against what I would assume was the advantage to our national security from mandating information-sharing among the…

PASS ID actually contains within it specific assurance that States and privacy advocates have sought for the protection of the information.

So, if I may interrupt you, that means that assuming nothing else happens in between, that it is under the law the drivers' licenses issued by the States would not be accepted by TSA to gain passage onto airplanes?

You have 12 States covering 40 million people plus now Missouri, which is another 6 million, that are actually barred from even seeking such an extension.

Today, we are going to discuss bipartisan legislation sponsored by a number of Members of this Committee.

I really believe that if our original 9/11 Commission legislation had been left intact... we would have millions more secure IDs.

As always in the Congress, we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

The Federal Government to set standards for the issuance of birth certificates and sources of identification.

I regret to say that I am not surprised we are here today.