these trade agreements are big deals. Trade promotion authority used to mean setting tariffs. Now they can affect everything from the safety of our food to the working conditions of people around the world and environmental standards. Very…

I just think we have to do better on fiscal policy and make investments in the country if we are going to have the kind of country we want in the future.

I will call on the FTC to investigate promptly, as perhaps this committee would have a role as well.

I am a proud sponsor of S. 911, the Saracini Aviation Safety Act of 2015, which would require airlines to install secondary barriers on most commercial aircraft.

I would join you in the strong feeling that that kind of price gouging would be utterly reprehensible.

I thank my colleague from Utah, my friend and very distinguished colleague, as well as our friend from the State of Vermont for their leadership this morning and throughout the drafting and formulating of this very well-balanced…

These delays have real-life consequences. They cannot be tolerated.

I would strongly urge that you consider using your authority under 28 U.S. Code Section 1498 to take that action

You have the right to remain silent.

Accountability is absolutely necessary.

We look forward to working with you on those options and also on this concept of accountability.

We still have not solved the crisis that led to this program. Veterans still wait too long for health care.

my view is that the potential raid on this money and the effort to use it as a kind of slush fund to pay for cost overruns... is a real threat to veterans health care.

this Nation is capable of doing better for its veterans, and a supplemental appropriation, for example, might be an alternative.

The VA ought to be out of the business of construction, that it should be the Corps of Engineers or some other agency that takes over this function.

Anybody who believes that this crisis has been solved is living in an alternate universe.

for me that alternative is a nonstarter. It is just unacceptable, and I have expressed that view to appropriate administration officials.

I will have some specific ideas and proposals tomorrow, as well.

I appreciate the opportunity to testify on Health Net's administration of the Veterans Choice Program.

spring in Washington, DC, is one of the most beautiful times of the year, as it is in Connecticut and around the country. We have endured a tough winter in the Northeast--a lot of snow and a lot of cold. And now a lot of potholes are all…

we are here debating choices. They happen to be choices about our budget, about the future of our Nation that will be determined by choices we make about how to invest. That is the key concept at stake in this very momentous moment as we…

It should, but is it?

But regulation doesn't translate into investment.

Well, awareness has been increased, but should have been heightened years ago.

Would you recommend that data be encrypted as part of this program to provide that kind of insurance?