Richard Blumenthal

Every family has a right to expect a worker who leaves in the morning come back at the end of the day.

I want to thank you, and the Mine Safety Health Administration for its self-reflection over the past year to increase the effectiveness of current safety requirements.

Miners' families continue to suffer, as they have here--29 families wanting to know what happened in the Upper Big Branch tragedy.

I think we're united in your efforts and the President's efforts to remove Qadhafi.

In fact, in seeking to uphold statutes, lawyers begin, if they represent either a State or the United States, with the argument that every statute that is passed by this legislative body, which represents the people of the United States…

I welcome that response, and I would note that it marks a departure from many years ago when missing children were thought to be exclusively a local or State issue.

I am unhappy and frustrated with the most recent efforts by the administration to send a message in this area.

The inability to fill those 1,100 slots in my view would be really a disservice to the FBI and severely disadvantage this great organization, and I hope you agree with me in that.

I hope that we will see prosecutions soon.

The most important protocol, though, that we have followed and we will continue to follow is what is in the best interest of the case.

I think it really is designed to raise awareness and show our own commitment to fighting bigotry.

Civil rights is indeed this joint venture among Federal, State, and local partners.

If you wait until the train wreck to come together for the first time, you are seldom going to be able to forge the necessary consensus.

Your challenge is primarily in the area of enforcement, not so much the substantive authority that you would see the Congress improving.

As intolerable as injustice and intolerance are in this country, as dangerous as intolerance and injustice, is indifference...

I want to go back to the question that Senator Durbin was pursuing.

Wouldn't it make sense to engage or involve the States and local governments more actively in this effort?

I want to express my appreciation to you for holding this hearing on this occasion, on the 1-year anniversary to the Health Care Reform Law.

I think those suggestions or recommendations are excellent as a starting point, and certainly we may want to consider going beyond them based on what we've heard and what we may find out.

I have strongly opposed any measures to cut Social Security.

I am not satisfied that it is sufficiently strong so far to provide credibility and trust on the part of policymakers and, equally important, the awarders of funds, Federal funds, taxpayer moneys that are very, very valuable in education…

The extent of the harm and of the wrongdoing and abuse is the reason that we are here today.

I think that you are sensing a strong sense of disquiet, if not dissatisfaction, maybe even stronger emotion of skepticism, about whether the oversight and scrutiny here has been sufficient to eliminate the bad actors and the bad practices…

Preserving and enhancing the use of those Federal dollars is one of the main reasons we are here today.

These kinds of opportunities for students who otherwise wouldn't have access to college education is critically important.