Tom Carper

We are all in this together. One of the things that we need to do is just work like a team.

Yes, and our hands are not clean.

I think when there are clear priority goals, clear metrics, Congress can play a very constructive role.

The idea of bringing in private sector firms to actually recover payments that should not have been made, $700 million in recovery last year.

We have to have continuity. Sometimes I look at the Executive Branch and it almost looks like what I call Executive Branch Swiss cheese.

Nobody likes waste. It is not a Democrat or Republican issue.

I think GAO, in terms of deficit reduction, are actually getting better results for less money.

I think we need to make sure--these are very modest amounts of money, very modest.

I think it is going to be very important that we work closely with you and that, ultimately, budgets and appropriations reflect these priorities.

Mr. Kotz, in your May 2011 report you indicated the SEC grossly overestimated the amount of office space it needed.

Let me just ask, what were they thinking?

Did you ever ask? Did you ever ask what are you guys thinking?

I would like to welcome our witnesses to this important hearing.

Congress tends to respond, frankly. It doesn't lead a lot.

I mention that because we might more easily find ways to finance our transportation system...

This is a military and security and economic problem of the highest order.

We have to find the will to raise the revenues.

I think the Nation's engineers have evaluated our transportation infrastructure and given it a grade D as in delta.

I proposed, along with former Senator George Voinovich, that we raise the Federal gasoline tax about a penny a month for 15 months.

So I just urge us all to keep working on this.

Let me conclude by just saying to my colleagues, I do not know if the first time I heard of this Presidential Executive Order was at the State of the Union address.

The President, both in this Executive Order and in the Chamber of Commerce speech and in the State of the Union Address, emphasized that we are having a government-wide review of the existing regulations.

EPA also exempted biomass from its greenhouse gas regulations, something that creates a great deal of flexibility.

My staff, when they were putting together my schedule, they weighted this hearing today as a low priority.

I was very pleased in 1993 when President Clinton issued his Executive Order and called for making sure that we are trying to figure out what is the cost-benefit analysis when you promulgate regulations across Federal agencies.