Tom Carper

I just want to make sure that we do not continue to have our incentives maybe misaligned, that we actually do a better job of saying we are going to compensate schools, not just for the number of people that they put through the program.

I want to actually have the quality review in place and somebody doing the job and doing it well.

I want to follow up, if I can, on one of the questions that Senator Brown was asking.

That level of debt was not sustainable then and it is not sustainable today.

So you think we will have something from you this fall?

I am over my time, but Senator Brown, just bear with me here just for a minute.

This is personal for him. This is personal for me and the men and women with whom I served.

Our Nation's debt stands at $14 trillion, actually just over $14 trillion.

About $360 million of this number was not subject to DOD's quality review.

We must also demand more of our schools and get better results from our government.

We would support that kind of a tax, too. We think that a user fee ought to be dedicated to transportation though.

We believe in paying for things that are worth having.

The deficit is a problem? Yes, it is. It is a big problem.

Let us raise the Gas Tax a penny a month for 48 months.

So, we are, and this is where Rich and I really agree, we are sitting here not looking about creating more jobs, we are looking at the possibility of losing more jobs.

I do not want to interrupt, but when I walked up here from the train station this morning I did see a pig fly overhead.

We should reauthorize this whole bill.

I am one of the few people who is actually on record for supporting a modest, gradual increase in the Gas Tax.

God bless Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson because when they proposed to the Deficit Commission, they actually said we will take part of the Voinovich-Carper idea.

I am on the record in support of a gas tax increase to pay for those investments.

I always like to say if something is worth having, it is worth paying for.

Let me be clear: the status quo is not acceptable.

My colleague Senator Inhofe has been very helpful in fostering a meaningful dialog with the chemical industry and our friends in the other party.

I am committed to moving TSCA reform legislation in this Congress.

I am confident that this committee can come together to improve our chemical laws while allowing the U.S. chemical industry to continue to lead the world.