Tom Carper

I want to congratulate you and Senator McCaskill for the bipartisan work that went into the permitting reforms.

One of my top priorities at EPW is to ensure that these initiatives are implemented fully and effectively while ensuring that we do not cause needless delays.

There are times when coordination between the agencies responsible for vetting a project is not done well and projects are delayed without good reason.

I have thought a lot about how we can build infrastructure projects, build them smarter, and build them more cost effectively.

One of the many things that I think we agree on is the need to invest in our Nation's infrastructure and put more people to work on projects that will help our economy continue to grow.

Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. Our thanks to you and especially to Senator McCaskill for the leadership that both of you have shown on what I think is an important issue.

I call that a moral obligation. A moral obligation.

We asked that high-deductible plans with HSAs be permitted to cover health care services to treat chronic conditions before the deductible.

If we are going to care about people having enough to eat, drink, clothing, that sort of thing, we probably ought to care about whether or not they have access to health care.

I share the interest of some of our Republican colleagues in looking for ways to improve and possibly expand health savings accounts.

We could reduce our premiums if you basically will do these three things that you are talking about.

I believe that members on both sides of the aisle support legislative actions to address this problem, but before we write legislation, we need to do thorough oversight of problems that may require additional investments such as the…

The President has called for the modernization and rebuilding of America's aged-out infrastructure, and Democratic Senators released a blueprint for addressing infrastructure challenges earlier this year.

It is extremely important for us to examine how Federal agencies within our Committee's jurisdiction are implementing legislative direction we have provided, such as the Water Resources Development Acts.

But we know that the fiscally smart decision for providing for space, whether it is for the FBI or for anybody else in Federal Government, oftentimes it is for the Federal Government to build and own property.

This is outrageous. We cannot stand for this. Our job is to do oversight.

How would you like it if the Democrats had the White House, the majority in the House and the majority in the Senate, and we had an Administration with a policy that said we are not going to respond to your questions when you try to do…

Thanks for your testimony here today.

Let me just close by saying without adequate funding from Congress in the years to come, this FBI project, the St. Elizabeth's project may face unacceptable cost escalations and delays that are wholly preventable through our action.

That means ensuring that remediation actions will permanently protect the public against exposure to toxic and hazardous materials.

Like all of you, I want to see those sites cleaned up as quickly as possible.

EPA's Superfund program is vitally important in my home State of Delaware, as I am sure it is important to most all members.

It means making sure that the communities in which these sites are located have a seat at the table and a say in how cleanups get done.

I have a strong interest in preserving the publicly informed, science driven process that currently exists for making endangered species determinations.

I fully acknowledge that wolves present unique challenges in your State that much of our country may not understand.