Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to another gentleman from Texas affected by this, the distinguished gentleman, Mr. Gohmert.

Mr. Chairman, I was hoping we could have come here in a bipartisan effort to pass legislation that would have made certain that the tragic spill, the loss of life, be prevented, that we never see that happen off America's shores again. We…

I thank the gentleman for yielding. First, Mr. Petri, I want to personally thank you as our ranking member; Mr. Costello, the chair of the Aviation Subcommittee; Mr. Oberstar, my partner on the full committee. {time} 2310 The hour is late…

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Petri and Mr. Costello do a great job in leading the Aviation Subcommittee. They have both had the opportunity to serve in leadership positions. As a former chair of that Aviation Subcommittee, I do…

I thank our distinguished ranking member, Mr. Duncan, the gentleman from Tennessee, for yielding. I am pleased to join with the chairman of the Coast Guard Subcommittee, whom I have had the opportunity to work with in a number of…

Mr. Speaker, it has been almost three years since the last reauthorization expired in September 2007. As Chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee in 2003, I guided that bill to completion in just seven months. This had been the longest period…

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that Ms. Norton, the gentlelady from the District of Columbia, is here today. She chairs one of the important subcommittees of Oversight and Government…

I yield myself the balance of my time. Again, I am pleased that Ms. Norton would be here today and honor the memory of my friend. I had the opportunity, as I say, to have worked with Senator Hawkins, both as she built the Florida…

Well, I will tell you right now that we are open to suggestions. We are looking at trying to be reasonable in whatever we do. To just impose unlimited caps on liability could be a very serious and damaging measure. First of all, let me say…

In conclusion, I do want to say that I work very closely with Mr. Oberstar, the Democrat chair of the T&I Committee. When we found out that the $1.6 billion fund has a $150 million cap for emergency use, we came together last week. I…

Thank you so much. We affectionately refer to the gentleman from Texas as Judge Carter, but a distinguished Member of Congress, a part of the leadership of the Republican team, and thank you also for coming tonight before the Congress and…