I rise today to speak very briefly about this issue. This easily could be the most serious issue we have dealt with in recent years and in future years. We have an enemy today that is at the door. This is not an enemy that is out there…

Latin America is not our back yard; it is our neighborhood in a sense, and there's a very important distinction to make.

I just want to associate myself with those remarks.

it's long past time for a fundamental shift, I think, in how we think and relate to this important region of the world

If the brave people who introduced this bill to repeal this had voted with us on September 14, 2010, we would not even be here talking about this today.

This was buried in a 3,000 page healthcare bill that was shoved down the throat of the American people on a straight party line vote.

Thank you very much for holding this important hearing.

We want this done and we are going to continue--we are going to try to hang it on every bill that goes through here.

Many of us come from parts of the country where ammonium nitrate is a very common commodity.

We don't know as much of the details as we should.

I respectfully request that you hold the record open, Chairman Casey, so that I can submit questions for the record.

This is only going to get more critical as time goes on.