I fear that we can make science for whatever outcome we want, and we shouldn't do that.

If I could, Mr. Chairman? Do you get any funding from the state to maintain roads on the reservation?

Congressman, because they have been surprised and they have seen some new insight.

It should not be treated routinely the way any other application coming in because it is literally life and death services to tribal nations in many cases.

You know, I look at, what, $14, $15 billion we spent drilling a hole in the ground in Nevada that is, I guess, a good place to store their records, in a hole in the ground.

Did the B&W announcement concern you?

This country needs a strong Department of Energy.

That is a good response. I like that.

I cannot emphasize this point enough, and as I look back after the last 40 years, I say to myself, have we really been serious since the formation of your department?

We are putting hundreds of millions of dollars into fixing up America's front yard. That is the National Mall.

There are no sacrifice zones on the National Mall.

We are going to use the appropriated dollars to go after poachers, to work on demand reduction both here in the United States and in other countries.

So you are going to have to renegotiate with Russia?

Would it not be better to use the appropriated dollars to go after the poachers and stopping the illicit trade in ivory?

Well, that is good to hear, because one of the things I heard repeatedly when this debate was going on, when we first did this, from companies was that they are willing to pay more in fees and stuff.

We are rapidly approaching the September 2015 deadline to determine whether it warrants listing or not.

It is a big problem around this country.

the energy issue is not new to me, and frankly, I have never seen the cost overruns and schedule slips that I now have learned have been endemic at the Department of Energy.

If we are going to ensure that our electrical system remains reliable and our country prosperous, then your department needs to be doing more to address our current fleet of power plants.

It is my understanding that the United States has banned commercial importation of ivory for decades, so what we are talking about here is not restricting illegal commerce and endangered species but banning anyone from selling an item that…

Really what we are trying to do is change not the amount we spent on fires--I would like to reduce the amount we spend on fires by having less fires.

I have got to tell you, you brought up a very important issue. I know it is important to me, it is important to Representative McCollum and I think every member on this committee, and that is invasive species.

We have to be more thoughtful in how we preserve that Mall because it would be a shame not to protect the investment.

We need to work together to come up with a plan so that we know what we are doing to attack these invasive species.

I am concerned about making things illegal or valueless that had value when they were originally purchased.