I want to publicly thank Chairman Dicks for his fine work, his sense of fairness and his steady hand leading this subcommittee in recent years.

The Supreme Court did not force the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases.

I feel very uncomfortable with the amount of money we are spending and how we are spending it.

My favorite reference is to Walt Whitman, who once defined America as an athletic democracy.

The only thing certain in life anymore is that no matter what decision the Forest Service makes, they are going to be sued.

Is America less civil than it was a hundred years ago?

the people are saying, why are we spending this ungodly amount of money to reduce our arsenic levels from twelve to ten and sometimes eleven to ten.

But working together, we have made a sincere effort to find common ground on many issues.

The people are even less ready and willing now than in the recent past.

I cannot help feeling weary about the way in which EPA is implementing broad regulatory changes.

If there is an agency where you would think the employees would love to get up and go to work, it would be the Forest Service.

Only 9 months ago, as the chairman mentioned, hate barged through the doors of the Museum and took an innocent life.

Thanks for what you are doing. I was going to submit my opening statement for the record, so let us keep up the good work.

I think they are nuts, but----

Every one of the meetings turned into a 'what the hell is EPA doing' meeting.

We are losing their stories when we lose these individuals that are dying off.

Are you proposing that, and if so, why?

We cannot do what you are asking us to do.

Much to the credit of Chairman Dicks, last year's conference report included historic changes in the way we budget for wildfire suppression.

Congress needs to do its job and not just complain about them sitting out there as recommended wilderness areas.

$2 per child for mandatory arts programs in our schools is a much better investment.

The fact remains that coal is part of our past, our present and our future, and I believe it will continue to play a pivotal role in fueling our economy.

My hope is that that will continue.

I think we need a better effort to at least educate me as to how it is being coordinated and spent, that it is being done in the most useful way.

At some point in time we have got to say, 'have we lost our minds?'