Dan Coats

I thank my colleague for allowing me to speak as in morning business, and I ask unanimous consent to do that. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Remembering Otis Ray Bowen

What this legislation that the Senate has put together begins to do is deal with that third part.

I don't think there is any difference here, I would think, or even in the Congress, relative to the importance of immigration to this country.

I was here in 1986. I supported Ronald Reagan's immigration policy. At the time, we had 3 million illegals.

Shouldn't we have a policy in place that finally addresses this issue?

I am the son of an immigrant. Unfortunately, Mr. Norquist, I turned out to be both a lawyer and a senator.

It did not do the job. How do we know 10 years from now, 5 years from now, that we won't be faced with say 23 million illegal immigrants?

I rise as a member of both the Senate Appropriations Committee on Transportation and as a member of the Senate Commerce Committee to discuss what I believe is a shocking display of mismanagement and incompetence by the leadership of the…

Getting to the essential functions and providing for the common defense is the highest, in my view, the highest essential function that this country has to address.

We need to replace sequester with a long-term plan that puts us on the right direction toward fiscal health.

We need to have that information to better evaluate how we go forward.

I continue to be concerned about the aviation passenger security fees.

It seems to me two results can happen from that. It is either four more years muddling through, four more years of tepid growth, less than satisfactory, high unemployment, more squeeze on discretionary spending; or we reach that tipping…

I don't disagree with you.

Right now, too many veterans wait too long to receive benefits they deserve.

There is growing consensus, if not full consensus, that the current situation relative to our debt and deficit is such that we are reaching a tipping point.

In these times of austerity, we cannot afford to play favorites here.

General Umbarger is the Adjutant General of Indiana. He did everything that he could to make everyone aware.

It should not be politically influenced, but it does affect those who had made decisions relative to the deployment.

I appreciate your sensitivity to the plight of these Guard men and women who have made decisions with their employers.

But, the 1,500 is a bottom--minimal requirement, regardless----

I guess--it's my understanding there was some errors that may have been made in developing the cost-benefit justification, but the FAA did do the right thing, and did its due diligence to make sure that it got it right.

I'm quoting now--``only upon a reasoned determination that its benefits justify the costs.''

I want to ask you a question, Administrator Huerta. First of all, let me commend the FAA, the way you handled the process in reconsidering the exemption for cargo carriers for pilot flight time, duty, and rest regulations.

we are faced with a fiscal crisis which requires us to ask 'how can we take better care of the taxpayer dollars that are being sent here?'