"This constitutes the first hearing of this subcommittee, and I am immensely pleased that we finally managed to pass a full year spending bill for the department to support our men and women on the fro..."
"Unfortunately, the Service has been beleaguered by a series of embarrassing and unacceptable lapses in security and other missteps. This will not stand."
"your actions in my judgment should be punishment, termination, firing people who have subordinated their command."
"This is a breakdown, to put it mildly, of discipline within the ranks of your agency, and that is a cancer that can consume you."
"To say you are not investigating because you want the Inspector General of the Department to investigate is hogwash."
"I am worried that you are diverting a lot of resources there away from the war on drugs and other things."
"Likewise, on the counter-narcotics strategy and policy of the Coast Guard, the cocaine flow from South America into the central and eastern Caribbean region has doubled over the last four years."
"I am absolutely committed to moving all 12 of our appropriations bills through the regular-order process to ensure that we responsibly fund all Federal agencies, including Homeland."
"I cannot make those criticisms about this budget submission."
"I am puzzled why we are proposing substantial cutbacks in operations and then, more importantly, acquisitions, cut by 17 percent."
"But I think we are shortchanging a very important part of homeland security when we do not capitalize the needs of the Coast Guard."
"However, some agents are tarnishing that image, and it needs to be cleaned up."