David Vitter

The answer is no, and the obvious question is why not.

We want a month peer review with some immediate usable conclusions.

The angst and the outright anger many of us feel is that there are COE projects.

The post-Hurricane Katrina work performed as designed.

In fact, Senator Vitter has been such a strong supporter of full utilization of the harbor maintenance trust fund.

My single biggest goal in the new WRDA goal is significant, important reform of the Corps of Engineers' bureaucracy and process.

It has been 5 years. That is way too long to get a solid, robust water resources bill.

I certainly strongly, strongly support the priority of passing a good, robust WRDA bill as soon as possible.

We need to take it up and act as quickly as possible, including if it bleeds into next year as soon as possible in the new Congress.

I am honored to join Mary here in strong support of this nomination and urge your positive consideration.

I know Senator Lautenberg is still open to negotiations.

Usually, peer review means very independent peer review, clearly outside the academic institution or the agency that something is emanating from.

I think a big hurdle we face in this area generally is a dramatic erosion of broad-based confidence over several years in the science agencies like EPA uses.

I remain completely committed to getting back to that bipartisan process so that we can produce a good consensus bill.

TSCA is very important. We need to reform it and we need to get that right.

I want to commend Senator Lautenberg for his priority and focus for several years with regard to reform.

How can the Fed adopt a rule that ignores specific statutory language?

It seems to me the rule the Fed is in the process of adopting ignores that specific metric.

It is underway 4 years later.

I strongly endorse the overall concept of not more regulation but smarter, stronger regulation.

The answer is not more regulation. It is smarter, stronger regulation.

I thank the distinguished majority leader very much for this important announcement and this plan. It certainly meets two--

Before the distinguished majority leader has to leave, I would just ask, through the Chair, if we can get some clarification and hopefully come to some consensus, is he suggesting that illegal aliens in the country should continue to…

The more these Band-aid extensions we do, the less patience members have because they want reform, which is needed.

I am for it if we can only do that between now and May 31st, but I am also trying, as Jon and others are, for the full reauthorization.