And so you think the surface temperature increase has continued in the last 10 to 15 years?

I think it is very interesting. This was outlined in email last month by Ken Berlin, a Chair of President Obama's energy and environment team.

It is unfortunate we don't have any witnesses here from the Obama administration.

OK. And Ms. Cullen, one narrative of this hearing seems to be that extreme weather is dramatically accelerating.

I do think it is important that we bring some rigor to the discussion and that we be precise.

Would you point to any other metric besides heavy downpours?

OK. And that directly relates to pictures of Superstorm Sandy, discussion of Hurricane Katrina, etcetera.

I think on behalf of the American people we should absolutely talk about the economic impacts of these policies and have an honest discussion about that.

OK. And hurricane landfalls in the U.S.?

I rise to speak about the Gina McCarthy nomination to head the EPA and in particular efforts I have led with my Republican colleagues on the Environment and Public Works Committee to bring a whole lot more sunshine and transparency to…

Well, I mean, if we take a vote in Committee about how many people agree with that, we take a vote among the witnesses how many people agree with that, everyone will raise their hand, myself included.

It is really troubling to a lot of us that the only reason we know about it is the Wall Street Journal happened to report on it.

I am concerned about this because Congress from the get go has separated those two roles

Thank you, Chairman Boxer, for convening this important hearing today.

You are going to shut it down.

Thank you all, again, for your work and your testimony.

If there is any good news about the two incidents there it is that the response after the horrible accidents seemed to go very well, be very, very well coordinated.

One concern I have whenever something horrible like this happens is that it is used and abused, quite frankly, to advance some preexisting agenda that does not really relate to whatever happened.

I am here to speak about an amendment I have filed on this immigration bill that I have been working hard to get a vote on. It is certainly not the only amendment I filed, but it is a top priority. My amendment is the violence against…

It is imperative that they are thoroughly and expeditiously investigated so we can all understand their causes and ensure that future incidents are prevented.

Can you give me a quick update on that particular investigation?

I thank the Senator from Alabama for yielding, and I want to echo these concerns. I, for one, have been filing amendments and trying to get votes on important amendments for weeks, since the very beginning of this process. I started the…

In closing, I find that very disheartening. This is a big subject. I agree with the proponents of the bill when they say this is a big problem that needs fixing. It has been on the Senate floor for 3 weeks. The bill is well over 1,000…

While we certainly welcome that investment in our State and all of the jobs it means, of course we must ensure that all of these facilities are absolutely as safe as possible for the workers and for the local communities.

I see no reason why we cannot talk about it in public.