Mary Landrieu

There is no reason that the banking community in the District of Columbia... can't establish a new and different way to lend money for the establishment of schools.

Well, let me just suggest from this moment forward I would go on record as saying no group should receive a charter to start a school unless everybody associated with that charter has had a full FBI background check.

But you don't need to build equity. If you have a charter with 200 children and you have got $400,000 a year guaranteed to come in, what is preventing a bank or an entity from loaning you money to buy or lease or renovate a building?

What we need to be able to do is we don't have the money to get audits.

During this time, we, as a Nation, take the time to reflect on and celebrate one of the fastest growing innovative forces in education policy, the charter school.

I appreciate those comments and, of course, acknowledge the work that we have done together along with many other members of both the House and the Senate to improve public school choices for residents in the District.

Today, I am pleased, Mr. Chairman, that you have agreed to hold this hearing today on charter schools.

We need to tackle this as a country because we do need to protect our economy and this is having an incredible impact on our economy.

I listened to the full chairman of the Appropriations Committee and his cautioning all of us that we have no money whatsoever to deal with and even less than we probably think we do.

I just want to communicate how happy the people that live in this neighborhood are with the way that you have conducted yourself.

I just wanted to thank you for that.

I hope, I'm certain that what you're doing is benefitting the Navy but the way that you're engaging in a very integrated process with the other parts of the government, as well as with the local community here in the city I think is going…

Because I really appreciate that and look forward to working with you because it's of course important, you know, to our community and there's just such an opportunity if this would work out for the Navy to be benefitted, the taxpayers to…

And to compliment you all on the way that you're doing that with the leadership team here in the city.

There's a move underfoot with a broad base in our community to try to consolidate some of the different components.

I just hope that whatever we do we can minimize the cost to the taxpayer as the value of that property is added to.

I think 40 percent, or 45 percent of our troop strength today is from our Guard and Reserve.

They warrant more than 8 percent or 10 percent or 15 percent or even 20 percent of the budgets that support their facilities.

I think that is a concept that I'm hoping there's some consensus and unanimity if we fight jointly we should train, you know, jointly.

I know that the Chair had spoken generally about the reorganization which we obviously generally support or just a realignment and the importance of refocusing our troop strength.

This was not environmental. It was funding.

The Government of the United States is responsible for the depths of the channels.

We would like to help the country get a greater supply.

If we want it to come domestically, I think we need to get clear about what the real potential is in the Gulf and act accordingly based on what is politically possible, scientifically sound, and environmentally responsible.

I do have concerns about getting out of the fire into the frying pan with the same dependency outside our State.