Mary Landrieu

But right now, it's got to come from the Administration, and I've got to ask you all to be forceful and fight the fight, and we'll back you up.

We need to ask the Administration, starting with the thinking that's already done, to think with us, and provide a vision, an idea, for what we need to do about locks and dams and what we need to do about harbors.

And I agree with the Senator that we have to think big, but we're going to need a bigger budget to do that.

It's going to bankrupt us.

This budget is wholly insufficient, and it's not your fault, Madam Chair. It's our fault as the general Appropriations Committee, and we have to say to the President, and to our leadership, we cannot take it, the country cannot.

I'm going to be on a tear this year to focus on our water transport because it's crucial.

There seems to be a cutting off of that kind of opportunity, and the only way you get it is to... put your house at risk.

$7 million, they have been at that level for, I do not know, 30 years.

I am determined to find a way through this maze of all the fancy financing to figure out a way to get back to that.

I have learned, as the Chair of this Committee, that there is great value and actually great strength in small businesses.

Let me begin by thanking Senator Harkin for his excellent statement and, as usual, his very good judgment on an issue that the Senate is going to be voting on at 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. today as opposed to 20 minutes from now, because this issue…

And I know it is the idea of this administration to foster international trade, but in theory it sounds great, but this is the practice of international trade.

TSA regulations require flight attendants to undergo a 10-year criminal history records check and an employment history investigation.

This is such a frustrating decade that we have endured since 9/11. And much credit to TSA, DHS, and the State Department.

I am going to do what I can as chair of this subcommittee to connect mayors, Governors, airports, and this large group because the bottom line is jobs and opportunity and economic vitality for this country.

I think this is a very interesting point and it may just be my perspective as a former local elected official just on behalf of my constituents.

Thank you, Ms. Nelson. And I really appreciate the airline industry that is represented here staying focused on the subject at hand and not diverting too much into this baggage charge issue.

Allowing more international visitors to enter the United States is not a zero sum game.

Those are big numbers. You also made the comment that exhibition attendees are not shopping at outlet malls.

Much of the focus of this hearing has been on how the Federal Government can make air travel more efficient and convenient without sacrificing security.

Last year I introduced legislation called the Fair Airline Industry Revenue (FAIR) Act to increase security fees on airlines that charge passengers for their first checked bag.

The Foreign Operations bill gave the State Department video conferencing capability or authorization to use video conferencing and doubled the Chinese tourism validity from 1-2 years.

We really do need to adopt guidelines at the State Department that define what are the parameters for the approval or the denial of a visa application.

The President's January announcement on tourism said that his goal is to expedite the visa issuance for visitors.

I just want to again remind everyone that it will be, I guess, 11 years this September that this industry has been topsy-turvy.