I commend you for your continued leadership.

Congress has a responsibility to make sure the next generation of Coast Guard and Customs men and women serving on the front lines have the equipment they need.

Every year, Presidents submit budgets that are inadequate for the Coast Guard, and every year, Congress steps in to fortify them.

We stand with him in supporting the disaster victims, the volunteers, and the first responders.

I think the American people will continue to be surprised that the United States of America does not have a capital budget.

Part of the reasons that their budgets are shrinking is because they are giving tax cuts they cannot afford.

However, for the fiscal year 2013 budget year, the President proposes a $48 million decrease.

I want to commend you for your tenacity and your focus on helping stand up a major reform, very few reforms of its nature in our Nation's history.

I want to stress to you how important it is to me, and to the people of Louisiana, that we have a strong exchange in our State.

State Governors need to man up and woman up and do their job to provide funding necessary to help kids that are born with defects.

A lot of this work was done by the Clinton administration. This was a big priority for President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton.

But remember that the best support for a child is a good parent.

It is not just the Federal Government's responsibility to provide healthcare services to our citizens.

We have increased domestic adoptions from 14,000 a year to 52,000 a year.

a large chunk...of the money that goes to fund this entire budget comes from Senator Cochran's shore and my shore.

Addressing the IHS shortfall in contract payments is therefore not just a matter of legal obligation and sound policy; it is good economics at a time of terrible unemployment.

It is not acceptable for the agency to prioritize discretionary increases over its contract obligations.

Will this money be used to provide more personnel for inspections, in order to relieve delays?

So it is fair to say that the production of oil and gas in this country and the severances that are collected, the severance taxes--not the corporate income tax that is paid, not the payroll tax that is paid, not the indirect sales tax…

My point being that a large chunk, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member Murkowski, of the money that goes to fund this entire budget comes from Senator Cochran's shore and my shore.

Without the overhaul that we have undertaken, we wouldn't be able to say there are 60 permits that have been granted just in the last year in the Gulf of Mexico.

I am hopeful that we will develop a close working relationship and that you will bring new and effective leadership to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

the production of oil and gas in this country and the severances that are collected...literally funds the entire Interior Department of the United States?

I do not believe they should be open for development.

I hope is when we work our way through the issues in front of us, including the litigation we now are involved in, in the Gulf of Mexico against those responsible for the oil spill, we will see the most significant ecosystem restoration…