I would like to bring to your attention some concerns I have with the Design for the Environment (DfE) program.

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

I do not believe they should be open for development.

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.

My city has gone underwater. My State is underwater. We have lost more land than any State in this country, and it has got to stop.

Questions Submitted by

Thank you also for taking time to appear before this hearing today.

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.

In my view, Mr. Chairman, we're never going to get clear, as long as we continue to talk around and throw statistics out that try to make both sides look good.

We need more inspectors to get our permits and our drilling under way in places that the people support drilling.

I have to continue to express this to you privately and publically.

You know that 98 percent of our offshore is limited to drilling. We can't even explore there.

I just think that it's important for us to be clear about what our situation is.

I want my colleagues to know.

I also want to commend you for your work with the Director of USAID on your reform efforts for how we deliver foreign aid.

We need to get a more aggressive drilling policy in this country.

Louisiana constituents, particularly younger Louisianans, have been contacting my office nonstop in support of the 'Kony 2012' movement.

How are we justifying this reduction, and are you concerned about it?

I think it is a major departure, but an important departure, Mr. Chairman, that I am sure you are aware the Secretary and Dr. Shah have been developing.

I want to thank Senator Durbin and Leahy for their initiative on child marriage and want to join them in supporting that initiative.

I look forward to getting briefed by the chairman on his recent visit and just want to encourage our work.

Senator Leahy has supported this set-aside in the budget.

I believe that our country's aid to developing countries will be ineffective if it does not incorporate initiatives to strengthen child welfare systems.

a couple of hundred million dollars for orphans and vulnerable children.

I do want to mention Haiti, and the opportunity that I had to go down to Haiti about a year-and-a-half ago.