What analysis have you done on the economic impacts of a delayed and scaled-back leasing program under the OCS leasing program?

This subcommittee rallied in a bipartisan way because that program was zeroed out.

Well, the nine of us are going to push you very hard to do that.

we will not sacrifice the core investments we need to grow and create jobs and protect our workforce.

I appreciate his continued support for our bipartisan reform efforts.

getting America back to work is a top administration priority.

I have made it one of my priorities as Chair of this committee to do what I can.

If this recovery is going to be evenly felt across the country, it is going to take a well-resourced and well-structured and well-managed SBA.

It is clear to me that small businesses need reliable and non-predatory financing opportunities in both the debt and equity market in order to start, to grow, and to succeed.

Reducing funding for the Transportation Security Administration to levels before the Christmas Day bombing attempt would be reckless.

What are you specifically doing to get these permits increased so our people can get back to work?

It cuts port security grants, deep cuts to the Coast Guard, which are particularly troubling to myself and I think Senator Cochran as well.

I am sympathetic to what Senator Lautenberg was saying relative to representing an area that is a significantly high-threat area.

I hope we can avoid this, Madam Secretary, but the potential shutdown of the Government and what that might mean...

I do not believe the notion of reducing spending arbitrarily to a 2008 level for this Department makes any sense.

The flood maps are of great concern to myself, Senator Cochran, and other Senators up along the Mississippi River.

We need to stop these drugs in the transit zone where we can pick up that 6.6 million tons of cocaine.

Intelligence is probably one of the most important things for us, because it will tell us oftentimes not only where to go, but what ship to look at.

In the spirit of bipartisanship, I am actually going to pass the gavel to Senator Coats so he can continue.

This is not a time to cut back on our homeland security.

Under my leadership, we will not go in that direction.

It is a priority for, I think, the majority of the Members of the Senate... to get deepwater drilling back up and operational in the Gulf of Mexico as soon as possible.

I will say that the violence in Mexico is something we are very concerned about.

I helped to lead the effort to privatize the Army housing, which has been really successful with the family housing.

we want to have an honest and open and transparent Government, which is always so important.