Joseph P. Kennedy III

I want to thank the witnesses for being here, for the work that you do, and for coming to try to address, as Mr. Duncan put it, some critical issues that our Government needs to address.

Since 2011 EM has spent over $45 billion to try to address the cleanup responsibilities. And yet, we seem no closer to cleaning up these sites or reducing the department's environmental liabilities.

So that means the dollars actually going to cleanup are a fraction of what is appropriate.

You are hearing bipartisan frustration on this. You are not going to--the status quo is not going to continue, it can't.

We have enormous opportunities sitting right in front of us to create a new energy--a new American industry to become world leaders in offshore wind.

I went to the web page for the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity to look at the Equity in Energy program... says, 'site under construction.'

I mean, the basic idea of trying to take some of those Federal programs to work locally where we have enormous opportunity, particularly in Southeastern New England, with some economically challenged communities to try to put this on the…

The energy efficiency and clean energy technologies are critically important to ensure a livable future.

This legislation would ensure that we are training our workforce for new jobs in clean energy.

If it takes us hauling you in after people are telling us that they are rationing the lives of their children, how does this work?

We have a tremendous opportunity to actually incubate and grow an industry that does not exist. It is going to need cooperation between Federal, State, and local governments.

I am proud to offer a bill along with my colleague Greg Stanton of Arizona, to help municipalities achieve their goals of lessening a carbon footprint.

Last month we heard from a panel of industry experts and business owners that they can't find enough workers with the right skill sets to fill the jobs that they need in a clean energy economy.

Thank you for your attention to this bipartisan legislation as we work to support the existence of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

I think we have to encourage competition at every turn.

One-hundred percent.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

It is the perspective of at least this Member of Congress, and I think other colleagues of mine, that Medicaid work requirements are against the Social Security--the very statute that incorporates Medicaid, Section 115 of the Social…

Can you point me to one study that says that work requirements make people healthier? One?

So in a less than a year, nearly 20,000 low-income people in Arkansas, sir, have lost their healthcare because of a work requirement that your agency approved.

Except the data that you are looking at seems to indicate that there are tens of thousands of people that are losing healthcare.

I would imagine that cutting a program by $1.4 trillion doesn't actually make the program, strengthen the integrity of the program or make it easier for people to gain access to insurance.

Healthier people working does not mean that work requirements make people healthier. I assume you understand that?

So moving on, sir, do you believe that healthcare is a right for all Americans in this country?

How do we ensure that our workforce training and development efforts in this emerging sector are inclusive, and intentionally target populations that most need and most stand to gain from access to these new good-paying jobs?