Barbara Mikulski

They are calling my office because they need help accessing services, not knowing where to go.

Post-traumatic stress is contagious.

But what are we doing where we are?

For every year you are deployed, you need 2 years at home to stay connected to your family.

A government shutdown, NIH cuts, or delayed appropriations, individually or in combination, will have far-reaching consequences.

I am terrified that the lights will go out at Johns Hopkins, the University of Maryland.

I think this is really a big deal.

We are on the brink of a catastrophic situation

I think when I go around Maryland, one of my key messages is, we will succeed only insofar as we keep health care affordable, and the Affordable Care Act is an important set of tools for us, but we've got to keep moving forward on a whole…

In other words, the market and its disciplines, which are significant, are only one of the tools for cost containment in discipline.

Did you feel that it's not only market forces that will be able to contain and even lower costs, but these other significant, what we would call, public health initiatives, like quality initiatives, and also more efficient and better…

The policy goal is a good one.

I just want to note to the committee, this is a banner year for Maryland.

Thank you, very much, Mr. Chairman.

She understands and respects the important role of Congress in foreign policy.

She brings competence, intelligence, and integrity.

I believe that Secretary Clinton has chosen wisely because Ambassador Sherman brings to this post an exceptional background and a great deal of skill.

We feel the same way. And we wish you Godspeed. I look forward to voting for you.

I am really proud of NOAA.

I don't want a boondoggle in terms of the lack of weather coverage, and I don't want a fiscal boondoggle where, because we are not smart now, we pay huge amounts.

Now under JPSS, under the continuing resolution, we give JPSS $380 million. We understand that the need could be as much as $900 million.

Is this one of the top flashing lights for the next Secretary of Commerce to stand sentry over?

I am concerned about delays. I am also concerned that if we shortchange what we need to do now, we will pay later, either in late deployment of very important weather information, or we will pay more in terms of our contracts.

There are three Nobel Prize winners who are civil servants at NIST.

We have to have this money. Otherwise, we are going to have to look at other ways of receiving that weather information.