Senator Boxer has been very encouraging to this Subcommittee Chair to move forward on these issues.

I want to underscore the point that Senator Vitter made about the baseline assessments.

Thank you very much for inviting me to testify today.

I applaud you and BP for releasing the funds so that restoration work can begin.

I would just observe this is a similar issue that came up at our first hearing, whether we would have the capacity.

The stakes are very, very high for all of us. It affects our entire Country, not just the directly impacted regions.

Thank you very much, Dr. Leinen.

The Oil Spill Commission recommended that the Trustees ensure compensatory restoration under NRDA process is transparent, appropriate, and to the degree possible, apolitical.

It is a pleasure to have you here, and also another Marylander on the panel.

The spill has been referred to as the 'worst environmental disaster the US has faced.'

Under Federal Law, BP and its partners are liable for the catastrophic damages caused by the Deepwater Horizon spill.

It would be I think an encouraging sign if we could get additional commitments for restoration at this stage.

The catastrophe claimed 11 lives and left thousands of others in turmoil across Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

Again, let me thank all of you for your testimony and for your work in this area.

I rise today to praise the National Labor Relations Board for issuing new proposed rules that will modernize the process that workers use to form a union. These new rules will improve the consistency and efficiency of the election process…

The long-term challenge is how to best assist Haiti in the true and lasting reconstruction of their country.

This is a new opportunity and Haiti truly needs to capitalize on this momentum.

Well, let me thank Chairman Menendez for not just convening this joint hearing... but his extraordinary leadership in our hemisphere and around the world.

I am particularly encouraged by the private sector's interest in Haiti because only with active private sector involvement can we have a sustainable development in that country.

I will say, however, for the record that I am a little disappointed that the administration... ended up canceling out on us.

I want to make sure that our aid is used effectively.

And we will follow up on that to make sure that is being acted on.

My understanding, particularly in the agricultural sector in Haiti, is as you go up the chain it is hard to find women.

We will take a look at those, see how many of those went to women businesses.

Everything that has been said is true, especially my two colleagues here on my left.