Angus King

Stable, federal policy that recognizes and supports the benefits of CHP plants such as our own, is imperative.

I want to thank you for your support of the Timber Innovation Act which is helpful for the mass timber and other products and new markets for wood.

You are doing great. You are working on a bipartisan basis. You are taking this very seriously.

What we need is 106 things to do with wood fiber and new products that we have not thought about.

Pass the Biomass Thermal Utilization (BTU) Act of 2017 which Senator King is a primary sponsor

The forest products industry in Maine is in the midst of a crisis.

I just want to give you an idea on the format because I am sure everybody is thinking, I want to ask some questions.

However, this is an official hearing of the Committee, authorized by the Chair, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

This hearing of the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is now in order.

One of the problems, it seems to me, in the long-term that we have to think about is how do we reward utilities for solutions that do not involve building things?

This is a way that people who are staying in a hotel nearby the park can say, 'How do I get a pass? Oh, it's right here.'

One of the reasons I was so pushy about this with Secretary Jewell was I think we are leaving money on the table...

I think Senator Lamar Alexander raises a really serious question about how we make it accessible and engaging...

I just want to make a point of how excited I am about the pass program.

They are the face of the parks, and they are wonderful.

Do you feel that we are adequately protected now, in terms of a potential cyberattack on our grid?

I will execute the budget as executed by Congress.

Even Congress cannot repeal that law.

I consider cyber, probably, one of our greatest national vulnerabilities.

It's really unacceptable, in this day and age, with the technology that we have, to have something like this happen.

But, if we're doing--if we're executing on every ounce of capacity, and it's not adequate, sounds to me like we need more capacity.

Do we need to be talking about increasing the capacity of the maintenance yards to cut down on that time off the ocean, if you will?

The second question is, Don't we have sailors on the bridge with binoculars anymore?

I mean, can you give me an answer, specifically? Aren't there radar systems on these ships that would detect anything within the range?

I would hope that as you work through these issues if you see areas where those statutes, which as you point out are decades old, could stand some upgrading or improvement or modernization, you will let this Committee know so that we can…