I appreciate, Mr. Chairman, your leadership, and for convening this hearing to discuss the future of our nation's most versatile branch, the Coast Guard.
Unfortunately, the level of procurement never sustained even a 300-ship Navy.
I'm very grateful to the Congress for providing all the money in the 2011 budget so that we could award NSC number 5 this summer.
I appreciate that.
So, we cannot continue to heap mission upon mission onto the Coast Guard without increasing its resources.
The common theme emerging is that for years we've asked the Coast Guard to save American lives and natural resources on a shoestring budget.
Unfortunately, yes, it was a significant setback.
We need to have a Commerce Department being that singular weapon on behalf of the private sector to create the kind of jobs.
I think it is so paramount in focusing on job creation.
I hope you will use your voice and the force of the office on the whole issue of regulations.
There's no doubt Mr. Bryson has a very extensive background in the corporate arena, as CEO of Edison International.