I think that is a requirement we need to change. I think that anybody doing business with the Federal Government should be responsible; and the prime contractor, they are doing business with the Federal Government. They are responsible for…

Why are there such delays in payments to businesses?

I want to thank each and every one of you. I know you all have shared some extraordinary stories of perseverance and persistence and courage in the face of tremendous adversity.

I would agree, Chair Landrieu.

I was Chair of this Committee during the time of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, so, I certainly understood the magnitude of these events and what was required, which was so much in the way of recovery.

I cannot see in this age of technology why we cannot get this underway much more quickly.

Let me be clear. There is simply no excuse for Washington continuing to fund disaster accounts on an emergency and ad hoc basis rather than preparing for them in advance.

Now, obviously you cannot always get it on the mark. It is a law of averages, but in this case, to provide a 10-year average.

This common sense approach would alleviate the political haggling and brinksmanship that has become all too common place in Washington.

I rise today on this most moving and memorable of occasions after we as a nation joined together to mark the solemn 10th anniversary of the attacks on September 11, 2001. Throughout my home State of Maine and across this great land…

I rise in support of the motion to concur in the House amendment to S. 365, the legislative vehicle for the debt limit increase. Given the $14.3 trillion national debt, the $1.6 trillion deficit for the current fiscal year, and the…

today I introduce the Commercial Truck Safety Act of 2011 to address one of my top priorities, and one of my constituents' greatest concerns in recent years, keeping trucks on the Interstate Highway System whenever and wherever possible…

I rise in opposition to the motion to table the motion to proceed to H.R. 2560, the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011. At this critical juncture in our Nation's history, the Federal Government's record of fiscal recklessness proves we must…

I've been fighting this issue for a long time in this committee.

It's a matter of commerce; it's a matter of jobs; it's a matter of industry.

We believe that these 100,000-pound trucks, they don't have any business on the local roads.

I hate to be on the other side of a safety issue with you, because we have worked so closely on so many other issues.

Truck weights are a critical issue for my state, and presumably other states in this country.

Senator Snowe believes, that Senator Landrieu believes, that Meredith believes are important

It is a huge safety issue for us, in the way we look at it and what's happened on the thousands of miles of roads that we have in our state.

I rise in remembrance of the disastrous invasion of Turkish armed forces into the Republic of Cyprus. On this day, 37 years ago, Turkish soldiers began the forcible expulsion of approximately 200,000 Greek Cypriots from the island's…

The National Endowment for the Oceans Act takes the common-sense step of using money the government already gets from economic activities on our oceans.

Congress must do its part to ensure that the people and environment in the Gulf region are made whole following that disaster.

Congress should ensure that the United States has the financial resources necessary to be an effective steward of its oceans and coastal ecosystems.

Congress should invest revenues derived from offshore development in a fund dedicated to ocean and coastal restoration and conservation.