Susan Collins

Thank you. I think that is a great example of the work being done at the University of Maine's Composite Center that is right on point for the subject of this hearing, a bridge that lasts longer and has less of a carbon footprint.

We can take some drones to inspect the bridges, particularly the ones that are harder to get at.

85 percent of our critical infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector, and that is why I think we do need mandatory reporting and more cooperation between the public and private sectors.

I also want to thank you for holding an extraordinarily timely hearing on disaster recovery programs and transportation resiliency.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Let me begin my remarks today by congratulating you on assuming the chairmanship of this important subcommittee.

And we always worked together in a bipartisan way, and I know that you, Senator Schatz, and I will do so as well.

I also want to pay tribute to Senator Reed with whom I have worked.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

We are also strengthening bridges. We are taking composite materials to bridges and see where they are weak.

I commended you and the Department of Justice for seeking to identify and prosecute the individuals responsible for the events of January 6, 2021.

I commend you and the Department of Justice for seeking to identify and prosecute those responsible for the terrible riots and attack on our Capitol on January 6th.

I do not anymore, and I want to give you three examples where I think the conflicting, confusing guidance from your agency has undermined public confidence and contradicts the scientific guidance of many experts.

I cannot pronounce the acronym, but I am wholeheartedly in favor of the bill and appreciate your leadership on it.

I was one of the four chief architects of that bill.

In February, Sen. Sinema, Sen. Kelley, and I led several of our colleagues in writing to President Biden to urge him to remove the Section 301 tariffs that had been levied on food and beverage imported from the EU since October 2019 due to…

As a result of the worldwide Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs, which my colleagues have all mentioned today, the European Union is said to double retaliatory tariffs to 50 percent on certain imported products, including recreational…

During the first month under the new tariffs, however, live lobster exports to China declined by 64 percent.

The Maine lobster industry has been hard hit by the 25 percent retaliatory tariff that China imposed on the U.S. lobster industry in 2018.

Before the tariff, China was the second largest importer of U.S. lobster, purchasing $128 million worth in 2017.

Your predecessor made real progress by securing a commitment from the Chinese to match or exceed their pre-tariff purchase levels.

We obviously prefer domestic sources, but when domestic sources can't meet the demand, as is the case right now, and prices are so high, we desperately need a new agreement to be negotiated so that we're not involved in imposing under…

In addition to the need to expand telemedicine so those 83,000 Maine households have access, is there also a benefit--

More Mainers died of drug overdoses last year than died from COVID. We set a new record of 502 Mainers who died from drug overdoses.

I totally agree with Senator Burr's comments that we need to make this a permanent part of our healthcare structure.

We've taken care of the problem for the vast majority of family-owned businesses or ranchers in the country.