Thank you for your very powerful testimony and your very specific recommendations.

I just, you know, when I look at your previous efforts to eliminate the University of Maine's Agricultural Lab altogether during the Obama administration, and restrict the use of potatoes, despite the Institute of Medicine's study, that…

Mr. Secretary, we received a response to that letter at 1:24 a.m. this morning.

I told you that in 2016 a dairy farmer in Arundel, Maine, had discovered that the milk that was being produced by his cattle contains some of the highest levels ever reported from a PFAS contaminant.

I was very surprised to see that your budget is again proposing to zero out this program.

you were under the impression you are providing indemnity for livestock in addition to fluid milk.

their votes to overturn Roe versus Wade are completely inconsistent with what Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office.

I appreciate the VA's continued focus on addressing the mental health of veterans.

The floating, deepwater, offshore wind technology which is being developed at the University of Maine, in addition to the work the Department is doing on conventional fixed-bottom offshore wind projects.

I was the lead author of the Better Energy Storage Technologies Act, also known as the BEST Act, which became law in December of 2020.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which you have mentioned, and which I was one of ten Senators who negotiated it, included $3.5 billion for additional funding for the Weatherization Program.

It really is the Holy Grail of incorporating renewables, is improving storage.

One thing that will help keep our state veterans homes viable would be for the VA to quickly finish its rulemaking to implement legislation I authored, the State Veterans Homes Domiciliary Care Flexibility Act, which was enacted into law…

I have worked with the university for many years on this project. I am very excited about it.

Will you work with me to identify potential ways the VA can help to ensure state veterans homes in underserved areas like rural northern and eastern Maine can remain viable?

I think that was extremely important.

China intends to develop the military capabilities to seize Taiwan by the year 2027.

We need these workers. We cannot realize the economic potential of our Country and individuals can't realize their own economic potential if we can't figure this out.

I'm very concerned that this budget would result in real cuts in defense spending at exactly the wrong time.

There's real risk in relying on capabilities that won't be ready till the 2030s to deter or defeat a Chinese threat that may materialize in the next 5 years.

I really appreciate this Committee hearing that you and Senator Hickenlooper have put together.

If this leaked draft opinion is the final decision and this reporting is accurate, it would be completely inconsistent with what Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh said in their hearings in our meetings in my office.

the Administration has submitted a budget request that would result in a real reduction in defense spending when you take inflation into account.

We need to be urgently investing in our shipbuilding capacity and fleet, not going in the opposite direction.

I can assure you, from talking to my colleagues, and state commissioners, that this guidance has created a lot of angst, and concern, and it is in conflict with our intent.