Thad Cochran

If we need additional funding or some priority readjustments, we hope you'll communicate that with us in the appropriate way.

We want to do what we need to do here to provide the funding so that we maintain a strong, mobile, and effective Navy and Marine Corps team to protect the security interests of our great country.

We're asking for a little over $17 billion in fiscal year 2011 to continue the R&D in all sorts of areas.

Our Governor, Haley Barbour, is working very hard in his capacity as Governor of the State of Mississippi to help contribute to expediting these projects.

We provided $439 million for barrier island restoration work, and we wonder when the work is actually going to begin.

I'm hopeful that we can work with you and General Van Antwerp and others in the Federal agencies.

I'm told that the port at Gulfport, where work can be done to help modernize and recover from some of the damages.

The reason this has taken on a new urgency is that just this morning, we received word that unemployment in the State of Mississippi has reached 12 percent.

The total consolidation between the Navy and the VA in North Chicago will allow Navy Medicine to meet our mission in Great Lakes.

And it's really remarkable, I think. And you're to be congratulated, I think, as a service.

Well, we appreciate that. And it's very impressive to contemplate the amount of work and effort that went into this.

We look forward to working with you in the appropriations process to identify priorities, to make sure that we have money where the needs are.

The Navy is in the process of 'rebalancing' the force to reduce battle fatigue from multiple deployments

I wonder, just as a general proposition, the extent to which our services are able to recruit and retain qualified medical personnel.

It's a pleasure to join you in welcoming the leaders of our doctors and nurses who serve in the military forces.

We appreciate their sacrifice and their service and their leadership in helping ensure that, here at home and around the world, our servicemen and women get the best medical care available.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I join you in thanking the Secretary for your cooperation with our subcommittee.

So we welcome these efforts. And we hope that we can work with the Department to put the money where the problem is and let you show us what can be done.

We appreciate some of the highlights you outlined and of your intentions as Secretary to solve some of the problems.

We are also grateful for the additional $25 million in funding provided by Congress last year.

We set aside, in fiscal year 2009, $224 million in a program designated for Institutional Development Awards.

Thank you again for being here and helping us review the budget request.

So I hope the administration will take another look at the budget request and work with the Congress to try to identify a fairer and more acceptable program for rural schools and small States.

I hope the administration will look carefully at the decisions that are made by the congressional committees in the House and the Senate.

Well, one thing that bothers me, too, is the fact that we have level funding proposed by the administration for the REAP.