Jon Tester

It is an important piece of legislation, because water is the foundation of life, particularly in rural communities.

Thank you very much. Appreciate both your testimonies.

We believe reflects the benefits that we have sought and that we believe is a fair amount, yes.

I want to step back to some questions that were asked earlier, and you said--I think it was in response to Chairman Dodd.

The G-20 met recently and they set up a timeframe for deficit reduction.

Ultimately, we are going to have to make some tough decisions.

I rise today in strong support of the Wall Street reform conference report. The Senate will make history when we pass this legislation that finally holds Wall Street accountable and finally cleans up the schemes and abuses that nearly…

I hear them tell me that they fear the VA is trying to outlive them.

It is critical that we get them done quickly and accurately.

I think this is a very key moment for the VA on the claims issue.

Shame on us if we fail. These are real folks and struggling families behind those 500,000 disability claims.

Disability claims filed by Guardsmen have a 14 percent rejection rate, compared to a 5 percent rejection rate for active duty claims.

It has been an urgent problem for a while and I wished we could have an immediate solution.

It takes a great deal of time to get new claims processors trained and contributing.

I think the people who serve this country deserve better.

The number of claims exceeding 125 days in review is up. The accuracy of the claims is down.

I think there is--all of Montana is rural, all right.

Housing is a huge issue.

It would just seem to me that it makes just too much sense to say--you know.

Kudos to you on that. I think you get more synergy, a better program the more you can work together.

Does the White House bill take care of the appraisal problem?

I honestly think we are going to see some out-migration into real frontier areas.

Well, thank you, Mr. Gear. I appreciate your testimony also as with the two preceding participants.

I rise today out of deep respect for our colleague, Senator Robert C. Byrd. Sharla and I extend our condolences to the Byrd family and to all the people of West Virginia. We join you in mourning but also in a celebration of his life and…

I rise today to share an incredible story about a community working together in the aftermath of a powerful storm in Billings, MT. The storm that occurred on Father's Day spawned at least one tornado that touched down in Billings Heights…