Jon Tester

As policy makers, we have to decide whether Indian gaming represents a net positive or a net negative.

Well, I think that, as both of you know, an ounce of prevention is going to save us a lot of money--to change the quote a bit.

I think the punishment should be severe. This is a major ecological and environmental disaster.

Protecting rural America is critically important to both of us and cutting corners is just--is unacceptable.

I agree that for the protection of natural resources and the taxpayers, the same folks who regulate should not be collecting the funds.

Indian gaming has transformed some of the tribal islands of poverty into islands of prosperity.

What can we do to reassure folks in Montana that there are no secret deals being crafted?

What do you think the consequences should be for folks who potentially--potentially--were not doing the job in this case?

IAVA supports this bill, which would expand the amount of reimbursements that veterans and their dependents are forced to claim as income relating to eligibility for pension claims.

We can't take care of it at the back end. We need to start taking care of it at the front end.

We all know for a fact that poverty runs high in Indian Country.

I rise to speak in strong support of Senator Bennet's amendment to begin winding down the Wall Street bailout once and for all. I also want to express my appreciation for Senator Bennet's effectiveness and stick-to-itiveness in working on…

I very much appreciate her ability to get things done in a fair way, and I thank her very much for that. Senator Hutchison and I have come to the floor several times to talk about this bipartisan, commonsense amendment to hold banks…

I rise to urge my colleagues to support the Tester-Hutchison amendment. My colleague from Texas and I came to the floor yesterday to talk about this bipartisan, commonsense amendment to hold banks accountable for their behavior and to…

That would be great.

I think he is right. It is about equity. It is about assessing the premiums for the FDIC insurance fund to the banks that pose the most risk. Community banks are not among them. They played by the rules, they have done things right, and…

I think it is a good idea. My question is: Would you commit to doing that study?

Could you get back to us with some numbers so we can get some sort of scope?

Are you familiar with the VA's Office of Rural Health?

I was just wondering how you are utilizing them, if they are effective, if there is something that we can do to make them more effective.

we both have a very high percentage per capita of veterans that are not necessarily in urban areas, and we need to look at how we integrate TBI services in remote areas.

I think it is important to point out before I get into my questions that the previous panel stuck around--and I want to thank them for that--to listen to the comments of this panel.

I think it makes sense if it is effective. If it is not effective, we should not be wasting our time on it.

I want to thank everybody on the panel today for being here and sharing your time and your stories and your vision with us.

But if we are understaffed, that is another issue that this Committee probably will want to address.