In fact, the Southeast is one of the regions of the country that will see the most benefit from this proposal.

It is important that we examine the details of a national renewable portfolio standard.

I would ask that you and the Congress strongly consider doing exactly what was done in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

It's going to be costly to them...

I agree, and I think every person here understands that.

I do not believe there is a President that is going to propose, regardless of what party they come from, something they perceive to be less than needed.

Congress can, tomorrow, determine that we are going to do an advance budget for VA, and we have the power to do that.

I am in full agreement with the goals of providing VA a timely, predictable, and sufficient budget.

The Congress has the ability, as we have shown every year since I have been in the U.S. Senate... if there was a shortfall they stepped in with some type of supplemental funds.

This is nothing new, and I hope all of us here today can get behind innovative approaches to fixing the system.

What I am trying to do is find some common ground where we do not lock ourselves into a budget that is computed based upon bad data which might have a bad outcome.

If I could borrow a sentiment from our former colleague who is now our Commander-in-Chief, the men and women who wear the uniform, the Nation's uniform, do not come from a collection of red and blue States but from the United States.