Byron Dorgan

We intend to monitor very, very carefully what is happening with respect to your rulemaking.

We just felt there ought to be a Federal regulation that prohibits it.

And is there a commuting issue with respect to this flight, do you think?

I think is good news. It has been a long and tortured trail for that case, beginning 13 years ago.

Your commitment to increasing funding for health care, economic and infrastructure development, crime and gang prevention and other Native priorities is very much welcomed and appreciated.

Let me begin by thanking you for your efforts to reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act which contains so many important provisions to improve the health of American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Promises made, promises broken.

I think this hearing is a really excellent way to begin this wider discussion.

And, Mr. Prater, my guess is--you run a pilots organization and you're going to want to say, 'You know what, they have a right to commute wherever they want to commute from.'

I understand the responsibility of the pilot. That's the responsibility of a professional to himself or herself in the profession, and the responsibility to the passengers they're transporting.

It is essential that we consider these things urgent, based on what we now know--or 'dire,' as the Captain indicated.

We know that something significant has changed with respect to air travel in this country.

I don't understand this issue about solving a fatigue issue by napping.

We can surely figure out what we need to do to address what Mr. Prater says is a 'dire problem.'

The fact is, this issue has been around--the NTSB has had this on its most-wanted list for 19 years.

Part of the problem, Senator, is that the system doesn't provide for a mechanism to provide the pilots with a decent salary.

It's essential that we get this done.

We need to make sure that we're dealing with the issues that relate to--the issues that have become self-evident to us in recent years.

I'm going to write an official letter--and I assume my colleagues would join me on it--month after month as we go along here to find out, Where is it? When is it going to happen? Who has it now? How long do you expect them to have it? We…

Can you give us--give us the timeline on fatigue.

I'm going to call on Senator Lautenberg in a moment, but one final point.

I just--when we're done with this issue, Ms. Gilligan, I don't think we will have altered the circumstances that allowed that to exist.

What I don't quite understand is, when we finish this whole process, nothing will have changed with respect to the circumstances that existed in that cockpit with respect to fatigue.

But--thank you for the answer, but you have just described the FAA, OMB, DOT, all agencies that would have to take reasonably effective and expeditious action in order to get something in place here.

This is not some issue without substantial consequence.