Byron Dorgan

Chairman Hersman, thank you very much for being with us today and for your testimony.

What do you think from a safety standpoint at this point needs the greatest attention?

There is a requirement that FAA has put out that in 2010, new aircraft must be equipped with 2-hour voice recorders.

Fatigue clearly played a role.

You just can't be drunk. You can drink and drive. You just can't be drunk.

For those who like the wild price swings in the oil futures market, the unseemly speculation in mortgage-backed securities, or the exotic and risky financial products like credit default swaps that pushed our economy into the ditch, this…

I know the Wall Street crowd can't wait to sink their teeth into a new trillion-dollar trading market in which hedge funds and investment banks would trade and speculate on carbon credits and securities.

I don't want you to be patient any more.

This Committee is not going to be in the business of trying to recognize what is an Indian tribe or who belongs to an Indian tribe.

We believe consultation is the hallmark of this Committee in our work with the tribal governments around the Country.

We are now focused on trying to find solutions to those problems.

I believe we ought to do it in two steps. First, take up the energy bill that has passed this committee, which I think has a lot to commend in the way of addressing climate change, and pass that.

I agree with you that a carbon fee is a much more straightforward approach.

We in North Dakota, for example, use exactly twice as much fuel as the average New Yorker does.

How do you reduce the emission of CO2 and do it in a way that doesn't cause chaos in the country.

The issue of efficiency is a really interesting concept.

That's my legislation that I got passed and I'm going to fund it.

You're spending money like a bottomless pit.

We cannot stand by and permit people's lives or our economy to be threatened by gaps in the safety of our aviation system.

The purpose of this hearing is to review the midair collision of a plane and a helicopter over the Hudson River.

That tragic accident should cause the FAA to review the safety of what is known as the Hudson River Class B Exclusion Area.

On-demand operators are subject to less oversight and regulation than are scheduled commercial air carriers.

I don't support the 'trade' side of cap and trade.

I read the papers every day. It's a pretty pathetic record of the government fixing the markets or even addressing it.

Is there any doubt in your mind that, in a relatively short time, we'll have derivatives, synthetic derivatives, swaps, everything that comes with a carbon market?