Byron Dorgan

You've painted a pretty ominous picture of what might be ahead of us in the next several months in North Dakota.

The fact is, we have the only lake flooding in the United States that has been pretty devastating to a region.

Presuming we do--and I think we will--it will include, likely, $4.4 to $4.6 billion for the Corps of Engineers.

I'm very anxious to work with you and the city of Moorhead, and to proceed to get it done.

If it snowed 23 days in one month in December would that predict anything about an extraordinary snowfall in the following spring?

What specific preparations are underway now by the cities and the States and also the Corps?

Everything possible must be done to keep the inlet viable in Congress as a long-term option.

Will that have to be rebuilt?

There's an old saying, 'If you don't care where you're going, you're never going to be lost.' The point is, we need to have a direction, here, as a country.

I think that's necessary. We've certainly built rail lines and so on to accommodate the ability to move coal.

I can't think of a more effective system in the world to allocate goods and services than the free market, frankly.

If we're going to move toward an electric-drive-vehicle future, nearly 70 percent of the oil we use in the transportation fleet comes from outside of our country--if we're going to do all this, it seems to me you logically have to create…

It seems to me that the lack of some sort of central goal or aspiration for our country has been prevalent for a long, long while.

Let's decide where America wants to head, here. Let's decide, for the next decade, where we want to go with respect to energy.

I don't think there is a population in this Country that is as affected with unemployment, poverty, lack of health care, good housing and education challenges than this population.

I fully understand the sovereignty issue. I think perhaps more than most, I understand that.

If we are saying to people that money is only available for life and limb, we are consigning a whole lot of folks to a lifetime of pain and suffering.

I urge the Committee to consider adding important provisions back into the bill.

I would like to thank Chairman Dorgan and Senator Murkowski and indeed, the entire Committee for all the hard work that they have done on behalf of the Indian people and the Indian health care system.

Last year, through the yeoman efforts of you, Chairman Dorgan, and Senator Murkowski, a reauthorization bill was finally debated and approved by the Senate.

We are all disappointed that the House did not complete the job in 2008, but we are not discouraged.

Last year, through your yeoman efforts, Chairman Dorgan, and our Alaska Senator Murkowski, a reauthorization was finally debated and approved by the Senate.

We are determined to try to do something about that.

I am enormously pleased that he will now fulfill the role that Senator Murkowski filled in the last Congress.

I think the advice a couple of you have given us today of not reintroducing the same bill, is good advice.