Heidi Heitkamp

Across-the-board cuts and a shrinking of the overall Federal workforce are not the answer to making the Federal Government more efficient or effective.

I think it is really interesting to think about community policing and those dynamics, and I am very concerned about the reduction in resources to local law enforcement.

An attack against them is an attack against our entire country.

Interestingly enough about the President's budget, where he professed to eliminate the estate tax, he kept the revenue from it.

We need to be really careful about how we approach the estate tax.

When we talk about tax reform, I believe we should start and end the conversation on how it is going to affect small businesses in America.

I think we also have to factor in any dollar amount we come up with, it should be inflation-adjusted so it can remain relevant for--continue to help small business.

I think most importantly, we should be doing tax reform in a bipartisan way so that we have a lasting structural change to the code that can provide small firms with the certainty they need to grow their business.

I think this Committee shares that frustration that we aren't making progress. We need benchmarks and then levels of accountability.

I am appalled that the Winnebago Tribe still does not have a facility that is CMS-certified. That is not acceptable.

Ben Franklin once famously said, 'If we don't all hang together, surely we will hang separately.'

I think way too often in Washington, DC, we deal with the problem that is immediate in front of us, only to look up and see a crisis looming.

We need you guys to tell that story more.

Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, and I want to take a little credit for Mr. Grooms, too, because you represent my State.

It sort of makes me sad that on top of doing things like introducing new basic banking, checking account, and some things that serve our consumers more effectively, we have to have the HMDA preparation as a major initiative.

It would be ongoing.

I think what you are saying is absolutely outrageous.

If the Administration wants to send me beekeepers and doctors and a whole list of Americans who want those jobs, we will be glad to do that in my State.

The last thing we need is to not have strong and great relations with the country of Mexico.

I am really concerned about reductions in the commitments to local law enforcement, not just for border security but for safety of the personnel who are on the border.

We need a strategic plan in terms of border security.

If we were happy with the speed to which the U.S. Postal Service were dealing with this issue, you all would not be here.

It is critically important. I remember a conversation we had last Congress... the dogs would die.

We are failing is to get people to appreciate and understand that food security is national security

Food security is national security