John Hoeven actually said...

"Is there something the Congress could do that you think would be beneficial in terms of assisting you in what you do?"

"the point that Senator Hoeven made about the importance of setting priorities, of deciding what really has to happen"

"If you were given a hold-even budget, how would you go about meeting that? What changes would you make?"

"some programs you have to prioritize, and some programs merit more resources, and some programs merit less resources, and some programs should be eliminated."