John Hoeven

I want to thank you again for the USGS study that came out updating the recoverable oil reserves in North Dakota.

I appreciate it very much. One of the stops that we've got to make is at the Spirit Lake Nation.

Would you be willing to commit to me that we can get together and you could give us a final decision one way or the other on that record of decision?

I think there are some possibilities there because other agencies are going to find themselves in this same place you are.

Anything we can do to help you with that because with sequester, now you are about $8 million, I think.

Dr. Billington, you have testified to the importance of preserving our Nation's priceless manuscripts through a process called de-acidification.

Well, you are going to find that we are going to continue to be resource pressed, and so, I am trying to find options and offer opportunities where you can try to leverage your resources.

I want to follow up on the preservation issue that you have raised, because I understand that one of the programs that is at risk is the de-acidification program.

One of the things we worked very hard on in the last session was funding for the Capitol dome, which needs to be updated and repaired.

I have 2 years. The last 2 years, I have worked with our former chairman, Senator Nelson, on the legislative branch.

We obviously are going to be dollar-challenged, but that is no surprise to anyone.

And I just want to say again, thank you for coming today and, you know, during these times where we have to reduce our spending in Congress, it's tough.

I just think it is a good opportunity. I am glad to hear you are using it.

Well again, I am just trying to understand if there are adjustments we need to make to make sure the Office works well.

Should you make some of these reductions, are you going to continue to make that a priority?

We are confronted with the same challenges we had last go-round, of course, and that is making everything work in these times of tight budgets.

Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I appreciate it very much.

We need your help streamlining the regulatory burden.

I am concerned that, in its implementation of the program, EPA is using outdated regulatory tools to assess projected visibility improvements and compliance costs when making Regional Haze decisions.

This absolutely has to be an area of emphasis, along with your emphasis on homelessness.

We have a tremendous obligation in the VA to find ways to deal effectively with these things.

Suicide is a national tragedy, and suicide amongst veterans, I think, is even a deeper tragedy.

I thought it was very helpful and appreciate you taking time to do that, as well as your commitment to our veterans.

I want your commitment that we're going to get it open this year.

In order to get to energy security I believe we've got to find ways to empower investment.