Jeanne Shaheen

I want to have the ability, through our grant making ability, to support these efforts.

I don't think that we should repeat the mistake, frankly, that we made when we dealt with the crack epidemic.

We have to also make sure that we identify this problem as a public health problem.

What we've seen in New Hampshire and northern New England is a real epidemic spread of heroin and prescription drug opioid use.

Can you provide an update about OppNet, the 5-year initiative to support basic behavioral and social sciences research that began in 2010?

I would urge those discussions to go forward as expeditiously as possible.

I will be arguing on this committee that we should increase the amount of funding for LIHEAP.

I am disappointed that we were unable to come together to permanently repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate formula, and instead passed a 1-year patch to prevent reimbursement cuts for physicians from going into effect in April. The bill the…

As the TPP is negotiated, we must ensure that we maintain the competitiveness of these industries in New Hampshire and the United States.

I think it is so important that our capacity to aid our State and local partners be made whole in our budget.

I think we need to do both.

I have long supported healthcare parity for the women volunteers who are carrying out our diplomatic and humanitarian interests overseas.

I wanted to raise the issue of Iran, because one of the things that is giving me pause... is the increase in exports of their oil.

I hope that the work of the Foreign Relations Committee yesterday to come to a bipartisan agreement on a bill to address Ukraine that includes both sanctions on Russia and support for the new government in Ukraine will be helpful as we are…

I appreciate not only your testimony today, but the work that you and your agencies do to try and ensure that Government operates more effectively for taxpayers.

I certainly agree that there is no magic solution, but I do think it would provide more time for oversight.

I certainly think all of us would appreciate going back to regular order.

You make recommendations for more efficient and effective operation of Government, and short of congressional oversight to pick up on those recommendations, there isn't any real opportunity to go back to those agencies and say, 'Okay, GAO…

On the other hand, in Medicare, for example, there are projections now of hundreds of billions of dollars in savings to the cost of Medicare because of healthcare costs leveling out, and yet we are not able to capture those savings as we…

Having the Congress' support behind our work is really the difference.

Well, my time is up. I want to pursue this a little more because I still think the underlying concern is how do we realize those savings in a way that makes sense for us in Federal agencies and yet doesn't violate the budget rules.

Dr. Elmendorf, I want to pick up on that line of questioning because it goes to the question that I asked Mr. Dodaro.

Well, I would certainly agree that quality is the top priority.

I know our chairman is. But really, my hope is, as we work through this budget process with you, we do the best job we can to make sure that you have the people that you need to do your work because it does have such a big, big impact on…

I think there are a lot of people who might disagree with the idea that the Federal budget is transparent.