Frank Lautenberg

There is obviously a real good, big vote of thanks, in terms of the President's request for a budget for your department.

Under President Obama's leadership, we're rebuilding the economy from the ground up--laying a foundation that will make our country stronger and better prepared for the future.

It's essential that we press on with that because we knew, we learned unfortunately the worst that could happen.

The path forward is clear. Writing down some of the principal owed by underwater homeowners will help stem the tide of foreclosures and revive the housing sector.

The cost of change is grossly exaggerated by the proponents of status quo.

Have you heard that being challenged at all, people saying, no, you are wrong?

What we are saying is, look, it is not worth saving all those lives because it is going to cost so much.

Yes, but we shouldn't, because of other problems, decide that we don't want to solve this problem.

We've seen near misses on the ramp, on the airfields themselves.

We can't discuss that in the abstract. There are lots of jobs, lots of careers that are connected to being on duty at the appropriate time.

We're looking at an industry that has made enormous progress in safety over the years, over the decades.

We believe it's the FAA's duty right now to go out and get that data.

But I am saying that that environment, those jobs that my dad had and my uncle, my grandfather, in the final analysis, helped kill them.

Exemption has raised concerns in my state and my region that there'll be potentially increased noise as a result of NextGen implementation.

Yes, and I look at those issues, that is a major focus of mine.

There shouldn't be separate rules for separate operations.

We've got to pay as much attention to any factor that interferes with safe movement in aviation as we can.

Progress made in aviation safety includes significant advancements in technology--when you think about it, the GPS systems.

We have waited a long time to see this day, but now the big polluters and their friends in Congress are stalling, claiming it is going to cost businesses too much to comply.

We don't want any accidents to take place.

And to our colleagues who claim that these measures will be too costly to business, we have to ask, what about the health costs of breathing dirty air, and how do you put a price on human life?

The investigation of the Colgan Air crash revealed that prior to the crash both pilots commuted long distances, which likely contributed to fatigue.

These are the invisible results that occur?

I am not a doctor, but my father died when he was 43, working in the mills.

I lived in those communities as a child. And to say OK, we have to make an investment here.