Frank Lautenberg

We know what the intentions are, and I leave it to the industry to come up with something that passes the taste test here.

No one comes aboard expecting to enter a real live nightmare.

We owe it to the public to make sure that only the safest vessels are allowed to cross our seas.

The Surface Transportation Bill that the Senate approved this week was a good bill, bipartisan, excellent bill, really.

The Obama administration has yet to release a comprehensive National Rail Plan as required by my 2008 Amtrak law.

Should we perhaps, Admiral, modify the international standards to make the muster drills mandatory?

I think you heard me talk about the two constituents from New Jersey who were on the Costa Concordia, and they said things were chaotic and confusing and had no idea about what to do first.

We have to make certain that not only should it be public but should be timely and I'm going to pursue this with you at another time.

safety can never take a vacation.

We've got to ask the tough questions and get honest answers.

I'm over my time but I will just end this part of my questioning by saying there are at least 20 different Federal agencies that help the cruise industry run cruises and you're not, evidently, willing to pay for what they do.

What happens there in terms of rail service affects much of the country, much of the Atlantic coast.

We've got to make sure that passengers receive their own proper safety and evacuation training.

The number of jobs that could be created almost instantly is enormous, and the subsequent job opportunities for commutation and travel through the area represent an almost magic look at what could be.

What do we do about these things in our calculus, when we say, 'Look, we have got to defend the relationship with the country,' to us and the bigger picture, the fact that, in Afghanistan, they behave so abominably compared to our…

I include myself in the Clinton fan club.

We continue to believe that direct negotiations are the only way to make progress toward achieving the two-state solution.

We will stay engaged in Afghanistan for the long-term, providing the Afghan people support.

Even as we watch the events across the Middle East, we must not forget that achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinians is critical to stability in the region.

The 2012 omnibus spending bill prohibits Egypt from receiving aid from us unless you certify that Egypt is meeting its obligations under the peace treaty with Israel.

What happens, Madam Secretary, if they succeed in cutting the family planning programs? What is the penalty?

Afghanistan faces a critical turning point in the next few years.

All of us are dismayed by what we see in Afghanistan. The brutality that exists there is shocking.

I strongly support what this administration is doing in trying to provide the means to improve the health of women and children around the world.

on Saturday, February 11, 2012, New Jersey lost one of its proudest daughters and our country lost one of its brightest stars when Whitney Houston died at the untimely age of 48. Whitney Houston's New Jersey roots run deep. She was born in…