Kirsten Gillibrand

How do you, if you could, give us some specifics, how do you plan to utilize the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Innovative Program Delivery as you seek to meet the Nation's infrastructure needs?

I believe a strong Federal investment is necessary.

Are there other mechanisms or alternative funding besides TIFIA, including tax exempt or tax credit financing, and other public-private partnership programs that currently exist within DOT?

Thank you for holding such an important hearing.

I believe giving trained prosecutors the authority to convene court-martials to determine judges and juries and also backend authority would remove--would remove bias from the system.

Why wouldn't you let someone who is experienced to make that decision, who is a prosecutor, so that you have an objective reviewer, someone who can't be biased in any way?

There seems to be a lack of awareness of incidents where a victim does not feel he or she has received justice.

We have a serious issue with a victim's willingness to report.

I have been disturbed by some of the testimony in this panel.

If 62 percent of the victims who have actually come forward to report a sexual assault or rape believe they have been retaliated against, how do you think you are going to instill that trust?

Success is going to look like this. More reports of rape, sodomy, and assault, and less incidents of rape, sodomy, and assault.

I agree with the part of Senator Gillibrand's legislation, and others, I think, have included this, too, in our legislation, that we should not be taking into account how good a military person is in deciding whether or not to try them on…

But never dismissed.

Discipline is the heart of the military culture, and trust is its soul.

How do you intend to hold commanders accountable if they don't get reporting up and they don't begin to solve this problem?

I think we have to look at restricted reporting with an emphasis on getting the perpetrator ID'd.

Command authority, particularly in the context of military justice, is and will remain the most critical mechanism for ensuring discipline, accountability, cohesion, and integrity of the force.

The NRC must be accountable to the people, and it must stay focused on ensuring the safety of this generation and the next.

I think that must be included and I want your commitment that you will look at that issue and give me a response on that topic.

So, my fundamental question is, if you are reconfirmed, can you assure me that you will reassess the emergency planning and evacuation system as a priority, particularly in light of the GAO's report questioning the assumptions?

Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, for holding this essential hearing. It is so important.

Relaxing regulations could harm the public and would do the industry no favors.

We must find better and safer ways to store nuclear waste to ensure that a disaster like the one that took place in Japan never happens here.

Nuclear energy has been critical to meeting our nation's energy needs.

A related question was, after Super Storm Sandy, obviously Westchester was largely shut down.