Bill Johnson

I would like to submit these letters sent to Congressman Tipton and me into the record to illustrate the broad level of local support for this popular legislation.

Despite this funding, NOAA still is not able to answer the questions regarding whether the commercial fishing industry is limiting the food available for Steller sea lions.

The conclusions in the BiOp regarding the finding of jeopardy and its posited cause (nutritional stress from food competition with fisheries) do not follow logically from scientific, economic, and social information presented in the BiOp…

When an agency puts in place a restriction on an industry that will result in a loss of up to $61 million per year and cost 750 jobs, I expect them to be certain.

What is happening in our own hemisphere is certainly just as important, if not more so.

But you are not certain.

I can assure you, sir, I am not [pleased with the direction that the Miami facility is going].

Eighteen veterans, how long does that take? I can make 18 phone calls in 30 minutes.

Are you astutely hearing the responses to the questions that this Committee is asking?

I think our veterans deserve better, I think they expect better, and we got a lot of questions that have been asked and answered here today.

So prudent leadership would be poised and ready to act if the investigation proved out, right, that you would then immediately begin to notify those veterans whose information had been compromised?

Do you think the admonishment worked?

What administrative action was taken?

Can you clarify and explain this discrepancy and how that fits into your we are going to hold leadership accountable?

I am anxious to see the results of that.

Have you alerted any veterans that their information may have been compromised? And if so, how have you done that?

I can assure you I know what accountability would mean in that case.

What happens when the process fails and veterans die? How do you hold leadership accountable?

I am extremely concerned. And I can tell you that as the Chairman of the Oversight Investigation Subcommittee I am not going to let loose of this one.

That's exactly why I have been fighting so hard against this rule rewrite because most of those jobs, as you and I know, come from Ohio's sixth congressional district and the people that I represent.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Carey, first of all, it's good to see a fellow buckeye here today as we talk about this very, very important topic.

It's astounding to me that this Administration thinks that it's acceptable that it takes four to six months, in some cases longer, to process a claim for America's veterans returning from the war zone to get the benefits and the care…

The same environmental groups that sued the Department of Interior had their legal fees paid back by the taxpayer funded Judgment Fund.

I don't know about you, but this sounds like collusion to me.

There are entire communities that depend largely on the coal industry--both direct and indirect jobs--that would be devastated by this proposed rules change.