Rob Portman

I am introducing legislation today with Mr. Markey, and Senator Markey and I have been working on this for the last several weeks about ensuring that some hospitals on a regional basis have this expertise.

I think it could have avoided some of the problems that we have had in this country.

I think there needs to be an effort that is concerted, one effort that people understand and has accountability.

Just quickly, would any of these funds be available for the hospitals that I talked about that had to quickly prepare?

I have been critical of the response, mostly the timeliness of it, and I think it took us way too long to get a coordinator.

I think we need to ensure that WHO has the resources to do the job that it needs to do and it also has the accountability to be held accountable for actually doing it.

The global response needs to be both more rapid and more concerted, but also there needs to be more effort in funding early on.

I like the idea of, while something is pending, having people work if they do not, again, create a danger to others.

Thank you all for being here.

I appreciate your willingness to spend so much of your career focused on this issue of children's health.

We urge the Surface Transportation Board to closely monitor this situation and work with the railroads to find a timely solution to the rail service deficiencies currently plaguing the U.S. transportation system.

The efforts of Senator Portman and Senator Levin, who are co-chairs of the Auto Caucus, to raise this issue

We ought to use those forums and resolve these issues.

I stood with Korean Minister Kim, and there was a big bipartisan group from Congress here, including Senator Carper, by the way, who is still here on the committee.

What the Europeans do, as Senator Isakson said well, is they do these agreements, including one with Canada recently, where they impose their view on these GIs, which we have been fighting for years, as you know.

We will continue to push our broader Federal Permitting Improvement act.

I hope that you will see fit to send his nomination to the floor with a strong vote and we can commence his leadership at a VA that needs it badly.

We have got an opportunity in this leader to be able to help turn this around.

This is a distinguished patriot who is willing to step forward for his country.

He does understand the problem. He has been in the military.

I think we need better information to be able to explain this more in terms of the impacts, the negative impacts, to our constituents.

I quote you all the time, because Chairman Wyden makes the point that the tax code is 100 years old and it looks like it.

I really worry we will look back 5 years from now and see a hollowed-out American corporate base and wonder what happened.

It is not advantageous to be an American company. It makes more sense to be a foreign entity.

To closely monitor this situation and work with the railroads to find a timely solution.