Jim Inhofe

I agree with you that our prayers are with the families and loved ones that were lost.

I think that is probably the reason there was not one.

Any of these earmarks that they talk about, if you kill an earmark on the floor of the Senate, it does not save one cent.

The only last thing I wanted to say in terms of the earmark argument is the importance of authorization.

This year I again was ranked by National Journal as the most conservative Senator.

I couldn't disagree more.

Regularly enacted WRDA bills provide the best opportunities to address our Nation's water resources infrastructure needs.

I support the Chair's intent to move a Water Resources Development Act, or WRDA, this year.

I made some pretty strong statements concerning this fraud called earmarks.

This WRDA bill is to make sure that we do not put out things that are not deserving of public funding.

We have needs that are out there. We have, in my State of Oklahoma, things that need to be done.

Because the very individuals who complain about earmarks are the ones who vote for the very largest, multi-hundred billion dollar bills.

This is the way it is supposed to happen.

I am a very strong believer that our system will work if people will get serious about it.

My point is this. We can all agree that Government has functions to perform.

Let me first of all say to Commissioner Ostendorff, I was with your son actually at Fort Sill, I think it was last Friday, and I just want everyone to know that you come from a military family.

By 2012, the NRC may be approaching a final decision on the first COLs.

Nearly all applicants indicated that certainty in scheduling is more crucial than speed.

I appreciate Senators Carper's and Vitter's focus today on the NRC's Principles of Good Regulation.

How can investors feel confident about backing these projects if the agency itself is either incapable or unwilling to predict when it will finish its work?

How can these companies develop a construction schedule and plan the hiring of 3,000 construction workers if they don't know when they can start?

We want predictability as well as certainty.

We set up something where we would have certain things that were going to be happening in the future, and then had oversight hearings every 6 months, and it worked real well.

It is our job to make certain that safety is the No. 1 priority for the nuclear industry and the NRC.

Regulatory actions should always be . . . decisively administered so as to lend stability to the nuclear operational and planning processes.