Tom Coburn actually said...

"you need a backbone, the person that is running the agency, and take the heat, but do what is right for the country."

"We have got to figure out a way to have a better assessment."

"I want to pin you down. Is this per capita damage indicator a good measure to determine State and local capacity to handle disasters?"

"The reason I am so interested in this is I saw the wasted money in Hurricane Katrina on debris cleanup, and it was atrocious."