However, there is a lot of work that still needs to be done to realize the full potential of the Act and we plan on using this Committee to fulfill our part of Congress' role in that shared effort.

Why would we not design the--you know, here is the problem with Congress.

The law states--the law that I authored and we passed--states that you are to make recommendations for eliminations.

Can you think of a way we can motivate our colleagues to take your recommendations and act on them?

the reason Danny Werfel, I think, was chosen is because he has demonstrated integrity in everything he has done in the Federal Government.

Eliminating is a lot easier.

Our country is waiting and primed to burst into the greatest amount of growth our country has ever seen.

So the American people have to ask us, what are we doing? How are we doing it?

I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. The amendment is as follows: (Purpose: To remove restrictions on projects the Infrastructure…

Amendment No. 816 expands the review commission so that, in fact, it can look at everything. We have given them the responsibility. What the bill does is a great first step, but it protects all the earmarks from 1996 forward, so we are not…

The point I would make is the following: The big problem with WRDA bills is they become parochial in nature. So what we have excluded is everything since 1996 forward, which actually includes the present Members of Congress in terms of…

My question on the deauthorizing commission would be why would they not take into consideration all of the things the Senator just mentioned before they would recommend deauthorizing a program, if, in fact, the only reason they would not…

I have a question for the chairman through the Chair, if I might.

I ask for the yeas and nays on my amendment. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?

we are still in morning business, and I will speak in morning business about two amendments I will call up when we leave morning business. One is amendment No. 815 on this bill, which is aimed at lessening State dependence on the Federal…

I ask to set aside the pending amendment and call up amendment No. 815. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report. The legislative clerk read as follows: The Senator from Oklahoma [Mr. Coburn], for himself, Mr. McCain, and…

I ask to set aside the pending amendment and call up amendment No. 816. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report. The legislative clerk read as follows: The Senator from Oklahoma [Mr. Coburn], for himself, Mrs. McCaskill…

as ranking member on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, I know there are a lot of problems with FEMA and the Stafford grant, but this is essentially an earmark for an improvement before FEMA has even determined…

I think this is a principled stand. The question is, Why should we not have the same policy everywhere, No. 1; and No. 2, Why would we dare deny the rights we give everywhere else on Federal Government-owned land--why would we do something…

A couple of years ago I added an amendment in our deliberative process that gave Americans their constitutional rights in the U.S. National Forest. There were two main reasons I did that. No. 1, the amount of murders, rapes, robberies, and…

The only thing I am chairman of, Madam President, is my dogs at home, but I thank the Presiding Officer for that misquote. At this time, I call up Coburn amendment No. 805. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment. The…

I will get the Senator the actual statute. Federal structures are covered under another statute and I will get that statute for it. The reason we did not specifically represent that is because they are already covered. We did not exclude…

I do not have any intention of withdrawing the amendment. There is a Federal statute that already prohibits the carrying of firearms in Federal buildings and structures, and we will get the Senator the statute. That is very clear. We were…

I would yield back the remainder of my time if the chairman of the committee would do as well.

first of all, our amendment exempts the areas the chairman talked about--locks and dams. All those areas are exempt from this amendment. As ranking member on Homeland Security, I know more about these issues than probably anybody other…