Jeff Merkley

I appreciate that Russ Feingold brought his expertise to bear from his Senate experience.

But here is the situation. There is not just one chemical. There is a family of chemicals.

Doesn't that seem a little bit like putting the cart in front of the horse?

So in some ways, that is a step away from a strong enforcement regime?

So if, for example, the EPA was to identify a chemical as high risk and a State said, oh, it has been identified as high risk, we want to put a label on these products to warn people, they would be preempted from doing so under this law?

That is a significant concern, what you have pointed out, the lack of public being able to challenge that low priority determination.

I know that our colleague, Senator Lautenberg, worked mightily to try to take on these chemicals, for the benefit of everyone's health in this Nation.

But under this law, they are not put into place in that same fashion?

Thank you. Public Law 480, title I, there hasn't been any new loans since 2006.

Self-help housing program that involves sweat equity housing, empowerment through homeownership, pretty popular program. You suggested cutting it from $27 million to $10 million. Why?

We have suffered a lot of losses of honeybee colonies. We have seen the monarch butterfly migration collapse over the last 10 years.

We are requesting a series of tools that would allow us to manage this more effectively.

Look forward to continuing that conversation, because done right, it could be a powerful force for rural jobs.

Can you give us some sense as to whether the final rules will prevent the tobacco industry from selling candy-flavored products?

Thank you for all that work. During this timeframe, these years that have been passing, many, many new products targeted at children have come forward.

I appreciate the enormous work that has gone in to realizing this vision for food safety.

It was 2009 when the United States, Congress, and the President passed legislation giving FDA the power to regulate these products.

Just to close with this specific question because my time has run out, can you encourage me as you are leaving the FDA to continue to look at whether the testing requirement under this set of circumstances is still overly burdensome?

Much credit is owed to Ranking Member Merkley for his leadership on the Rural Energy Savings Program Act (RESPA).

We need you all to come to us with a proposal so we can have this subcommittee really chew on it

That can bankrupt a company very, very, very quickly.

If you were to follow the contract and ask for the full rent and your tenants would not then would not be able to pay it, then there is just no good answer. An eviction results in homelessness.

I am so glad you are here. Because of this hearing, we learned for the first time today that the language that we worked out with bipartisan staff involved, with Rural Development involved, signing off on the language, that they have some…

I want to continue this conversation, because this is so important.

Let's get this fixed.