Peter DeFazio

The quality of the Bristol Bay environment is also hugely important to the economy of the region.

Nearly 200 leading companies in the fly fishing and outdoor gear industry groups have voiced opposition to the proposed Pebble Mine.

Yeah, it is not politicized. Everything is politicized with this administration.

All right. Now I have a question, Mr. Collier. Have you submitted a document on this much smaller mine showing it is financially viable to the Corps of Engineers that is a certifiable, real analysis? Yes or no?

There are a hell of a lot of jobs up there right now dependent upon this resource, 14,000 full- and part-time jobs, $480 million a year for the fisheries in that area.

Every day is earthquake season, which is a belief that you and I share.

However, this money is incredibly slow getting out the door.

Congress has poured tens of billions of dollars into CDBG-DR over the last decade alone, intended for long-term recovery efforts.

It's hard to believe that we're already at the two-year anniversary of the devastating series of 2017 Hurricanes--Harvey, Irma, and Maria.

It's vital that each of the departments and agencies tasked with recovery have the resources and expertise to fulfill missions.

Delays in disaster recovery can be devastating for the economic well-being of communities.

I hope in the future they'll sit at the table alongside their Federal partners and share with us future concerns about challenges.

There's more that needs to be done, and that's why we're here today, to figure out how can we better administer these programs for recovery.

Disasters are not partisan in nature, and we have worked on both sides of the aisle to reform Stafford.

Those who rule the waves rule the world.

If you think back to Captain Alfred Mahan and his theories, which were backed up by Teddy Roosevelt, we had to guarantee access to international markets as a maritime-dependent nation.

Thank you for scheduling this afternoon's hearing to assess China's Maritime Silk Road Initiative and the implications for our national and economic security.

Now, unfortunately, post-World War II, with the globalization--liberalization, so-called--of trade, the rise of the IMO and the chase around the world to the least regulation and the cheapest possible, most abusable labor in the merchant…

We agree safety has to be a top priority today.

I had no idea about the signs. ... That is--I had no idea. Thank you. That is mind-blowing.

I am--you know, I am so angry that they wouldn't show up today.

I just figured out if a background check costs $60, fingerprint-based, that would be 170,000 or so background checks.

Now, I just--did they really spend $10 million in one city to oppose fingerprint-based background--that can't be----

I mean, they can--they set the conditions, and they----

Their days of operating with little public policy and regulatory oversight in the transportation space are coming to an end.