if the past is any predictor of the future, those plans will not be completed by June of next year

the Obama administration in this budget is forfeiting billions of dollars in new revenue by continuing to stifle energy production on our Federal lands.

I would agree with the end of the Chairman's remarks about there are many challenges before us where we should be able to put aside differences and work on a bipartisan basis.

the only way forward is, in fact, a legislative fix?

we have taken the position that trade and environment need to be mutually supportive; that our trade agreements need to have strong environmental commitments

DeFazio, they are the trolls with the green eyeshades that hide under the bridges, and they come out and gnaw on your leg every once in a while.

We need to know what materials are being carried, and both obviously deal with operational issues.

I think they need to move more promptly.

Are you aware how many requests have been made by this committee to the Department of the Interior in this Congress?

It is my understanding there has been no prioritization.

And did they pay a fine?

We are wasting millions and millions of taxpayer resources with these investigations.

The staff work required to respond to the committee's multiple requests is massive, and the cost of compliance with this subpoena is illustrative.

There isn't a single directive, a single secretarial policy, a single email that shows there was any improper behavior or supposed favoritism toward the wind industry.

They were diverted from catching people who were devastating elephant herds, rhinoceros, killing other endangered species around the world.

It seems that, in emphasizing that this is a strict liability statute, that the committee is urging that you should prosecute each and every one of those millions of takings against the oil and gas industry.

These are the world's most highly trained wildlife law enforcement professionals, and right now they are sidelined while internationally syndicated criminal rings are decimating elephants, rhinos, and other iconic species.

Criminal prosecution has always been and will always be our last resort.

Do you prosecute each and every one of those against the oil and gas industry?

Our challenge has always been to implement these laws faithful to the original intent of Congress, while meeting the evolving needs of these species in the context of changing and expanding demands of human society.

this hearing is yet another hearing attempting to find intentional disregard by the administration in areas where no evidence has been uncovered.

And, in the case of Duke, did you extend special favoritism? It seems like the committee here is kind of on a rampage to have millions of prosecutions against every kind of energy development in the United States, because that is the only…

Today's hearing marks the culmination of a long and fruitless crusade by the majority aimed at uncovering an Obama administration conspiracy.

Your actions are not going to change. You will continue to go for advice, voluntary compliance, and then negligence or knowing non-compliance will be the standard for prosecution.

Right. I believe Kansas has already announced--at least one State--and I have got a letter from Oregon Department of Transportation.