The Public Record
Jack Francis Reed is a United States Senator from Rhode Island, serving since January 7, 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Reed has been an influential figure in the Senate, particularly known for his work on the Armed Services Committee. Throughout his tenure, he has focused on issues such as national security, veterans' affairs, and economic development. Reed has also been involved in various legislative efforts aimed at improving education and healthcare access for Rhode Islanders.
I am requesting your support for fiscal year 2015 appropriations to the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program and the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program consistent…
We might be at an inflection point, because the permissive environment... is rapidly changing.
There's always the debate whether budgets drive strategy or strategy drives budgets.
I guess I would say to you gentlemen, you're going to be challenged. Senator McCain is going to challenge you, as you know he will, and we all should.
There is an implication from the fallout of both sequestration and the BCA on the NNSA, which plays a role in the development of the nuclear power plant.
One of my impressions is that this, the value of these individuals, wasn't truly appreciated until we had the overruns and the inefficiencies and the problems.
And without Barbara's leadership, thousands and thousands of children--and Senator Bond's--would have been not only adversely affected.
I want to stress my disappointment. And can you give us an idea of why we couldn't get more money into the LIHEAP budget from the administration?
I hope we can all agree that the status quo is not acceptable and that we can't delay in addressing the rising student loan debt.
Our student loan programs were originally seen as an investment, not a profit center or even a cost-neutral proposition. However, today our student aid investment has been stood on its head.
This isn't the system of Federal financial support that was designed to give everybody a fair shot at a higher education and better future.
As part of the War on Poverty we enacted the Higher Education Act with the idea that no American should be denied the ability to go to college because their family lacked the means to pay.
To help these borrowers, we have introduced the Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights.
Today's hearing on student loans is of critical importance. The social and economic implications of the rising tide of student loan debt demand that we take action.
I would like to commend the Chairman and Ranking Member for the thoughtful, thorough, and collaborative process for reviewing the Higher Education Act in preparation for its reauthorization.
A final point is that you have a significant cut, 27 percent, $7 million, in ocean exploration, and it becomes more and more important.
I would ask you to avoid cuts in the future, but also to look at ways that we can invest in a partnership through the labs with the fishing men and women and the fishing industry, not just in Rhode Island but all through the Northeast.
Given the tightness of your budget, and that's being mild, the idea of generating $20 million to do something that, frankly, could be done as well, and I would argue better, by simply moving the ship across the bay would make sense to me.
I would just ask you to seriously consider the option of not taking the ship out of Narragansett Bay and spending $20 million for it elsewhere but spending very little and simply transferring it across.
We urge the subcommittee to support a solution to the wildfire funding problem.
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