This Congress has a once in a generation opportunity to really rethink our transportation network.

This budget will be a key test for us in the Congress. Will we bring the leadership that the American people are demanding?

I applaud him for taking this strong stand in support of our veterans.

We need to support those efforts.

Specifically, I come here today to ask all of you to include in the budget significant funding increases in our nation's transportation infrastructure.

I am very concerned that this not drift into the supplemental budget situation.

I want to thank you once again for your excellent testimony. I think it speaks volumes about defense, but also about the value of analysis that we have valuable in CBO and CRS.

But dealing with the economic crisis does not excuse or even diminish Congress' responsibility to the primary role of the Federal Government, and that is our national defense.

During a time when we are plagued with problems, we can at least be thankful that the Obama Administration will have Peter Orszag, a steady hand, at the helm.

Our country faces massive problems: a recession that is deepening, unemployment that is soaring, business failures and foreclosures occurring at a rate not seen since the 1930's.

So long as we have troops in field in harm's way making the best of a bad situation, they have got our full support. We certainly wouldn't cut the funds out from under them and leave them in the lurch.

What's the cost of 20,000 more troops?