I applaud the FTC's cooperation in delaying implementation of their red flags rule to wait for congressional clarification on this issue and thank Senator Dodd for his assistance in drafting this legislation. I am confident that our…

I compliment the Senator from Nebraska for his leadership on this issue. He has done a great job advocating on behalf of small businesses, farmers, ranchers, and all the people to be impacted by this onerous provision in the health care…

Most Americans believe government spends too much, especially at a time when their budgets, as I said, have been shrinking. This is the kind of amendment that ought to attract broad bipartisan support. We are going to fund the government…

I ask the Senator from Massachusetts if he is hearing from his constituents back in his State the same message I hear from my constituents in South Dakota; that is, we are experiencing economic difficulties. In this economic downturn, many…

As you know, the budget-appropriations process has broken down. Neither the House nor the Senate passed a budget resolution which provides a basic roadmap for our spending decisions for the next fiscal year. As a result of not having a…

The Department's intent is to focus on efficiencies that enable movement of resources from overhead activities to fund capabilities required to fight the current war and prepare for future conflicts.

Do you agree with General Petraeus, the current commander of our forces in Afghanistan, that the B-1 bomber aircraft plays 'a very big role' with regard to providing close air support for our troops on the ground in Afghanistan?

I think we have to take them seriously and reexamine the path that we're on.

the fact that we are a nation at war . . . calls for sustaining the current military force structure

do you believe this is an important initiative in light of our heavy reliance on this capability in the wars we're fighting?

We owe it to those who lost their families, friends, or homes in San Bruno, and to those affected by the oilspill in Marshall, to find out what caused these accidents and to take steps to prevent them from ever happening again.

I remain concerned, however, about the approach of the Administration's reauthorization proposal, which is the basis for the Committee's deliberations.

The Pipeline Safety Program is funded through user fees.

Secretary Lynn has stated that there is an ongoing 'scrub' of the warfighting accounts to 'see if we can gain better effectiveness, better efficiency, better productivity from those forces.'

The long-term presence of U.S. forces abroad reassures allies and partners of our commitments--we cannot simply 'surge' trust and relationships on demand.

Creating a budget every year doesn't seem to be the best way to save money.

I want to come back to the point I made earlier about the positions authorized by the PIPES Act.

It's critical that confidence be restored and that the utilities and the regulatory agencies responsible for pipelines are held accountable for the safety of their pipelines.

I hope that the representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will also update the Subcommittee on the accident that occurred in July in Marshall, Michigan.

I know it is a lot. There are lots of provisions in law that need to be extended and lots of communities in this country that depend on that.

I would say to the Senator, through the Chair, one of the things I think is hurting business and economic development in this country is a lack of certainty.

if the Senator will yield, I say in response to that, that is absolutely true. Around here I think, traditionally, tax extenders have been something both sides have worked on. Generally, it tends to be kind of noncontroversial. I think our…

I also want to add my support for the FAA reauthorization bill which the Senator from North Dakota talked about. It is important that we get this done. We have been operating without an authorization since 2007. We had a bill pass through…

I think it is important that this Senate act in a way that provides some certainty and predictability for people in this country who depend upon public policy coming out of here that has some permanence to it. Right now, we continue to act…

If I might continue, Mr. President, let me just say with regard to the observations of the Senator from Montana that I couldn't agree more that we need to get these things done, and we need to provide some long-term certainty for those in…