As we speak, there are a few thousand, and potentially tens of thousands, of barrels of oil that are leaking into the Gulf of Mexico each day.

Obviously, BP is the responsible party for this oil spill, but the Federal Government has the ultimate responsibility.

We must also closely scrutinize the response of our Federal agencies.

This leak will likely continue for the foreseeable future causing environmental and economic damage that will last for several years to come.

This amendment is a very simple, straightforward one. It is one paragraph long. It is not complicated. What it essentially does is it sets a sunset date for the newly created bureau of consumer protection, allowing Congress to reevaluate…

I would say Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is a pox on all of us. But shame on us if we do not try to do something in this legislation to address this issue. What the McCain-Shelby-Gregg amendment does is responsible. It does allow for a…

I hope this body will act in a way that leads to more responsible practices, a higher level of responsibility, both with borrowers and lenders in this country, which was at the heart of why we ended up where we did. It is interesting to me…

We can better develop the performance specifications for the devices.

There is a responsibility, obviously, at the Federal level and I guess the states are also an important and integral part of that sort of partnership.

I hope that we will soon begin drafting the motor carrier safety title, so that we are fully prepared...

FMCSA has indicated that good quality data is critical to the success of CSA 2010.

Is it possible that certain carriers who are considered safe under the current system would not be considered safe under CSA 2010?

While FMCSA has experienced some rocky periods, I believe the agency has turned a corner.

Significant progress has been made in improving truck safety.

The safety data is not there to justify that at this point.

I expect there will be a fair amount of discussion this morning about the agency's CSA 2010 initiative.

every year for the past decade, nearly 5,000 people have died and 125,000 were injured in crashes involving a large truck.

I am pleased that with this hearing we are beginning our work to reauthorize the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

I guess the only observation I would make is that--and your assertion about hours of service being what it is--the numbers still--I would say independent of the decline in freight demand--you still have a substantial decline based on 100…

Your organization also contends that the hours-of-service rule that was adopted in 2003 is unsafe, and yet the rate of fatalities and injuries and crashes that involve large trucks steadily declining.

The NPR emphasizes the development of conventional Prompt Global Strike capabilities.

Transportation infrastructure is critical, and all of the different modes are, at some point or another, vulnerable or susceptible to attacks.

I do find the conclusions of the recently released White House assessment on surface transportation security rather troublesome.

An attack on our Nation's surface transportation system could disrupt the timely delivery of goods and significantly weaken our Nation's economy.

While aviation security gets most of the public's attention, the security of our Nation's surface transportation system must also be a national priority.