John Thune

I hope that we can come to find some common ground and move forward with legislation that will really address the nation's infrastructure needs.

Permitting and regulations, I will suggest to you, affect the bottom line even more than taxes do.

I have to give credit to my fellow senator, Barbara Boxer. You know, she's liberal and I'm conservative. We all agreed on this and agreed to make changes.

The impediment to more energy infrastructure is existing government regulations and red tape dragging out the completion of the needed projects.

I wrote a book about state sovereignty. I'm very much a big supporter of federalism.

The participation today of five Cabinet Secretaries in today's hearing... underscores the Administration's readiness and enthusiasm.

In response to these needs, President Trump released an ambitious proposal to rebuild the nation's infrastructure.

Our nation must stay interconnected.

Rebuilding our infrastructure is not just a priority, it is an imperative for our economy.

We are all here today in the interest of advancing safety to protect the traveling public.

This Committee, on a bipartisan basis, took action to avert a rail shutdown and set a realistic framework for implementation.

We are now about 10 months away from the December 31, 2018, statutory deadline for PTC.

These accidents underscore the importance of implementing PTC quickly, safely, and successfully.

We convene today's hearing at a critical time for positive train control, or PTC, implementation.

However, as I have said before, money alone cannot solve those problems.

I appreciate the priorities you have laid out in the President's budget, particularly the emphasis on addressing drug prices, opioids, and reducing regulatory burdens.

Noah Phillips, of course, is a part of our family here in the Senate.

Christine Wilson is a recognized leader in competition law. Rohit Chopra is a widely regarded expert in consumer protection.

Joe Simons is just the man this moment requires. The President could not have made a better choice for this crucial role.

We need to ensure that our policies promote competition and innovation.

As Chairman Thune mentioned, we have more--there is more coastline in America and the longest--the largest Exclusive Economic Zone.

Seafood is an important part of our diet, as Americans, and should be more so.

In a paper by esteemed colleague Michael Rubino and Gunner Knapp, they say that the biggest impediment to developing American aquaculture is the industry's lack of social license.

AICA represents, as you know, the most comprehensive science and technology policy legislation enacted since the America COMPETES Act in 2007 and 2010.

I want to again thank you for the progress that you have made in implementing the legislation.