John Thune

This hearing of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing will come to order.

I want to thank Senators Fischer, Ayotte, Booker, and Schatz for their leadership on this issue.

Having an efficient transportation system is really one of the keys to our advantage, our competitive advantage in the global economy.

We just cannot continue to keep this going on and not expect that it is going to have some very, very detrimental and adverse impacts on a whole range of sectors of our economy and all the jobs that go with it.

This is an issue that just really needs our focus. It is a huge drain on the economy.

A reliable and efficient supply chain is critical to our global competitiveness and to our economy, and the ports are an absolute vital link in that chain.

It affects jobs. Tyson employs 41,000 people. USDA estimates there are a million jobs associated with agricultural exports in this country.

This is a different time. I think this is a different place probably than it was back then.

It is an issue that is important to our country and something that Congress has been trying to fix for over a decade.

I am particularly concerned about the administration's proposal to raise the capital gains tax and apply the tax when an asset is transferred at death or by gift.

This is just a very punitive tax on family farms and small businesses.

If it is to break up family farms, obviously, it is going to have that effect.

This just seems like a really strange proposal, particularly if you represent a constituency like I do in a farm-based part of the country.

You have a triple shot. You have an increase in the rate, you have a change in the time of realization, and you do away with stepped-up basis, all at the same time.

This capital gains proposal that you all put forward, we really need to talk clearly about what it would do.

I will not go into that; I know you are familiar with the----

I appreciate that. I wanted to hear you commit to ensuring that the communication improves and that these inquiries get responded to in a more timely way.

It seems that the focus to move providers and payers to electronic health records should include the IHS and their relationship with private providers.

The Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act will enhance protections for those who report safety violations.

I do think that what we saw last year with some of the bottlenecks is a need for greater transparency about where those were.

It is a big issue, and for the Europeans, in particular, it is an area where they are really... trying to create some of these barriers.

We really need to get TPA done, and I hope that we can.

I want to strongly urge you to continue pushing our friends to the north when it comes to market access for cheese and other dairy products.

I am a big believer that comprehensive tax reform can unleash a lot of economic activity in this country.

I look forward to working with you and the members on our side, as well as Senator Wyden and members on his side, on issues that are in front of this committee that are so important to our economy.