John Thune

There's no question that Al Qaeda and other groups continue to explore weaknesses in our air transportation system.

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…

The Pipeline Safety Program is funded through user fees.

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

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.

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.

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

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?

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?

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.'

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

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.

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.

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 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…

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.

I hope we get this resolved as quickly as possible because this is one thing, and you were right about the signal.

It seems like--I visited Oak Ridge. I visited NREL. The testing has been going on for an awfully long time.

The Environmental Protection Agency has become public enemy number one of our farmers and ranchers.

I want to express my concern about the Administration's latest proposal to spend another $50 billion on road, rail, and other infrastructure projects to stimulate the economy.

I want to also thank you for holding this important hearing.