Senator Feinstein and I will include that in the Energy and Water bill.

If we are going to raise that money from the commercial barge people, we ought to spend it.

This budget proposes cutting the Corps' funding to the actual level of spending in 2007--we are literally moving backward, on an agency that is crucial to maintaining our country's infrastructure.

So having a sustainable flow of dollars based upon a plan can help save money as well by speeding things up and avoiding the jerkiness of the process.

So, Senator Feinstein, did you--I was confusing--if the Texas application is approved----

If we want to get this fuel off these sites, that is one way to do it.

Well, if you are looking for a public-private partnership, you have it on the Inland Waterways Trust Fund.

In the report, which is due April 16, do you plan to recommend the lowest cost solution?

The real driver of our Federal debt is out-of-control mandatory spending on entitlement programs.

Even now without passing our bill, correct?

The rule will harm employers and employees alike.

You also have an agreement with the State of Idaho to remove all those dry casks by 2035, is that right?

There should be a disciplined approach toward doing that.

Later this year, I will reintroduce bipartisan legislation with Senators Feinstein, Murkowski and perhaps others, to create both temporary and permanent storage sites for nuclear waste.

I refer to this as the ambush election rule because it forces a union election before an employer has a chance to figure out what's going on.

We would be interested in working on that in the next 3 or 4 weeks to see, (A) what might appropriately be included in the appropriations bill, if anything.

So I have to go back to these users and say, I'm sorry, we told you that we would fix the Inland Waterways Trust Fund and keep the locks open if you would ante up and pay more, and now they are paying more and we're not spending it.

I plan to work with our Republican majority--and, I hope, the President and Senate Democrats who share the same concerns--to make tough choices so we can pass a real plan to fix the debt while supporting other priorities like national…

It makes life a lot easier, when we are approaching big, difficult problems, to have a level of trust and an interest in good management.

If it is a legitimate concern of our country that we want lots of low cost, reliable carbon free electricity...

Well, is the first step for it to then-- if that application were to come in, is the step then for you to give a rule on whether or not it gets licensed or not?

We have developed the plan. We worked with you. We think you are doing a good job with the money you have.

The hearing record will remain open for 10 days.

I do not think and I am sure it is true--any other form of energy production in our country has a record of safety that exceeds nuclear power.

I mean, in the university case, it is $11,000 per student at that university on the tuition costs.