Thank you, Senator Lankford. I have an appointment with the President's nominee for Secretary of Defense.

Doubling basic energy research is one of the most important things we can do to unleash our free enterprise system to help provide the clean, cheap, reliable energy we need to power our 21st-century economy.

But if the staff's final recommendation were positive, could the reactor start and power be generated during 2015?

I think that the decision to make the percentage breakdown 85 percent of the general treasury for Olmstead was helpful, but it allowed that fund to grow much higher than it would have been in previous years.

It is the politicians who are keeping Yucca Mountain shut, and it is the politicians who are not opening new consolidated repositories.

I fully support the current licensing process, but Yucca's legal capacity is 70,000 metric tons of used fuel.

A third, according to some of the utilities, is the big wind production tax credit.

it's disappointing the Obama administration has failed to do its job.

I think the NRC is ready to act on an application should it receive it.

it is disappointing that the administration has failed to do its job.

I have deep concerns with various aspects of the President's fiscal year 2016 Civil Works request.

I want to say at the outset what a privilege it has been to work with the Senator from California over the last few years.

We appreciate the committee's attention to this critical issue facing the hospitality industry.

The politics around educator evaluation are tough at every level.

I'm skeptical that most, or even many, States will have effective educator-evaluation systems unless the Federal Government nudges them.

If Washington doesn't make us do it, the teachers union and opponents from the right will make it impossible for us to have higher standards and better teachers.

I am concerned about the recent administration efforts to sidestep Congress on our congressional intent.

I introduced the Local Level Act to explicitly prohibit the Federal Government's role and involvement in that.

The Department of Education, I believe, is going beyond the statute in issuing conditioned waivers to force State adoption of policies.

This displayed a troubling lack of respect for the constitution, the separation of powers, and the Senate's constitutional role to advice and consent.

I'm glad the President withdrew that controversial nomination and I hope his gesture of respect to the Senate is part of a new beginning.

I am interested primarily in whether they will serve as an impartial umpire, which is what they are called to be.

I would hope that if a case like that comes before you, that you would be very careful in considering how these actions by the Board might chill this opportunity for literally hundreds of thousands of Americans to own a small business…

There is a good reason to keep a clear, distinct line between a franchisor and a franchisee.

We reject the argument that the only realistic solution to the problems of intercollegiate athletics is to drop the student athlete concept.