It's a joy to work with her. We actually work on getting results, and we work together, and we explore our differences of opinion.

Well, there's a competition going on for management of the Y12 project. And it's possible, it seems to me, that that competition could divert energy that ought to be directed toward keeping the project under cost and on budget.

Well, just to boil it down, are you going to be processing fewer pits than you otherwise would have, otherwise were planning?

I would like to receive assurances from you that you will continue to focus on finishing the radiological cleanup.

the United States DOD and the President have said in their so-called 1251 figure that we need $372 billion more for nuclear weapons modernization than your budget recommends.

So the answer is yes, you're going to amend the 1251 budget, 1251 number.

So you might have design 90 percent complete by the fall, then it will take you another 3 or 4 months to satisfy yourself that you got the right figure.

So manufacturing 10 or 20 and then otherwise processing an additional number of pits.

I mean, isn't the question, is the project ready to receive funding for a 2-year demonstration about whether it works or not.

No, we didn't. And they're asking----

we may want to do it on others but just on this one.

It is serious business. I mean, we're talking about billions of dollars here, and we just don't have billions of dollars.

I would much rather see us give a certain amount of time to the utilities, and if you err on that side, at least you will get it done.

Well, wouldn't it be a good idea for him to use it?

Why wouldn't that be a better, more certain way to deal with this issue and maybe other issues?

My general attitude toward environmental rules is we ought to come up with a good performance standard, and then we ought to give the people who are affected by it plenty of time to get there.

Congress doesn't matter to most of these environmental debates; it is all EPA and the courts.

If Congress in its wisdom had passed Senator Carper's and my bill in 2003 when we first introduced it, this would all have been done 4 or 5 years ago.

Senator Carper and I have been trying to pass a law that regulates mercury from coal-fired power plants in a reasonable way since 2003.

We need to ask the Administration, starting with the thinking that's already done, to think with us, and provide a vision, an idea, for what we need to do about locks and dams and what we need to do about harbors.

So manufacturing 10 or 20 and then otherwise processing an additional number of pits.

the Department didn't consult with a single Medicaid director when developing the rule.

I am determined to set in motion a process that begins to deal with this problem.

I plug my LEAF into the wall at night on 110-volt battery and that turns out to be plenty for me.

I just want to make sure that we upgrade the new leadership class of supercomputers so we can maintain that lead.