In my experience in public life, which goes back 40 years, I have never seen anything like this before.

According to United States Code 5841, it says, 'Each member of the Commission shall have equal responsibility and authority in all decisions and actions of the Commission, shall have full access to all information.'

But I am deeply disturbed by this, and I don't know all the answers.

Mr. Chairman, I will follow that up with you. If you are right, I will accept your point. I think you are wrong.

No, but it didn't change that law, did it?

The work it did during the flooding event in 2011, insofar as what we saw in Tennessee, was a very good job.

The Mississippi River and tributary flood control project is the largest flood control project in the world.

I hope we can have the same kind of success with flood warnings, which are, as others have said, a larger part of our damage than any other kind of disasters.

I want to compliment Mayor Wharton and the leadership of Shelby County and Memphis for their preparedness.

My top priority is to do all I can to help the Federal Government participate in repairing President's Island near Memphis.

hearings are where the Senators just talk and they do not listen. We do not listen very well.

I appreciate the invitation to speak before the committee about the Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2011.

We applaud the bill's sponsors, Senator Lamar Alexander and Senator Bob Corker for their outstanding support for Tennessee public lands.

This is a piece of legislation that he and Senator Corker have worked on.

What if we didn't have nuclear power?

We have had a lot more death in traffic. We tolerate 38,000 traffic deaths every year. We have never had one with a nuclear reactor in the United States.

But let me press you a little further. You said you think everything could be done in 90 days.

Hopefully, we can be able to effectively allow a new generation of even more efficient, more safe nuclear power plants to come online.

So there is no economic responsibility? No responsibility you have to make sure that a power plant can also be operated economically at the same time?

But there is a lot of talk here about delay. This report said you should do this without delay.

Well, is it your objective to create an environment in which nuclear power plants could be built?

I also appreciate the fact that your committee has found that there is no reason to doubt the safety of our nuclear power facilities.

I hope and pray and urge that you do your job to make sure we are safe, make sure it is operating safely, but do not be a burden on our ability to meet the need for increased electricity.

Is there anything within the charge of the commission to make it possible for a power plant to create an environment in which a nuclear power plant can actually operate and in which a new one could actually be built?

My goal has always been that we should have cleaner energy. We want American energy, not imported, wherever possible.