Bob Bennett

I do not dispute in any way, Mr. Chairman, the numbers that you have cited, but I do not want to leave the impression that all of the obstruction that has come as a result of the use of holds has come from the Minority side.

The majority has chosen to focus on what it believes to be the abuse of the filibuster by the minority, but these hearings have also revealed how the Majority Leader can abuse the rules of the Senate to limit debate and amendment.

I do share a sense of significant unease over what has been happening in the Senate.

The current Majority Leader has used this tactic at a rate more than double that of his predecessor and five times as often as the last five Majority Leaders combined.

Yes. Norm, that is why they called it the Nuclear Option.

So I think the rule change that said it is a constitutional supermajority of all the Senators duly sworn is a step in the level of accountability for one's position with respect to a piece of legislation.

If you kill the industrial base of solid rocket motors now with this action, in 2015 you cannot get it back.

I find incredible when you say the demonstrated reliability of Ares is zero.

I don't believe the current plan of the President will allow the United States... to continue to lead the world in space exploration.

The Space Shuttle that has helped the United States maintain its role as the leader in space exploration, leading to life-changing technological discoveries along the way, will be retired.

If I was sitting on the board of directors and you were making this pitch to the board of directors as to the direction in which you are going to take the company, I would tell you, you haven't made the sale.

We cannot allow this to happen.

I hope that you will energetically continue to find solutions to all of the agencies challenges as you work to promote the security of our nation.

With sufficient foreign assistance, Iran could probably develop and test an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States by 2015.

The MDA's mission to 'deploy . . . an effective National Missile Defense system capable of defending the territory of the United States against limited ballistic missile attack' is more important now than ever.

My greatest concern with this budget is how it fails to address our Nation's aging infrastructure in an adequate fashion.

In Utah, water is--the old line 'Whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting.'

The project with the highest benefit-to-cost ratio of 22 to 1--that's the Sacramento River bank protection--received only $10 million in this budget request.

We need to continue to work to adequately address these issues before there is a major infrastructure failure.

I very much applaud your top-line budget request. You need the money; you've shown the courage of asking for it.

The bad news is that the agency's track record in managing large construction projects is not encouraging.

Everybody agrees with that. But, one thing to say, 'Okay, here's the money.' It's another thing to say, 'How's it going to be spent?'

If we don't turn around and have a good precipitation year--we're in a 10-year drought cycle in the Colorado River basin--we're looking at the possibility, within a couple years, of having to declare a shortage in the Lower Colorado River…

The real issue is the Colorado River Basin--and all the figures that Secretary Castle quoted are the ones we're working with.

This subcommittee is going to have to exercise its authority to try to correct some of the problems we have in this budget