It is the mission of your agency, to safeguard our Nation's precious lands, air, water, protect the health of our citizens, especially our children.

Under your leadership, EPA has been very responsive to my office and I appreciate that.

the Omnibus Mercury Emissions Reduction Act, to control mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants and other sources.

I am afraid that objectivity may be diminished and that would create a real problem for us and our own debates up here.

I am afraid that the balance, the balance that has come up over the years, may come unglued.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will submit--I am sure the Governor will expect this--follow-up questions on this.

please let us know, because there are a lot of apprehensive Vermonters.

I wish we could get the document issued.

I see a serious risk to pregnant women and children from mercury exposure.

I appreciate you moving down here to accommodate especially the disabled people earlier.

I believe we also have a court that is totally ignoring the legislative record or saying that it is virtually irrelevant.

I think as judges we have to be very concerned about the rights of defendants, especially in capital cases.

Under Democratic leadership in the Senate we confirmed 100 of President Bush's nominees within 17 months.

I think they should be very reluctant to overturn a jury verdict.

I applaud you for doing that and then moving out of our regular place.

I would suggest, I would urge you to go back and reread Judge Noonan's book.

I would have been able to finish the book today if you had not kept us here so long, Mr. Chairman.

This court is leading the country down a dangerous path, where it seems States' rights predominate over people's rights.

Do you think there are changes that are warranted in the way the death penalty is administered?

So now he could only recover a quarter of a million?

We have a certain independence here, and yes, the Government does lose on occasions.

What we are doing is we are appointing people to the highest courts in the land, with little more attention and scrutiny than we would pay to appoint these for a temporary Federal commission.

I am very concerned, having three nominees of this nature, that is, controversial, however defined, all at once.

I have always had the same standard.

I think there is--this cramped process and procedure I think is unworthy, quite frankly, of the committee.