Derek Kilmer: “There are a lot of folks in the area I represent that are grateful to this Committee for increasing the resources…”

These retreats will allow us to identify areas of mutual concern and agreement.

I think we make a terrible mistake--and I am through--when Members get elected and there is a Democratic bus and there is a Republican bus right at beginning.

My gratitude to Chairwoman Bice and to you, Mr. Chairman, and to Ranking Member Morelle, is that you are loving critics of the institution, and that matters.

This retreat would provide a rare opportunity to engage with one another outside of the pressures of Washington, D.C.