Tribes are also major cornerstones of economic development strategy within major urban areas.

it is with great pride that I express my strong support for the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to be the next Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. A trailblazer in many ways, Solicitor Kagan was the first…

I thank the Chair, and I thank the chair of the Small Business Committee for her continued advocacy on this issue. It is so important for us to help small businesses; that is, if you believe they are the engine of economic growth for our…

I rise today to introduce legislation to end the use of Great Apes in invasive research and urge my Senate colleagues to support the Great Ape Protection Act. The Great Ape Protection Act would prohibit invasive research on all Great Apes…

I thank my colleague, Senator Landrieu, for her fight and vigor today, trying to break a logjam here on the Senate floor and to pass important small business legislation. When you think of Louisiana and you think of the Saints, you think…

I wish to thank my colleague, the Senator from Delaware, for his remarks on important banking issues and for his diligence in trying to continue to focus on the need for financial regulation. I agree there were definitely winners and…

This literally is an issue about Main Street versus Wall Street. This is about whether we are going to help Main Street in tough economics times, or whether we are going to continue to say that Wall Street gets the ear of Congress. I am…

the chair of the Small Business Committee, Senator Landrieu, does such a fabulous job standing up for small business. She is making sure in this battle that someone is standing up for individual business owners all across America who have…

I am sure some people will give us the details about what they believe the terms of the deal for Wall Street were. But it is safe to say there was no specific date that Wall Street had to pay back the money. No one ever asked them if they…

The use of chemical dispersants is a prime example of an area in which NOAA's involvement has been tragically lacking.

But can't we look at the risks for oil spill, or, as Dr. Stahr is saying, oil vents, and say that these are our big risks and this is where R&D should be applied?

Which is very different technology and focus than saying let's look at single-hull tankers or let's look at vessels that have now, because they're carrying so much cargo, become larger carriers of fuel.

Relegating our Nation's preeminent ocean-related agencies to the back bench is part of what has gotten us where we are today.

Absolutely. And we need all the advocacy we can get.

But, at this time, we are not going through each and every BP submission and analyzing it on its own merits.

Well, but, again, I think it draws the point that there is this much public interest and potential for technology and yet we're here at this point where we don't even have the capabilities of reviewing it.

So out of those proposals, you can say four are--out of 77 proposals, four have made it through the process.

So everything that has been submitted through the Coast Guard--77 proposals have been submitted on.

I would like to assure you that we will not relent in our efforts to protect the livelihoods of affected Gulf Coast residents and mitigate the environmental impacts of this spill.

Senator Cantwell proposes the 'Oil Spill Technology and Research Act of 2010' which creates a committee to oversee research and development.

And decided not to use it, is that what you're----

Shouldn't the discussion have been: We are now doing more and more deep-sea exploration and that raises the risk of challenge to the kind of spill or catastrophe that would happen.

I'm looking at the FY-2011 budget for the Coast Guard, and I see that there's a 3.3 proposed decrease, about $75 million.

Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you for your testimony.

Isn't the issue that we have lack of protocols or standards in place to evaluate technology?