Our next FDA Commissioner is going to have a very important role to play in the safety of our Nation's food supply.

I believe that the Department must address this issue if it wants to avoid the kind of waste, fraud, and abuse that undermines the public's confidence.

We want to make sure that the considerable amount of money that we put out there is spent wisely, and that we earn the trust of America by doing it right.

We would like you to keep this subcommittee fully aware of any potential problems that you see out there.

the need for smart power and elevating the role of development in our national security strategy.

I appreciate your response very much, Secretary Clinton.

I believe strongly that we can't invest more than $48 billion in supplemental funds in transportation without making sure that we get some real, measurable improvements for communities.

I am hearing reports now that the requirement that those funds be used for capital expenses and not operating expenses is posing some problems for our rural transit systems.

we're not just talking about money, we're talking about people.

We will be following that closely, too.

Last Congress I introduced a bill, the Mine Disaster Family Assistance Act of 2007.

A new year, a new Administration and a new Congress provide us with a fresh opportunity to revisit the law's effectiveness.

I agree with you that some changes are necessary to make the law and the agency more effective.

Our country has made great progress in protecting workers on the job since the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 39 years ago.

We must honor those families and their memories by working to reduce worker deaths and injuries.

Their participation in this process will help hold bad actors accountable and help to spare other families the same pain they have experienced.

It does seem to me that having more information would cause people to at least stop and think.

Unfortunately over the last several years OSHA has not lived up to its mission to make workers safer on the job.

One workers death, injury or illness is unacceptable if it's preventable.

I think that really can make a difference for competitors in the area.

I'm particularly interested in how families are treated during an accident or an accident investigation.

We also have to ensure that when a worker is killed, injured or made sick on the job, those workers and their families are respected and honored throughout the process.

I mean it just seems incongruous to me that families who have a fatally injured family member that they're burying gets less compensation than what we are fining the employer.

You know the majority of employers who get an OSHA citation choose to negotiate with their local OSHA office for an informal settlement.

We're here today to talk about what more government can do to ensure that every worker who punches in for their next shift, returns home safe and healthy at the end of the day.