Jay Rockefeller

the long-standing principle that those who have borne the battle have earned a statutory right to the benefit of the doubt when doubt arises in their disability claims is the backbone of our great system.

this is a chance for us to engage in constructive discussion. It is still a very interesting proposition. I think it is going to pass, and it will be, in spite of what was said last night, bipartisan. In fact, it could not possibly pass…

What he is basically saying, in an extraordinary statement, is that there shall be no closing of Guantanamo. But then he is saying that if Guantanamo is closed, that there shall be no taking of prisoners from Guantanamo and putting them…

I will say very briefly that I am stunned by the speech from the Senator from Oklahoma. What he is basically saying--and I don't know whether he has ever been on the Intelligence Committee, but some of us have and have watched and studied…

notification is at the heart of that?

I think one of the qualities that you bring is this enormous array of experiences you've had, including a great deal of intelligence.

Our greatest weapon is our moral authority and our stature and the view that we always abide by the Constitution.

I have disagreed strongly with the direction of the administration.

Can you remember any discussions, finally, in which you felt that the safety and security of the American people was not the absolute, number one priority of everyone with whom you worked and have worked?

Melvin Dubee, one of the Senate's most highly valued staff members and one to whom I am personally grateful, will soon conclude two decades of government service in order to apply his considerable talents in the private sector. While I do…

It's an important question. When is it that you have to in fact adhere, if that is the case at all, to a more select group of people simply because information is so explosive or so imminent or so timely that you adhere to a gang of eight…

I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart for your ascendancy to the Chair.

But it is a team effort. We are Team America and we are under attack, and we have to go at it with that kind of cooperative point of view.

I think the point you make about trying to keep up with the other side, usually in terms of China and others, I think it puts us at a disadvantage in this country.

I ask you to work closely with us to ensure that our nation always has accurate, reliable information, and that it's collected in a way that makes this country proud, and is analyzed without the taint of political influence.

Intelligence must be accurate. It must be accurate. It must be politically neutral.

It's a game which is deadly and which has a very hard time attracting public interest.

To ensure this, secret intelligence activities must be subject to rigorous congressional oversight.

As one who actually put forward the first DNI legislation, the role of the DNI is to be the leader of the 16 intelligence agencies that make up the intelligence community.

But my main worry is the security of our country's critical infrastructure--our electric power grid.

the whole point of it was all about cyber security. He views it as the premier national security problem.

I believe that Ray LaHood will be a great Secretary of Transportation.

today the Senate will pass a comprehensive public lands bill that will protect our Nation's public lands and conserve our planet's oceans. I thank the majority leader and Senator Bingaman for including important bills from the Committee on…

Government is capable of changing. I think we have a very gutsy new President-elect and I think he wants to see results in the work that you are doing.

Thanks mostly to the work of Senator Murray, who you will find is one of the best friends you will ever have, she just got us a whole bunch more money and we all felt pretty good about it--$2 billion.