Mike Enzi

Thank you. I know that's just one small idea, one big idea from a number of them, and I appreciate the time that you've taken on the Hill to help educate us all on possibilities for really bending that cost curve because that's one of the…

I'm hearing some concern that if we do a government-run health plan, we'll wind up with something like Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I want to thank everybody that testified.

What you may not know is that you volunteered to answer questions that Senators may submit.

I firmly believe an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Congress has a unique opportunity to improve our health care system, but this bill misses the mark.

In a time of record debt and deficits, how can you justify the wasteful spending in this bill?

You know, you can't have a bipartisan bill that's written by one side and that's what it is.

This will affect every single American. This will affect every business, every provider and every consumer.

Instead of providing mandatory spending on a vast array of public health programs, we should provide the CDC with a Director's fund.

It is definitely a balancing act, as you mentioned. We want to make sure it is a streamlined process.

I appreciate that I got an opportunity to meet with Dr. Hamburg before and that she has already answered a lot of questions for me.

I think that cooperation is vital and I think that really strengthening the working relationships with Congress is a very important aspect of what the FDA needs to do at the present time.

What I always ask is, in order to continue to sponsor that kind of a relationship, whether it is a Democrat or a Republican, would you be willing to promptly respond to any written or phone inquiries, sharing information whenever it…

I would like to begin by thanking Senator Murray for calling this hearing today.

I think it is has to be one of the unusual things in Government to have three agencies doing that.

I am a bit concerned about the direction the Obama Department of Labor will take.

I commend them for their previous public service and willingness to go through the process of Senate confirmation.

Policies aimed at promoting soda ash exports, such as the VAT rebate, are inconsistent with China's own stated goals and a direct threat to U.S. interests.

The message should be as clear as it is convincing; namely, China should live up to its repeated pledge to discourage the expansion of highly-polluting and energy-intensive sectors such as its own soda ash industry.

If we don't stand up for the pillars of our export-based manufacturers like the soda ash industry--and the U.S. workers employed throughout the soda ash supply chain--we cannot seriously contend we are doing everything we can to support…

I would like to ask you about your intentions as Administrator to ensure that the designated small business funding from the stimulus bill goes only to small businesses.

I waited for 3 days to be able to make a technical correction amendment. Yes, I will agree to do that. I hope it does not get left out. I think without that amendment, the Health IT portion will not work. It is not anything about money, it…

It was my understanding it had been worked out between the Senators, through the staffs, and that is the only reason we put that modification in. These are technical corrections, hoping to be able to have a usable Health IT bill when we…

I have spent my 12 years in the Senate trying to work across the aisle, trying to get things to happen around here. I found the way things happen is, if they go through the whole process--

I have been working on increasing the adoption of health information technology for the past 4 years and I am hopeful that this is the year when we can finally get something done.