Sen. Daniel K. Inouye Holds a Hearing On the Nomination of Former Rep. Ray Lahood to Be Secretary of Transportation

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Sen. Daniel K. Inouye Holds a Hearing On the Nomination of Former Rep. Ray Lahood to Be Secretary of Transportation

SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE AND TRANSPORTATION HOLDS A HEARING ON THE NOMINATION OF FORMER REP. RAY LAHOOD TO BE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION

JANUARY 21, 2009

SPEAKERS: SEN. DANIEL K. INOUYE, D-HAWAII CHAIRMAN SEN. JOHN KERRY, D-MASS. SEN. BYRON L. DORGAN, D-N.D. SEN. BARBARA BOXER, D-CALIF. SEN. BILL NELSON, D-FLA. SEN. MARIA CANTWELL, D-WASH. SEN. FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, D-N.J. SEN. MARK PRYOR, D-ARK. SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL, D-MO. SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR, D-MINN. SEN. TOM UDALL, D-N.M. SEN. MARK WARNER, D-VA. SEN. MARK BEGICH, D-ALASKA SEN. JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, D-W.VA. SEN. RICHARD J. DURBIN, D-ILL., SENATE MAJORITY WHIP

SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, R-TEXAS RANKING MEMBER SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, R-ARIZ. SEN. OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, R-MAINE SEN. JOHN ENSIGN, R-NEV. SEN. JIM DEMINT, R-S.C. SEN. DAVID VITTER, R-LA. SEN. JOHN THUNE, R-S.D. SEN. ROGER WICKER, R-MISS.

WITNESSES: FORMER REP. RAY LAHOOD, R-ILL., NOMINATED TO BE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION

FORMER CONGRESSMAN ROBERT MICHEL, R-ILL

[*] ROCKEFELLER: I want -- I want to start my chairmanship by yielding to John Kerry, who has a 30-minute, maybe 30-hour, or 30- second announcement he wants to make.

KERRY: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the privilege. I'm managing the nomination on the floor, so I need to leave.

I just wanted to welcome you as chairman. We're delighted that you're going to be taking the helm of this committee. We know your passion for all of the issues in front of the committee. And, just personally, as somebody who has shared this journey with you on the committee, I'm delighted that you've taken on the gavel. And we look forward to your leadership. It's good to be here with you.

I want to welcome our new senators, also. It's great to have all of them here.

And I would ask unanimous consent that my full statement will be placed in the record...

(CROSSTALK)

ROCKEFELLER: And so be it.

KERRY: And I look forward to supporting your nomination, Congressman. We reached our agreements over lunch yesterday and after the inauguration, but I really look forward to your stewardship there. Thanks.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

ROCKEFELLER: Thank you, Senator Kerry.

And, obviously, I want to welcome everyone to the first session, not everybody who's here, but it's 2:00. Nobody expected it would be that early.

And I want -- I want, with the forbearance of the three distinguished people at the witness table, I want to just say a word about the committee in -- I'm not chairman. I'm still chairman of the Intelligence Committee, so you can pitch me right out of the room, if you want, but -- Danny actually isn't big enough to do that, you see, so I'm OK.

This is a very exciting thing to me. I'm deeply proud to be chairman of this committee or to be able to get into that position. And I've been on this committee for 24 years and so have specialized in certain areas. And I had no idea until I -- until I started to do preparation the unbelievable scope of what it is that we have to do, everything from putting 10 extra runways at O'Hare Airport, if Dick Durbin wants it.

I mean, there's -- there's no end to our capacity, of affecting climate change, of transportation, telecommunications, the FCC. We've got control of sports. Unfortunately, it's only college sports, not professional sports, but we'll take what we can get.

And I'm very, very, very proud that Senator Inouye, who I think is going to come today, is now doing Appropriations. And I'm very proud that I've been able to work with him.

I look forward -- I think we all do -- to working very, very hard for Americans setting forth a very aggressive agenda on this committee. I think this committee over the years has -- has its ups and downs, but we have not been always at our best. And I think our challenge now is to be at our best all the time on all subcommittees, all subcommittees, everything rises in importance to the level of anything else, not just what catches the moment or what seems to be the most intractable.

I'm also looking very much forward to working with Kay Bailey Hutchison, who will be ranking, and all members as we move things through the committee.

On the Democratic side, we're welcoming Senator Mark Begich, who evidently walks everywhere in this city. He walked home from the last ball last night. Was that -- was that the 3 o'clock one?

BEGICH: I don't know what time it ended, but it was late, let me tell you that.

ROCKEFELLER: It was late, OK.

BEGICH: But I'm here for you. ROCKEFELLER: And Tom Udall a...

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