Opening Statements of Committee Members

Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank all of our nominees for testifying today and I would like to thank you for holding this hearing and this markup in such an expeditious fashion.

I think President Bush has once again demonstrated that he will continue to ask outstanding people to serve in his administration. I hope that the committee will report the nominations we are going to vote on today and the nominations we are going to vote on next Tuesday to the Senate floor.

I worked with Grant Aldonas when he was on the staff of the Senate Finance Committee under former chairman Bill Roth. We had a few sticky tariff issues that Mr. Aldonas helped us navigate through. Grant was very professional and very helpful.

I also think Ken Juster will be an outstanding official at the Department of Commerce. Secretary Evans will be greatly helped by Ken.

I have met with Ken, specifically about the Export Administration Act, and let him know of my strong support for this legislation and to get his and the Department of Commerce's commitment to passing EAA legislation.

I feel Dr. Glenn Hubbard will be an outstanding addition to the President's Council of Economic Aadvisors. I discussed at great length with Dr. Hubbard my concerns that we are slipping toward a recession. We agreed that we must pass the President's tax plan, and have strong monetary policy to get us out of this economic slump.

Finally, I would like to talk about Maria Cino. I have known Ms. Cino for many years. I worked with her often when both of us worked in the House. I have always found her to be extremely bright, and extremely capable.

I think she will make a fine addition to the Department of Commerce.

We also will have hearings on Jim Jochum, Peter Fisher and John Robson.

As we all know, Jim Jochum served on this committee as a counsel. I think Jim is an outstanding candidate and he will be a real asset to Secretary Evans.

I was unable to schedule a meeting with Peter Fisher, but I do appreciate his making himself available to myself and the committee. I believe his experience at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will be invaluable to Mr. Fisher at Treasury.

I have not had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Robson. However, he has a very impressive resume and has served his country with distinction. We are fortunate to have someone of his caliber at the Ex-Im bank.

Once again, I urge all of my colleagues to support these worthy nominees.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.