The study also included the disturbing revelation that most of the troops who reported having mental health problems also reported that they did not seek or did not receive care for their problems.

One only has to look at the performance of the economy to understand how it shapes the perspective of America's youth about military service.

Aquatic invasive species are destroying the environment, damaging fisheries, and costing American taxpayers billions of dollars annually.

We are particularly interested in the mental health programs and policies that support our troops and their families before, during, and after deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan.

As long as we're dependent on those fossil fuels, we're dependent on the Middle East. If we are not victims, we're certainly captives.

My hope is that we continue to do an even better job in terms of our nation's energy policy, so that we may even further reduce our reliance on foreign sources of oil and take better care of our environment in the process.

The more we focus on using renewable fuels, the less we are dependent upon foreign oil.