>> thank you. mr. thompson. >> mr. secretary, thank you very much for being here. i too want to add my appreciation to you and the president for submitting a budget that attempts to really focus on the middle class. while i agree with my friend from florida that businesses across this great country are very, very important. they do a great service. they provide great products. the truth of the matter is it is those consumers largely in the middle class who are the job creators in this country. if there is no middle class, then there is nobody to buy all the great things that our businesses sell and manufacture. all the business stuff just goes out the door. so it is important that we do focus on the middle class. and no more better place to do that is through investment in infrastructure. so we may disagree with how we get there. you have taken a very important first step in recognizing the need to invest in a critical infrastructure that keeps everything going across the