U.S. State Attorneys General

I actually have a bill called the Investor Choice Act, H.R. 1098, that would prohibit predispute mandatory arbitration clauses in investment contracts.

It is far from clear to me, and I think it would be far from clear to most people in the United States, why that is in the interests of the republic.

How is allowing a defendant to essentially forum shop in the public interest?

Anyone following the Presidential election knows that many people think that the rules are rigged in favor of powerful companies.

Our acquisition process is highly complicated, and yet we are stuck in a bygone era.

I think that if we define 'constraints' as, really, speed, thrift, simplicity, I think that's what we're getting at.

I think it's a great approach.

According to your testimony, your Bureau is now reviewing over 5,000 pages of technical feedback on the draft rule.

Did you also take into consideration--I realize this is difficult to predict because you do not want to make any predictions based on the actual occurrence of disasters--but when there is a disaster and there are deaths, then the company…

Thank you, Madam Chairman.

If the environmental and safety regulatory standards laid out in the WCR are implemented, operators will have to factor in the cost of the compliance with the rule in addition to their operating costs.

I would say that we should move forward with this bill.

I am very supportive of the Department of Labor's decision to move forward with a rulemaking to protect workers.

Conflicted investment advice costs investors a lot of money. Some have said $17 billion a year.

I've often wondered why it is that we don't separate out these budgets, because, in the States, it's--the capital budgets are usually called the capital improvements budget [plans], CIP.

Usually an organization can move forward if there is a guiding overriding goal.

I wonder about that, because, for example, on the issue of things such as base closures, it is really hard for us.

Do the other two panel members want to chime in?

I think all of the panelists said that--indicated that this is not the armed services that we would have if we were creating this body because our military is a product of history.

Reclaiming my time, I appreciate that, Mr. Chairman. It is important for Congress to give the term ``critical commerce corridor'' meaning. We have seen the dangers of leaving terms undefined and of relying on the agency to create a…

I think the way in which you spend the money is absolutely critical.

We have a pretty good investment inside DOD in R&D. It is not well focused.

The Defense Department has used a technology, basically quality over quantity, to stay ahead of the other countries.

Perhaps one of the ways that we incentivize the private sector is, of course, to have the potential of technology transfer.