Mr. President, I come to the floor today in support of S. 1963, a bill to restore the 1 percent COLA cut for military retirees. We must honor the sacrifices our military men and women--and their families--have made at home and abroad. We…

Altegrity is a big Federal contractor through its subsidiaries, and the American people have a right to know just what kind of people are managing those subsidiaries.

So OPM doesn't decide who gets the check; you just basically make sure that they get money, the company gets money and then they----

Well, but through its subsidiaries it has received over $2 billion from contracts from a dozen Federal agencies. That is pretty big to me, $2 billion. Would you agree that is pretty big for the Federal Government?

We cannot bring back those individuals who were killed, but hopefully we can put things in place.

It only takes a few, but the few can do mighty damage.

If somebody in my block... steals a bike, they get a record for a lifetime.

Our work has the potential, and I do say the potential, to stand as an important part of this committee's legacy if we follow through on these efforts.

There is no doubt that we need to conduct a thorough--and when I say thorough, I mean thorough--investigation to determine how Aaron Alexis was able to obtain and keep a security clearance given his troubling background.

I think this is so very, very important.

This is a little bit more than that, and we would not have that many people having left.

Our goal is to create a universal set of standards for workers' rights and safety and health beyond Bangladesh.

Yes, we want to make sure workers are safe; yes, we want them to have the right to organize. But, without good governance, a lot of that is going to be somewhat meaningless.

the elections are critically important, democratic institutions are critically important, following through on their plans to deal with corruption are vitally important.

Simply put, workers are the best guarantors of their own safety, when given the right and the ability to organize.

Does the government take us seriously on GSP?

there is a great deal of focus right now on ensuring that the democratic institutions in Bangladesh do not slide back.

Yes, political will is needed to make these changes.