The Senate was determined to make sure that the final version of the bill had a quicker impact on the economy by having a faster spend-out rate than the House bill had.

we have to make sure that we do what the President said we are going to do, which is that we are going to watch every dime.

We remain determined to protect this critical spending from waste, fraud, and mismanagement.

I think it is extremely unfortunate that the omnibus bill has not been revised to take into account the recently appropriated funds in the stimulus bill.

the more eyes, the better, clearly

I think there ought to be some flexibility to maybe shift some of the time frames for when the money is spent.

It is essential to effectively achieving the objective of the President's March 4, 2009 memo to have the capacity and ability to develop, manage, and oversee acquisitions appropriately.

I am very pleased to recognize Representative Herseth Sandlin for her many years working and fighting for veterans' issues, especially women veterans' health care.

I look forward to hearing the views of the witnesses on these bills before us today.

I do not necessarily agree or disagree with the bills before us today, but I believe that this is an important part of the legislative process.

Thank you again for taking the time to answer these questions. The Committee looks forward to receiving your answers by April 23, 2008.

I would like to thank you very much, Doctor Cross for your continued efforts to make sure that our veterans get the benefits that they have earned and deserve.

the acquisition workforce... is the number-one problem, over and over again.

I think you've brought forth a bill that will really make a difference.

So, in my opinion, and based on my recent experience, it seems somewhat unreasonable and an unfair financial burden for women veterans...

it's imperative that we build up the Afghan army as quickly as possible so that the Afghans are taking a lead

One of the reasons that we are seeing some success in Iraq is not just the addition of more troops, but rather a change in strategy that accompanied the addition of more troops.

My related concern is that we're putting an American face on the effort.