I think it provides a disturbing insight into how predatory lenders target military personnel.

The No. 1 reason our sailors are forced from one job to another is because they lose their security clearance, and the No. 1 reason they lose their security clearance is because of financial difficulties.

Predatory lenders are blatantly targeting our military personnel, undermining their financial stability and tarnishing their service records.

The Uniform Code of Military Justice penalizes service members for deliberately writing a check not covered by funds on deposit.

I have to say I am proud to have authored this legislation that directed the Department of Defense to prepare the report that we are focused on today.

This practice not only creates financial problems for individual soldiers and their families, but also weakens our military's operational readiness.

These loans as high as 800 percent, just absolutely disgusting, ripping off service men and women and their families.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the good work you have done with the Military Personnel Financial Services Protection act which we passed in June, and that did a good job about abusive sales practices.

With my support, the Senate approved an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2007 defense authorization sponsored by Senator Jim Talent to enact a 36 percent annual interest rate cap on abusive loans to service members.

I am sure for enlisted men and women as well.

I spent some time at some of those bases that Senator mentioned, Jacksonville, Mayport, those places.

If -- if Afghanistan goes backwards, we are in serious trouble.

The fact is that Afghanistan always was the place where it was of greatest intensity. And this shifting has cost us enormously.

No. If you can't -- if you can't do one of those two things, you have hit the nail on the head. We have a serious containment issue.

the administration has really unleashed unbelievably dangerous forces, rather than have contained those forces and brought the world to our side.

Why do we have seven times the number of troops in Iraq that we have in Afghanistan? I think that tells the story.

Well, I suggested that, for the moment, if you were to increase the special forces units and the -- and the other sectors that I talked about by about 5,000, I believe you could send an important message and give us very, very significant…

Well, I think that is ridiculous, on its face.