I believe strongly that best value is a fundamental principle of any good acquisition system.

I congratulate all of you on your nominations. I think the Senate will do its duty and you'll move right along.

I wish you all success, and if you are fortunate to be confirmed, I know that you will commit yourself to making sure our military men and women have the best value systems that can help them be successful as they serve America, often in…

It strikes me that after all of that flap over the FALN pardon that the Deputy Attorney General... should have been even more resistant to the Marc Rich pardon.

What the Constitution requires is what you are committed to do.

I think we have a right to ask for that. Don't you?

Senator Specter felt the pressures, he felt the development of the investigations... and felt that there was political efforts to block that.

I just feel like that was a very unwise thing, I mean, how that went along.

I do think--and I particularly find the Rich pardon that you acquiesced in and leaned toward to be problematic

I thought it was an inexplicable pardon. I believe that it reversed the recommendation of Margaret Love, a very fine pardon attorney, who I believe you removed, and allowed this to go forward in a way that I think is unjustifiable.

I think that is a danger and a weakness that could leave us more vulnerable than we need to be in the future.

I congratulate President Obama on your nominations. From what I have seen in my opportunity to meet with each of you, I believe you bring to the government the kind of experience and good judgment that we need.

Senator Lieberman's legislation authorized, up to 30,000.

That is just a dangerous thing and I hope that you will recognize, as you and I talked earlier, that each President does have a responsibility during his watch to not only pay the salaries of our personnel, but also to provide for the…

Do you believe that under normal circumstances the best value for the warfighter is what we should be seeking?

Congratulations, Mr. Holder, on the nomination. You certainly bring excellent background and experience to the job.

The FBI Director, Mr. Freeh, opposed it, and he had labeled FALN one of the three greatest domestic terrorist threats to the United States in 1998.

It is unthinkable that prisoners of war, particularly those who do not comply with the rules of warfare and violate the Geneva Conventions, would be given the same rights as an American citizen accused of a crime.

we do need to listen to their advice about how to be successful.

I believe that had a big impact in our economic slowdown. It is hurting people throughout this country.

These delays tend to be a depressant on going forward with nuclear power in general, and so we, I think, need to make a decision pretty quickly about whether we would want to support current technology or wait on some new technology.

Do you agree with Senator Gregg--I think you do--that the purpose of the stimulus is to improve the economy as quickly as possible?

I was a bit troubled that you quoted Carter's decision. I think that was one of the more colossal disasters in the last 30 years in energy.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for your leadership, and you and Senator Gregg for thinking very seriously about the challenge of our fiscal outlook and trying to do something about it.

It is remarkable, as Senator Gregg indicated, the excitement that is out there about the possibility of a big spending pot, and everybody wants a part of it.