Jackie Speier: “I thank you for the opportunity to address the House tonight on what is called the Defense Logistics Agency, something…”

“I thank you for the opportunity to address the House tonight on what is called the Defense Logistics Agency, something probably not many people have heard about. The DLA is like a big hardware store in the Department of Defense. About 30 years ago, we heard horrific stories about wasteful spending of taxpayers' dollars being spent: $436 on a hammer, $7,600 on coffee makers, and $640 for toilet seats. We all thought, Well, it has been taken care of. Well, not so fast. I am showing you right now what is a plumbing elbow. At the local hardware store, this elbow sells for $1.41. But the taxpayers of this country spent $80 to a defense contractor that charged us that much money for this elbow. How about a box of washers? At the local hardware store, we as individuals would pay something like $1.22 for this box of washers. What did the taxpayers of this country pay a defense contractor for a box of washers? How about $196.50? So that issue that was around some 30 years ago is still with us today. It is time for the House of Representatives and for the Armed Services Committee to hold a hearing on why it is that the Defense Logistics Agency, our hardware store that is responsible for putting together good pricing on spare parts, is being overturned and overlooked by defense contractors and persons within the Department of Defense who would rather go outside and pay triple, quadruple, 100 percent more, or 200 percent more.…”