Mike Thompson: “the Senator from Texas is right. This is a significant change in procurement policy. The Senate Committee on…”

“the Senator from Texas is right. This is a significant change in procurement policy. The Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, which has jurisdiction over Federal procurement policy, has not had a single hearing to consider this issue and the impact it will have on the procurement process. I think at the outset it ought to be observed that it is very unfair to publicly accuse a company of being a tax cheat when they have not violated one single law, rule, or regulation of the United States. I have been informed since this discussion has been going on that one of the many unintended consequences, probably, and potentially unintended results, is one involving a company called Intelsat. If we are going to prohibit companies from dealing with the new Department of Homeland Security, why limit it to the Department of Homeland Security? Let's prohibit them from doing business with--I guess, the closest comparable department would be the Department of Defense. But the Department of Defense uses satellites of Intelsat. I do not know the extent of the traffic, but I think it is significant, and I know it is important to the national security of this country. Intelsat is a Bermuda company, and it is an inversion. That is the sort of thing we are dealing with, if thoughtful people think this thing through before we finish up this process.”