I have been reluctant to take this out of the chain of command.

I guess my question would be, why not? Why something like that?

I think that the other issue is whether or not the information that they are looking at necessarily reflects information that is required, which is problematic.

I will close by saying that every day, our troops lay their lives on the line to defend freedom and it is our job to make sure that they are not denied the right to vote.

And I certainly look forward to hearing from our witnesses, Ambassador Kenneth Moorefield, Deputy Inspector General for Special Plans and Operations and Ms. Pamela Mitchell, the Acting Director of the Federal Voting Assistance Program.

everything has to be on the table.

if we don't address the top 2 percent paying their fair share, then we are not going to get where we need to go.

I would challenge my colleagues on that as well because that is the one way that we can begin to give some certainty, I think, to the economy as a whole.

But you seem to be suggesting as well that Congress has a role and perhaps there are some authorities or opportunities to make this easier or to encourage more partnerships?

I guess one of the things I would say about your presentation, and I really appreciate the hard work that you all have been doing for so many years is, you know, we have come a long way.

Thank you very much, Senator, and thank you for that very gracious introduction.