Again, I want to thank the witnesses. This has been a very, I think, healthy, somewhat adversarial or--at times, but that is the way our system is set up.

if you are one of the more than 50 million disabled Americans, you too should deserve a fair shot at a job with a federal contractor, free of discrimination against you because of your disability.

These rules say that you deserve a fair shot to compete for a private sector job free of discrimination or bias based on your veteran status or disability.

last spring the house Republican budget proposed to block-grant Medicaid and cut it by one-third.

the Ryan Budget that was passed last spring poses a far greater threat to the future viability of your industry.

Last year I urged the administration to offer a clear and compelling reason why this regulation was necessary, especially at a time when so many Americans are struggling to get by.

We are here to discuss a final rule issued by the Department of Labor to ensure that our nation's 2 million professional hard-working home healthcare workers get paid the minimum wage and overtime compensation they deserve just like other…

Some opponents of the rule claim that paying these hard-working home care workers will lead to higher rates of institutional care.

Despite all of the hysterical comments like we just heard on the floor here today, it is important for people to know that, in States in which Governors embrace the Affordable Care Act and set up a high-functioning Web site, the fact of…

Louis Brandeis once observed in our federal system. States can act as laboratories for democracy.

It is clear that people performing these often backbreaking tasks, day in and day out, deserve a fair week's wages.

I am not arguing for preserving the status quo... we have got a problem in terms of one discrete part of the workforce.

Where does that leave us in terms of trying to address these shortages?

Frankly, we, in my opinion, can't just sort of accept the status quo in this area.

I think it is important to understand the kind of professions I am talking about are not public sector jobs.

The government announced yesterday good news for seniors: their Medicare part B premiums for 2014 will go up zero dollars and zero cents. It will stay at $104 per month. This is now the third year in a row that CMS Medicare part B premiums…

I am concerned that lowest price technically acceptable contracting has become an over-utilized practice in the acquisition community.

I do think that is certainly something worth exploring.

Ron, your report mentioned the possible benefit of having cross-class block contracts as a way of trying to generate more savings.

I completely agree with and the need to look at whether we shift DOD's overall pie in terms of orienting it more to shipbuilding, I completely agree with it.

The gentleman from Connecticut, Mr. Courtney, is recognized for 5 minutes.

Again, I think Mr. Forbes' basic point is correct, which is that we are sort of paying for the sins of the past here.

Right. Well, there is clearly going to be overlap between the Virginia and the Ohio replacement.

The worst-kept secret in Washington, D.C., is there is a majority in the House of Representatives to reopen the government today, to reach that grand compromise that Father Conroy spoke about a few minutes ago. Over 30 House Republicans…

In the spirit of goodness, I ask unanimous consent that the House bring up the Senate amendment to House Joint Resolution 59, the clean CR, and go to conference on a budget so that we would end this idiotic government shutdown and not go…