Joe Lieberman

If a district court were to conclude that a Member of Congress does not owe a duty of trust and confidence to the United States and to the American people, I would be mightily surprised.

But now you convinced me that there is ambiguity that has to be resolved.

I think now I come to a different kind of conclusion, which is that there is genuine ambiguity in the law.

The bottom line is that Americans are becoming increasingly frustrated with a Congress viewed as part of the 1 percent.

Members of Congress need to demonstrate to America that you take our concerns about your ethics seriously.

It is imperative that Congress pass a STOCK Act soon.

I hope that the two of you will be able to work with Senator Collins and me to come up with a joint bill.

The American people deserve it. We will see if politics will play a role in it or not. And it is up to us.

We must clearly define the blanket affirmative duty that we have as Members of Congress to the American people.

The American people's trust in Congress is at an all-time low, and that is disturbing.

We should not pass laws and then not have to adhere to them.

Perceptions are very important in public service.

The implementation of existing law is critically important, and you are there to make that happen.

It seems totally unacceptable to allow bad performers to continue to bid just so you increase the size of the contract pool.

I urge you to continue that emphasis on that education.

Thanks for your leadership in this area.

Thank you very much, Senator Collins.

But let us hope that this time it really will make a difference and that 30 years from now this Committee is not again holding yet another hearing examining why Federal agencies do not act more aggressively to protect taxpayers.

This GAO report must be a wake-up call to agencies that are failing to protect the interests of taxpayers.

Taxpayers deserve to know that Federal contracts and grants are awarded not to those who have acted dishonestly, irresponsibly, or incompetently.

I agree with Senator Collins. We are going to take a look at whether additional legislation is necessary...

How is that possible?

Last year, the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Inspector General (IG) found 23 cases where the Department had canceled a contract because of poor performance.

I look forward to hearing more about those guidelines during this hearing.

The answers to both of these questions are unacceptable and costly for taxpayers, and that has to stop.