Eleanor Holmes Norton

I am into shock and dismay that the USDA, Department of Agriculture, apparently is delinquent in its rent, and very delinquent.

Very disturbing. We are going to have a go-round at it. And indeed, that means that you are funded below what was necessary just to keep even; 224?

Why? Why do lease construction, an expensive way to----

I certainly hope you try to get it down after there is the appropriate competition.

Charged directly to you, security escort costs. Amended prospectus. You know, if OMB wants this, pay for it themselves.

That is very important for us.

We are going to reauthorize your statute, which hasn't been basically touched since President Truman first created the Public Buildings Service.

Are you saying because they pay to lease buildings they get to decide security in Federal buildings rather than GSA and the FPS?

I would like to have that one within 7 days, because we keep getting these inquiries.

What bothers me most of all is that they would have anything but the kind of role that it seems to me they should have.

OMB has no credibility on the scoring matter with us.

I believe that this administration is trying to bring some fresh eyes to all of this.

I am just trying to find out who the decider is.

It is very disturbing to think that there would be people at the table who had no expertise deciding something.

the government is not a religious institution.

the notion, particularly after this hearing, that we are leaving, you know, civil servants at the table as decision makers for security in Federal buildings is shocking and totally unacceptable.

The people who just informed President Obama a couple of weeks ago that his health care bill only covered 16 million of at least 50 million people who would need to be covered are in no position to offer a final opinion on what scores.

What costs a thousand dollars? You can't even get in those gates.

I don't see how this makes this the District's.

Excellent. And congratulations, particularly if you are able to get people to understand who you are and they are coming in below what you thought the job may cost.

Now, I am going to ask you to do this within 30 days and report back to this Committee.

We need the transportation, for us it is first on the radar because we trust your work.

I hope people understand there is some risk.

I hate to think of this economy as something that we want to quick, hurry, take advantage of, because we don't want it to linger.

You have to understand that you can't expect us to continue to try to protect the Federal Building Fund at the same time that you allow one of your largest tenants to be a decade in arrears.