John Mica

It is essential we have a cost benefit analysis, of course. But once we do, we also have to look at some other questions here.

I commend to both of my Republican colleagues, you know, the current Capitol we have today, the expansion of the United States Capitol, the replacement of both chambers and that dome, was championed by a man named Jefferson Davis.

This is an abuse of taxpayer money unlike anything I have seen.

The biggest expense in moving is the moving of the Data Center.

So, again, in talking to Mr. Moran and others, the appropriators, that he is not a very happy camper.

What I want to discuss today is the possibility of finishing the consolidation, bringing all the FTC into a modern complex.

I would like a listing of all of your current VA properties that are vacant or underutilized.

And it looks like, what can you tell the Committee as to the time of opening the hospital itself?

What about the domiciliary, 60-bed unit?

You are going to open the nursing home, 120-bed facility next month?

Well some were pretty simple. I mean, I was in the development business, built nothing as big as the VA but a simple, well it sounds simple, but if you have a toilet and it is floor mounted and you change the specs to wall mount it after…

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you this Committee for its continued vigilance and pursuit particularly on the construction side of VA hospitals and medical facilities.

I hate to say it, it is kind of like ObamaCare, but sort of the same with DHS: I told you so.

But that is under you. Can you report--my time is about up. Can you report back to the committee?

I am concerned that DHS still hasn't fired--I have got a headline here--a black supremacist who called for mass murder of whites.

I gave a speech in this committee when we created the Department of Homeland Security, and I said, whoever thinks that bringing 22 agencies together and over 200,000 people would be more efficiently operated is dreaming.

I am going to do everything I can to stop anybody else from the FTC but the FTC going in there.

I want you to report back to the committee.

There is no reason they cannot all be in there.

I am not a happy camper about the FTC and the Constitution Building.

Is there anything legislatively that we could do to help you speed it up?

We need to be expanding passenger rail in this country, not contracting this service.

We are facing serious financial crises.

To me that is not a future. I think we can dramatically increase the employment and people can earn good wages in good positions.

We do want to accomplish some positive steps. We do want to protect the welfare of the employees and the commitment we have made to them.