Chuck Grassley: “I think that is what is at stake here with the debate on our amendment as well as the debate on what has actually been…”

“I think that is what is at stake here with the debate on our amendment as well as the debate on what has actually been taking place when there has been a cap in the law for the last year or so, and that is that the caps aren't working. But also the principle of a cap has been the policy of this Congress for a long period of time. We want to continue that policy. We want that to be an effective policy. We want a committee that is charged with the oversight responsibility for a law that this body passes to make sure that that policy is followed to a ``t'' by the Defense Department. We see all of that at issue here in our amendment. This isn't just an issue of $200,000 versus $250,000 or a new suggested limit of $340,000. It is the integrity of this body making public policy on defense, and is the Congress of the United States going to be followed by the agency executing our laws? We are finding out that Congress wants a cap. We are finding out even on a reconsideration of that law that the Armed Services Committee argues for a cap. We want it to be an effective cap. There might be an argument about $200,000 versus $340,000. I will buy either limit. But what I want is a limit that is enforced. I want the committee to know how much money we are paying out. We are told that they don't even know. They ought to know where the taxpayer dollars are going, the names of the people receiving them, and how much is going out.”