I believe, though, we need to look beyond the bare minimum and to stop lurching from crisis to crisis just to try to keep the lights on.

I believe that if we make them permanent and if we make this an established part of the way the career pattern works with the help of our military leadership, we can really build some more flexibility.

We must have been doing something right.

Mr. President, I ask to be recognized to speak in opposition to Governor Powell's nomination to serve as Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is recognized.

I would consider giving the Department somewhat broader authority for special compensation for officer communities.

It is not that we make it permanent. It is that we open up the possibility that you can do it and you can make it permanent if you choose to make it permanent.

Can I just ask? I know we are over, but I just want to ask on this, just probe just a little bit.

One of the central aspects of the military culture is an inability to say no.

As painful as it is to have arbitrary rules, sometimes those arbitrary rules really serve an important function.

I would force 'excellence or out.' Every 2 years, you are recompeting for a position you are in.

Mr. President, I am concerned that as Chair of the Fed, Governor Powell will roll back critical rules that help guard against another financial crisis, and that is simply a risk we cannot afford. While big banks have bounced back from the…