Ben Cardin actually said...

"I really wanted to be here to see whether we had to hold Congressman Hoyer in contempt of the Senate."

"the merit principles, which basically say we should hire people who can do the job because they have the skills to do the job and we evaluate them by how well they do that job and nothing else."

"the Federal Government does have to treat like employees similarly."

"He has good judgment and unquestioned integrity, and I think that really sums it up."