Carl Levin

The 1999 transaction significantly changed how profits were allocated for tax purposes.

Caterpillar reported most of the sales income on its U.S. tax return, international parts sales income on its tax return.

So you use words, too, 'low-tax [marketing] countries'? Don't you ever use those words?

Now let us get down to CSARL.

But wasn't the purpose to shift profits for tax purposes to a low-tax jurisdiction. Is that correct?

Is it fair to say that the driving force behind . . . CSARL was the tax department and not any business unit?

A minute before the red light comes on on the timer, you will see a light change from green to yellow, giving you an opportunity to conclude your remarks.

I am not talking about that. I am asking about inventory systems.

The point here is stay in the United States in 2009 and future.

Migrate income from the U.S. to lower-tax jurisdictions.

Both were intangibles, right, in both cases? CSARL----

The allocation of profits was shifted.

More than 8 million Afghan children are now in school, eight times as many as in 2001.

For a force that is very much still in its infancy, the Afghan Security Forces's performance last year--judged on its own merits--should be considered a success.

I do not share that view. More importantly, neither do the Afghan people.

It is the same story for HSBC and, frankly, for any other number of other banks that were involved in predatory transactions that hurt American citizens.

If the Swiss bank does not want to or cannot comply with U.S. law, maybe it should not do business in the United States.

Thank you, Senator Manchin.

Did all the Service Chiefs approve that recommendation?

I believe it would be helpful if the President would announce a specific troop level number for the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan after 2014 as quickly as possible.

If the budget caps remain unchanged, however, the Army would shrink to an end strength of 420,000.

The administration has proposed we increase revenues so that we can raise the defense budget caps by $26 billion in fiscal year 2015.

I believe we must pursue just that continuously and with determination in the months ahead.

We believe that Burma requires a new approach that focuses on building trust and relationships.

Burma continues to undergo its dramatic democratic and economic transition, including the release of over 1,000 political prisoners.