Claire McCaskill

I think the food-marketing companies are doing a good job trying to do some of this on their own.

I have more respect than I can ever describe for the guy that is sitting to my immediate left.

The extensive use of private security contractors (PSC) in Afghanistan raises concerns about potential civilian casualties, vulnerability to extortion by warlords and insurgents, and 'alienation of the local population that could undermine…

I honestly think that if we are going to be honest with the American people about how DOD relies on contracting, then it is time...

Secretary Kendall, in general, should foreign contractors be subject to the same liabilities as U.S. contractors when performing work for the U.S. Government?

The pace and extent of the administration's plan to withdraw the military and transition the DOS into Iraq will expose the United States to risks that taxpayers' dollars in support of the DOS's diplomatic mission in Iraq will be lost due…

I am having a hard time reconciling those positions.

Lieutenant General Bash, has DOD conducted a comprehensive risk assessment and examined the availability of alternatives to the use of PSCs in high-risk situations?

I think that is obviously something we all agree on, but monogrammed towels are almost as bad.

I believe such a hasty departure may endanger a successful outcome in Iraq that has been made possible with the ultimate sacrifice of over 4,400 Americans.

It is terrific to have you here. You stayed, and you actually appeared interested in all of these little arcane details, which is also terrific.

I think it is very unrealistic that we will ever get to a point that we will not be relying heavily on contractors in any future contingency.

I know that if Harry Truman were sitting here, he would want to know who was making all the money.

Secretary Kendall, in its final Report to Congress, the CWC found numerous instances where the Government failed to exercise sufficient oversight over subcontractors.

I am particularly worried about sustainability in Afghanistan because it appears to me that there is a real disconnect between what we are building for Afghanistan and what Afghanistan can afford.

I wish we had that at Homeland Security because they can't even come close to telling me how many contractors they have.

Secretary Kendall, is there a sufficient number of quality assurance personnel at the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA)?

The CWC has endorsed this approach, recommending that we 'make consent to U.S. civil jurisdiction a condition of contract award.'

I guarantee you, if I took some of the gos and took it to some of the folks that are on the ground in that area, they would say, 'Are you kidding? Really? This isn't going to be sustained. These folks can't sustain this project.'

What we needed was a new investigatory body to honor the Truman committee, to protect our tax dollars, and bring better accountability to the way we do business while at war.

Yes, if you could drill down on this whole issue because I want to push on trying to get suspensions and debarments, something that can happen and can happen fairly quickly when there is egregious activity on a contractor's part…

The CWC recommended a series of organizational changes designed to heighten the responsibility for contracting in contingencies.

A recent report by the Government Accountability Office found that Inspectors General, on average, save taxpayers approximately $18 for every dollar invested.

On the other hand, I have sat in a lot of these hearing rooms and heard tales of horror about contracting malfeasance.

I have long been concerned about a truly heartbreaking incident in Iraq where the negligence of one of our foreign contractors killed one of our soldiers.