Claire McCaskill

No one questions your commitment to the United States of America.

Thank you, Mr. Moore.

Over the last 18 months, we have focused on two key areas: Improving the government's oversight and reducing waste, fraud, and abuse.

I was just shocked when I went to Iraq on my first contract oversight trip, and I am sitting with Inspectors General.

How serious would you all characterize the failures that you documented in your review of SIGAR?

Let me first start by putting on the record how conservative peer reviews are.

Has there been a sense that the leadership of SIGAR was not up to the professional standards that are required for this kind of very difficult and very important audit work?

It looks like that you all went out and found somebody who could get to Louis Freeh, who could get to Attorney General Holder, and make sure you did not lose your ability to exercise law enforcement functions.

A permanent Special IG would eliminate the inherent challenges that arise in starting up a Special IG in a contingency.

I do think that Mr. Bowen makes some points about--and I think that what we have heard today in the testimony about SIGAR is really in many ways to me depressing.

You are supposed to be finding ways to save the American taxpayers' dollars, and, please, I do not think it is a good idea to say that it was fair market value to pay somebody $46,095 a month.

It takes a lot of nerve for an investigative agency to assert primary jurisdiction over AID after independent peer review has determined they are not in compliance with government investigative standards.

That is a no-bid contract, sole-source. Correct.

But that would have been a vet that you might have done, maybe just a basic Google search for his name that would have revealed that there was, in fact, some questions that were asked.

So we have almost 7,000 active operational contracts, and there have been four audits completed of those contracts?

This is too important a government function to not have the very highest level of experience, qualifications, and expertise.

I think that may be what we see.

What's the plan for high-risk cargo inspections for countries that don't have screening capabilities?

I think we can do a better job on public education.

I certainly appreciate that the American public demands safety and security on our commercial airplanes.

I loathe the notion that we would have to buy screening equipment for other countries.

I know it has got to be frustrating, because, you know, you move one direction to try to really address any gaps we have.

We have really good people that learned a lot in Iraq, and then we're trying to recreate this same kind of office in Afghanistan.

I definitely am wrong with some frequency.

the lack of competition is, frankly, a huge part of the problem.