Last year I was in Afghanistan. Some paratroopers were transporting me outside the city of Kandahar, and one of them stopped and turned to me and said, Are you a Congressman? I said yes. He said, Can you help us? We haven't had a pay raise…

I'd like to, on behalf of the committee, thank the gentlelady for crafting this amendment. I think it's an invaluable tool for our investigators and, if necessary, prosecutors, to track down fraud, protect our servicemembers, and protect…

Reclaiming my time, the best insurance policy against spending increases is a Democratic majority.

If I understand it correctly, the gentleman is denying that the spending increases averaged 8 percent during the Bush years. Is that correct?

I think it is important for the House to reflect on what we are and are not doing. What we are doing is considering a procedure by which the Congress can investigate what may or may not have happened in the tragedy that occurred in West…

I would like to thank the gentlelady for offering this amendment and for her fierce advocacy for the people not only of the Milwaukee area, but small businesses across the country. The gentlelady is correct that one of the underlying ideas…

The Department of Defense, even after you take away the purchase of aircraft carriers or fighter jets or what have you, is spending almost $1 billion every day of the week, every week of the year. Almost $1 billion. And sometimes the…

I support the amendment. I also share my friend the ranking member's concerns. I think the amendment addresses them in two ways. One is that the language of the amendment is quite flexible, that as long as there is transparency and…

I would urge Members to vote ``yes'' on this motion to recommit because the language of the recommit does what the gentleman's argument doesn't do. The language of this argument says we should have full, accurate transparency about the…

We support Mr. Hall's amendment. He has been an advocate for government transparency since his first day in this institution. This amendment is a significant stride forward for transparency. Last year's major weapons system bill and this…

I want to strongly support the gentlelady's amendment. I think there is scarcely a Member of this body who has not encountered a situation where a strong, viable business just outside the gate of a military establishment finds frustration…

I think it makes a very significant contribution to this legislation. What it effectively says is that competition should always be the general rule. Only when there is a compelling reason for an exception should there be one. So, for…