Did you know I am Ranking Member on the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee and am very interested in making sure that you have the money that you need to get the job done?

Well, it is interesting. I was in Latvia in July, and I met with President Zatlers...

I have been concerned about the management of the State Department.

What I am interested in knowing is how many countries have come to DHS interested in joining the program, and you have told them what the requirements are to get in.

I always wonder about these hearings and what comes out of it.

Thank you, Senator Akaka, and I appreciate your holding this hearing today.

I really would like to know just what percentage of the people that are going to be doing this ought to be on the government payroll and not private contractors.

Does the agency know whether or not they are getting a return on the investment that they are putting into that private sector?

Can we do a better job of preparing those individuals that we are asking to do this job?

So the fact is, it is cheaper.

We assumed, based on what was told to us, that they had figured this out, and the fact is, they didn't.

One of the things that always bothered me about Iraq was the lack of planning documented in several books.