James Lankford

All these things are fictional, illusory, provocations, lies, used for domestic American political agendas.

The Russians want to create chaos wherever they can to be able to undermine democracy.

This is a matter of giving Congress a deadline when they have to act and do something and cannot just sit back and say status quo will work.

Where we are right now in budgeting, I am not sure it is how do you tie the hands of Congress. It is how do you untie the hands of Congress because most everything is on autopilot around here.

But they have found way--and not to go pick on California because their folks are not here to be able to defend themselves.

I would not exactly pull California as a model on efficiency in spending.

I believe Congress will always expand the debt ceiling.

Congress only acts when it has a deadline.

I have a bill called the Government Shutdown Prevention Act.

We have to avoid the constant fear of a government shutdown.

I have proposed several areas to be able to get on top of this.

What happens if you get to the end, and then you tip over, and you have a government shutdown? He laughed. He said, 'We have a new election the next week, because all of us are out.'

It has been one of the areas that I try to push a lot of people that I talk to, to say it is the creeping element in the budget that no one can pay attention to because you assume it is never going to get that high, but it is coming.

Let us finish our work. At the end of the time, finishing our work, we're going to put out a nonpartisan, bipartisan report.

There's skepticism. And I hear a lot of people say, 'Let's do an independent committee, instead.'

I couldn't disagree with that. Obviously with his own committee they work, but there's no reason that his committee wouldn't be able to see that and obviously be able to share with our committee, including sources for that.

It is essential that an investigation like this is nonpartisan, whether it's just bipartisan.

Building a wall--a concrete wall--across the Southern border will not enhance border security.

We need to get politics out of border protection.

I will tell you right now, I have spoken with Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske and with Deputy Commissioner Kevin McAleenan until I was blue in the face about this polygraph issue.

Why does it take 460 days? Can some of those processes not be combined, so they are simultaneous, rather than linear, in order?

I will tell you, right now, we are not administering the polygraph correctly. Period.

I think that is extremely helpful.

I think we need to take a look at--we have too many people--too many officers with guns, badges, and immigration arrest authority sitting in offices doing data entry all day long.

OK. Do you have a comment, Mr. Crane?