Political Quotes

“In working with 26 Oregon National Guard members who have filed a lawsuit against defense contractor KBR, I discovered these Oregon veterans have a compelling case that, while serving in Iraq, KBR's negligence resulted in their poisoning by hexavalent chromium, a very potent carcinogen. In the legal proceedings, KBR recently revealed the existence of a still-classified contract clause that could shift the cost of all the damages and court fees onto the Department of Defense and, of course by extension, the U.S. taxpayers. I vowed to fight to end a contracting flaw that can shield contractors from their own reckless behavior and removes incentives for them to operate responsibly. Today I will introduce legislation that will set important long overdue limits to indemnification agreements and to correct this problem with congressional oversight of the defense contracting process. I hope my colleagues will join me in passing this legislation before the end of the session.”