Political Quotes

“I want to commend him and the gentleman from California [Mr. Dellums] and all of the members of the Committee on National Security for giving us this opportunity to revisit this very, very important bill, the Defense authorization matter. I will point out that there are many items in this measure that have been approached in a very bipartisan way, on both sides of the aisle, and, indeed, with the administration. One of the ones that I would point to as having very strong support is on the acquisition reforms included in this measure. It is the most significant of the acquisition-procurement process in this country in a generation. Mr. Speaker, it would be a shame if we were to lose this very vital element, which the administration, the President, strongly supports. If we have one opportunity in this Congress to make substantial savings in the way this Government goes about buying goods and services, it is with the enactment of this bill. It is estimated that we spend not just in defense but across the board about 20 percent too much for both goods and services for everything the Federal Government buys. Enactment of the reforms that are included in this very important measure will enable us to basically save about 20 percent across the board.”