nearly every external review in the past decade has indicated serious problems with the security culture at NNSA and DOE.

But immediately prior to the incident, your agency in its wisdom had given Babcock & Wilcox an excellent rating for its safeguards and security work, and they received their full $51 million incentive fee in fiscal year 2011, even though…

Acting Administrator Miller, B&W got nearly 60% of its award fee in FY2012. The security failure at Y-12 only cost them $12 million in un-earned fee.

Do you think that NNSA has gone too far in delegating responsibility for making security decisions to its contractors?

Trust me, I am not suggesting spending more money. I am asking what value the taxpayer got for this extraordinary outlay over many years.

Secretary Poneman, B&W got nearly 60% of its award fee in FY2012. The security failure at Y-12 only cost them $12 million in un-earned fee.

But meanwhile, as the inspector general told us in his testimony, your Department is spending about a billion dollars a year securing various facilities, hiring 4,000 guard personnel through various devices...

Then how can you say it was well defended? It was not well defended. That is why we are having this hearing.

This is all the result of collateral damage from political gridlock.

If we won't fund the mission, let's have the courage to admit a smaller mission.

The best I can tell this committee is doing little or nothing except talking about it.

Let's take some responsibility here.

How does that make sense? We do not even curb our CODELs, much less take a salary reduction.

This is a sad day for this committee, a sad day for Congress, a sad day for America.

We have the power to fund this shortfall. Let's use that power.

I am worried that the interface between U.S. personnel and the Afghan so-called health system puts U.S. personnel in an impossible situation.

I am a little worried that with all this talk of standards for the Afghan healthcare system...

I don't want to prolong this unduly, but it is my understanding that the life expectancy in Afghanistan is among the shortest in the world.

Personally, I am most concerned that the Administration has not nominated anyone to serve as State Department IG.

Inspectors general are critical to ensuring that our government works effectively and efficiently on behalf of the American taxpayers.

The fact that President Bush had as many IG vacancies in 2004 as President Obama does today does not mean we should ignore the current vacancies.

In my opinion, this is how we should approach today's hearing: by working together in a bipartisan manner to ensure that oversight is rigorous and constructive.

NAHB commends Representative Cooper for his earnest and diligent efforts in proposing much needed reforms to the Lacey Act.

The purposes of this proposal are to exempt any plant or finished plant product imported or completed before May 22, 2008.

I applaud the Committee for holding this hearing today, and I want to give a special thanks to Representatives Jim Cooper and Marsha Blackburn, who have been leaders in advocating a pragmatic and bipartisan solution to the problem.