Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 3 minutes. This is a bipartisan amendment that I offer together with the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Norman). We may appear as the odd couple politically, but we share a common interest in trying to ensure that taxpayers get their money's worth, and that is true on military contracts as with every other aspect of government. When it comes to those contracts, we are concerned that that is not happening on too many of them. We don't ask you to just take our word for it, but we have turned to a fellow named Shay Assad, sometimes referred to as the most disliked person in the Pentagon. He had four decades of experience in negotiating government contracts, served as the top director for procurement for both George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He was central to an illuminating ``60 Minutes'' report last year about price gouging, which he described as unconscionable and widespread. He has returned to the Pentagon now as the director of procurement at the Air Force. {time} 1000 I know that Chairman Rogers and Mr. Smith have been concerned about this problem. Their committee has given it some attention, but I think we can supplement their efforts. Military contractors deserve to get a fair profit, but American taxpayers deserve to be treated fairly also. We have seen a consolidation in the defense industry where 50 firms have been reduced to about 5 primary contractors. This is a very modest amendment.…”