I am concerned that with the best of intentions, that has a degrading effect on the quality of acquisition.

As Congressman Connolly pointed out, we are focused on strengthening specialized acquisition cadres for IT, for services and for others.

We must maintain a focus on this issue, because whether it is human trafficking or the failure to hold down contract costs, our acquisition personnel are in the front lines on behalf of our constituents, the taxpayers.

It is a breath of fresh air to have commitment like you have shown to improving training for our Federal acquisition work force.

I want to also add, which I think is important to point out, is that most Serbs in Kosovo lie south of the river.

I think that is a, false premise and b, a very dubious course for the Federal Government to follow.

I think that their rejectionist attitude toward Kosovo is negative--more so negative for Serbia than anybody else, unfortunately.

I have yet to find a single corporation in America that would agree with that, that just arbitrarily saying we are going to cut back 10 percent and stay there.

So why we would have a carveout for IRS, I don't know.

You have to start thinking about how would I implement such a bill which could have, under worst-case scenario, a 10 percent reduction in the work force.

Sadly, this committee is headed in exactly the opposite direction. We approved legislation yesterday that would guarantee at least a 10 percent reduction in this agency and all Federal agencies.

Good luck, Mr. Miller, in getting a waiver from the White House for your operation.

If he did not stop that trend, China would be set free.

As Tocqueville said in 1831, America is great because it is good. Once it ceases its goodness, it will cease to be great.

They will yell and scream for a few years. And then they will come back because we are such a big piece of meat.

The Chinese Government has been rewarded for their brutality by us being silent.

It seems to me that the system you described in your 10-point sort of list, the weak link is the recruiting, potentially.

So you have reason, therefore, to doubt the narrative of The New Yorker with respect to these two women?

Not a single prosecution with respect to this kind of human trafficking has yet been brought by the Department of Defense against any contractor or subcontractor.

the fact that we have five cure letters, no prosecutions, and one reference to the Justice Department, they declined to prosecute, might suggest to a layman, if not a Member of Congress, that we are not taking this subject seriously at all.

The object here is to cease the practice. It is a violation not only of human rights, but of everything America stands for.

We are talking about human beings who are being forcibly recruited and lured into employment on our behalf, and you have not made it your business to go and kick the tires and check the dipstick to ascertain to your own satisfaction that…

It needs to be rooted out, stamped out, and ended. That is as fundamental an American value and a human rights value as exists on this planet.

Taking away human autonomy is perhaps the most abhorrent crime imaginable, and it occurs with murder and it occurs with human trafficking.

I would certainly, and I know the chairman and members of the committee would, welcome any additional thoughts you might have.