Ron Johnson

I think when it comes to protecting small businesses, from my standpoint, the best way of doing that is, as you were indicating, Ms. Chaplain, this is really about data, about providing information, and more so involved purchasing.

These things are available if properly used, but again, to me it is just the incentive that is really preventing this from being implemented.

You are really actually describing the total value proposition, which is not always about cost, but it is really the total value of having that supplier there.

I want to make sure that I am achieving the priorities of my boss, and the priority frequently is getting enough budget money flowing to a particular area.

So really, the incentive in government is failure actually pays off in government, does it not?

This is not really the sexiest subject for a hearing.

Do people in the agencies believe sequester is going to stay?

I think you need to be very careful when you have a very limited supplier base.

So again, I am not trying to beat up on the witnesses here. I am just trying to point out the futility--and we are seeing it.

Well, I will tell you one thing we are doing, sequester. That is a kind of incentive, is it not?

This has some real potential for some real dollar savings.

I just want to suggest, I have sat through enough hearings now in 2½ years of how do you reform government.

I am concerned about civil liberties as well as anybody, but I was certainly hoping there were cameras on the streets that would identify these individuals.

There is no hard and fast rule in terms of when that Mirandizing occurs, correct?

I think it should be expanded, especially with this threat of terrorism that is international.

It always amazes me in these tragedies that we see the absolute best in America.

That is primarily how we ID'd these individuals, correct, was private cameras, private businesses, and just private citizens?

Do you think that would have been the appropriate thing to do in this case, hold off Mirandizing Dzhokhar, to actually get more information?

We have seen an awful lot of abuse here in the Federal Government level of conferences and association meetings.

When those bombs went off, rather than running away from danger, we saw the citizens of Boston run toward the danger to help out.

I think the major terrorist cities are at or close to that level--New York City, Los Angeles--but others, I think, have to raise their game, have to take this seriously.

So about 92.5 percent is really State and local government funding, which underscores your point, Dr. Kellermann, that 7.5 percent is Federal Government spending.

We got no further information.

Now that I am a Senator, I actually use the Census Web site more than I did as a private citizen.

Moving forward, have you established some kind of goal, I mean with the advances in information technology, do you have a goal in terms of productivity gains, actually reducing the cost per household?