Robert C. Byrd: “If we truly want to help our citizens that are mired in poverty, we should not be accepting ever increasing numbers of…”

In closing, may I say that the President's request includes $658 million for construction of the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.

The Department is firmly committed to working closely and openly with Congress in order to protect the health of our servicemembers.

My top priority will be to learn what challenges the DOD IG office needs to address and to ensure the adequacy of resources required to accomplish its mission.

I will also ensure that the OIG pursues aggressive oversight of contracting issues.