Accountability in Contracting Act
ACCOUNTABILITY IN CONTRACTING ACT
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I rise today to simply thank Chairman Waxman and many of his compatriots on the other side of the aisle for giving us this week.
If you want to know why there are so many new Members in this Chamber today, it is that there have been a lot of people in this country who have been waiting for this week.
You know, we sit around and we wonder sometimes why we feel this disconnect between the people out there in the American public and their government. Well, there is a sense on their behalf that the government somehow exists separate from them, that it is an entity that is wholly divorced from what is happening out in the real world, and that government has ended up setting its own rules that don't really have applicability to their own lives and how they manage their own existences.
And I think the issue of how we have gone about contracting, whether it be for this war or for other domestic and foreign endeavors, is a perfect example of how we have broken down that contract between government and its people. They look to the $100 billion in no-bid contracts, many of which going to companies that didn't need any more help. They look at Halliburton and other companies like it get rich while local programs that help people in the communities, middle-class working families with health care and education wither on the vine. And I think they look with a renewed sense of faith and optimism to this House, not just this week, but in how we have gone about keeping their money and regaining their faith.
It started on the first day when those of us who got sworn in were lucky enough to cast a vote in favor of new budget rules that will make sure that we keep better track of the money that comes in and don't rack up record deficits. And it continues today, Mr. Chairman, with a renewed commitment to responsible contracting.
I am happy to be standing next to my new chairman, Mr. Waxman. I am happy to be here today in our process of restoring that faith in the government that our people have lost.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
http://thomas.loc.gov