May 13, 2011 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E905 INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION It is also a system in which contractors are works. They help craft war plans. They gath- ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2011 playing an ever more important role. The er information on local factions in war Post estimates that out of 854,000 people with zones. They are the historians, the archi- SPEECH OF top-secret clearances, 265,000 are contractors. tects, the recruiters in the nation’s most se- There is no better example of the govern- cretive agencies. They staff watch centers HON. PETER WELCH ment’s dependency on them than at the CIA, across the Washington area. They are among OF VERMONT the one place in government that exists to the most trusted advisers to the four-star do things overseas that no other U.S. agency generals leading the nation’s wars. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES is allowed to do. So great is the government’s appetite for Thursday, May 12, 2011 Private contractors working for the CIA private contractors with top-secret clear- have recruited spies in Iraq, paid bribes for ances that there are now more than 300 com- The House in Committee of the Whole information in Afghanistan and protected panies, often nicknamed ‘‘body shops,’’ that House on the State of the Union had under CIA directors visiting world capitals. Con- specialize in finding candidates, often for a consideration the bill (H.R. 754) to authorize tractors have helped snatch a suspected ex- fee that approaches $50,000 a person, accord- appropriations for fiscal year 2011 for intel- tremist off the streets of Italy, interrogated ing to those in the business. ligence and intelligence-related activities of detainees once held at secret prisons abroad Making it more difficult to replace con- the United States Government, the Commu- and watched over defectors holed up in the tractors with federal employees: The govern- nity Management Account, and the Central Washington suburbs. At Langley head- ment doesn’t know how many are on the fed- Intelligence Agency Retirement and Dis- quarters, they analyze terrorist networks. At eral payroll. Gates said he wants to reduce ability System, and for other purposes: the agency’s training facility in Virginia, the number of defense contractors by about Mr. WELCH. Mr. Chair, today I want to high- they are helping mold a new generation of 13 percent, to pre-9/11 levels, but he’s having light a critical issue facing the Intelligence American spies. a hard time even getting a basic head count. Community: increasing reliance on contrac- Through the federal budget process, the ‘‘This is a terrible confession,’’ he said. ‘‘I tors. George W. Bush administration and Congress can’t get a number on how many contractors A 2010 Washington Post story reported that made it much easier for the CIA and other work for the Office of the Secretary of De- agencies involved in counterterrorism to fense,’’ referring to the department’s civilian 30 percent of the workforce in our intelligence hire more contractors than civil servants. leadership. agencies is contractors. Furthermore, the Post They did this to limit the size of the perma- The Post’s estimate of 265,000 contractors estimated that out of 854,000 people with top- nent workforce, to hire employees more doing top-secret work was vetted by several secret clearances, 265,000 are contractors. I quickly than the sluggish federal process al- high-ranking intelligence officials who ap- encourage my colleagues to read this eye lows and because they thought—wrongly, it proved of The Post’s methodology. The news- opening article. turned out—that contractors would be less paper’s Top Secret America database in- These startling facts cause me great con- expensive. cludes 1.931 companies that perform work at cern—we’ve learned the hard way time and Nine years later, well into the Obama ad- the top-secret level. More than a quarter of ministration, the idea that contractors cost them—533—came into being after 2001, and time again what happens when we fail to mon- less has been repudiated, and the administra- others that already existed have expanded itor the work of federal contractors. The fed- tion has made some progress toward its goal greatly. Most are thriving even as the rest of eral government has the responsibility to of reducing the number of hired hands by 7 the United States struggles with bank- maintain its commitment to monitoring their percent over two years. Still, close to 30 per- ruptcies, unemployment and foreclosures. use—with special attention made to the evolv- cent of the workforce in the intelligence The privatization of national security ing nature of their work and the associated na- agencies is contractors. work has been made possible by a nine-year tional security risks inherent to outsourcing ‘‘For too long, we’ve depended on contrac- ‘‘gusher’’ of money, as Gates recently de- tors to do the operational work that ought scribed national security spending since the these tasks. I look forward to working with the to be done’’ by CIA employees, Panetta said. 9/11 attacks. Select Committee on Intelligence to achieve But replacing them ‘‘doesn’t happen over- With so much money to spend, managers this goal. night. When you’ve been dependent on con- do not always worry about whether they are [From the Washington Post, July 20, 2010] tractors for so long, you have to build that spending it effectively. NATIONAL SECURITY, INC. expertise over time.’’ A second concern of ‘‘Someone says, ‘Let’s do another study,’ Panetta’s: contracting with corporations, and because no one shares information, ev- (By Dana Priest and William M. Arkin) whose responsibility ‘‘is to their share- eryone does their own study,’’ said Elena In June, a stone carver from Manassas holders, and that does present an inherent Mastors, who headed a team studying the al- chiseled another perfect star into a marble conflict.’’ Qaeda leadership for the Defense Depart- wall at CIA headquarters, one of 22 for agen- Or as Gates, who has been in and out of ment. ‘‘It’s about how many studies you can cy workers killed in the global war initiated government his entire life, puts it: ‘‘You orchestrate, how many people you can fly all by the 2001 terrorist attacks. want somebody who’s really in it for a career over the place. Everybody’s just on a spend- The intent of the memorial is to publicly because they’re passionate about it and be- ing spree. We don’t need all these people honor the courage of those who died in the cause they care about the country and not doing all this stuff.’’ line of duty, but it also conceals a deeper just because of the money.’’ Most of these contractors do work that is story about government in the post-9/11 era: Contractors can offer more money—often fundamental to an agency’s core mission. As Eight of the 22 were not CIA officers at all. twice as much—to experienced federal em- a result, the government has become depend- They were private contractors. ployees than the government is allowed to ent on them in a way few could have fore- To ensure that the country’s most sen- pay them. And because competition among seen: wartime temps who have become a per- sitive duties are carried out only by people firms for people with security clearances is manent cadre. loyal above all to the nation’s interest, fed- so great, corporations offer such perks as Just last week, typing ‘‘top secret’’ into eral rules say contractors may not perform BMWs and $15,000 signing bonuses, as the search engine of a major jobs Web site what are called ‘‘inherently government Raytheon did in June for software developers showed 1,951 unfilled positions in the Wash- functions.’’ But they do, all the time and in with top-level clearances. ington area, and 19,759 nationwide: ‘‘Target every intelligence and counterterrorism The idea that the government would save analyst,’’ Reston. ‘‘Critical infrastructure agency, according to a two-year investiga- money on a contract workforce ‘‘is a false specialist,’’ Washington, D.C. ‘‘Joint expedi- tion by The Washington Post. economy,’’ said Mark M. Lowenthal, a tionary team member,’’ Arlington. What started as a temporary fix in re- former senior CIA official and now president ‘‘We could not perform our mission with- sponse to the terrorist attacks has turned of his own intelligence training academy. out them. They serve as our ‘reserves,’ pro- into a dependency that calls into question As companies raid federal agencies of tal- viding flexibility and expertise we can’t ac- whether the federal workforce includes too ent, the government has been left with the quire,’’ said Ronald Sanders, who was chief many people obligated to shareholders rath- youngest intelligence staffs ever while more of human capital for the Office of the Direc- er than the public interest—and whether the experienced employees move into the private tor of National Intelligence before retiring government is still in control of its most sector. This is true at the CIA, where em- in February. ‘‘Once they are on board, we sensitive activities. In interviews last week, ployees from 114 firms account for roughly a treat them as if they’re a part of the total both Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and third of the workforce, or about 10,000 posi- force.’’ CIA Director Leon Panetta said they agreed tions. Many of them are temporary hires, The Post’s investigation is based on gov- with such concerns. often former military or intelligence agency ernment documents and contracts, job de- The Post investigation uncovered what employees who left government service to scriptions, property records, corporate and amounts to an alternative geography of the work less and earn more while drawing a fed- social networking Web sites, additional United States, a Top Secret America created eral pension. records, and hundreds of interviews with in- since 9/11 that is hidden from public view, Across the government, such workers are telligence, military and corporate officials lacking in thorough oversight and so un- used in every conceivable way. Contractors and former officials. Most requested ano- wieldy that its effectiveness is impossible to kill enemy fighters. They spy on foreign gov- nymity either because they are prohibited determine. ernments and eavesdrop on terrorist net- from speaking publicly or because, they said,

VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:02 May 14, 2011 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 0626 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A13MY8.048 E13MYPT1 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REMARKS E906 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks May 13, 2011 they feared retaliation at work for describ- months in Iraq, the founder of Berico Tech- technology. ‘‘No, I don’t think we could keep ing their concerns. nologies, a former Army officer named Guy up with it.’’ The investigation focused on top-secret Filippelli, working with the National Secu- Vice Adm. David J. ‘‘Jack’’ Dorsett, direc- work because the amount classified at the rity Agency. invented a technology that tor of naval intelligence, said he could save secret level is too large to accurately track. made finding the makers of roadside bombs millions each year by converting 20 percent A searchable database of government organi- easier and helped stanch the number of cas- of the contractor jobs at the Suitland com- zations and private companies was built en- ualties from improvised explosives, accord- plex to civil servant positions. He has gotten tirely on public records. [For an explanation ing to NSA officials. the go-ahead, but it’s been a slow start. This of the newspaper’s decision making behind Contractors have produced blueprints and year, his staff has converted one contractor this project, please see the Editor’s Note.] equipment for the unmanned aerial war job and eliminated another—out of 589. ‘‘It’s The national security industry sells the fought by drones, which have killed the larg- costing me an arm and a leg,’’ Dorsett said. military and intelligence agencies more than est number of senior al-Qaeda leaders and Washington’s corridors of power stretch in just airplanes, ships and tanks. It sells con- produced a flood of surveillance videos. A a nearly straight geographical line from the tractors’ brain power. They advise, brief and dozen firms created the transnational digital Supreme Court to the Capitol to the White work everywhere, including 25 feet under the highway that carries the drones’ real-time House. Keep going west, across the Potomac Pentagon in a bunker where they can be data on terrorist hide-outs from overseas to River, and the unofficial seats of power—the found alongside military personnel in battle command posts throughout the United private, corporate ones—become visible, es- fatigues monitoring potential crises world- States. pecially at night. There in the Virginia sub- wide. Private firms have become so thoroughly urbs are the brightly illuminated company Late at night, when the wide corridors of entwined with the government’s most sen- logos of Top Secret America: Northrop the Pentagon are all but empty, the National sitive activities that without them impor- Grumman, SAIC, General Dynamics. Military Command Center hums with pur- tant military and intelligence missions Of the 1,931 companies identified by The pose. There’s real-time access to the location would have to cease or would be jeopardized. Post that work on top-secret contracts, of U.S. forces anywhere in the world, to Some examples: about 110 of them do roughly 90 percent of granular satellite images or to the White *At the Department of Homeland Security the work on the corporate side of the de- House Situation Room. (DHS), the number of contractors equals the fense-intelligence-corporate world. The purpose of all this is to be able to an- number of federal employees. The depart- To understand how these firms have come swer any question the chairman of the Joint ment depends on 318 companies for essential to dominate the post-9/11 era, there’s no bet- Chiefs of Staff might have. To be ready 24 services and personnel, including 19 staffing ter place to start than the Herndon office of hours a day, every day, takes five brigadier firms that help DHS find and hire even more General Dynamics. One recent afternoon generals, a staff of colonels and senior non- contractors. At the office that handles intel- there, Ken Pohill was watching a series of commissioned officers—and a man wearing a ligence, six out of 10 employees are from pri- unclassified images, the first of which pink contractor badge and a bright purple vate industry. showed a white truck moving across his com- shirt and tie. Erik Saar’s job title is ‘‘knowledge engi- *The National Security Agency, which con- puter monitor. The truck was in Afghanistan, and a video neer.’’ In one of the most sensitive places in ducts worldwide electronic surveillance, camera bolted to the belly of a U.S. surveil- America, he is the only person in the room hires private firms to come up with most of lance plane was following it. Pohill could ac- who knows how to bring data from far afield, its technological innovations. The NSA used cess a dozen images that might help an intel- fast. Saar and four teammates from a private to work with a small stable of firms; now it ligence analyst figure out whether the truck company, SRA International, teach these works with at least 484 and is actively re- top-ranked staff officers to think in Web 2.0. cruiting more. driver was just a truck driver or part of a They are trying to push a tradition-bound *The National Reconnaissance Office can- network making roadside bombs to kill culture to act differently, digitally. not produce, launch or maintain its large American soldiers. That sometimes means asking for help in a satellite surveillance systems, which photo- To do this, he clicked his computer mouse. public online chat room or exchanging ideas graph countries such as China, North Korea Up popped a picture of the truck driver’s on shared Web pages outside the military and Iran, without the four major contractors house, with notes about visitors. Another computer networks dubbed .mil—things it works with. click. Up popped infrared video of the vehi- much resisted within the Pentagon’s self-suf- *Every intelligence and military organiza- cle. Click: Analysis of an object thrown from ficient culture. ‘‘Our job is to change the tion depends on contract linguists to com- the driver’s side. Click: U–2 imagery. Click: perception of leaders who might drive municate overseas, translate documents and A history of the truck’s movement. Click: A change,’’ Saar said. make sense of electronic voice intercepts. Google Earth map of friendly forces. Click: A Since 9/11, contractors have made extraor- The demand for native speakers is so great, chat box with everyone else following the dinary contributions—and extraordinary and the amount of money the government is truck, too. blunders—that have changed history and willing to pay for them is so huge, that 56 Ten years ago, if Pohill had worked for clouded the public’s view of the distinction firms compete for this business. General Dynamics, he probably would have between the actions of officers sworn on be- *Each of the 16 intelligence agencies de- had a job bending steel. Then, the company’s half of the United States and corporate em- pends on corporations to set up its computer center of gravity was the industrial port city ployees with little more than a security networks, communicate with other agencies’ of Groton, Conn., where men and women in badge and a gun. networks, and fuse and mine disparate bits wet galoshes churned out submarines, the Contractor misdeeds in Iraq and Afghani- of information that might indicate a ter- thoroughbreds of naval warfare. Today, the stan have hurt U.S. credibility in those rorist plot. More than 400 companies work firm’s commercial core is made up of data countries as well as in the Middle East. exclusively in this area, building classified tools such as the digital imagery library in Abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, some of it hardware and software systems. Herndon and the secure BlackBerry-like de- done by contractors, helped ignite a call for Hiring contractors was supposed to save vice used by President Obama, both devel- vengeance against the United States that the government money. But that has not oped at a carpeted suburban office by em- continues today. Security guards working turned out to be the case. A 2008 study pub- ployees in loafers and heels. for Blackwater added fuel to the five-year lished by the Office of the Director of Na- The evolution of General Dynamics was violent chaos in Iraq and became the symbol tional Intelligence found that contractors based on one simple strategy: Follow the of an America run amok. made up 29 percent of the workforce in the money. Contractors in war zones, especially those intelligence agencies but cost the equivalent The company embraced the emerging in- who can fire weapons, blur ‘‘the line between of 49 percent of their personnel budgets. telligence-driven style of warfare. It devel- the legitimate and illegitimate use of force, Gates said that federal workers cost the gov- oped small-target identification systems and which is just what our enemies want,’’ Alli- ernment 25 percent less than contractors. equipment that could intercept an insur- son Stanger, a professor of international pol- The process of reducing the number of con- gent’s cellphone and laptop communications. itics and economics at Middlebury College tractors has been slow, if the giant Office of It found ways to sort the billions of data and the author of ‘‘One Nation Under Con- Naval Intelligence in Suitland is any exam- points collected by intelligence agencies into tract,’’ told the independent Commission on ple. There, 2,770 people work on the round- piles of information that a single person Wartime Contracting at a hearing in June. the-clock maritime watch floor tracking could analyze. Misconduct happens, too. A defense con- commercial vessels, or in science and engi- It also began gobbling up smaller compa- tractor formerly called MZM paid bribes for neering laboratories, or in one of four sepa- nies that could help it dominate the new in- CIA contracts, sending Randy ‘‘Duke’’ rate intelligence centers. But it is the em- telligence landscape, just as its competitors Cunningham, who was a California congress- ployees of 70 information technology compa- were doing. Between 2001 and 2010, the com- man on the intelligence committee, to pris- nies who keep the place operating. pany acquired 11 firms specializing in sat- on. Guards employed in Afghanistan by They store, process and analyze commu- ellites, signals and geospatial intelligence, ArmorGroup North America, a private secu- nications and intelligence transmitted to surveillance, reconnaissance, technology in- rity company, were caught on camera in a and from the entire U.S. naval fleet and com- tegration and imagery. lewd-partying scandal. mercial vessels worldwide. ‘‘Could we keep On Sept. 11, 2001, General Dynamics was But contractors have also advanced the this building running without contractors?’’ working with nine intelligence organiza- way the military fights. During the bloodiest said the captain in charge of information tions. Now it has contracts with all 16. Its

VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:02 May 14, 2011 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 0626 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A13MY8.049 E13MYPT1 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REMARKS May 13, 2011 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E907 employees fill the halls of the NSA and DHS. Abraxas of Herndon, headed by a former Of all the different companies in Top Se- The corporation was paid hundreds of mil- CIA spy, quickly became a major CIA con- cret America, the most numerous by far are lions of dollars to set up and manage DHS’s tractor after 9/11. Its staff even recruited the information technology, or IT, firms. new offices in 2003, including its National Op- midlevel managers during work hours from About 800 firms do nothing but IT. erations Center, Office of Intelligence and the CIA’s cafeteria, former agency officers Some IT companies integrate the mish- Analysis and Office of Security. Its employ- recall. mash of computer systems within one agen- ees do everything from deciding which Other small and medium-size firms sell cy; others build digital links between agen- threats to investigate to answering phones. niche technical expertise such as engineering cies; still others have created software and General Dynamics’ bottom line reflects its for low-orbit satellites or long-dwell sensors. hardware that can mine and analyze vast successful transformation. It also reflects But the vast majority have not invented quantities of data. how much the U.S. government—the firm’s anything at all. Instead, they replicate what The government is nearly totally depend- largest customer by far—has paid the com- the government’s workforce already does. ent on these firms. Their close relationship pany beyond what it costs to do the work, A company called SGIS, founded soon after was on display recently at the Defense Intel- which is, after all, the goal of every profit- the 2001 attacks, was one of these. ligence Agency’s annual information tech- making corporation. In June 2002, from the spare bedroom of his nology conference in Phoenix. The agency The company reported $31.9 billion in rev- San Diego home, 30-year-old Hany Girgis put expected the same IT firms angling for its enue in 2009, up from $10.4 billion in 2000. Its together an information technology team business to pay for the entire five-day get-to- workforce has more than doubled in that that won its first Defense Department con- gether, a DIA spokesman confirmed. time, from 43,300 to 91,700 employees, accord- tract four months later. By the end of the And they did. ing to the company. year, SGIS had opened a Tampa office close General Dynamics spent $30,000 on the Revenue from General Dynamics’ to the U.S. Central Command and Special event. On a perfect spring night, it hosted a intelligence- and information-related divi- Operations Command, had turned a profit party at Chase Field, a 48,569-seat baseball sions, where the majority of its top-secret and had 30 employees. stadium, reserved exclusively for the con- work is done, climbed to $10 billion in the SGIS sold the government the services of ference attendees. Government buyers and second quarter of 2009, up from $2.4 billion in people with specialized skills; expanding the corporate sellers drank beer and ate hot dogs 2000, accounting for 34 percent of its overall types of teams it could put together was one while the DIA director’s morning keynote revenue last year. key to its growth. Eventually it offered engi- speech replayed on the gigantic scoreboard, The company’s profitability is on display neers, analysts and cyber-security specialists digital baseballs bouncing along the bottom in its Falls Church headquarters. There’s a for military, space and intelligence agencies. of the screen. soaring, art-filled lobby, bistro meals served By 2003, the company’s revenue was $3.7 mil- Carahsoft Technology, a DIA contractor, on china enameled with the General Dynam- lion. By then, SGIS had become a subcon- invited guests to a casino night where intel- ics logo and an auditorium with seven rows tractor for General Dynamics, working at ligence officials and vendors ate, drank and of white leather-upholstered seats, each with the secret level. Satisfied with the partner- bet phony money at craps tables run by pro- its own microphone and laptop docking sta- ship, General Dynamics helped SGIS receive fessional dealers. tion. a top-secret facility clearance, which opened The McAfee network security company, a General Dynamics now has operations in the doors to more work. Defense Department contractor, welcomed every corner of the intelligence world. It By 2006, its revenue had multiplied tenfold, guests to a Margaritaville-themed social on helps counterintelligence operators and to $30.6 million, and the company had hired the garden terrace of the hotel across the trains new analysts. It has a $600 million Air employees who specialized in government street from the convention site, where 250 Force contract to intercept communications. contracting just to help it win more con- firms paid thousands of dollars each to ad- It makes $1 billion a year keeping hackers tracts. out of U.S. computer networks and ‘‘We knew that’s where we wanted to vertise their services and make their pitches encrypting military communications. It play,’’ Girgis said in a phone interview. to intelligence officials walking the exhi- even conducts information operations, the ‘‘There’s always going to be a need to pro- bition hall. Government officials and company execu- murky military art of trying to persuade for- tect the homeland.’’ eigners to align their views with U.S. inter- Eight years after it began, SGIS was up to tives say these networking events are crit- ests. revenue of $101 million, 14 offices and 675 em- ical to building a strong relationship be- ‘‘The American intelligence community is ployees. Those with top-secret clearances tween the public and private sectors. an important market for our company,’’ said worked for 11 government agencies, accord- ‘‘If I make one contact each day, it’s worth General Dynamics spokesman Kendell Pease. ing to The Post’s database. it,’’ said Tom Conway, director of federal ‘‘Over time, we have tailored our organiza- The company’s marketing efforts had business development for McAfee. tion to deliver affordable, best-of-breed prod- grown, too, both in size and sophistication. As for what a government agency gets out ucts and services to meet those agencies’ Its Web site, for example, showed an image of it: ‘‘Our goal is to be open and learn unique requirements.’’ of Navy sailors lined up on a battleship over stuff,’’ said Grant M. Schneider, the DIA’s In September 2009, General Dynamics won the words ‘‘Proud to serve’’ and another chief information officer and one of the con- a $10 million contract from the U.S. Special image of a Navy helicopter flying near the ference’s main draws. By going outside Operations Command’s psychological oper- Statue of Liberty over the words ‘‘Pre- Washington, where many of the firms are ations unit to create Web sites to influence serving freedom.’’ And if it seemed hard to headquartered, ‘‘we get more synergy. . . . foreigners’ views of U.S. policy. To do that, distinguish SGIS’s work from the govern- It’s an interchange with industry.’’ the company hired writers, editors and de- ment’s, it’s because they were doing so many These types of gatherings happen every signers to produce a set of daily news sites of the same things. SGIS employees replaced week. Many of them are closed to anyone tailored to five regions of the world. They military personnel at the Pentagon’s 24/7 without a top-secret clearance. At a U.S. Special Operations Command appear as regular news Web sites, with telecommunications center. SGIS employees conference in Fayetteville, N.C., in April, names such as ‘‘SETimes.com: The News and conducted terrorist threat analysis. SGIS vendors paid for access to some of the people Views of Southeast Europe.’’ The first indi- employees provided help-desk support for who decide what services and gadgets to buy cation that they are run on behalf of the federal computer systems. military comes at the bottom of the home Still, as alike as they seemed, there were for troops. In mid-May, the national security page with the word ‘‘Disclaimer.’’ Only by crucial differences. industry held a black-tie evening funded by clicking on that do you learn that ‘‘the For one, unlike in government, if an SGIS the same corporations seeking business from Southeast European Times (SET) is a Web employee did a good job, he might walk into the defense, intelligence and congressional site sponsored by the United States Euro- the parking lot one day and be surprised by leaders seated at their tables. pean Command.’’ co-workers clapping at his latest bonus: a Such coziness worries other officials who What all of these contracts add up to: This leased, dark-blue Mercedes convertible. And believe the post–9/11 defense-intelligence-cor- year, General Dynamics’ overall revenue was he might say, as a video camera recorded porate relationship has become, as one sen- $7.8 billion in the first quarter, Jay L. John- him sliding into the soft leather driver’s ior military intelligence officer described it, son, the company’s chief executive and presi- seat, ‘‘Ahhhh . . . this is spectacular.’’ a ‘‘self-licking ice cream cone.’’ dent, said at an earnings conference call in And then there was what happened to SGIS Another official, a longtime conservative April. ‘‘We’ve hit the deck running in the last month, when it did the one thing the staffer on the Senate Armed Services Com- first quarter,’’ he said, ‘‘and we’re on our federal government can never do. mittee, described it as ‘‘a living, breathing way to another successful year.’’ It sold itself. organism’’ impossible to control or curtail. In the shadow of giants such as General The new owner is a Fairfax-based company ‘‘How much money has been involved is just Dynamics are 1,814 small to midsize compa- called Salient Federal Solutions, created mind-boggling,’’ he said. ‘‘We’ve built such a nies that do top-secret work. About a third just last year. It is a management company vast instrument. What are you going to do of them were established after Sept. 11, 2001, and a private-equity firm with lots of Wash- with this thing? . . . It’s turned into a jobs to take advantage of the huge flow of tax- ington connections that, with the purchase program.’’ payer money into the private sector. Many of SGIS, it intends to parlay into contracts. Even some of those gathered in Phoenix are led by former intelligence agency offi- ‘‘We have an objective,’’ says chief execu- criticized the size and disjointedness of the cials who know exactly whom to approach tive and President Brad Antle, ‘‘to make $500 intelligence community and its contracting for work. million in five years.’’ base. ‘‘Redundancy is the unacceptable

VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:02 May 14, 2011 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 0626 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A13MY8.049 E13MYPT1 jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REMARKS E908 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks May 13, 2011 norm,’’ Lt. Gen. Richard P. Zahner, Army to purchase and install Automated External clothing, plus approximately $15 million dollars deputy chief of staff for intelligence, told the Defibrillator devices at a local church. were generously donated by the Taiwanese 2,000 attendees. ‘‘Are we spending our re- After obtaining the highest scouting rank people. sources effectively? . . . If we have not got- possible, Dalton plans to remain active in Once again, I congratulate President Ma for ten our houses in order, someone will do it the start of his third year in office and thank for us.’’ scouting to earn additional Eagle Palms and On a day that also featured free back rubs, merit badges. Dalton has been involved in the Taiwanese people for their charity towards shoeshines, ice cream and fruit smoothies, scouting since he became a Tiger Cub more the people of Japan. another speaker, Kevin P. Meiners, a deputy than 10 years ago. His future plans are to at- f undersecretary for intelligence, gave the au- tend the United States Air Force Academy and dience what he called ‘‘the secret sauce,’’ the A TRIBUTE IN HONOR OF REV- become an F–22 pilot. EREND PAUL R. VASSAR ON THE key to thriving even when the Defense De- Mr. Speaker, the example set by this young partment budget eventually stabilizes and OCCASION OF THE 40TH ANNI- stops rising so rapidly. man and his supportive family demonstrates VERSARY OF HIS ORDINATION ‘‘Overhead,’’ Meiners told them—that’s the rewards of hard work, dedication and per- OF THE PRIESTHOOD what’s going to get cut first. Overhead used severance. I am honored to represent Dalton to mean paper clips and toner. Now it’s in- Doom and his family in the United States Con- formation technology, IT, the very products gress. I know that all of my colleagues will join HON. ANNA G. ESHOO OF CALIFORNIA and services sold by the businesspeople in me in congratulating him on earning an Eagle IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES the audience. Scout ranking and will wish him continued ‘‘You should describe what you do as a Friday, May 13, 2011 weapons system, not overhead,’’ Meiners in- success in his future education and career. structed. ‘‘Overhead to them—I’m giving you f Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate the 40th Anniversary the secret sauce here—is IT and people. . . . COMMENDING THE STUDENTS OF You have to foot-stomp hard that this is a of Reverend Paul R. Vassar’s ordination to the war-fighting system that’s helping save peo- SPRINGFIELD HIGH SCHOOL priesthood. For four decades, Father Vassar ple’s lives every day.’’ has served the people of his parishes with After he finished, many of the government HON. PATRICK MEEHAN good words and good works, and on June 11, officials listening headed to the exhibit hall, OF PENNSYLVANIA 2011, St. Leander Parish is celebrating this where company salespeople waited in display IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES wonderful milestone in their Pastor’s life. booths. Peter Coddington, chief executive of A native of Oakland, Father Vassar grad- InTTENSITY, a small firm whose software Friday, May 13, 2011 teaches computers to ‘‘read’’ documents, was uated from Bishop O’Dowd High School, stud- ready for them. Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ied philosophy at St. John’s College in ‘‘You have to differentiate yourself,’’ he commend the efforts of the students of Spring- Camarillo, and graduated from St. Patrick’s said as they fanned out into the aisles. field High School, in Springfield, Pennsylvania, Seminary in Menlo Park, California. He was Coddington had glass beer mugs and pens who raised a record sum of nearly $153,000 ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Floyd twirling atop paperweight pyramids to help through their annual Dance-a-Thon to benefit Begin in 1971. persuade officials of the nation’s largest pediatric cancer research. With over half of Since that time, Father Vassar has served military intelligence agency that he had Springfield High’s student body taking part in as an Associate Pastor at the Oakland parish something they needed. of St. Leo, and as Pastor of St. Benedict’s in But first he needed them to stop walking this extraordinary charitable drive, the Dance- so fast, to slow down long enough for him to a-Thon represents community service at its 1977. After studying at Howard University, he start his pitch. His twirling pens seemed to finest—citizens voluntarily giving of them- was appointed Pastor of St. Columba Parish do the job. ‘‘It’s like moths to fire,’’ selves to make a difference in the lives of their in Oakland, where he ministered for 13 years. Coddington whispered. neighbors. Most of us have known the pain of After a decade as Diocesan Vicar General, A DIA official with a tote bag approached. losing a loved one to cancer, but the students Father Vassar became Pastor of St. Leander She spotted the pens, and her pace slowed. at Springfield took action, joining together to Parish in 2004. ‘‘Want a pen?’’ Coddington called. At St. Leander, Father Vassar’s energy and help children who are fighting this disease. I She hesitated. ‘‘Ah . . . I have three chil- enthusiasm constantly shine through. He visits am proud of these young men and women, dren,’’ she said. students in their classrooms regularly at the ‘‘Want three pens?’’ and grateful for the example they have set for Parish school, delighting in their growth and She stopped. In Top Secret America, every their peers and the students who will follow activity. Dedicated to learning and listening, moment is an opportunity. after them. ‘‘We’re a text extraction company . . . ,’’ Father Vassar learned Spanish to better com- Coddington began, handing her the pens. f municate with his diverse parish. Under his CONGRATULATING TAIWAN’S guidance and exceptional leadership, one of Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to PRESIDENT MA YING-JEOU the oldest parishes of the Diocese of Oakland this report. has flourished. f Father Vassar has served on the Board of HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL Directors of Catholic Charities of the East Bay, A TRIBUTE TO DALTON B. DOOM OF NEW YORK and he and several of his priest friends formed IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES a support group to share the challenges and HON. TOM LATHAM Friday, May 13, 2011 joys of their callings. OF IOWA It is a special personal privilege for me to Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to ex- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES honor Father Paul on the 40th Anniversary of press congratulations to Taiwan’s President Friday, May 13, 2011 his ordination. We have been friends since his Ma Ying-jeou who is celebrating his third year days at St. Patrick’s Seminary and he has Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to as their leader on May 20th, 2011. been part of my family since then, from the recognize and congratulate Dalton B. Doom of During President Ma’s tenure, Taiwan has births of my children, to officiating at the wed- Urbandale, IA for achieving the rank of an not only been a close friend of the United ding of my daughter, to celebrating the Fu- Eagle Scout. Dalton is currently a freshman in States, but it has reached out to countries all neral Masses for my parents when each en- high school and serves as the Senior Patrol over the world. This was evident during Ja- tered into eternity. Mr. Speaker, I ask my col- Leader of his troop. pan’s recent tragedy in March resulting from leagues to join me in honoring Father Vassar’s The Eagle Scout rank is the highest ad- the earthquakes and tsunami. four decades of faithful service to the Bay vancement rank in scouting. Only about 5 per- Due to the radiation emitting from the dam- Area Catholic community. When he joined St. cent of Boy Scouts earn the Eagle Scout aged nuclear plants, staff from the United Leander, he commented on how excited he Award. The award is a performance-based States embassy in Japan needed to evacuate was to return to parish work. ‘‘I get to walk achievement whose high standards have been immediately. Taiwan was gracious enough to with people where God is working with them,’’ maintained over the years. To earn the Eagle take them in. U.S. Embassy officials plus pri- he said. For 40 phenomenal years, Father Scout rank, a Boy Scout is obligated to pass vate United States citizens were flown in char- Vassar has done just that. I’m proud to know specific tests that are organized by require- tered planes from Japan to Taiwan. him, to be his friend, and to pay tribute to this ments and merit badges, as well as com- Taiwan also donated supplies and money to good, holy and happy man who has strength- pleting an Eagle Project to benefit the commu- Japan to help with their desperate situation. ened our community, deepened our faith, and nity. Dalton’s project consisted of raising funds About 10 tons of supplies, including food and made our country a better place.

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