Hearing of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs - Iraqi Benchmarks: An Objective Assessment

Statement

HEARING OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SUBJECT: IRAQI BENCHMARKS: AN OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT
CHAIRED BY: REP. TOM LANTOS (D-CA)
WITNESS: DAVID WALKER, COMPTROLLER GENERAL, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

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REP. DAN BURTON (R-IN): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I watched your interview on "60 Minutes" on the Medicare prescription drug bill and I just want you to know I agreed with that. I think it was a terribly fiscally irresponsible bill and I think it is going to cause a lot of problems. So before I start taking issue with some of the things you've said, I want you to know that there's some of the things that you've done with which I agree.

How many years were you in the military?

MR. WALKER: None --

REP. BURTON: That's okay.

MR. WALKER: I had appointments to the naval and Air Force academies; couldn't go, I got a bad left ear.

REP. BURTON: But you weren't in the military. You have not had any military --

MR. WALKER: No, I wasn't.

REP. BURTON: How many years were you in the Foreign Service?

MR. WALKER: I have not been in the Foreign Service.

REP. BURTON: Okay, well, I want to make sure I understand this. You're giving opinions on Foreign Service issues for which you really don't have any experience. I mean, you weren't in the Foreign Service -- you're an accountant.

MR. WALKER: This is not my opinion.

REP. BURTON: No.

MR. WALKER: This is the institutional opinion of GAO and we do have people who have been --

REP. BURTON: But listening to your responses, you gave an awful lot of opinions -- a lot of opinions. And if you want me to, I'll get a --

MR. WALKER: Go ahead.

REP. BURTON: You gave a lot of opinions, and I just want you to know that I think you're a very bright guy and you've done a good job as comptroller general, but you just simply aren't qualified to give some of these opinions that you're giving. You're not a military man; you never were. You're not a person who's been in the Foreign Service; you never were.

So I would like for you in the future when you appear before the committee to confine your remarks to facts from your report and your investigation, not giving opinions on the Shi'as or the Sunnis or what's going to go on over there because you don't have any expertise in that area.

I mean, I read your biography -- it's very impressive. You've got a number of honorary doctorates and that sort of thing and I think that's great. And you are obviously an honorable student -- Jacksonville University and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. I think it's great.

But it always bothers me when we have people before committees who really have had no experience in a given field acting like or giving opinions on issues for which they really have very little knowledge.

MR. WALKER: Mr. Burton, I'm not the only person that hasn't been in the military that has expressed opinions about military matters.

REP. BURTON: I don't really care. I don't really care.

MR. WALKER: And it's not my opinion. It's based on our work.

REP. BURTON: You see, I really don't care about other people's opinions. You're the guy at the table and you're the guy giving opinions for which you have no expertise, no knowledge and no experience. And so I just would like to say to you from now on when you're testifying -- and I've dealt with you before in other committees, Government Reform and so forth -- I just wish you'd confine your remarks to the facts and to the issues as you see them.

But as far as going into opinions on issues like Shi'as, Sunnis, what's going on over there, what the military position ought to be and that sort of thing, I just wish you'd leave that to the people who do have some expertise.

MR. WALKER: Mr. Burton, the only thing I can say on this is you need to be more specific, because what I --

REP. BURTON: You need to be more --

MR. WALKER: What I say -- what I say is based upon work that we've done, okay? And it's not my opinion. I am conveying my thoughts based upon work that we collectively have done based upon questions that I'm getting.

REP. BURTON: Well, let me just say this.

MR. WALKER: Sure.

REP. BURTON: I would like for you to read the transcript because I listened to every word you said and you gave a number -- a large number of personal opinions. Not stuff that was in your report or facts that were acquired by your compatriots there. These were your opinions and you are not qualified to give those opinions and you shouldn't.

I think the report is fine and I have great admiration for your qualifications. But when you're testifying before a committee, if I were chairman -- I used to be -- I would try to confine your remarks to the facts instead of opinions for which you don't have any experience.

MR. WALKER: Well let me say, Mr. Burton, that, one, I will be happy to look at the transcript -- I always do, every hearing. Secondly, let me also say that when I answer questions, I don't answer your questions just based on the reports that are coming before you. We've issued over 100 reports and testimonies on Iraq.

So, you know, if somebody asks me a question and we've done work on it -- and I've directly been involved in many cases -- then I'll answer it based on what we've done, which may not be the report that's before you now but it doesn't mean that it's not based on facts.

REP. BURTON: That's what I want you to do, but I want you to do it based on facts and not your opinions and I hope you will read the transcript.

MR. WALKER: I will -- I absolutely, positively will.

REP. BURTON: Thank you very much.

MR. WALKER: And I'd be happy to talk to you separately about it if you want.

REP. BURTON: (Laughs.) We've already talked.

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