Thank you for not only sponsoring this legislation, but bringing our attention to this egregious abuse of tax dollars. "Defense" spending is out of control and this is one reason why. I also realize that contractors work with the Dept. of State, but the Pentagon deserves such scrutiny as well. Thanks again for representing our interests so effectively! Laura, Sacramento


I’m happy to hear about the senate passing the bill to limit defense contractor's salaries. We need to continue to do things like this as an audit to our budget. What else are we spending exorbitant amounts of tax money on? What types of projects are we funding that are currently inactive? These types of questions which then result in action will be the salvation of the American budget. First we must spend our money wisely, then and ONLY then may we raise taxes if necessary. Thank you for what you are doing with this bill. Please continue to urge our government to spend wisely. Don, Long Beach


We are pleased to learn that your bill to restrict contractor pay has passed the Senate committee. We'll be happier to learn it's passed the Senate and the House and has been signed by the President. We have long been concerned about the very costly practice of outsourcing military work to contractors. We haven't seen a comparison of costs if the military did all the work and what the actual cost has been since 2001. That difference certainly has added to our deficit/debt reality and more people should be aware of it. Cooks used to be military, not now. We hope this bill gets widespread media coverage. Thank you for initiating this bill. Your loyal constituents. Wallace and Joan, Mountain View


I've been an aerospace worker for 35 years. I'm glad that you are going after the overcompensated buffoons that run our aerospace companies. Rightfully the American aerospace industry should be nationalized, but that's not going to happen soon. The real perversion in compensation though is not the salary, it's the stock options and bonuses. I've learned as a manager that "what gets rewarded is what gets done." These compensation packages reward short term gain and hurt the long term strength of the companies and the long term strength of our defense capabilities. To really make a difference, you have to go after the whole compensation package. For example, stock options have to be exercisable at least 5 years into the future to focus the attention on long term stability. At one company I worked for the new VP sold off most of our lab equipment and computers because his bonus was based on "return on assets." So he sold as many assets as he could and took home $4 million that year. Within a year our contract performance went from excellent to substandard. Critical technologies in which we were the world leader were deemed "too expensive" to continue. The company and the nation suffered because of a skewed compensation system, and the problem has only gotten worse since. Please keep up the pressure on this issue. It applies to every corporation, not just defense, but you have to start somewhere and set an example. Thanks! Rich, Costa Mesa