Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Welcome everyone. I have read two of our guests' resumes, and they are very impressive. These witnesses have been at the heart of some very important decisions.
All that is missing on your CVs is status as an elected official. I think that you would, indeed, be very useful in politics.
I want to start my introduction by talking about us, politicians. I have always felt that the role of parliamentarians was to watch over taxpayers' money. For that reason, I am very interested in parliamentary oversight and review. If the Bloc Québécois had not requested a study on procurement, we would be watching the government spend some $20 billion without being able to exercise any oversight.
I would like to hear your comments on that topic. I'm going to start with you, Mr. Coyle. I know that the role of the Committee on Armed Services, in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, is much more significant than the role of the Standing Committee on National Defence here in Canada.
Could you describe for me the role of that committee in the United States—in fact, there is one in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate—as regards the tendering process? They determine budgets, don't they? When you control part of the budget, you control part of the order. That allows for more adequate oversight and review than what is used here, in Canada.