First of all, Mr. Chairman, I think there are, and have been for a long time, all kinds of timekeeping systems on the market. It would be a good thing if the clerk kept an eye on things and informed you of the fact that a given member of the committee has spoken for two and a half minutes and that he has one minute remaining. For instance, we could grant three and a half minutes to the first speaker from each party and two and a half minutes to the other speakers. The clerk could inform you that the member's time has expired.
Of course, the time allocated would not always be the same. Since I sat on committees with you before, I am convinced that you are sufficiently impartial to do this. You might have to interrupt a witness who appears to be—since we always have to give the benefit of the doubt to the witness—avoiding answering the question or is continuing to speak without really addressing the topic of the question that was put to him. In my opinion, this procedure would require that the chair intervene a little more often. However, we elected you because we know that you can chair with impartiality.
How do we keep track? It is simple: as soon as the committee member begins to put his question, the clerk pushes the button and starts the chronometer; when the member has finished asking his question, the clerk presses the button to stop the chronometer. He does the same thing all over again as soon as the member starts to ask another question. The House will have to purchase a few chronometers, but they are easy to find on the market.