the other members mark clark kent ervin -- are clogged and ervin -- clark kent ervin and others. for most americans, this is a matter that is quite literally out of sight, out of mind, but it is a huge issue involving almost 20 billion taxpayer dollars and in just the past three years. just as quickly, construction contracts also involve support for u.s. and allied troops. the future of the battered country of afghanistan. and america's image and the rest of the world. untimely report construction has impact on users. too often, adverse impacts are felt by american soldiers and marines and airmen, who find themselves jammed into cramped and inadequately protected quarters. the afghan people have also been ill served at times by the construction projects in their country. these issues go beyond delays and cost overruns, and i just unacceptable. we will be probing them today. the construction we are talking lead includes electrical power facilities, schools, hospitals, prisons, and facilities for the afghanistan national army and police. construction is also undertaken to support o

i'm sorry, commissioner ervin? >> i just had one -- i don't know if it's quick or not, general, but i don't have much time. i want to take advantage of your being here to ask a series of overarching policy questions. that's what i did in the first round, and i want to do that to some degree here. in your judgment, has the united states government -- and by that, of course, i mean specifically dod and state aid, that's our charter here -- have we become overly reliant on contractors? i think everybody would acknowledge there's a role for them to play, but have we defaulted to them all too often? what's your judgment about that? is there organic policy that ought to be grown in government so we're not dependent on contractors as we are and will be in the future if action isn't taken now? >> well, first, i must agree that we are very dependent upon contracting. >> and, sir, could you just, again, speak a little bit more -- >> thank you. let me say again that i believe that we are, we have become very dependent upon co

ervin, by that point it was our clear understanding that black & veatch had dealt with the problems that had been identified by the sigar, and we were confident in their ability to perform. >> thank you. >> commissioner green, please. >> thank you. general dorko, can't let you off the hook today completely. we have heard, we've read in numerous sources, we heard most recently from general fields this morning about the lack of master plans. you know, whether it's for energy or construction or many of the other things that are going on in country. would you talk to us about the impact of lack of master plans on any of the work that the corps is responsible for or participating in? >> sure, sir. master planning, obviously, is very important, especially on installations that are growing by leaps and bounds, and where more and more construction is being put in where there's already a lot of infrastructure. and so, i mean, master planning's really important so you're not doing things over, you're not moving roads when you want to put a water line in or tearing something up that was just paved.