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1 made already. This is the third hearing of this kind 
2 which I have really had the privilege of chairing. One 
3 was on the policy for federally-funded sterilizations, 
4 which, as you can imagine, was not a subject without 
5 some differences of opinion, and that was not only held 
6 here in Washington, but in ten regional offices around 
7 the country. And then I chaired another meeting on 
8 a particular aspect of the welfare law, where again 
g there was considerable controversy between the welfare 
10 rights organizations and public interest law groups, 
and state agencies, et cetera. And now this one. 
12 They all have been opportunities for me to 
13 see the level of intensity of feeling, but also the 
14 very fine quality of work that has gone into the 
15 preparation of the papers, and the efforts that everyone 
16 is making to see to it that the government is not only 
! 7 responsive, but also understands, and ultimately comes 
18 up with intelligent decisions. So I do want to thank 
ig those who spoke this morning and those who will speak 
20 this afternoon. Thank you all for the time that you 
21 have given to help us do what we finally can say is in 
22 the best interest of the country. 
23 Now, why don't we go right to our afternoon 
24 session, and we may go for as long as three hours, unless 
25 the panel begins to faint on the side here. But if we 
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