U.S. State Attorneys General

Sequestration has created a level of budget uncertainty that makes this much more challenging.

Senator Hagel has tremendous breadth of leadership in both the public and the private sectors.

It is important to our national security to have leadership in the Department of Defense right now.

Certainly, continuing to fund research and development efforts in these areas will accrue to us in the long term in terms of huge, huge cost savings for DOD.

The welfare, the safety, the success of our men and women in uniform is my top priority, has been and will continue to be, and their families.

Any Secretary of Defense should ask tough questions, maybe not particularly politically popular questions.

This issue is not about abrogating Second Amendment rights. It is about reasonable limits on those rights.

Gabby and I were elected to the House of Representatives in the same year, and her courage continues to inspire us.

What has already been deemed reasonable should be a reasonable requirement when guns are sold regardless of how or where they are sold.

Thank you. I would like to just do one follow-up question.

I think it's important that we have diversity in the judiciary, just as we should seek diversity in Congress.

Senator Hirono. Can you tell me what led to you creating this special court and how it's working?

Senator Hirono. Thank you very much.

Mr. Gonzales, you are the first U.S. Attorney whose office has a full section focused exclusively on addressing crime in the Native American communities.

As we say in Hawaii, aloha.

Thank you. With your indulgence, I started this hearing by thanking Chairman Leahy and Senator Grassley for scheduling this hearing so that we can fill these vacancies as promptly as possible.

Americans know that increasing debt is the last thing we should be doing.

I want to be really clear as well. I haven't heard any talk on this side of the aisle about default, wanting to default, using default as leverage.

I now yield such time as he may consume to my good friend from California, Congressman Mike Honda.

I now yield such time as she may consume to my friend and colleague from Hawaii, Congresswoman Hanabusa.

I would now like to yield such time as she may consume to my friend from California (Ms. Chu).

I now yield such time as he may consume to my good friend from Alaska, Congressman Don Young.

I would now like to yield as much time as he consumes to my colleague from the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, Kilili Sablan.

It is unconscionable to me that anyone, any American diplomat would be in a situation where their security request would be denied.