The government shutdown was completely avoidable.

It is the responsibility of Congress to ensure the Defense Department has the necessary resources.

Our lease to utilize the transit center at Manas as part of the Northern Distribution Network is slated to end in 2014.

Congress has the ability but not the desire to fix sequestration.

Sequestration is detrimental to our military readiness and is completely unnecessary.

I supported an Andrews amendment to the FY14 NDAA at the House markup to extend a cap on service contracting by two additional years.

The OSD Organizational Review is intended to achieve a 20% cut in total headquarters budgets.

Are non-civilian personnel involved in making recommendations for reductions in total headquarters budgets? If so, how have the inevitable conflicts of interests been addressed?

That doesn't make any sense.

How can we achieve greater transparency over service contract costs so that we can impose and actually enforce caps and cuts in service contract spending?

The Army's historic leadership on the inventory of contract services does the Army great credit.

When will that inventory be complete and how is it being used to inform the Pentagon's budget-cutting efforts?

Will the Army continue to use BMM consistent with the commitments Secretary McHugh made in his correspondence?

Both the Congress and the Administration have identified instances in which contractor personnel are inappropriately performing functions that are inherently governmental.

I know the Air Force has been challenged with modernization needs.

To what extent will your component generate savings in management headquarters workforce spending through insourcing, consistent with 10 USC 2463?

As a co-chair of the House Long Range Strike Caucus, I want to know how you intend to protect funding for the NextGen bomber?

I want to know that we will begin to see tangible actions that support our statements emphasizing our support in the region.