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

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.

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

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

should climate surveys be kept to monitor potential long-term issues?

the furloughs have created difficult situations for many.

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 continued budget uncertainties the Department faces will inhibit our ability refresh the workforce.

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

should climate surveys be tied to the commander's permanent personnel records?

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

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

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

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.

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.

As we say in Hawaii, aloha.

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.