My company today is a much bigger, stronger company than it ever was in the 1980s or 1990s.

I think your command is the place to be for the future.

It's not honoring the Constitution when we relinquish our constitutional authority without requiring the specificity.

I don't think anybody sitting here wants our oversight to morph into a blank check scenario.

How realistic is this figure of $25 billion?

Mr. Chairman, those words are golden, and those will be duly noted.

If we are relying on the National Guard and Reserve so much in the force protection over there, what do we do to keep ourselves protected here?

At some point I would like your professional opinion.

There is a rumor going around that Secretary Rumsfeld wants to combine USNORTHCOM with USSOUTHCOM.

I am not concerned about the process as long as I know that the uniformed military is involved in it and making decisions.

So that is the plan for bringing it back to 2010?

I would like in a more secure environment also--every Floridian, indeed member of this government, ought to be concerned about events occurring in the Caribbean that would cause a mass migration as we have seen in the past from Cuba, also…

In these upcoming elections in the Dominican Republic that we are worried about some questions of honesty in the elections, do you have a force structure that you can call on if chaos were to erupt there or, for example, in Venezuela…

Are we seeing any of the kidnapping that has been in Colombia start moving over into Venezuela?

Does this committee need to take note of any of the terrorist and narcotrafficking that is going on in Colombia that might be seeping into Venezuela?

USSOUTHCOM is not only in need of a military commander, but the USSOUTHCOM... has to be a diplomat and has to engage almost on a daily basis with the heads of government of all these countries to protect the interests of the United States.

Let me ask you, on the subject of this hearing, rumors continue to abound that Secretary Rumsfeld wants to combine NORTHCOM with Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).

You have the little bee-bee there right by you, so why don't you tell us, is DOE committed to support the NIF so that the goal of ignition can be once again no later than 2010?