Thank you both for organizing the hearing today.

I am really concerned that we have strong JAG Corps.

Mr. President, I join my colleague, Senator Lautenberg, and the others who have come to the Senate floor this afternoon to talk about the importance of getting help for people who have been hit by disasters. A little more than 2 weeks ago…

I think that is very important in terms of this analysis so that we get this right because we need in my view to look at our grand strategic environment when we make the decision on what is appropriate in terms of flag grade officers.

Secretary Stanley, to what degree does OSD oversee the quantity and use of SES positions by the Services?

Secretary Stanley, how does this percentage compare to the growth in flag grade officers over the same period?

Secretary Stanley, is there standard OSD guidance as to when a position should be filled by a flag grade officer as opposed to an SES?

Secretary Stanley, how will the efficiencies initiatives decrease the number of the SES positions in DOD?

I firmly believe that we should not undermine our national security from our failure to make the tough decisions here and deal with the entire budget.

Glad to hear that.

I appreciate the work that all of you do and thank you all for your service and your leadership.

Madam President, as you know so well as the Senator from New York, across the country this weekend Americans everywhere will gather to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the tragic events that took place on September 11, 2001. Families…

I think that goes to the overall question of what can we do to speed this up?

we are trying to streamline more.

Well, I appreciate that.

Spend lots of money.

should we do the one-stop shop? Should we eliminate some of the agencies' involvement to make it easier for small businesses to navigate

Thank you very much, and I know that both of us stand ready to work with you to make the regulations easier for our businesses, and hopefully we can speed that time up and really create more jobs here.