The deal cut with Iran on their nuclear program will lift sanctions not only for the Iranian economy, but also for some of the worst actors within the Iranian regime.

I 100 percent agree with Secretary Mabus about the quality of the number of ships.

President Obama traded five hardened Taliban commanders for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who served in the military branch you would like to advise.

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has said that quantity has a quality of its own.

The GAO found that President Obama broke two laws with this trade--a 30-day congressional notification requirement and the Anti-Deficiency Act.

But the fact was before 2012, nobody was even under audit.

I think what the budget deal does is it starts to normalize two things: first, 2-year budgets instead of a 1-year budget.

Thank you, General Neller, and to your family. Congratulations on a wonderful service, thus far.

The Virginia-class program, because of this kind of 'coopetition' between the shipyard at Newport News and Electric Boat in Connecticut, has been a pretty solid program.

We have just gotten a 2-year budget deal and an NDAA.

Senator McCain first raised in September in a hearing... the question of if we train folks to fight ISIL in Syria and they get attacked by the Assad regime, will we protect them?

I think there has been some suggestion that if we fix sequester for defense, that is all that we need to do.

By my count, 95 of 100 Senators are now on record either by voting in the budget or voting in the National Defense Authorization Act.

Do you think it would be received positively by the troops who we are asking to deploy far from home and risk their lives if Congress were to have a debate and authorize and affirm the U.S. mission against ISIL?

We need you desperately. However, this is a fight that is the region's fight.

It is still my hope that the White House will send to us a draft authorization for use of military force.

I cannot imagine a better time for us to be focused on this.

I will say that every dollar that we spend that we do not have is taking money from a youngster, a young person who cannot afford a lobbyist.