The subcommittee meets this morning to receive testimony on the fiscal year 2014 budget request for the U.S. Air Force.

I want change. I want action.

I'm tired of hearing, 'Boys will be boys.' 'Oh, it's an isolated incident.'

It is cold comfort to hear these are lieutenants, and they may have been new to the job.

I hope we can come together to do that.

Sequester is self-inflicted damage. This is not something that somebody is doing to us. This is what we're doing to ourselves.

I want to associate myself with Senator Durbin and also Senator Mikulski in what's been going on in the Air Force.

I'd like to know--if you can respond now, fine--have you taken a look at the original goal of the Joint Strike Fighter and whether or not there are other ways to meet the needs of national security at a lower cost?

we're going to have to continue, aren't we, in the modernization of our planes, our Marine needs, our Army needs, our Navy needs?

I don't believe modernization is optional.

If we need stealth to knock down the door, we may not need the same stealth to maintain operations after the door is down.

Mr. Chairman, thank you.

I agree with you. We have to be thoughtful, because we want to provide these opportunities for men and women in the military to improve themselves and be ready for the day when they may be back in civilian life.

This committee needs to know what more can be done to address this culture of sexual abuse that appears to be, unfortunately, not controlled within the Air Force.

I think that is an important point. First of all, it is very important it is in their consciousness.

I was one of those who argued strenuously, including on the floor of the Senate, against cutting all aid or freezing all aid to Egypt.

The Mubarak-era emergency law has been reinstated and just extended for another 2 months.

We continue to be the major bilateral donor in Lesotho and our focus in working with the Government of Lesotho is on the building of a democratic, accountable government, which has certainly not been China's focus in Lesotho.