Richard Shelby

You concluded that you need 355 ships. Can you explain how this budget request supports the Navy's requirement to get to that goal?

It's our biggest lake, isn't it?

Do you believe that a lot of the great power competition that is China and perhaps Russia is occurring or will occur in the Pacific?

What impact would return to sequestration have on the Navy?

The 2-year budget deal for the fiscal years 2018 and 2019 provides additional appropriations for the Department of Defense and of course, the Navy.

About 90 percent of the world's trade is carried by sea.

You just can't create a Navy overnight, can you?

We have to figure out, Mr. Chairman, how to do this and do it right, rather than just sit on it and let our infrastructure go.

It is up to Congress to decide whether to spend that money or not.

Why 49 instead of 50? Why not go to 50 feet and make it even?

Where are we there? I know there is a study going on and it seems to be promising.

The deepening and the widening of the Port of Mobile is a top priority of mine.

The President's recent decision to send National Guard forces to the southwest border continues the trend of previous administrations to deploy Guardsmen to border security operations.

With your continued unwavering support, we will make pragmatic decisions on how to best balance our available resources between current commitments and future readiness requirements.

We have had no oversight of this agency, have we?

I think it is important. And you seized on a couple of things a minute ago, and I think they are very important to any agency, and especially this agency--that is, accountability and transparency.

I personally believe you will bring a ray of sunshine to a black hole of bureaucracy.

I do not think that equates to being free of oversight, free of accountability, and free of transparency.

I think we are keenly aware in Alaska, with our geography, that with regards to recent events in North Korea, the rising tension with Russia, to make sure that we are amply prepared is a national security priority.

When you're doing R&D, you want to put your forces--I mean your resources in areas where there is promise, though, don't you?

But we've seen a lot of hope and promise in that area, have we not?

So it's not an abstract concept, is it?

You've got to have the power.

But are you concerned about the capability gap in missile defense for Europe as a result of this?

Well, let me tell you one thing we've learned. Iron Dome's Tamir interceptor cost $96,000. Our Patriot MSE missile cost $4 million.