John McCain actually said...

"I know you respect the members of the Budget Committee, as I do. But they're not renowned for their expertise on military personnel issues."

"I hope we will be able to convince all of the American people of the need to base what we do on the recommendations of the most highly qualified people we can find."

"Would you agree that one of the principles we should probably adhere to in addressing this issue... would be to make sure that we do not act in a way that would affect existing servicemembers and reti..."

"Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you especially for anticipating this issue, because it is an issue of rising personnel costs."