Duncan Hunter

Our policy should be to back the moderates in all those states.

I think it is a tragedy that with the rise of China stepping into the superpower shoes left by the Soviet Union, with the problems in the Ukraine, the new Russian adventurism, all the problems in the world, we are cutting defense, we are…

This conflict has legs. It is an enduring conflict.

I would say that what we could achieve is something of what we had at the end of the American victory in Iraq in 2008.

I think very simply if you--once again, the 1st Iraqi Division was extremely effective in the end in Iraq.

This is the only committee that I would take the red-eye on to get back in time for this hearing from good old San Diego.

My sense is Maliki is a typical leader in that neighborhood. He is a guy that wants to get through the night.

It seems like NOAA and the NSF and Alaska, just with public-private partnerships, would be happy to do what you--you are able to do what you do without Government-created vessels.

I have always said whoever--I didn't say this originally, someone else did, but whoever controls the ocean controls the world, right? And now, whoever controls space controls the oceans.

While Russia maintains a fleet of nearly 40 icebreakers... the U.S. fleet of heavy icebreakers is in a dismal state.

I applaud, obviously, the recent appointment of Admiral Papp as the Nation's first Special Representative for the Arctic.

When is the Navy going to put forward funds for an icebreaker, if it is so important?

Does the Navy have a national security requirement for a heavy icebreaker in the Arctic? Yes or no?

I share the concerns raised by Admiral Papp... that forcing the Coast Guard to pay for a new icebreaker will significantly delay the acquisition of other new assets.

I think that is what is happening here. I think we are going to look back in 10 years and have absolutely nothing.

You support them with money?

If we are happy to let Russia do it for us, we will have Russia do it for us.

OK. So Chouest did build an icebreaker for you.

If you are not going to pony up and put skin in the game, then why do you get to even give us your requirements?

So it wasn't scored in 1 year, it was scored over the life of the lease, like real life is supposed to be.

I don't believe it is worthwhile at all, because there is no money allocated towards it...

the answer is no. OK. So that is easy. I guess what that means, in the long run, is why should the Coast Guard care about your requirements if you are not willing to put any skin in the game.

The national strategy calls for a strong U.S presence in the Arctic, but the Implementation Plan... fails to identify what specific infrastructure or capabilities are required.

But you have a model right now, where you are basically using those leased icebreakers.

Don Young has been working the icebreaker issue for decades, literally. And it hasn't gone anywhere.