John Garamendi

Well, we certainly will create a new recession. We know that 750,000 Americans will be unemployed, lose their jobs by the end of this fiscal year--that would be the first of October--as a result of sequestration. Now, it's not that we…

It seems to me as though there is a lack of coordination across the various departments, with the Air Force abandoning some pieces of equipment that appear to be necessary for some of the things you are doing.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and Generals, thank you for your service and for the testimony today.

You reminded me of my college football career at the University of California, Berkeley, where I was an offensive guard and a defensive tackle, blocking and tackling.

I suspect that a lot of the problem that we have heard from various--from us and others comes not so much from the Corps but rather from us.

I want to thank you for the work that you have done on saving these people's lives in floods.

I would appreciate it.

We need to have a much deeper discussion.

I don't understand why you are developing a new base when, in fact, you have adequate facilities at an existing base.

There is no communication infrastructure, is there, for this particular point?

We really need to understand that.

Overall, this whole ISR thing is confused. There have been changes... and it frankly doesn't make much sense.

A year ago, you were going to base this at Beale. Why did you decide to change?

It would seem to me you would not proceed without a full cost for the program, would you?

What about the other infrastructure, communications, housing, et cetera?

I voted against this mess, and I voted against this mess because I believed it would happen.

I don't think it works. I've been at this for 40 years, and I don't think it works.

I am sure that he and I and the members of this committee will do whatever we can to try to restore as much money as possible to the Coast Guard overall account.

But the proposal puts that entire industry on a downhill slope to the point where it won't exist.

We are unwilling to fund the Government that we really need.

It is Congress that enacted the sequester and it is Congress that over the last several years has repeatedly diminished the Federal spending and raised much revenue.

If I might interrupt you for a second, there are those that would claim that this place is also a windy Chamber.

But then you do not have to provide the insurance, do you, if you do not like what they are doing?

I thought that might be the case. As a former insurance commissioner, I learned that the availability or the unavailability of insurance is a high motivator.

Many questions come up here. I do thank all of you for your testimony and particularly for the success that you have had in dampening down the piracy, particularly in Somalia, and I suspect you will soon find similar success in the Gulf of…