Mike Levin: “I agree with my friend from Arizona. We literally worked months to get to the first reduction which was in our original…”

“I agree with my friend from Arizona. We literally worked months to get to the first reduction which was in our original bill. Then when the Congress adopted the Deficit Reduction Act, which required additional reductions, these are very difficult decisions to make because they in many cases will increase risks which we don't want to increase but nonetheless have got to accept some additional degree of risk on some of our programs in order to do the fiscally responsible thing. I agree with my friend. Mr. McCAIN. Could I ask my colleague, also, two more points. One is that we also have planned for an additional well over $400 billion reductions in the next decade, and those will again entail at some point an increase in risk. So in that context, I would appreciate again an expression of the chairman's view of a Draconian cut that would take place as a result of sequestration. The Secretary of Defense has testified before our committee of the ``devastating effects,'' as have our military leaders.”