U.S. engagement in this region of the world is so important to our country's economic and political security.

DOD's civilian workforce downsizing efforts in the 1990s were not oriented toward shaping the makeup of the workforce, which resulted in significant imbalances in terms of shape, skills, and retirement eligibility of its workforce.

In order to make more strategic decisions about the right workforce mix of military, civilian, and contractor personnel, and to better align resource needs through the budget process to achieve that mix, DOD needs adequate information on…

In which functional areas has the Department added personnel since FY09, broken down by numbers of positions and by years, and why are these increases necessary?

Why has it taken so long for the Department of Defense to develop its Strategic Workforce Plan?

How is the Senate's proposed arbitrary cut in funding for civilian personnel different from the sequestration that would result from the Budget Control Act? Aren't both arbitrary cuts in funding that would mindlessly eliminate defense…

The Department of Defense civilian personnel workforce provides a critical support to our warfighters.

As we have seen in the past, across-the-board, arbitrary cuts of thousands of civilian employees could have an adverse effect on essential programs if the Department does not take a strategic view of ensuring that those employees with the…

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 directed the Department of Defense to take a more holistic approach to its manpower requirements.

The Army testified at a March 29 HSGAC subcommittee hearing that the civilian workforce cap has the unintended consequence of limiting the flexibility of the Army in managing its workforce.

Work performed by civilian employees is already being illegally directly converted to contractor performance because of the arbitrary caps the Department has imposed on the civilian workforce.

I am concerned that the current plan uses data from 2010 and may not provide DOD with the right type of requirements-based gap analysis.

What process did the Department undertake to determine the extent to which military end-strength should be reduced?

What are the risks associated with both the Senate's proposed arbitrary cuts to the civilian workforce and the cuts that would be imposed on thousands of DOD civilians by sequestration?

I certainly hope we will rethink this.

I think Chairman Forbes called it kind of a gag order.

I applaud the efforts led by Congressman Loebsack and Congressman Hunter to restore the force structure cuts to the Air National Guard.

However, I think all members agree that we must have a sound defense strategy that drives resourcing and requirements over the next several years.

I represent the U.S. territory of Guam, where we have the largest National Guard unit per capita of any State in the United States.

I am very adamant that we can do much more to make the commissary and exchange system more sustainable.

I yield myself 2 minutes. As the ranking member on Readiness, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment, Mr. Chairman. The amendment flies in the face of the total force management provisions adopted by Congress on a bipartisan basis…

I yield myself such time as I may consume. While I appreciate the gentleman's support for direct-solar energy, this provision helps a specific technology to gain greater business opportunities. Unfortunately, their technology--direct…

I oppose amendment No. 11. It would delay research and development funding for the NextGen bomber. The bomber is critical to replacing an aging fleet. The new bomber is needed so we don't raid our readiness accounts. This is about the…

I can speak from firsthand experience. The A 76 program was a pilot program in the territory of Guam a few years ago. I served as Lieutenant Governor at the time, and I will say this for the record that this program was a dismal failure…

By allowing direct solar to be used to meet the DOD goal of producing or procuring 25 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2025 would also permit sunlight from windows to be counted toward meeting that goal. Unlike a heat pump…