Mazie Hirono actually said...

"the furloughs have created difficult situations for many."

"Senator Hagel has tremendous breadth of leadership in both the public and the private sectors."

"It is important to our national security to have leadership in the Department of Defense right now."

"Certainly, continuing to fund research and development efforts in these areas will accrue to us in the long term in terms of huge, huge cost savings for DOD."