Edward M. Kennedy

Barack Obama is the one person running for president who can bring us that change.

I am proud to stand with him here today and offer my help, offer my voice, offer my energy, my commitment, to make Barack Obama the next president of the United States.

Let us reject the counsels of doubt in calculation.

No, I'm just telling you, there are -- we are dealing with safety, air transportation safety. And they seemed to be justified. They made a very good case on it. And I'm glad they got it.

We're telling you we are dealing with safety. Air transportation safety. And they seemed to be justified. They made a very good case on it. I'm glad they got it.

There are security issues in terms of both of those airports and very inclement kind of weather. They were on the list. And I think they are well deserved.

You were warned that ignoring our longstanding traditions and rules would lead to abuse and undermine military culture, and that is what has happened.

Doing nothing is not an alternative. It is not an alternative. This issue isn't going away.

Doing nothing is not an alternative. It is not an alternative. This issue isn't going away.

It's a jungle on that border, a jungle on that border. And, every day we have -- we continue without this legislation, we have these well-trained, well-disciplined, highly motivated border guards out there chasing people across the desert…

In the agreement we just reached is the best possible chance we will have in years to secure our borders, bring millions of people out of the shadows and into the sunshine of America.

Clearly, we need to do more to keep our people safe from gun violence.

I believe, quite frankly, we're in a cauldron at the present time, I'm not sure that the continued presence of American troops is useful and helpful in dampening down the kinds of intensity of the violence that we're seeing over there at…

I support a 55 percent increase to the statutory cost cap for LCS, up to $460 million.

I believe the difficulties this program is experiencing today are the result, in part of the rush that occurred at the beginning of the program.

Iran has become an increasingly more powerful player in the Middle East, but its nuclear ambitions and support for international terrorism are a threat to the regional stability and to our national security.

Obviously, Congress must be involved in any decision to broaden war to Iran.

the President said, on January 10, that Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops and that we'd disrupt the attacks, destroy the networks providing weapons and training to our enemies.

This committee has been very supportive of that concept as we watch pressure on budgets and receive testimony on the open architecture nature of the DDG-1000 research and development program.

Some have said, if you have 140,000 troops over there who are not able to gain security, why do you believe an additional 22,000 are likely to gain it?

Admiral Roughead, isn't it more expensive to have two different designs of the same ship from a training and maintenance perspective?

I'm concerned that the problems in the LCS program jeopardize our ability to act effectively in this battle space in the near term.

I think many of us are concerned that we have had surges in the past at Najaf, Fallujah, Baghdad, and after the Samarra temple, and they have not been successful, and there is concern, which I share, about the surge at the present time…

I think that most of us understand that on those issues, the political reconciliation, we haven't seen much evidence of.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and welcome, General Petraeus.