If they don't, this battle is lost.

Isn't it true that, in terms of icebreakers, which are the roadbuilders of the Arctic, we have one little country road, and--they have a bunch of interstate highways, or something like 40 icebreakers, we have one.

But all of you said in one way, shape, or form the current system is working, why change it?

I hope you all can help us get rid of the sequester, please.

How is that fair or appropriate? Don't we have to do something about that?

We cannot make a mistake because it may be 10 years before it manifests itself.

The current system is it is 20 years or nothing. Isn't that correct?

A fundamental difference in the military system than in the private sector is that in the military system, you have to grow your talent.

It is going to cost American lives.

Well, you are showing $30 billion in savings. Like I said, it is not coming out of the air. It is coming from somewhere.

But I think this is important. The way I read the math, you are not reducing their benefits.

Well, thinking long term it seems to me a simple solution is to cap the amount of exports as a percentage of domestic production.

I subscribe to President Reagan's admonition, 'Trust, but verify.'

Accept a cap on the export so that we don't end up with Australia.

I think this moment will be looked back at, at a time when Americans say what were you thinking when we have, what I call, America's second chance at manufacturing, but we're going to give it away.

If there's no limit here and there's no definition of the public interest in the statute that these guys are administering, I'm just saying let's define it.

I cannot understand this discussion that will inevitably lead to higher energy costs.

2033 is going to come, and what I fear is we will have taken a series of steps... and we will have run out of places to hide.

I think it is just too easy to say, 'Oh, we are just going to do this for 5 years.'

It is our generation being unwilling to pay our own bills. And we are borrowing from our kids.

if you add the Balanced Budget Amendment and the No-Tax Pledge, it creates a ratchet effect that you will never solve any of these problems.

The debt is a problem and the interest rate is a looming serious problem.

we are doing a woeful job of underfunding our infrastructure at this time.

If we are running huge deficits at a time of relative non-crisis and then when we have a legitimate crisis, we do not have any well to go to.

To think that we can solve it entirely by cutting programs that are benefitting people who we made commitments to is unrealistic.