Carl Levin

Are they engaged in OT&E, in your judgment, as defined by law, at this time?

You are saying operational testing is underway?

Are you doing any operational testing yet?

The law says that you must do operational testing before you proceed beyond low rate initial production.

The last intercept test of the ground-based national missile defense system took place on December 11, 2002.

The President announced that he intended to deploy this system in 2004.

The majority of this funding is in pursuit of a rudimentary and uncertain defense against the unlikely long-range missile attack.

As far as I know, that is the largest single year funding request for any weapons system in history.

The total request is more than $10 billion and that's for 1 fiscal year.

I strongly support the President's decision.

This request is close to twice the entire 2005 budget request for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

I think there is a very strong consensus here that you are moving in the right direction, meeting new threats.

It is not clear that NATO member nations will provide the manpower and equipment that will be needed to fulfil the alliance's political commitment.

A representative interim government is up and running, and presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in June of this year.

The Afghan people have approved a new constitution.

I'm glad you're willing to take a fresh look at that.

But apparently that provision of the act has not yet been implemented, and I don't know why.

This is a very striking problem, when we have people out there who are being charged apparently that much to make phone calls home.

Would that program have merit in Iraq?

Would you let the committee know, then, about what your thinking is on that as it evolves?

This has to do with a comment which was made to me by a family support group president for a deployed National Guard unit.

But have you talked to the Secretary about the need for that?

But have you urged that the supplemental be filed before the end of the year...

The issue is when will this supplemental be presented to us.

Well, it's really an unsettling answer from you, I have to tell you...