Well, then why don't we budget for it? This isn't in the middle of combat.

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

I just want to let you know that that is not being looked at by any of the investigations that you refer to.

I just want to make it clear that the record will be kept open and not just for whatever submission you referred to, but for other submissions and for additional questions, given the short period of time that we have to question the…

Can we check that out?

It seems to me that it is a responsibility of this committee and the similar committee on the House to understand that impact.

The Afghan people have approved a new constitution.

Mr. Christie, will the tests that are scheduled between now and the September 2004 deployment all have essentially the same highly scripted engagement geometry which has been used in prior flight tests?

Are you doing any operational testing yet?

Do you have an estimate as to what the approximate monthly incremental cost would be to maintain those operations at the current level?

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

Would that program have merit in Iraq?

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.

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

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

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

You are saying operational testing is underway?

Therefore, we have not done operational testing.

For the follow on 10, I want to be real clear as to what we are talking about.

It may or may not be part of a third site, is that correct?

Admiral Ellis, you will be responsible for operating the NMD and protecting the U.S. from nuclear-armed missile attack, beginning in September 2004.

The big advantage of the mid-course, from a defensive point of view, is that we have relatively more time to react than during the other two phases.

Okay. Because we now plan to reduce deployed strategic nuclear warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 warheads by 2012.

Today we're meeting to hear testimony on the administration's request for $25 billion to fund the cost of ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan over the first few months of fiscal year 2005.

There's no reason not to be direct on this issue and to acknowledge what the costs are of this war.