Roger Wicker

Peace and prosperity in the OSCE region rests on respect for human rights and the preservation of fundamental freedoms, democratic principles, and economic liberty.

I can tell you, Mr. Chairman, when you ask the generals who have jurisdiction in Europe what they think of OSCE, they say it's a valuable tool, not only to get the parliaments together, but also to provide information, sometimes that we're…

I have a request for one committee to meet during today's session of the Senate. It has the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committee…

I want to thank our witnesses for their testimony today. It occurs to me that we are extraordinarily well represented by the members of the panel today, and I want to thank you.

Okay. And what is it going to show? Give us a sneak preview.

We look forward to those insights.

All right. It is hard to keep up with you guys.

Well, got advice from folks out there around the globe that know what they are doing. So that is good to hear.

It has been implemented, Senator.

Are there any changes or insights that you would like to share with the committee today?

Senator Blumenthal, I think you are going to get a response to your letter.

I do not think we are going to go back to sequestration, but we are going to have to take affirmative votes not to.

We certainly ought to be able to deal with issues like that apart from any BRAC round we might have.

It would delay almost every single acquisition program that we have underway, ground and air, to try to not just modernize but to create future capabilities for the force that we think we need to be to defend the interests of this Nation.

If we were forced back to a sequestration level, it would be more than just the Blue Angels not doing air shows.

They had no contingency plans for sequestration because it was so utterly irresponsible and unthinkable that it could not happen.

It would put us back in sequestration, an unthinkable result, and an utterly irresponsible act that I feel sure this Republican Senate and this upcoming Democrat House will avoid.

We will soon have a Republican Senate and a Democratically controlled house, and we are going to have to join hands as Americans.

What we need to do here on our side is make sure you get the authorization and appropriations bills on time.

We have to do better. We must do better, all of us, including the Congress.

You guys are in the building business and hardware business, not so much in the personnel business, except that you really are.

What were the consequences to that supplier?

If you lack that capability, then your only option is to bring it from some other land, some other place

The ability to project power from a sea base, a sovereign ship, a platform from the sea, onto either an advanced naval base or to secure a commons area

The minimum Navy requirement for amphibious ships is 38. Combatant commanders need more than 50 amphibious ships on a day-to-day basis.