Robert C. Byrd: “I think we can do more, however, without infringing on the flexibility that the Defense Department so badly wants.”

Could I impose on the chairman and the ranking member just briefly? What is the current monthly cost of operations in Afghanistan, and how much of the $25 billion in this budget request is for operations in Afghanistan?

I'm growing increasingly concerned about the continuing and possibly growing insurgency in Afghanistan.

I do not believe that we can overstate the importance or the difficulty of the challenge before the Congress.

Yet, there appears to be a growing drum beat of opinion that Congress has no choice but to undertake a complete overhaul of intelligence in the few weeks remaining in the session.