Jeanne Shaheen

I have had the opportunity to work with Senator McCain on the Special Immigrant Visa Program, trying to extend the number of visas that are available for Afghans coming to the United States.

What do you mean by a non-trivial potential?

I read with great interest the President's recent executive order planning for Federal sustainability in the next decade.

And can you talk about the role of the Department of Energy in encouraging, looking at the use of thermal biomass throughout the Federal Government?

Will my colleague from North Dakota, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security, yield for a question?

Secretary McKeon, can you explain in detail why the administration considers the assessments conducted by the Guantanamo Review Task Force and the Periodic Review Board to be superior to the assessments conducted previously?

I certainly appreciate Senator Hoeven, who chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, for laying out the case for the importance of the funding for critical security agencies in this bill--for the Coast Guard, for Customs…

As we are talking about the products that we use in the developed world that often are available because of trafficked persons, are we addressing that issue as we are looking at the two major trade agreements that we are negotiating now…

Integrated air and missile defense must be a shared responsibility with our allies and partner nations.

I think it's a great model for integration between Active Duty and the Guard.

I understand, General McDew, that you have experience flying the KC-135s, and you may be aware that Pease Air Base in New Hampshire is the first base to receive the new KC-46A aerial refueling tankers.

I think it is important to address the family issues that they have, and certainly maternity leave is a big part of that.

I hope that you will continue that effort and see it through.

Clearly the threat from Putin and from Russia continues, and our eastern European allies are very concerned about that.

I am concerned about the failure to date of Europe to commit to the 2 percent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for defense spending.

Dr. Carter, in 2013, DOD announced the elimination of the direct combat exclusion policy and plans to more fully integrate women into all occupational fields by 2016.

I continue to believe that this is one of the most serious dangers we face, both in the United States and in the world.

Commissioners, the commission recommends the DOD implement a robust medication therapy management (MTM) program.

Does the commission anticipate any additional burden for servicemembers obtaining healthcare through the existing system but having their dependents rely on a distinct system?

Commissioners, I understand active-duty families could continue to access MTFs as a venue of care. How would this work?

In the case of the proposed reform to servicemember education benefits, how much of the savings come from the phase-out of the housing stipend for dependents and how much come from raising the service requirement to 10 years?

Commissioners, the commission's report details substantial anticipated cost savings after full implementation.

How confident is the commission that a majority of our men and women who are serving and have served support the commission's recommended reforms?

I do think it is helpful for each of us to hear from people serving what they see firsthand about the impacts of some of these policy decisions.

It would be important for us to address that.