Jeanne Shaheen

I remain committed to working with our allies to ensure the strength of the NATO alliance and collective European defense.

I hope that DOD will take that very seriously and produce that, because as we're looking at our security going forward, those public shipyards are a critical part of that.

I would hope that the Air Force and DOD will take a look and ensure that at least some of those aircraft are based at Guard bases around the country.

It is inexcusable that we are in this position now... not knowing what we're going to do because we have been unable to act.

One concern I have as we look going forward, particularly with respect to our public shipyards, is that there's a real backlog of projects that need to be done at those shipyards.

Congress must do everything possible to avoid sequestration, because I certainly agree with that.

Certainly in New Hampshire we've seen both sides of the issue, because Pease Air Force Base was the first base closed in the country.

I think as we talk about what we need to do in our education system, I think it is important to point out that this is a national security issue as well.

The treaty was an extremely difficult and contentious debate here in the Senate.

Can you talk at all about the trajectory of our submarine capabilities versus Russia and China over the next 10 years?

I had no doubt about that.

This remains a coalition effort and making sure that we continue to keep our other partners, our European partners, engaged in this effort is very important.

I have been a friend of Serbia since I arrived here. I have shared the interest and seen it succeed and will continue to do everything that I can as chair of this subcommittee to support those efforts.

I certainly do want to add my voice to all those who would condemn such attacks on innocent people in the very strongest possible terms.

Senator Barrasso raised the question about energy for Bulgaria, and in March Bulgaria canceled a project to build two Russian nuclear reactors in the country.

I think it is important that that not be denied.

Are you confident that the Bulgarian local police will work closely with us and with Israel in trying to get to the bottom of these attacks?

Unfortunately, Turkey has called on the major international oil and gas companies to withdraw their bids to seek a license for development of those gas deposits in Cyprus.

Are we taking steps to help the Marshall Islands citizens cope with these effects of global warming, and are there any actions that you have heard that you think we should be taking that we are not?

Well, I know that the Marshall Islands is already experiencing the effects of climate change and that it is having an impact on rising sea levels, contamination of water, damage to homes and crops.

So should we be comfortable that Cyprus is moving forward to take those steps to address the recommendations from the EU, or are there going to be obstacles in trying to get that done?

Can you tell us whether you agree that the discovery of natural gas within Cypriot waters could, with some leadership, help to bring a resolution to the division in Cyprus?

It is interesting to me that Azerbaijan has recently agreed to purchase 1.6 billion dollars' worth of Israeli-made weapons.

I think we are all concerned that it not become an opportunity for countries to contribute less than their fair share to NATO as well.

One of the things that was touted in Chicago and that is talked about to address those fiscal challenges is the new Smart Defense Initiative.