Let me just applaud the Department's efforts and impressive progress.

what specific risks are the Marine Corps taking by having a total force less than the optimal force of 186,000?

I heard from each of you that we do not need more layers. What we need to do is eliminate some of the layers.

What if they did not get the same deal? How does that hurt us?

I continue to be concerned about the use of Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) contracts for specialized gear.

Our troops who put their lives on the line for our freedom and security should not be sent into harm's way with the cheapest equipment--they should go with the best equipment.

If sequestration levels of funding continue, we will have a hard time maintaining the balance between manpower, readiness, and modernization.

What it should not do is strip away the Service Chief's authority when he says I need this capability.

We are never going to remove politics from any of this process, because it is the nature of a democracy.

I wanted to thank you, Admiral Howard. You and I talked about this when we met in person...

I guess I do not understand why we are negotiating for them when we are dealing with scarce dollars and we could be better focusing our resources on oversight of our own taxpayer dollars.

We're not going to be the first one to go down that path.