Jim Inhofe

Secretary Hale, what costs or new requirements are exceeding the President's budget request?

The National Guard is the hometown force and first military responder for 3,000 communities across the country.

The problem with the current one is that the O&M accounts are under funded by $11 billion while other defense accounts are overfunded by $16 billion.

In your opinion, does DOD have the flexibility to advocate to the President for a decrease in the $487 billion reduction to defense budgets if our military leaders determine a significant adverse impact to national security?

I have been told that under sequestration, your equipment resets for redeploying Army National Guard units will cease.

All nations in the Asia-Pacific are analyzing what we say here today, and what we do in the region.

If sequestration occurs, OCO funding will be reduced.

When you furlough civilian employees in military hospitals and clinics, it seems to me that healthcare for wounded warriors will suffer.

Secretary Carter, do you have an estimate of the extra costs and workload for DOD to stop and then start contracts?

The F-35 Lightning program is the most critical major weapon acquisition being currently managed by DOD.

I have consistently heard leadership in DOD refer to the proposed reduction of defense budgets by $487 billion over the next 10 years as being 'mandated' by the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011.

If the defense budget faces further significant reductions, I advocate these cuts be made more gradually and with greater programmatic flexibility.

I am worried that morale will suffer with cuts to important military family support programs.

Fiscal uncertainty undermines U.S. credibility and complicates effective, efficient military strategic planning.

How will sequestration affect the Marine Corps' ability to respond to crises in North Africa?

Sequestration will squeeze our ability to follow through on the rebalance while maintaining other commitments around the world.

Sequestration will significantly degrade the National Guard's ability to maintain a truly operational force.

The Army's ability to support the NMS will be greatly hindered if we reduce force structure at a faster pace than currently planned.

The President has shown no inclination to work with Congress to stop this devastation to families.

Secretary Carter, more than most people, you understand the necessity to maintain the safety, security, and reliability of our nuclear weapons and to modernize the nuclear weapons complex.

If sequestration is executed, Navy and Marine Corps aviation readiness will begin to degrade for nondeployed squadrons.

It becomes very difficult to recover when you have a combination of lost time and resources.

If the continuing resolution and sequestration persist, the Army as it exists today will not recover.

Since there is no $487 billion mandate in part 1 of the BCA, can you explain how that number was determined?

Disrupting, delaying and cancelling contracts to maintain our equipment immediately impacts our readiness for domestic as well as combat deployments.