Jim Inhofe

The overall combat capability of our combat coded squadrons in the Air Force is still below 50 percent, so fewer than 50 percent of them are fully combat capable.

We will be challenged to meet even our current level of commitments to our allies and partners around the world.

Sequestration limits strategic flexibility and requires us to hope we are able to predict the future with great accuracy.

Assuming sequestration remains the law, do you have to take any actions in fiscal year 2015 in your force structure to prepare for sequestration in fiscal year 2016?

Readiness remains at troubling levels across the force

If sequestration is not repealed, even partially, can you give us some context in terms of risks to readiness?

I wonder about the wisdom of that program because all of them, to the last one, said where are they. We need to have them back.

Naval Station Guantanamo (GTMO) is irreplaceable as a forward staging base for the U.S. assets critical to the layered defense against threats to the U.S. homeland--both existential and potential.

What concerns me is that, for the past 14 years... both of your areas of responsibility have been prioritized behind the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Readiness remains at troubling levels across the force.

The defense planning requirements are that you guys are the one that--are in charge homeland security.

Smaller, less ready forces will produce fewer forward deployed forces, resulting in increased risk to our national security interests.

Sequestration in fiscal year 2013 resulted in a $9 billion shortfall in Navy's budget.

Anything less than the President's Budget restricts the ability to put ready Marines forward.

If a major or even minor contingency operation were executed today given your current state of readiness and current global commitments, is it possible the Navy or the Marine Corps would have to send forces into combat that are not fully…

Lower readiness levels and a smaller force would degrade both our capability and capacity to deter aggression.

PB-16 is the absolute minimum funding needed to execute our DSG.

We have made progress. Things are headed in the right direction.

Risk means lives, doesn't it?

They are working together. I saw both of them. I saw both of them together.

Looking back over my now more than half century of intelligence, I've not experienced a time when we've been beset by more crisis and threats around the globe.

So, you're for lethal, right?

I was over in the Ukraine when they had their elections.

I think one of my jobs is to kind of explain the Constitutional requirements that we are talking about when we talk about a system.

The two elements that are the most basic responsibilities of the Federal Government are national defense and the development of a national transportation infrastructure.