Thank you, gentlemen, for your service.

pressure is felt even more keenly in some of these civilian agencies that sometimes do not have the same emotional appeal to Congress

In fact, in your statement you allude to the possibility that this will slip.

Cyber is part of what is going on in the Ukraine, cyber is now a fully developed dimension of any type of conflict.

This is not simply a Navy issue, because this is the central part of our nuclear triad.

They might represent the most sophisticated technological platforms that the Chinese have in terms of their seaborne platforms?

But typically the training level and the training test of the year is at the platoon and company level; is that fair?

Without that lift, you would be challenged to simply conduct opposed amphibious assault.

Despite that very poor initial role-model relationship, he has done quite well for himself.

I have a few seconds remaining, so I have more of a comment than a question.

it is a resource issue, and it might even be getting the direction from DOD to do that

But a National Guard brigade, even if we get back to the pre-this budget and this sequestration, it was about an average of once every 7 years a brigade would go through; is that correct, General Grass?

That's something that we all have to reflect upon in terms of the costs, as Senator Inhofe pointed out, of the sequestration impact.

This is a tragic situation at Fort Hood.

Do you have informal contact with Chinese counterparts and a perspective on what their attitude is towards the regime in Pyongyang today?

General Odierno, one of the principles of a reduced force is that it is more readily deployed, faster, quicker, with more lethality, better training, and better--I hate to use the word 'productivity,' but a much more efficient force.

We are in the throes of trying to figure out if we are going to actually fund our highway system after next September.

The lift is the enabler that makes that happen.

My observation has been that our National Guard when they're deployed and our Reserve when they're deployed is one Army.

In January, 20 of my colleagues and I sent a letter urging the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) to prioritize increasing the number of students served with the surplus funds.

I ask unanimous consent that the time until 11:15 a.m. be equally divided between myself and the Senators from Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, and both Senators from Connecticut; that at the conclusion of these remarks I be recognized…

again I compliment my colleagues Senator Durbin, Senator Warren, and Senator Gillibrand on their commitment to reinvigorating our higher education policy and doing it in an efficient and cost-effective way so the future generation of…

before I leave the floor, I wish to turn to another key issue that requires urgent action; that is, the renewal of unemployment benefits for millions of people. It has now been 46 days since unemployment insurance expired for many job…

what has made America strong is we have provided opportunities for individuals to develop their talents. Previous generations of Americans have recognized this, and invested in higher education accordingly. During President Lincoln's time…

first, I wish to thank my colleague Senator Whitehouse for yielding me 2 minutes. We are leaving here with major unfinished business. We have not extended unemployment benefits for 1.8 million Americans. They are getting to be increasingly…