On the recordJune 29, 2012
Yes, it is. Mr. McCAIN. So we are asking the Defense Department to plan on what our force structure will be, what our mission will be, what our capabilities will be, beginning the first of October, and all I can see so far is total gridlock on this issue. Now, if somebody wants to say it is our fault because we refused to ``raise revenues'' or because of the other side's insistence on that and a resistance to spending cuts, I say to my colleague, I do not think people understand we still live in a very dangerous world. The Senator just talked about those who have already sacrificed. Don't we owe it to them and their families to stop something that all of us agree would have a catastrophic impact on our ability to defend this Nation? Isn't it true--would the Senator agree--that it is time we sat down and started having serious negotiations, because there is no greater responsibility the Congress and the people's representatives have than to defend the security of this Nation? I know the Senator from South Carolina--before I ask him to answer-- traveled around his State, which I intend to do, to the various military installations and talked about what would happen with this sequestration. We are talking about a very limited period of time. We are about to go out of session. We will be in during the month of July--most of the month of July--and probably the month of September. End of story.
