"The one thing you do not want to do, Mr. Chairman, is have the enemy miscalculate and entice them to make mistakes that could cost us all by not being ready to meet the challenges."
"It is also time to end the perennial threats of sequestration and place the Pentagon's budget on a general upwards path in real terms."
"For all the heartache caused by the loss of our troops during these wars, no enemy in the field has done more to harm the readiness of our military than sequestration."
"We are on the low end of defense spending, but we are on the high end of the threat matrix."
"I think that there is no magic number for the defense budget."
"In terms of GDP, over the arc of time, we are the second-lowest level in modern history."
"NATO without the United States is not a whole lot."
"Iran presents a threat to freedom across the world."
"Both China and Russia are significantly increasing their defense spending."
"I think if we cut our budget 10 percent militarily, our allies would freak out."
"the number one goal, in my view, of the Federal Government is to protect us."