it is great to hear this ringing affirmation for the importance of America's nuclear deterrence

we in Congress have gotten in the bad habit of not paying for things

Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. I, too, welcome the witnesses, and it is a pleasure to work with you on these issues of vital importance to our national security.

your duties in this regard are the single-most important function of government, and the only thing the public will care about if there were to be a nuclear incident.

The growing challenges associated with ballistic missile defense are increasingly capable and continue to outpace our active defense systems.

You need to plug that defense hole and you need to plug it with real dollars, not borrowed dollars from China.

I certainly second your strong objection to sequestration for the defense budget.

We have got to at least be at the President's level, because as General Dempsey said, that is the lower ragged edge of what we absolutely have to have.

The greatest threat we face that threatens assured access to space is probably our own sequestration stupidity.

We will be marking up the NDAA at a level $35 billion below the President's budget. That is just unacceptable.

I am worried that the greatest risk to our nuclear defenses is not at the witness table... it is on this side.

We will be deliberately below the President's number. So hopefully there will be a solution.