I very much value the friendship and the working relationship we have had together. It would be interesting if somebody wanted to try to look at records. I suppose since this is our 29th bill we have worked on, that might be a bit of a…

I felt it imperative there not be a moment's gap in the Navy for the new Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Roughead, who is in this group of nominations confirmed by the Senate, and that he be in position to assume the full…

Interesting, but it is important we constantly reiterate the message there is no military solution. As you well know in all the hearings of the Armed Services Committee, every uniformed officer has told us that straightforwardly. They are…

I assure my colleague that I fully anticipate we will have further debates on the very issues that have been of concern to my colleague from Colorado during the Defense appropriations bill, which we will be following up with at the…

if I might add, on our most recent trip visiting Iraq, you went out of your way--as a matter of fact, I joined you--in not only meeting with representatives of these Christian minorities who had been persecuted through the years, but then…

I must say, having been on this Armed Services Committee now 29 years with my good friend, Senator Levin, we "old bulls," as we are referred to, are very much impressed with our new member, her vigor, her foresight, her determination to…

I acknowledge that, yes, I did conceive that idea, and successfully, with the help of Senator Byrd and others, got that legislation through. But that was for a tightly defined purpose within a prescribed short period of time. This one, I…

But it is--we are outsourcing the work of the Congress, and, most specifically, outsourcing the work of our Armed Services Committee. That is the thing that concerns me.

if you want to take those provisions out and make it a freestanding amendment, I would be supportive of modifying it.

I remember that Packard Commission very well, but that was a tightly knit commission for a specific purpose. I used to be at the Pentagon and worked under David Packard as Secretary of the Navy. We were fortunate to get him to do that…

I am pleased, if and when we get to the vote, to cast a vote in favor of this because I think it is an important amendment. Also, if I may say, it reflects a goal that I and many others have had for a long time; namely, to have a showing…

Lastly, when we look at the enormity of the sacrifices of our country over these many years now--most notably the tragic loss of some 3,000, almost 3,800 individuals and many more wounded, and expenditures of so much of the taxpayers'…

I strongly support what you have been able to do and personally thank you for your inclusion of an amendment that I have felt very important. Senator Webb, my colleague from Virginia, and I announced on July 30 the basic text of that…

If I can interrupt my good friend, the central issue is, we are losing, as you pointed out, our greatest national treasure: our youth, killed and wounded. How much longer? You are talking about indefinite periods of time. What do we do now…

I, for one, will accept the challenge to carefully go back and look at the Senator's amendment and the foundation documents which he has described, and I look forward to Monday and Tuesday, perhaps, reengaging the Senator. I say to the…

as I have looked back on my years here, one of the chapters I have enjoyed the most is the debates we have had together, and this is not in the nature of a debate, Mr. President, but I do ask the Senator who now--in your current capacity…

Among the many failures, as my friend from Virginia knows very well, is that at the onset of this conflict it was believed by the then Secretary of Defense and others in the administration, including the President of the United States…

Sailor, you rascal. How could you forget that? He went wrong--I mean he did very well by serving both in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps, and then, of course, as Assistant Secretary of the Navy and as an outstanding chairman of the…

I grilled these officers today very intensely. You may recall that in January, subsequent to the President's announcement of the surge, the Secretary of Defense stepped up and said: Hold everything. I am going to put in place a callup…

I first saw the amendment, prepared by, I believe, Senator McCain and Senator Graham, yesterday when it was circulated to the members of the Armed Services Committee. At that time, I promptly suggested a change in the amendment or, more…

And I'm going to work like heck for the next 14 months to get Virginians to hire me.

I want to add a dimension to this debate, and that is that I have had the privilege of knowing Admiral McConnell for some years. He does not have a scintilla of politics. He left a very lucrative position in the private sector to once…

Senator Levin, along with Senator McCain, have forged a comprehensive, bipartisan legislative package to ensure that wounded and injured members of the Armed Forces receive the finest care and benefits, which they richly deserve. I thank…

I would like to contrast it to an early experience I had in life. In the winter of 1945, the war was raging in Europe--although it ended in May, it was still going on, as was the war in the Pacific. Like everybody else on my block, all…

It is for that purpose we are asking the Senate today to support this bill to provide the sum of money for 5 consecutive years to form a competitive grant program so this wide range of institutions may compete for this pot of money and…