I believe we will increasingly lean on our seapower and projection forces to underpin our national security strategy.

it is painfully obvious that our future readiness is being leveraged to pay for our current requirements.

I believe we will increasingly lean on our Seapower and Projection forces to underpin our national security strategy.

I just want you to understand our frustration, which I know you do, when you then say these are difficult budget choices, we wanted the cruisers, but we see the fact that we were cutting $778 billion.

We have got really the perfect storm. We have these cuts that have already been taken, which have been extraordinary.

we are going to revitalize this Navy and we are going to try to lay a foundation for the Navy for decades to come.

I seriously question the viability of the shipbuilding plans presented in the out-years of the 30-year plan.

I believe in maintaining peace through strength.

Our subcommittee has long supported this strategic rebalance and I believe that a forward-based, credible presence is essential to supporting our economic interests.

It is for these reasons and many more that a rebalance to the Pacific theater is in our strategic interests.

The top priority of U.S. strategy in Asia is not to prepare for a conflict with China. Rather, it is to shape the environment so that such a conflict is never necessary and perhaps someday inconceivable.

I believe that the Asia-Pacific theater provides a valuable key to the continued prosperity of the United States.

I believe that a strong economy requires a strong military to protect the free flow of goods around the world.

these gag orders have just got to stop coming out of the Pentagon, because it serves no purpose not to be transparent and get this information out.

We have had a sea-change where we have pulled numbers out of the air and said, 'Here is the budget; now create a strategy to meet that budget.'

House and Senate provisions sustaining FY12 funding, manpower and aircraft levels for the ANG for FY13 are essential to prevent irreversible damage to the Air National Guard.

We do not do transparency because it is easy. We do it because it is right for the American people.

Energy security is one of my top priorities, and while one of the greatest challenges for the Department of Defense, it is also an area for enormous potential.

Let us be clear, failure to reset the force undermines this position and will leave us with a smaller and less-capable force.

Resetting our force is a strategic imperative and one that will require continued commitment from this subcommittee and this Congress beyond combat operations.

the big problem with sequestration is it is indiscriminately applied.

I am concerned that we decreased the funding in this account from FY12 levels by $36 million--resulting in a backlog of 74 airframes and 170 engines.

Despite relatively level funding, I remain concerned that we are robbing Peter to pay Paul.

the fear I have is that most Americans don't even know what the term 'sequestration' means, much less the catastrophic effect it would have.

I think the American people have a right to know, and not just wait until after the election, what these cuts are going to mean in sequestration as well as the other cuts.