Adam Smith

And thank you, gentlemen, for being here this morning and for your service to our country.

My good friend Congresswoman Giffords has worked on throughout her years on this committee.

The budget states that the Air Force has 'requested an interagency transfer of the Space Shuttle Atlantis to the National Museum of the United States Air Force.'

I want to thank both General Schwartz and Secretary Donley for their outstanding leadership in the Air Force.

I know in the Air Force, it is particularly challenging because you have significant programatic upgrades that are being required.

I think the initial take, finding $178 billion in efficiencies now, as Secretary Gates said yesterday, the great quote, he said the outyears are when everybody's dreams come true.

We make sure not to jeopardize our national security needs and priorities as we do that.

I start by agreeing with you on two critical points: Number one, the need to get a Defense Appropriations bill this year and not rely on a CR.

We definitely need--desperately need to get this appropriations bill done for the military.

I am very concerned about the implications to our troops of funding the Department of Defense at fiscal year 2010 funding levels in a year-long continuing resolution.

Development assistance is becoming a greater part of our national security. Stability is the goal here.

That, obviously, is a major challenge, the tens of billions of dollars more than was expected that are being spent on that critical piece of our national security.

The development program, frankly, has not gone as smoothly as we had hoped. The costs have risen.

We are going to decide at the end of 2 years whether to go forward with the program, in the strong hope that we will have solved those problems at the end of that 2 years.

The strength of our national defense ultimately depends on a strong economy as well

I am absolutely convinced that we continue to--can continue to provide the best national security possible, give our support to the troops that they deserve and still find savings within the Pentagon budget.

The procurement will be flat from fiscal 2011 to 2012.

Gabby is just a critical part of this Congress and a critical part of this committee.

I cannot speak for the gentleman from California, but I have spoken to many members of the Armed Forces during the course of that 16-year period about this policy, as I'm sure others have. So the main thing I object to is the…

When you say leave it to the market, you're saying leave it to the tender mercies of German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Norwegian industrial policy.

Are you kidding me? I look around the world and I see Germany has a huge program subsidizing solar technology.

How important do we think it is for the United States to have a capability in these technologies.

Thank you, I just want to add, before reserving the balance of my time, I want to thank Mr. Allen for offering a very specific plan and to once again remind all of you who are watching the debate that to charge the Democrats don't have a…

I would just first observe that none of these soldiers who died in Iraq, no matter what happens from this point forward, died in vain. No soldier who dies fighting for his country and his comrades dies in vain, regardless of the politics…

Today, I wish to extend to Paul Allen and the entire SpaceShipOne team my heartfelt congratulations on their huge achievement. Since Orville and Wilbur Wright first took to the skies, mankind has consistently dreamed of loftier goals and…