"I think the points you gentlemen make about the challenges to the Department of Defense budget and the missions we have asked our uniformed military to perform is correct, but there is also a big huge budget challenge."
"But all this talk about dollars doesn't translate well into actual impacts on the force and risk to our Nation."
"the proposed cuts in the defense budget are a big risk, particularly if we do not make the cuts necessary to prevent sequestration."
"Our budget is 40 percent out of whack. You know, the amount of money we raise is 40 percent less than the amount of money we spend."
"I remain concerned that our Nation is slipping back into the false confidence of a September 10th mindset."
"It is imperative that we focus our fiscal restraint on the driver of the debt, instead of the protector of our prosperity."
"if we are going to be able to transition our troops home we need to make sure that there is a reliable security force left behind"
"I share with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle the concern that large, immediate, across-the-board cuts to the defense budget may well do damage to our national security."
"if we face a trillion dollars in cuts, if we face the loss of 30 percent of our defense budget over the next decade, we are not going to have the capacity to back up our commitments."
"I think it is very important that we do that, that we make it clear the impact that these cuts will have on our ability to protect this Nation."
"So if you don't deal with those other issues, as I have said repeatedly, you wind up being the person last in line at a buffet where the food is running out."