No one really wants to cut defense by this amount.

We need to put people back to work; we need to grow the economy.

None of you in uniform have ever made the decision to go to war. That is always done by civilians.

I think, General Odierno, you told me earlier before we came in here that the American people have always trusted you.

We get attacked when we show weakness. And as we cut our readiness, that around the world shows weakness.

I am very concerned about our pilots, especially our rotary wing pilots who do search and rescue every day across this country somewhere.

I personally think at this point we need to stop torturing the discretionary portion of the budget.

The President has made numerous proposals to stop sequestration.

It is an intractable political problem, but it has a very real-world impact.

I am concerned about the troops that are going to be deployed next year to Afghanistan.

It is clear that, so far, sequestration has failed to motivate Congress to adopt sound fiscal policy.

I agree with Secretary Panetta's description of sequestration as a 'disaster in terms of the Defense Department.'