I think he perfectly outlines the challenge. There is the tiny little hurdle of actually passing those appropriations bills which seems to always be like we are just around the corner from doing it.

Where can you save money in each of your services? Where are we spending money that we shouldn't be spending money?

If there is anything that we can do or not do in the NDAA to help you with that acquisition reform process, please let us know.

This is the largest the defense budget's going to be for probably about the next decade.

The longer the leader of our country gives Russia a pass and keeps saying, well, maybe they are doing bad stuff, maybe they are not, the tougher your job is going to be, the tougher it is going to be to truly hold them accountable.

I think a huge part of this is holding Russia accountable--Russia is not altogether that powerful.

The basic notion that political freedom is the way to govern a country and to govern the world is being eroded.

Russia is the big issue. Not the only, but the big issue in the European Command [EUCOM], and how we counter their increasingly aggressive behavior.

They are undermining the basic tenets of what we stand for, which is political freedom and economic freedom.

I do not agree that that conflict necessarily has to be military.

I think the ideal outcome here is that we figure out a way to work with Russia.