We need Congress back in the driver＇s seat of budget decisions， not in the spectator seat of Budget Control Acts＇ indiscriminate and automatic cuts. We need a budget and we need budget predictability if we＇re to sustain our military＇s primacy.
Now， many of us in this room were born free， here in America， completely by accident. All of us can live here by choice， thanks to the veterans and the patriots who serve today in our military. Yet we today have an obligation to pass intact to the next generation the same freedoms we enjoy right now.
That＇s an obligation that we have. That＇s not something we can simply abrogate to someone else.
And I believe that this strategy， resourced appropriately， will ensure we live up to our responsibility to our children＇s generation.
So with that， ladies and gentlemen， and the dean did say he was going to help me answer the questions. So thanks very much for that －－ （Laughter.） －－ what I recognize is a slip of the tongue， but in this town that can get you into a lot of trouble， and I speak with authority on that. （Laughter.）
So －－ but ladies and gentlemen， let＇s see where we＇re at. Let＇s have a dialogue now.
Again， this is －－ we serve you. This is your strategy as much as it＇s ours. We had a responsibility to write it， and it＇s up to us to be able to defend it intellectually， alongside you and in the face of any questions you have. So let＇s hear what＇s on your mind.
Now， where＇s Katherine at？ She＇s somewhere around here.
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