again we're live in the pentagon today. defense secretary leon panetta

and martin dempsey are about to give a briefing. one of the topics discussion could be the new initiative that could deploy army units around the world to build partnerships and increase the nation's security capabilities.

live at the pentagon. waiting for secretary of defense leon panetta. as we wait, the house and senate have passed a bill that's aimed at salvaging 2.8 million jobs. the measure cleared the house on a vote of 373-52. the vote in the senate was 74-19. it now goes to president obama's desk for his signature.

it would spend money on highways. the house is expected to do the same shortly. you can see the house live on c-span and the senate on c-span 2.

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good afternoon. as you know, it's now been one year since i was sworn in as secretary of defense. it truly has been an honor for me to lead the men and women of this department. and to do so during a very historic time for the united states military and for the country. i have been very fortunate to have an outstanding partner in the chairman, the vice chairman, all of the chiefs and the service secretaries and the combatant commanders and all my civilian leadership. let me, if i can, recognize some of the highlights of the past

year. thanks to the leadership of the president, the iraq war ended with the safe return of united states troops. we began a responsible draw down of u.s. military forces in afghanistan and we're making a transition to afghan security lead, which is ongoing. we concluded the nato mission in libya with the fall of gadhafi. we have maintained a relentless focus on decimating al qaeda's leadership. we developed a new defense strategy, which reshapes the force to meet the challenges of the 21st century. with a focus on investing in new capabilities and rebalancing towards asia-pacific and the middle east. we have put forward a budget that implements the strategy and

achieves mandated savings of $487 billion over the next ten years. we continue to focus on saving taxpayer money here and improving business practices at the pentagon. we have eliminated another $60 billion in overhead spending over the next five years and are accelerating by two yes the time to obtain audible statements of budgetary resources. we have affirmed our commitment to those who serve, maintained faith with them by protecting pay and benefits for active duty and reserve troops and by improving employment opportunities for veterans and military spouses. and we implemented the repeal of don't ask don't tell. we have also opened up 14,000 military positions to women and

we put in place enhanced measures to prevent sexual assault. this is clearly been a historic year for the department and for the country. in the past two weeks, in particular, i have been focusing on the overall health of our all-volunteer force. i visited wounded warriors at brook army medical center in san antonio this week, sharpening our focus on the stresses that lead to suicide and ptsd. and we have been reaching out to those who work with our military families and have continued to work on ways to try to boost veterans hiring. there is a very strong commitment by military leaders, by community groups and by families to ensure that service members have everything they need.

after visiting these men and women who have come home, there's still a great deal that they need and will continue to need in the years to come. but let me be frank. the biggest risk to everything i have talked about, to the health of our force to the well being of our service members and their families, is the threat of the sequester. the sequester will cut another $500 billion across the board from our national security budget and do it in a way that threatens to hollow out our national defense. i have seen extraordinary examples of courage and sacrifice over the past year in the men and women i have met in the war zones, in the wounded

warriors that i have met here at home. they are willing to put their lives on the line in order to protect our country. they deserve better than the threat of sequestration. too often today the nation's problems are held hostage to the unwillingness to find consensus and compromise. and in the face of that gridlock, artificial devices like sequester are resorted to in order to somehow force action. but in the absence of action, sequester could very well threaten the very programs critical to our national security, both defense and domestic. let's not forget that sequester

would also involve drastic cuts in domestic programs, as much as 12% across the board on vital programs that americans rely on. congress can't keep kicking the can down the road or avoid dealing with the debt and deficit problems that we face. men and women of this department and their families need to know with certainty that we will meet our commitments to them and to their families. our partners in the defense industry and their employees need to know that we are going to have the resources to implement the strategy that we have put forward and that they are not going to face the threat of layoff notices. u ultimately, the success of all we do to try to protect america,

the success of any defense strategy that we try to put in place, the success of any effort to try to support the for every american to recognize that the blessings of freedom are not free. they come from a legacy of sacrifice, of courage, and of leadership. that legacy is now our responsibility to fulfill so

that hopefully our children can enjoy a better life in the future. >> thanks, mr. secretary. good afternoon, everybody. i share the secretary's perspective on the remarkable achievements of our men and women in uniform over this past year. i was with some of them this week as some of you know i just our strategic command where my wife and i participated in a town hall meeting, although i prefer to call them family meetings with members of our joint military family and like the secretary, we also traveled to grapevine, texas, to chat with military kids and educators and wrapped up the trip yesterday discussing leadership with soldiers and family members at ft. hood and at every stop it won't surprise you to know i was struck by their tremendous sense of pride and commitment. they're smart, dedicated, irrepressible. they'll do anything to take care

of this country and i was also struck by the degree to which the budget concerns them. i find it encouraging on the one hand that our military family's informed and interested but it's unfortunate it weighs so heavily on their minds. frankly, they have enough to worry about. they have faith in us. they expect us to figure that out. so as the secretary has made clear, we simply have to come together to prevent this across the board, unbalanced cut that could jeopardize our ability to deal with the very real and serious threats that we face. the chiefs and i have no issue with military budgets being held accountable in these challenging times or with the need to make tough program decisions as we move ahead. that's why our strategy and the budget that supports it constitute a carefully balanced set of choices. these choices make sure we have the right talent and the right tools to keep our country immune from cohersion.

a balanced approach is what the secretary and the joint chiefs and i seek. and a sense of a way forward is what we expect. that's the only way we can honor our commitment to our military family and to the american people. we have to remember, too, that the force of the future, that is, america's sons and daughter who is may be out there contemplating a military career are also watching. i'm also pleased to announce that president obama has nominated lieutenant general frank grass army national guard for appointment to general officer and chief of the national guard bureau. he is the commander of u.s. northern command, general craig mckinley his predecessor has done an outstanding job as the chief of the national guard bureau helping to make sure our national guard is tightly integrated. and he is the first guard chief as you know to have become a member of the joint chiefs of staffs so i'd like to

congratulate both of them. thank you. an i look forward to your questions. >> we have a story out this afternoon that says the u.s. is considering transferring several taliban detainees from gitmo to afghanistan to be held in afghan control. could you comment on that? and also may i ask you about jim miller's trip to israel? was it confirmed to him that the missile defense exercise postponed already this year is rescheduled and will be held in october? the israeli xerize sigh officer challenge -- you're right. it was scheduled for the spring of the year and collaborateively with the israelis we rescheduled it and dr. miller's not back yet so i really don't know what the final decision was but it's our expectation that's when the event will occur. >> with regards to

reconciliation, there continue to be discussions with regards to reconciliation. there are no specific commitments that have been made with regards to prisoner exchanges at this point. one thing i will assure you is that any prisoner exchanges that i have to certify are going to abide by the law. and require that those individuals do not return back in to the battle. >> can you say whether it's being consider at this point? >> i think the discussions are going on generally but i haven't seen any specific proposal. >> thank you, secretary. we understand that the turkish military moved armored units towards the border with syria in response to the shooting down of that turk irk aircraft. what is your message to turkey? are you concerned about an escalation? for both of you if i could. >> we continue to be concerned

about developments in syria. and as you know secretary clinton is engaged in discussions with our allies to determine what the next step should be. we are in discussions, turkey is one of our allies in that region. we continue to be in close discussions with them. with regards to how we best approach the situation in syria. they have maintained troops as i understand it along the border. and i wouldn't read too much in to the movements that have been in the press. >> yeah. i don't -- i did have a conversation with general ozelle who's my counterpart. he's the turkish chief of defense and that's taking a very measured approach to the incident. so he and i are staying in contact. secondly, to the issue of risk of escalation, i mean, at any

time a nation's -- a nation loses in this case two airmen to a hostile act, it will, of course, increase the risk of escalation. but as the secretary said, the movement, the internal movement of their ground forces i wouldn't suggest -- i wouldn't read that as provocative at any way. you probably have to ask the turks. i have asked them. they're not seeking to be provocative. >> mr. secretary, you spoke with the ceos of a number of major defense firms over the past week of the budget and sequestration. what did you take away from their comments and what was your message to hem? >> i think it's fair to say that the ceos of the companies that i talked to all share the same concern we do with regards to sequester. they're very concerned about the impact that it will have on

their companies and on their employees. as you know, they face certain legal requirements with regards to notifying their employees if, in fact, sequester should happen. but more importantly, i think they're worried about the cloud that sequester has over the defense department. and over the future of our whole modernization program. and so, one thing i can assure you is that we are very much a team. we're both expressing the same concerns to capitol hill and both the companies as well as the defense department are making very clear to capitol hill that this is a matter ought not to be postponed. it ought to be dealt with soon so that sequester, a, will not happen. and b, we will have some degree of assurance that we can proceed

with the budget as we have outlined as opposed to facing another -- a possibility of another drastic defense cut. >> sir, are you concerned about recent reports that russian bare bombers, the tupalovs capable of carrying nuclear weapons entered the air defense zone near alaska? are you seeing any rise in this? i once that the last time it did so it was while president obama was meeting president putin in mexico. are you concerned about this? and, could you describe whether you believe the relationship with russia has been reset? >> well, you know, i think we continue to be able to work with the russians in a number of important areas. vp-5-plus-1 is one area working

with them. we work with them on other issues. we maintain military to military relations with the russians. with regards to the planes that sometimes peruse up in the north, this is not an unusual situation. we have oftentimes seen their planes come in to that area. i don't think we regard it as anything that's provocative at this point. >> yeah. and i'd add we have a very close relationship with canada in terms of our security to the north and so from time to time we assess whether we see this as in any way a change of some sort of message and this point we haven't concluded it's a message of any particular kind. >> okay. yes? >> thank you. earlier this morning the department made notification to japan about osprey