uncertainty including furloughs. i know this comes on top of the furloughs that many of you already endured this summer. you and your families deserve better than the dysfunction we're seeing in congress. your talents and dedication help keep our military the best in the world. that's why i'll keep working to get congress to reopen our government and get you back to work as soon as possible. finally, i know this shutdown occurs against the background of broader changes, the war in iraq is over. the war in afghanistan will end next year. after more than i an decade of unprecedented operations, we're moving off a war footing. yes, our military will be leaner. and as a nation, we face difficult budget choices going forward. but here's what i want you to know. i'm going to keep fighting to get rid of those across the board budget cuts, the sequester, which are hurting our military and our economy. we need a responsible approach that deals with our fiscal challenges and keeps our