Saying that “Congress is on the clock,” Panetta, at a press briefing Thursday urged Congress to tackle four top priorities when it returns next month for its lame duck session: 1) Averting sequester, 2) passing the National Defense Authorization Bill for 2013, which began Oct 1, 3) passing a cyber-security bill and 4) confirming two top generals for their new posts. In a briefing at the Pentagon, Panetta told reporters that he’d also like Congress to pass a defense appropriations bill, but “in the very least, we really do need an authorization bill so we can continue to implement our new defense strategy.” He appeared to acknowledge that getting everything might be a tall order given lawmakers’ jam-packed schedule. “This is a full agenda, one that requires Democrats and Republicans to work together. After a tough national election the American people will expect both parties to roll up their sleeves and work together to solve problems facing the nation and protect our national security.”
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