Transcripts For CSPAN3 Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20240622

The obvious infrastructure deployment requires the expectation of a healthy return on capital. That should be taken as a given but all too often in my experience the issue of return on capital is either ignored or misunderstood in policy forums. Its not a matter of whether a business is or isnt profitable. It is instead a matter of whether a business is sufficiently profitable to warrant the high levels of Capital Investment required for the deployment of infrasfrur. We that in mind, in 2014, the Largest Companies in the cable industry earned a very healthy return. The physical assets of comcast, time warner cable, charter and cablevision, the four publicly traded Cable Operators in 2014 all earned healthy returns in excess of their cost of capital with returns ranging from 13 to 33 . Those returns were unusually high for a capital intensive industry. On the other hand it should be noted the cable industry earned returns below the cost of capital for decades. Any longterm return on Network Infra infrastructure has to earn returns to yuf set when were typically years or even decades of losses. By contrast large incumbent Telephone Companies do not earn attractive returns on their wire line businesses. For example, a decade after first undertaking their fios fiber to the home buildout to 18 million homes verizon has not come close to earning a return in reference to cost of capital. It earned a paltry 1. 2 return against a cost of capital of 5 . For the nonfinancial types in the room thats the equivalent of borrowing money at 5 interest in order to earn 1 interest. Thats a good way to go bankrupt. No one would undertake to replicate those disastrous financial returns. At t which at around the same time deployed a much less robust and less costly fiber to the node network has low returns. It has been declining for a decade and is like verizons well below the cost of capital. At t is committed to the fcc to make fiber available to a total of i now believe its 12. 5 million homes as of what was reported last night to their footprint in order to make their acquisition of directv more available to policymakers but its hard to be optimistic theyll do much better this time around. That said, there have been some changes in the market that make deployment of competitive Broadband Networks less unattractive thannenive that been in the best. Corning has developed bendable fiber that has lowered the cost. Google has popularized the concept where communities pledge to subscribe to Network Services before the network is built so that google can target areas where the company has the best chance of earning an acceptable return and while some critics would call that redlining as it typically means that broadband wont be built to the lower income communities, it has been successful in boosting overall project returns. And you can think of it as a way of ensuring that all the children in the class really are above average. Sfil, the broader takeaway here being the second or third broadband provider in a market are generally poor. Let that sink in for a moment. It means that markets are unable to full yy yield. Wireless networks simply arent edgeered for the kind of sustained through put required for services. And Wireless Networks also generally earn relatively poor returns on capital. Returns for verizon and at t are middling and for sprint and t. Mobile are very poor as a consequence of aggressive price competition in the wireless market. Neither is satellite broadband a compelling replacement for wired broadband in any but the most rural areas. Costs are high and its the nature of satellite connection that it has to travel 220,000 miles and back such that latency will be a problem. The simple economic reality is that overbuilding will be somewhat limited given relatively poor financial returns that can be expected and alternatives are far and few between. That gives rise to the impulse among some to regulate incumbent networks that are already there. That is it is not an unseasonable assumption that any attempts to foster competition will be unsuccessful and that regulation of incumbents in this case, the cable operator, is therefore required. The counter argument that regulation will only stifle investment among incumbent providers and will make the problem worse and will in the process generate unwelcome, unintended consequences is equally well intentioned and is equally supported by the historical evidence. That is to say theres no easy answers here. Ill conclude by adding a few additional observations about the cable industry. Everybody understands the business is facing unprecedented pressure. Cord cutting has been talked about for years but is showing up in a meaningful way in the numbers. Have a Cable Operators perspective, the video business and the broadband business are opposite sides of the same coin. It is after all, all one infrastructure. Pressure on the video profit pool will naturally trigger a pricing response in broadband where Cable Operators have greater leverage. That may sound nefarious but it is simply an observation that Cable Operators have historically benefited from the fact that their infrastructure can support two separate businesses and each can be delivered in a lower cost than if that were not the case. A aca or American Cable Association has made this kag eloquently in arguing that absent reforms to restrain runaway programming cost growth, video will be unprofitable and broadband will be left to carry the entire burden of incremental deployment. All else being equal that means that even new builds of broadband will become increasingly economic challenged and therefore will become less and less likely or as im quick to add this is my own editorial rather than acas point theyll have to sharply raise the price of broadband. The pressures are broadbased and are attributable to more than programming cost inflation and that this may be an unavoidable scenario. Ill leave my remarks there. If they sound gloomy, theyre not meant to. The u. S. Broadband infrastructure is the envy of the world notwithstanding statistics that would say otherwise. Simply the case that broadband is an infrastructure that is very difficult to support two of and in some cases even one of. And i would submit a clear acknowledgment of the microeconomics business deserves or demands a seat at the policy table. Thank you for your time and the opportunity to testify today. Thank you very much, mr. Moffett. We go to michael slinger. We welcome you. Thank you for being here. The floor is yours. Chairman walden, Ranking Member you will need to pull a microphone very close and push the little button there till the light stays on. Chairman walden, Ranking Member eshoo and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the invitation to testify today about investment in broadband infrastructure. We believe a successful agenda for bandwidth abundance will benefit consumers, Small Business and the economy. My name is michael slinger. I currently serve as the director of google fine city teams. I oversee the operations, Business Strategy and on Ground Network to bring speeds to cities where we deploy google fiber across the United States. We have long believed that the next chapter of the internet will be built on gig babit speeds. We knows fast connections unleash innovation and entrepreneurship. Think about it in these terms. If today were riding a bike, having a gig means we could be driver a race car. Its just that much faster. Thats why we launched google fiber which provides download and upload connections of up to 1,000 mega bits per second to make the web faster, affordable, relevant and useful for everyone. We launched the service five years ago. Today its available in kansas city kansas kansas city missouri, austin texas and provo, ute aw. In addition, were in the process of building our network in six other markets and exploring bringing it to others. We built a network from scratch, one street, one pole, one house at a time. This means reviewing infrastructure and working closely with cities to make sure were ready to design a brand new network. This experience has given us insight into barriers to deployment. Ill outline thoughts on policy changes that could reduce delays and barriers. First, policymakers can ease gaining access to existing infrastructure. To construct high Speed Networks, broadband providers need access to existing utility infrastructure such as poles conduits, on a consistent and Cost Effective and timely basis. While the fcc has taken important steps to improve rules related to infrastructure access, our own experience in building new Broadband Networks demonstrates that more work needs to be done to reduce delays and barriers. Second policymakers can ease rights of way. The expense and complexity of obtaining access to public rights of way in some jurisdictions may increase the cost and slow the pace of broadband deployment. Policies that facilitate partnerships between entities and companies doing local construction can be beneficial. We see a lot of benefit in instituting dig once policies which may involve the installation of an oversized conduit bank by any new Network Builder within the right of way. Third, policymakers can help resolve the challenge of high rates for access to video programming. This would help smaller players in the business negotiate fair terms for access to popular broadcasts and cable content and make it easier to attract and retain subscribers for Broadband Networks. Finally, i would be remiss if i failed to mention the importance of balance spectrum policies that promote innovation in the wireless sector. Federal agencies should pursue a balanced approach to spectrum reallocation that allows for licensed and unlicensed commercial uses at a variety of frequencies. I will note as we think about deploying giga bit Speed Networks we need to keep in mind that about 30 of Americans Still dont use the internet at home. This means they are at a disadvantage when it comes to education, job opportunities, social and civic engagement. So one of our main priorities in Building Digital inclusion into our deployment plans from the beginning, we are guided by a couple of main principles. Make the internet more affordable, make access a part of the community and teach people how to get online. Just last week as part of the connect Home Initiative announced by president obama and hud secretary castro, we committed to bringing google Fiber Internet Service to residents in select Affordable Housing Properties Across our cities for zero dollars per month with no installation fee. We are partnering with Community Organizations on computer labs and Digital Literacy programming. We are grateful for your attention to this important topic. Thank you again for the invitation to speak at this hearing and share our views on how we can remove barriers give americans more choices at higher speeds and help reach the goal of nationwide broadband abundance. Thank you, mr. Slinger, we appreciate your testimony. Well go to our final witness today, deb socia, exec fivutive director of next century cities. Thank you, and please go ahead with your comments. Good afternoon. Thank you for holding this hearing on such an important topic. My name is deb socia and im the executive director of nick century cities, a city to city collaborative formed just last october. We have grown to over 100 member cities, all of whom are dedicated to ensuring access to fast, affordable and reliable brond band. High speed access is essential to americas future. Its as simple as that. What can be complicated is making it happen on the ground. Cities face a range of technical, economic and political changes, including obstacles at the state and federal levels. More and more providing for this critical need has emerged as a core responsibility for local governments. Many cities and towns from around the country are taking diverse and creative steps to secure their internet future. When it comes to providing access to high quality internet, everyone has a role to play. Its an issue that spans political party, an issue that crosses the urban rural divide, and an issue that relies on many sectors of our society. Theres no single pathway to next generation broadband network. In several of the most Innovative Solutions have emerged in unexpected places. The small towns of amman idaho and mt. Vernon washington have developed a gigabyte open access network. Local developments, directly involved in building the infrastructure and leasing access to competing private providers. Just outside of baltimore, westminster, maryland, have initiated a partnership with king, a provider of fine internet service. With google fiber in kansas City Residents can now experience gig level speeds at an affordable rate. Cities like lafayette, louisiana and chattanooga, tennessee have built their own networks and now have some of the fastest and globally accessible internets available. Our membership represents an inclusive crosssection of america from small Rural Communities such as winthrop, minnesota, to large urban areas like l. A. And boston. What unites these is a commitment to the imperative of Broadband Access for continued growth and an understanding that local governments are best situated to understand and provide for the needs of their residents. Its an exciting time, a time for creative local solutions to usher in a new generation of innovation as the internet continues to transform all aspects of society. Next century city has recently developed a policy agenda showing how multiple stakeholders can help communities develop the crucial infrastructure needed today. Consistent with our mission, this new resource provides guidance that will be useful to communities regardless of how they choose to pursue their broadband goals. Part of the policy agenda looks at steps local and State Government can use to ensure high quality access. Locally governments can institute dig once policies that minimize disruption as well as take other steps to ensure their cities are fiber ready. At the state level, the policy agenda addresses changes such as modernizing state regulations and making investments in the middle mile infrastructure. Blu but were here on capitol hill today. And i wanted to emphasize some recommendations we heard from mayors about steps the federal government could take to help empower local communities. First and foremost, congress can encourage competitive local markets through National Legislation and other avenues. In addition, you have the ability to provide a National Platform for the issue of broadband as necessary infrastructure. Hearings such as this help to elevate this discussion and attract National Attention to this critical issue. Finally, the policy agenda discusses how congress could better require information about available internet access, including speed of connection, price for consumers and areas of operation for service providers. As is clear from everything weve heard so far today, the need for fast affordable and reliable Broadband Internet access is undeniable. Innovative leaders in communities across the country recognize this urgent need and are developing the critical broadband infrastructure that will allow their residents and their cities to thrive. Its evident by the over 100 next century cities im speaking on behalf of today, communities that represent over 18 million americans. Thank you for providing this platform for communities to share their experiences and develop opportunities for collaboration with federal policymakers. I look forward to working with members of this committee and your colleagues to ensure that communities across the country have the next generation access that all americans need and deserve. Thank you. Ms. Socia, thank you for your testimony and your insights. Ill start off with questions. Commissioner adelstein as you know know, a master contract to simplify the placement of wireless antennas on federal buildings and other property. Last year the administrator of the gsa told congress that the master contract was complete and available for use by executive land holding agencies. In your opinion, do you believe that gsa, General Services administration, has done everything in its power to give life to the directives embodied in section 6409 that you referenced in your at the time of middle class tax relief act . Mr. Chairman, i do not believe they have. As a matter of fact, im a former administrator myself of the federal agency and if i had implemented something too poorly that congress instructed me to do id be embarrassed. Theres an executive order by the president of the United States correcting gsa to move faster to try to get these master contracts together. And to date nothings been done. Three years after congress enacted this legislation progress has been slow gsa hasnt been proactive. Forms and applications to provide clarity to agencies in the wireless industry. I think our members are having to negotiate for each and every site individually just as they have in the past. Gsa has not implemented the intent of congress and we cant wait three more years for whats needed i think today. Theres an urgent lack of coverage on federal lands. The administration has made a priority of this the commission has made a priority yet gsa is dragging its heels. I think there might be a need for further legislation. Or maybe a hearing with one witness. They always like those. I appreciate that. For the rest of the panel if there are issues youre running into with the federal side of this, let us know because this is one we raise because its important and we concur with what commissioner adelstein has said. I dont think theyve got it right yet or done. Ms. Socia, traditionally Network Operators were given a monopoly in exchange to serve anyone upon reasonable request. In the models weve been discussing carriers only deploy to areas where theres an economic case for the bill. How do we balance sound Network Economies with the threat of red lining the practice of refusing service to areas that are deemed a poor financial risk . As i heard about the incredible buildout that google is doing which i applaud, representing a district thats bigger than any state east of the mississippi, getting access to our tribal lands out to our very remote Rural Communities whether wired or wireless remains a big problem. I wonder how we can address that better . I think the interesting thing when you think about profit, i think that is a problem across the board with building out to these more rural locations. Therefore, it requires an influx of capital. There just isnt a way to do this without support. But i think the ways that our cities are looking at what is a profit are a little bit different than the ways that a Company Might look at what a profit is. Right . So its about education, its about Public Safety, its about Economic Development and transportation and all of these opportunities that are presented when you have access. So what is that worth . How do we ensure that our tribal lands and our Rural Communities can benefit in the same ways that our other communities are able to . Before i go to mr. Moffett for his comments, this is an issue just in getting Wireless Phone coverage out into areas of montana, upstate new york. Elise stephenic has made this case to me our new member from up there. Getting access, connectivity remains a real issue. The job is not done. From your perspective, as an analyst, what do we do . I would certainly agree with ms. Socias comments, that it is not realistic to think that those projects will be entirely selffunding in the more rural areas. That said, i think the targeting of the funds that are available, the connect america funds, can be improved such that those funds are more carefully directed to new green field projects that really are bringing broadband to places that havent been served in the past. Theres always some controversy around whether an area is partially served or sufficiently served. And then secondarily, i think its also important that those connect america funds be made available to all manner of companies so that there can be more competition of potential providers of those services. I want to get a quick answer, mr. Slinger. Does google have plans to try a model out in sort of rural remote areas of the country to see if you can make that work . Well, as you know, fiber may not be the right solution technologically for rural areas and we want to make sure that theres a sufficient spectrum available for unlicensed Wireless Technologies as well as were experimenting with Balloon Technology through project balloon and as well with fixed wing aircraft out of new mexico. So we think that in rural areas it may be new technologies that are going to affordably bring internet to those areas. I hate to cut you off but i know were all tight for time. So ill turn to my colleague from california, ms. Eshoo. Thank you, mr. Chairman, first of all, for having this very important hearing and for the high level of cooperation relative to witnesses and invitations. We appreciate it. Jonathan, its great to see you, former commissioner at the fcc, and to everyone that accepted our invitation to be here today. To mr. Slinger and miss socia, first of all thank you for your important advocacy for the dig once policy. I wish that the congress had passed it because i think that wed have more of that policy actually excuse the expression embedded in our federal roadways but how do you think, a, the executive order is working . I want to get my questions out first, okay, because time is very brief. If you think there are any additional steps that congress should take to incent that deployment of conduit as part of the federal highway projects and that system which, i dont know, right now it doesnt seem like the highway project system is going anywhere. Its looked like its being driven off the road in congress. But anyway here maybe we can concentrate on that. Mr. Moffett, i listened carefully to what you said and its i think highly pessimistic. It was depressing to listen to your description of every last sector of the telecommunications marketplace. My question to you would be, where do you see a bright spot . To governor lewis, thank you for being here. There was a report that just came out in terms of broadband penetration in our country. Were 24th in the world. I think that a good part of that number is a representation of native americans in reservations in our country. Its a shameful record. Its a shameful record, and i think if there is going to be something that moves up to the top of the list here in a bipartisan way, its to see that we bring to the parts of the country where there are reservations, that you get First Class Service for first class citizenship. You really do. For students to have to be driven by their parents 65 and 75 miles away, to sit in the car in order to get some kind of connection to do their homework i dont think any member of congress whos a parent here would ever put up with that. We shouldnt have that in our country. And i hope that, mr. Slinger and governor lewis will form a partnership and then come back and report to us. Id really like to have you meet and see what you can come up with. Because you both need each other and we need both of you. So ms. Socia, do you support does next century city support having local municipal systems . We support whatever it is our local communities need to do in order to get where theyre going. That doesnt answer my question, though. Its too broad. Excuse the term. I understand. Many, many of our mayors signed on to a letter. We sent it to the fcc in support of the preemption. To the two cities that filed petitions, chattanooga and wilson, are two of our cities. And we have we believe deeply in the idea that competition is important. And we believe deeply in the idea that local folks should be able to solve their local problems in a way that makes sense. I come from local government so i agree with you and i think that they should have the opportunity to do that as well. Jonathan, i regularly hear from constituents who are frustrated with the tower siting process. Now heres one for you. Everyone wants great service, the best service in the whole wide world, but no one wants a wireless tower in their back yard or where they can see it anywhere near where they live. How do you respond to this . The people that say that reforms need to be made to take away local jurisdictions say over the placement of cell towers. Its really like trying to get socks on an octopus. They want it, they dont want it, and yet there are some half dos in this. Those are my questions and you have 13 seconds to answer them. Oh, no, you dont have any time because im over time. But you can respond in writing. And that way ill get more meat on the bones i think. So thank you for being here. Please, mr. Slinger and governor lewis, come together and if my office, other offices can help facilitate, let us know. The gentleladys time has expired. Turn to mr. Latia for five minutes. Thanks mr. Chairman and for the panel today. Its always a great discussion we have in subcommittee. If i could go back to some of the questions that the chairman was posing and also i think he said about the gsa dragging its feet in getting some of these things done, especially when were talking about streamlining the process for providers to obtain the necessary permitting and other approvals needed to build on federal lands and protected lands. Just out of curiosity, on average how long does it take for the negotiation with the federal government compared to the private industry . Any idea . It takes about four years with the federal government and less than half for the private sector and sometimes it can drag on much longer, for many, many years. Generally the private companies will avoid federal lands because it takes so long. You dont see the return on investment that craig was talking about. So the federal government is actually deprived of that revenue because it will go right next door if theres nonfederal land nearby. So youre saying that on average its four but it can drag out even longer . Thats right. Any ideas or examples of how long some of them have taken over four years . Ive heard from people who have taken ten years and longer. Ive heard that sometimes theyve tried and it never gets done. Theres never any finality to it. Theres no decisionmaking process thats in place. Thats why this committee in its wisdom said that the gsa was supposed to take steps to standardize this process and it hasnt been done. Because of that four or ten or maybe infinity and beyond, what additional costs are incurred when the federal government is unable to streamline the process for the broadband infrastructure buildout . Theres lost revenue, huge costs to try to go through that process for the individuals trying to get the site acquisition done. Its a shame. 30 of all the land mass in the United States is federal property, especially in rural areas. A lot of very valuable federal buildings in dense urban which could use a facility as well to deal with the capacity demands. Its a shame that these negotiations take so long, that they dont lead anywhere. Not only do you lose revenue that you need for deficit reduction, the Companies Lose valuable places and the consumers lose access to services they need. Mr. Slinger, i think in your testimony you were talking about the percentage of the population that doesnt have access to broadband. What percentage would that be . Were seeing now the stats that were sigheeing is 60 million americans. In some of our cities that were working in right now, 25 to 30 of people have never had an Internet Connection at home. They have access, they may have access through cell phones but they dont have an Internet Connection at home. Two quick followups then. Again, i represent from urban to very, very rural, and when you look at the numbers then or the percentages, what percentage of that would be urban, suburban, very rural and that percentage when you talk about that 60 million . Yes. How would that break down and also how many people would that include that would not want to have access to broadband . I dont have a breakdown of urban versus rural within the numbers. But again, in urban areas i can say in many cities that 25 , 30 of these cities residents dont have anything at home at all. No Internet Connection. Thank you. Governor, if i can turn to you and again thanks very much for being here with us today and for your testimony because again you said that you have a very, very rural population. I think you said you have about 20 persons per square mile. Its a great concern in your area along with all the rural areas in the country about having that essential broadband. For our constituents. You talked about the usf and that would help you b you are there other areas besides the usf that would be of benefit to you and your community . Thank you for that question. First of all, id like to recognize that i have two of my Council Members here, Devin Redbird and Caroline Williams and also from fwrks rti telecommunications, Belinda Nelson and Pamela Thomas from the gila river community. Thank you. Thank you. I would sigh that one critical issue is rights of way. Rights of way is a challenge where its a complex issue. It has to do with the nature of tribal land. It goes back, as i said, to the allotment policy that had a devastating effect on tribal lands. So the short answer is that grti in regards to rightaway, if they dont get rightaways, we have to build around it. And of course, that costs its very capital intensive. So we either have to move to another route or where we can in some cases have to build a wireless link to go over the right of way. Obviously this is costly as compared to trenching through an established right of way. Sometimes this is our only course of action. That is an issue that we really need to look at. Another is the etc and designation process which is overly complicated. So streamlining of that etc designation process would be welcome to many tribes. Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman my time is expired and i yield back. Well now recognize the gentleman from new jersey mr. Palone, for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I want to get one question in to mr. Adelstein about infrastructure during disasters like Hurricane Sandy and i want to get a question to governor lewis. So trying to split this up. Three years ago Hurricane Sandy devastated my district. The force of the storm knocked out some communication for days. Mr. Adelstein, you testified about all the Wireless Infrastructure thats being deployed and upgraded across the country and i support this but my constituents are concerned about whether the equipment works in a disaster. What is your industry doing to make sure people can call for help and reach loved ones in an emergency . And what do you think of the fccs work to improve resiliency . Its a real top priority for our industry. We want to make sure customers get access when they need the most. Which is in a disaster. During Hurricane Sandy we saw cooperation between t mobile and at t that agreed to share each Others Network in the region affected by the storm and share their Network Operation centers. I would say that in terms of the structures themselves, not one of them went down during the storm, not one. The issue was things that were beyond the control of power companies, access to roads, trees that fell. But what makes it difficult is that sometimes we cant even get generators sited on these things. We find from localities, you cant put a generator there because it violates a noise statute. Its only going to be used in a state of emergency when otherwise their phone wont work. Yet, localities wont let us to put them there and then complain when the system doesnt work in a disaster. We need more proactive work. Of facilitating access to it. The best thing you can do for reliability is redundancy. The more these facilities are up, the more likely you have one the works in a time of emergency. All the work done by this committee to promote deployment is promoting redundancy to be sure there are facilities in case of emergency and more likely they will survive the disaster and be of available for use of Public Safety as well as for the citizens in the community. Do you want to comment on the fccs work because the chairman wheeler committed to me that the fcc would act by the end of the year to complete its rule making on improving Wireless Network resiliency. Were thrilled with what the fccs doing. We work closely with chairman wheeler and theyre working at a cooperative arrangement where we can provide incentives for industry to deploy this kind of equipment. I think industrys doing a lot already making Major Investments in things like backup power. Were working together in a cooperative fashion. We believe the goals are shared in making sure these networks are resilient and redundant. Thank you. Let me go to governor lewis. I should say that i love the gila river reservation. I havent been there in a long time. Its about time i go back. But you know, on the one hand i was thinking that i guess relative to many tribes you might have more ability than even some of the, you know, more remote even more remote or even you know poorer tribes if you will, you know, to achieve some of the goals that you mentioned. I just wanted to ask about funding. You mentioned the universal service fund. I guess the gentleman from google talked about this connect Home Initiative. I think the president was actually at the choctaw reservation last week or so talking about that. What are these sources of funding . Is the universal service fund useful to you now . What would we have to do to improve it . What could the federal government do in terms of funding for tribal infrastructure, particularly for those tribes that might even have more difficulty . Im thinking of like the pueblos in new mexico or the tribes at the grand canyon, you know smaller than gila river, less funding available. How are these funds helpful to you, the ones that we do have, or these programs that we do have or are they . Thank you, congressman pallone, and youre always welcome at the gila river community. With the usf funding, Stable Funding mechanisms are critical to businesses like grti and those in Indian Country where they have to develop deployment plans and rely on federal Funding Sources to be there to begin with. Our u. S. Funding is critical as well for providing funding for insfra structure buildout. Thats critical to the longterm sustainability of these Telecommunications Providers in Indian Country. Are you able to are you using funds from universal service now . Yes, we are. How is that working . What does it mean . How do you do it . Thats critical to the overall Business Plan of the a gila river telecommunications. They rely on that source of income moving forward. Its critical to the longterm Business Outlook and also in regards to longterm capital buildout as well. All right. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Recognize the gentleman from illinois for five. Thank you. Its a great panel. I appreciate you all being here. I want to go to adelstein and governor lewis real quick to highlight the challenges. Especially the Environmental Review process, especially on federal land, is a burden. Have you thought through how local municipalities and they do their zoning outside of federal land and how we could marry that with which goes on there and can you comment on that . Yes. Some localities are great. We heard today from google and from deb s ocia, that those communities that promote broadband make it easier to get access. And thats where investment goes. Those that throw up road blocks not to mention communities that are represented here but there are some. They arent seeing the investment they would get if they werent throwing up roadblocks. About people saying not in my back yard, then theyre not going to have service in their backyard. We work cooperatively with local communities. Every single facility thats been cited has been cited in cooperation with local government. To have it be dragged out it took the work of this committee to say you dont have to get another zoning hearing for something thats already been zoned to put a 4g antenna on an antennas that thats already there. Increasingly communities are recognizing this. Ten states have enacted laws in the last several years since 2013 to streamline deployment in their states. Those states are seeing more investment. Were working with local partners of the National Association of counties and National League of cities and others to get out word about the way the fcc is implementing the law that you passed. Commissioner clyburn let me get to governor lewis on the federal properties. They have to get past the land issue. Cant we force a zoning issue, get you guys the zoning ability like we do municipalities . Yes. Theres a bill introduced in the other body created by senator rubyio that would create a fee schedule that the agency could keep the money they get from that to pay for the cost of processing it. There would be common forms that to try to get them enacted. Theres an expectancy of lease renewals so when somebody nfbs there okay. Let me get governor lewis to respond. Federal land on Indian Country has been a long issue in regards to our unique situation as Indian Tribes the and the nature of indian land in regards to highly fractionated land interests that are so critical and sometimes are one of the major obstacles to buildouts in regards to getting right of ways. If we can somehow streamline that process through the bureau of indian affairs, the department of interior, that would greatly help out tribal infrastructure buildout in the future. Great. Thank you. Mr. Slinger, let me go to you real quick. My Congressional District is 30,000 people. When do you think google would hit that community on your timeline . Did you want to name that community . But im not the chairman of the committee so i dont have as much power as well, weve published this fiber checklist so that we can as mr. Adelstein said to get cities to get ready by themselves for Fiber Deployment whether its google or any other provider by making sure that they have smooth permitting processes that allow for a large following of permits to go through, to make it easy for people to get onto telephone poles through streamlined make ready engineering and construction. Its the same type of debate as were talking with the rural or the federal lands deployment, the ease of being able to have access and a timely response. Let me finish up with mr. Moffett. Its all about return on investment. I dont care how people want to marry it. If you believe in the capitalist model. If the rural area cant make a go based on the formula, you have to dip into rus or other loans to make the business sense, correct . Correct. And also time is money, so any delay as what weve talked about here, affects the ability for someone to go to the Capital Markets to make a pitch that theyre going to get the return on investment that you propose. Thats correct. As well, yes. I yield my time. Gentleman yields back his time. The chair now goes to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Doyle, for five. Thank you, mr. Chairman and for this excellent hearing and excellent panel. Jonathan, welcome back. Thank you. Broadband infrastructure has become a critical component to almost every facet of our daily lives from students using black board for school or watching netflix and amazon to stream movies and tv shows and by all levels of government to communicate with citizens and increasingly leverage the network to improve the delivery and efficiency of services. Pittsburgh in partnership with Carnegie Mellon university and google is deploying a connected platform that will integrate road sensors, Traffic Cameras and information kiosks to create a Living Laboratory at a city scale for the next generation technologies. This will be used to improve traffic patterns in realtime allowing city departments to efficienty predict road wear and allows people to interact with the city more available. Fast, available and ubiquitous broadband infrastructure provides the basis for these next generation solutions. I for one am i big fan of making every tool in the toolbox available to local governments to make sure that they have access to the best networks and the best platforms in order to improve the lives of the People Living there. Mr. Chairman, i would love to work with you on putting together some legislation to address some of these challenges. Let me start with miss socia. How can localities leverage shared infrastructure to expand access and increase the deployment of broadband . Cities like pittsburgh build this infrastructure to address our own municipal needs. How can we and other municipalities use what we are building to expand access more broadly and if if anything stands in the way of municipalities leveraging the infrastructure . Interesting work has been done all over the country. As you suggested. Many of you are cities are using smart infrastructure to do really interesting work, determine particulates in the air and checking asthma rates. And using streetlights that have cameras in them for Public Safety. Were seeing a lot more of that happen. I think there are barriers for cities to doing this work as well and some of them are the state regulations that prohibit their building out their own infrastructure. And in some cases it is, as was mentioned earlier, issues of how densely populated the circumstances of their current financial situation, all of those things, impact the capacity of a city to actually build out their own. Mr. Slinger im curious. What dividends has google fiber found in communities where youve deployed your giga bit broadband . Has it impacted jobs, the local economy or education or local government . What are you finding in these communities . Yes, were seeing a great Economic Impact and were hearing yes, were seeing great Economic Impact in the cities that were in. There have been reports in kansas city, missouri is now working on an Economic Impact analysis. Let me start by saying there are certain categories of employees where theres no unemployment. Theres obviously when you build a big network theres a lot of demand for jobs for certain types of labor. I think last week the fiber home council released research that showed that gdp growth in cities with a gig network rises and the average cost per home or value of the home goes up 3. 1 in those cities. Thats new data from about a week ago. But we also see and weve heard from mayor holland and mayor james in kansas city that theyve seen it as a draw to regional Economic Development. Other companies when deciding where to locate in the midwest will look at kansas city and say this place has a gig network, lets join. Im curious, too, about the discrepancies that exist between price and speed. In pittsburgh, for instance, i can get 500 mega bits a second. But it will cost me about 400 a month. When we look at cities like chattanooga and kansas city and austin and other cities, residents can get a gig for less than 100. Im curious, maybe mr. Moffett and mr. Slinger and ms. Socia you can comment on why these discrepancies exist . Thank you for the question. My observation would be, youre right, there are a very wide range of economic models and its a challenge because there is no near term variable cost that dictates a cost plus model. So you see a lot of Companies Experimenting with different prices in part because theyre trying to figure out what the quantity demanded will be at different prices. The challenge obviously you tend to have lower prices where you have multiple competing networks and then again it raises the question of whether the providers are earning a sufficient return at the market share and the prices theyre charging. In many cases theyre not. This is a very difficult area to do Economic Research however because you will find that there are a lot of the companies who have different motives rather that there are a lot of the companies who have different motives rather than simply profitability of the network itself. I know our time is up in a few seconds. If you look at the cities in which were already operating or cities in which weve announced, youve seen incumbent prices drop, so i think theres more room there. Now we go to the whip of the house. Thank you, mr. Chairman. You talked in your Opening Statement about a lot of the work that has been done to expand spectrum. I know the chairman has been a great leader in that effort, too. One part of that equation absolutely is expanding spectrum and the other part of that is your members to where you commit to build it out and to build that infrastructure to take advantage of the new spectrum. If you could maybe share with us some of the challenges or hurdles that your members face to make the investment that they need to make to take advantage of that spectrum as we make more spectrum available in the marketplace. Spectrum has been quite a hurdle. A little bit better than the ceo estimate. Which was zero. Hopefully the ceo recognizes the value you of the spectrum that everyone else knows about. The fact is that was for a 12 increase in the available commercial mobile spectrum. You just got a 12 increase in the throughput. Were down to 688 . A long way to go to build out the needs of people and local communities often are saying no to these facilities. We have the Business Case that has to be made in rural cases and overall return on investment has been difficult. Revenues are under a lot of pressure right now. We cant afford to have regulatory drag on these investments slowing them down, making it more expensive when theres not enough capital to build things out already. Thats where were at in this country. As slow as it is, it is immediately available when its built. You can take that same spectrum and reuse it. All these burns on federal lands in urban areas this committee has done a great job of trying to address that but we need to work with our partners in state and local governments as well. Clearly on federal lands weve been grappleing with that here trying to remove some of those burdens not just in the spectrum space but other areas especially where it relates to Energy Production where some of those restrictions make it really hard to experience a lot of the Economic Opportunity we can. Thanks for that answer. Mr. Moffett, if you can share with us some actions that the congress or the fcc can take to further expand the opportunities for wifi, for broadband. As i said earlier i think there are opportunities in connect america funds and making those available to a wider range of companies for bringing broadband to rural areas, but there is an overarching question here and it relates to the question asked earlier about where are the bright spots. If you think about this as a larger value chain from everything from the content companies and the internet providers to the infrastructure providers where the bright spots are is clearly outside the infrastructure. The Apps Developers and the content companies are earning extraordinary returns. Theres a very kneejerk and regulatory impulse to say lets try to protect the companies that are making very high returns from the ones that are making very low returns. As an economyisteconomist, thats a very odd structure. Got you. When google fiber was being deployed, you were able to work with some local governments that gave some exemptions and expedited approval processes. If you can talk in general about the ability for more local governments to take more of that deregulatory approach and how deregulation in the sense of helping expedite the expansion of technology has helped you and could help others to develop even more broadband. Sure. And im going to go back to the fiber checklist which we published in 2014. Some of our Major Barriers are obviously getting access to poles and making it easy to do the makeready construction and get the poles ready. If municipalities took a proactive step doing pole maintenance, while theyre doing that pole maintenance, if they could do that make ready, thats one thing that would really help. And again dig once policies and access to the right of way, theres more we can do with local communities and more we can do with federal highways to make sure if someone is ripping up a road to do reconstruction or repaving that we can put in conduit that anyone can use. Those are just smart things. They allow new market entrance and more competition and choice at the local level. Thank you. Yield back the balance of time. Unfortunately were going to have to pull this to a close because were down to about four minutes left in the vote. This is not the last hearing. We expect to continue this work Going Forward. Your testimony has just gotten us to a really good starting place. We have a lot of more work to do, some follow up to do. There are members who didnt get a chance to ask questions. We have information submitted for the record including from tia, caa, tech freedom. Mr. Olson you had a document. You wanted to submit some articles on broadband deployment and with that, im afraid were going to unless do you want just a minute or two . Yes, just a minute or two. Go ahead. I was curious. I want to ask mr. Slinger some questions. I find what youre talking about very interesting because i look at this and what you say is all very important about deploying broadband infrastructure and im from sacramento, so we have wonderful areas that are doing great things. But im looking at an area in particular in our city that is deprived. We have a light rail line thats going to be completed there with fiber and transit or development stations. Yet, we have schools and libraries there are just deprive deprived and Business People there that have no access. Im looking at this being very, very special for Economic Development. Is that something if we can provide the access as you say that you need, is that something you or somebody else can take on as a project working with us, because im trying very much to help this area that feels very deprived looking at the rest of my district that feel like theyre on the move and theyre not on the move and i want to get them on the move . Is there something we can do there . Yes. Theres something we do early stage with all the cities we look at to make sure they have the right Digital Inclusion plans in place to make sure the cities have a focus on it. Again, theres no Silver Bullet with any one company. We want to make sure all providers and all Community Groups take this on. As fiber or any other technology is built out in those areas to really make sure people understand the relevancy of the web and hopefully get more people online. Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you. We are going to have to call it to a conclusion. We have votes on the house floor following the iranian briefing. Thank you for your testimony. And we have some other i understand some tribal letters for the record as well. With that, well adjourn. Considered underrated by many first lady historians Caroline Harrison was an accomplished artist who took up china painting and carried that interest to the white house establishing its china collection. She was interested in womens issues and helped raise funds for John Hopkins University on the condition that it admit women. She died in the white house for tuberculosis. Caroline harrison this sunday night at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan cspans original series first ladies. From Martha Washington to michelle obama. Sundays at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on American History tv on cspan 3. Tonight on cspan 3, the Senate Confirmation hearing for marine corp nominee roger miller. Congressman Michael Mccaul discusses counterterrorism issues. And president ial candidate Mike Huckabee campaigns in newton iowa. President obama has nominated Lieutenant General Robert Miller to head the u. S. Marine corp. At his Senate Confirmation hearing, members of the Armed Service Committee Questioned general miller about the marine corp budget, military Sexual Assaults, and the militarys strategy in iraq and syria. We want to consider the nomination of Lieutenant General Robert Miller. General miller we thank you for joining us this morning. We are grateful for your many years of distinguished service to the nation and for your continued willingness to serve. As our tradition at the beginning of your testimony we invite you to introduce any family members that are joining us. As our nation confronts the most diverse and complex array of global crisis, the next commander after more than a decade of war in afghanistan and iraq, our marines have remained in high demand performing a range of services across the globe. Tension gripping the asian pacific, more than ever our nation is counting on the forward presence and the Rapid Response that are the marine corp hallmarks. As we confront the realities of a more dangerous world drastic reduction in spending our forcing our marines to take on missions with fewer and fewer resources. Over the next two years, the marine corp will fall to 182,000. If sequestration returns again we will be left with 1,074 marines, a force illprepared and illequipped to respond to crises and emergency. This madness must stop. And as i said earlier this week, this is not just about reversing the effects of sequestration. We must replace the arbitrary spending caps on defense that were imposed under the budget control act of 2011. Thats the only way that well get back to a truly strategydriven defense budget. As general dunford emphasized in his Planning Guidance the marine corp is a naval expe expedentia expedentiary force. At the same time, budget contrantcon constraints have left the marine short of requirements for its amphibious ships. This is particularly concerning in the asia pacific where the marine corp plays an essential role in our rebalanced policy. Despite growing tensions in the region, our marines still lack sufficient sea lift and air lift capabilities to respond to a major contingency in the asia pacific. We must do better in the United States is to accomplish a rebalance that assures our ally allies and detours our adversaries adversaries. Another significant challenge you will face is a shortfall in aviation readiness. It has degraded readiness in marine aviation. Today nondeployed squadrons are 20 short of the number of aircraft to train or respond in a crisis. The Marine Corp Aviation bench is too shallow to be ready for future challenges. Well be interested to hear your views on putting the marine corp on track to restore aviation readiness. Finally, general miller, if confirmed, you will be responsible for recapitalizing and remodernizing for future challenges. In the air, the marine corp is rapidly approaching a milestone with the ioc of the f35 joint strike fighter. Concerns remain about the war fighting capability of these aircraft reaching ioc. Well be looking to you general miller, to be sure our marines have safe and reliable aircraft that allow them to effectively carry out their missions. Given the importance of replacing our ageing inging fleet of amphibious vehicles, the marine corp must deliver this needed capability on time, at cost and up to expectations. Well be relying on you to make sure the job gets done. Thank you. And we look forward to your testimony, senator reid. I want to join the chairman in welcoming Lieutenant General miller to the confirmation hearing. General miller, welcome to the Armed Services committee. Thank you for your many years of Extraordinary Service to the corp and to the country and i also thank your family for their service alongside you every step of the way. You are highly qualified for the position in which you have been nominated. You have commanded marines from the palatoon level to the division level. You also commanded u. S. Marine corp forces at central command. Youll be tasked with the recruiting and retraining of quality force to meet our nations current challenges and the posture to respond to tomorrows crises and contingencies. These are responsibilities are demanding enough on their own, but youll assume time at a time of immense financial challenge particularly because of sequestration. Again, thank you for your service and the service of your family and thank you for your great marines who make us all proud every day. Thank you. Mr. Chairman. Thank you, general. In order to exercise its legislative and oversight responsibilities, its important that this committee and other appropriate committees of the congress be able to receive testimony, briefings, and other communications of information, so would you answer the following questions. Have you adhered to applicable laws and regulations . Generali have. Have you assumed any duties or undertaken any actions which would appear to presume the outcome of the confirmation process . Chairman, i have not. Will you ensure your staff come applies with deadlines established for requested communications including questions for the record and hearings . Chairman, i will. Will you cooperate in providing witnesses and briefers to congressional request . Chairman, i will. Do you agree if confirmed to appear and testify upon request from this committee . Chairman, i do. You agree to provide documents, including copies of electronic forms of communications in a timely manner requested by a dually constituted committee or to consult a committee in delay or denial of such communications . Chairman chairman, i will. Perhaps you would like to introduce your family. Thank you chairman. I already have the present, so im in good shape. Our three children are not here. Kurt beatrett, and claire. The most important member of our family, grandson conner, are in austin, texas. Our mothers both live in east Lansing Lansing lansing, michigan. Darcys dad and his three brothers are world war ii vets, served in the war, so we have a history of service in our family. So with that i would like to present my Opening Statement. Chairman mccain, Ranking Member reed, and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear today. Before i offer my brief remarks i want to express my condolences to the families of the marines who lost their lives in chattanooga. You will not be forgotten. Ill begin by thanking the president and secretaries carter and mavis. I would like to thank the committee and congress for your faithful support for our men and women in uniform. I also want to recognize my partner, friend, and strongest support, darcy. We started our marine corp journey at the same time although she didnt sign up. She just went with it. She has an unconditional love for marines and their families. She understands the difficulties and stresses of military families and serves as a strong advocate for their support. While i was off doing what was required, she ran the house, worked outside the home volunteered, raised three kids who all have their own lives and careers and are doing very well thankfully. Moved 26 times to include three times overseas and allowed me to think i was contributing to the effort. Now that we have our first grandson conner i have moved down into the pecking order in the household. Next month well be celebrating our 45th anniversary. I accepted a commission with the marine corp because i wanted to get married and i needed a job. When i joined we had just come out of vietnam. Discipline was not good. Equipment was in poor condition. And training was poorly sourced and rudimentary. We were not ready. So in those early years, i learned to expect little and to get less. But more importantly, i soon realized being a marine was much more than just that job i was looking for. Its a profession. Its a mindset. Its a life. I came to realize that the marines and sailors we serve and their families are special people. And if they are well led by those willing to share the hardship and the risk led by those who firmly, but fairly coach, teach, and mentor them they can accomplish incredible things. I had many teachers in those early days but the best were the vietnam staff who took the time to keep me out of my own way and mold me and advise me when those times were tough. I learned how to operate move, and survive in every climate and place. How to lead those who were not always willing and how to build a team. I learned why the Marine Ground air force is the way we fight and why we win. I learned that we are most effective as a Maritime Force using the sea as maneuver space and as soldiers of that sea, we hold an advantage over adversaries in the sea and in the air. So over these past years through the efforts of great leaders like wilson and barrow and general dunford and his wife, who have set the conditions for our future success, with the support of the congress and nation, we have kept at it. We have gotten better, better people, better equipment, better facilities better training, better education, better leadership, and we are put on path to where we are today. A high quality corp of men and women who are smart fit disciplined, experienced, and to provide what america expecteds expects of her marine corp. All though challenges exist and which must be addressed im immensely proud of the corp today. All that said, we cannot rest on our laurels and become come place complacent. From violent extremism across the globe and cold war like aggression in eastern europe, cyber threats. Because of the security environment we face the president and our National Leadership expects its military to provide the capabilities to meet these challenges. Among these military options they expect to have is a marine corp that can respond. They expect the marine corp to be the force and readiness. Well answer the call and win. In order to be that marine corp we must be willing not to just be good but to get better. Every marine we recruit and reenlist, every decision we make, all of the equipment we procure, all the training we do must make us operationally better. Flexibility, innovation dealing with change, uncertainty tig thinking out of the box have to be common place and something that is expected for the marines. Finally, if confirmed i promise to dedicate myself to sustaining and providing the nation with that kind of marine corp a marine corp with the highest quality men and women our nation has to offer, and the best to the best of my ability ensure the health, well being, and opportunities for success are the men and women who expect the challenge to be a u. S. Marine. Thank you once again for the opportunity to appear before you again this morning. Im ready for your questions. Thank you, general. Recently general dunford stated to this committee, quote we cannot execute the 2014 defense review with the budget cuts as a result of the budget control act. He continued stating that ongoing cuts will threaten our ability to execute the current defense strategy. Do you agree with that statement of general dunfords . Chairman, i do believe if we are held to sequestration level, we will not be able to execute the strategy. With this continued sequestration and its effects put the lives of the men and women serving in the marine corp at greater risk . Senator, if our readiness is degraded because we cant resource the training, we cant modernize the force, if we had to commit that force, there would be increased risk. You know, in the 1970s, you referred to general wilson and general barrow. You referred to the really terrible situation that existed. Do you see a parallel to that today with continued sequestration . Chairman any time we come out of conflict, theres always risk to this effect. But theyre all different. Weve been able after 12 years of war to keep a very qualified and capable course. I dont believe were near that place that you and i remember from the 70s. Theres always risk that things could happen that could take us there, and i believe thats what many of us are concerned about. But right now, were not there and if confirmed i give you my personal pledge that well do everything in our power to never go back to that place again. Weve spent a lot of billion dollars on acquisition, as you know at least in my view the ongoing scandal is the cost overruns, the f35 b, the heavy lift helicopter. Will placing Service Chiefs in a greater position of responsibility of Service Acquisition programs help address this problem in your view . Chairman i dont think any of us who are on the receiving end of the acquisition process are totally pleased. Im not an acquisition professional, but i think we all wonder why it takes so long, why it costs so much money why theres delays. So if confirmed, i look forward to working with this committee and the secretary of defense to improve this process and involve the Service Chiefs in the process. Do you believe we can make this process more efficient if you played a role in that process, if the Service Chiefs played a role in that process . I would like to believe if confirmed, i could provide value to the process and make it more effective, chairman. Thank you. Im sure youve observed the ongoing situation in ukraine. Would you favor providing defensive weapons to ukraine . Chairman, its my military opinion if we provided additional weapons to the ukrainians, that they would be more capable of defending their territory. I want to go back just a second to the budget situation because theres great controversy on that issue. And im not sure my colleagues on both sides of the capitol understand the consequences not only for our ability to defend the nation but the greater risks to the people that we ask to defend us and maybe you could talk to us a little bit about that and the impact on retention and morale of our all volunteer force. Well, chairman, in my current role as commander in Marine Forces command, i try to get out and talk to service corp members and sailors as much as i can. Theyre aware of whats going on with the funding. I believe theyre concerned. Theyre watching. They want to know whats going to go on with compensation. They want to know whats going to go on with modernization and training. This congress and this nation has been very generous to them in the last 12 years so they have a high expectation in their mind of whats supposed to be right. They dont have the context i had. They dont understand what it is to go short. Theyll learn, if they have to so i do have some concerns about retention. I do have marines ask me, hey, whats going to happen about pay, our gear, our training, our bases, our housing, and those things. They know theres choices to be made. I believe whatever those choices are, we can explain to them and they are a reasonable and rational people and theyll make the decision. And i believe that theyll stay. But that remains to be seen. Senator reed. Well, thank you very much, mr. Chairman again. Thank you general for your service. The marine corp continues to test, develop and validate general neutral occupation standards. Less would be available to qualify female marines as well as males. Can you comment upon the expectations and your commitment to making sure that this is accomplished . Senator reed, first off, just let me say as i said in my statement that whatever we do, its got to at least maintain if not improve our operational capability. Since the secretary made the decision to open up weve done a number of things. First, we assign women at moss they already held to previously restricted units to begin the progress of immigration. We have opened up over moss. Right now, 94 moss in the marine corp are open to females. We sent women in infantry training. They volunteered. We ran them through to see what their ability was to pass that kir curriculum. The last thing we did in a measure deliberate way was to form a task force an integrated task force, to put men and women together and run them prepare them, train them and run them through an evaluation to get some data because we found there was not a lot of data, so were still assessing that todaydata will drive along with operational views with opening up those remaining moss. This is a challenge for not only the marine corp but the army. Just as we speak there are three women candidates in Ranger School to see if we can validate and create in the army a pathway for ranger qualifications for females as well as males, but thank you for your commitment to that. Last year the personnel subcommittee had a meeting. Richard i thought it was remarkable what he said. In his words, if we do not get hold of slowing down the growth of personnel course, if we pay more attention to the health care that we have received in my 343 years i have noticed we have never had it so good and i make that point because we do not get ahold of slowing the growth well not be a war fighting organization. He further stated in colorful tones marine care most about the next fight, training and modernization. I think thats the dilemma we all face. Can you comment upon that . Im not going to speak for sergeant mayor barrett. I know Sergeant Major barrett. The fact we were at war for rightful and proper reasons we did a lot of things with medical care and we had some shortfalls. Absolutely. There are facilities that are the best ive ever seen, so weve taken advantage of the situation and the money that was available. So a young marine coming into today when he walks around or she walks around, they see what they see. They dont see what it used to look like. Senator tillis a test to that down at camp pendleton. Its very nice. Not perfect. Its good enough, but its new. Were going to have to sustain that. I think Sergeant Major barretts concern is how can we sustain it. If we cant meet that what are the marines going to do . At the same time, thats important, but to me its more important that the training we give them and the equipment we give them has parts maintainable, interesting, and is going to improve our operational capability. And weve done that, so maintaining that level, i think what his concern is much of that is tied to resources. Quality of life issues access to child care, access to medical facilities are critical, but soldiers, marines, understand that if theyre not well trained, well equipped and ready to go thats the big quality of life issue because that means they survive or they dont survive. We have to work with that. My time is expired. One we had a brief chat in the office. The next battle we fight the first phase will be cyber dominated. Well be fighting in the dark. Perhaps therell be opportunity for other questions later this morning about how marines will relearn some of those old things like maps and compasses that might be very critical in the next fight even though we have the most sophisticated equipment in the world. Thank you so much for your service. The chairman asked you the question about the ukraine and i was glad he did. I was over there when they had the parliamentary elections. Your answer was very similar to general dunford. Yeah, they should have defensive weapons over there. What would be your choice as to what kind of priorities, what types of weapons they need the most right now . Senator ive never been to ukraine. Ive been to georgia. Theyve made similar requests. I think what ive heard at least from the georgians theyre looking for defensive weapons, antiguided missile type weapons. For the record, can i send your suggestions i know theyve just finished the b model testing of the f35 unit and you havent had a chance to go over and review it. You are in the process of doing that now but what is your opinion so far . Have they developed any yet . Senator as you said it is the first f35 b squadron in arizona. Our plan was to declare ioc with them this month. Thats still the plan. They did an operational readiness evaluation. I have not seen the report but they did very well. That report is with the commandant. Hes going to make a recommendation to the secretary as far as them being ioc ready. Im hopeful they passed. The concerns we have with any new system is the number of spare parts that are available to keep the aircraft at readiness. Theyre in the process in making that youll be inheriting that responsibility. Sir, general dunford, is going to make the recommendation out of ioc soon. General dunford has characterized the next decade will be small scale crises in and around coastal areas. The marine corp is challenging plans for development of the next generation of armed combat vehicle to a wheeled vehicle. I always wonder when that happens and when things are as tight as they are now although what were facing right now is unprecedented, was that a budgetdriven decision or do you think its the right vehicle . Senator, we had hoped to buy a highspeed planing vehicle. It became too expensive and it did not have reliability. The current amphibian tractor is over 40 years old. Theres not a lot of room left to improve it. It has a flat bottom. Its made of aluminum so were pursuing off the shelf vehicles from vendors, and were going to continue to keep the amtrak or the amphibian alive. Were going to select down to two vendors this fall, take 16 of their vehicles and select them, and then down select. We believe this vehicle will not only swim, it will improve our mobility and surviveableeability on land. With the tragedy in chattanooga, theres a lot of political reaction. Different people are talking about Different Levels of security they should be able to use whether it is private weapons or issued weapons. Do you have any thoughts on that . Senator, i know theres a number of studies and investigations ongoing about increasing the force protection for those Service Members of all our service that are outside post stations where we have law enforcement. Theres some things we can do right away. Just more physical protection. Glass you cant see inside. Now that could include arming individuals. There are some potential consequences of that, but i think we need to take a look at it. But at the same time, we have recruiters out there and theyre out there to recruit. The story in the media this morning is they got interviewed and then they went back to work. They had to go recruit. I dont want anything that we do thats going to we need to stay connected to the american people, so whatever we do has to ensure that we continue to go to schools and go out there and find those good young men and women that want to be marines. I understand that, but in terms of protection most of us would look to you, to the military, to the uniforms for advice along these lines. The last thing i want to mention is our schedulers didnt get together. Would you make a point to come by so we have a personal visit . Absolutely, senator. Thank you very much. Miller, thank you so much for your service to our country, your family sacrifice, i know it goes hand in hand. What do you assess is the greatest risk or threat that the United States of america faces from another country . If youre asking me about a country, senator who poses the greatest threat to the United States . I would say another nation state. I would agree with general dunford that russia has the most increasing capable force and they have Strategic Forces that would make them the greatest potential threat. Right now, i dont think they want to kill americans. I think violent extremists want to kill us, and their capability is not that great but their intent is high and the fact they have a message that seems to resonate around the world not just in this country but in other countries in the western world, they concern me equally. So russia seems to be the one that has the greatest capability of doing harm to us if they would desire that so we have to keep our eye on the ball. But we dont seem to have relations with them. The cold war is colder today than when it was declared. I dont know how you would interact as far as trying to build that relationship or communicate with your equals in russia or do you have open lines of communication with them . Ive met with russian officers in previous places in previous times. They have a Naval Infantry or marine corp. If there were opportunities to meet with them like there are with any other country, its always good to talk, even if you disagree. I met with chinese officers and we didnt agree on very much, but we had a nice lunch. I appreciate that. Second, i would say that i think all of our hearts go out to the families of the marines who lost their life in chattanooga. We hope that never repeats itself again. Whats your plan of doing that to make sure the reserve offices and the Recruitment Offices are safe and secure around the nation . Well, senator, whatever we do as a military is going to have to be consistent. Admiral gortney is ultimately responsible for the force protection. So we would work with them to implement whatever policies or procedures that we could do. But in the immediate moment, theyve increased certain levels and measures that theyve put in place, which im not going to discuss here, that i believe are prudent at this time. There are some more physical things that theyre going to look at. You know theres a lot of discussion here on the hill basically about those who work in that type of an environment should be armed to protect themselves with government issues. Theyve even talked about their own private issues bringing them on and protecting themselves, so that seems to be the dialogue thats going on right now. I dont know if you have an opinion on that. If you worked in a recruitment office, would you want to have governmentissued arms to protect yourself . Senator i think we need to take a look at it, but i have some concerns about the second and Third Order Effects of that, particularly on the recruiters and their access and things they need to do. Theres some practical matters that have to be worked out, but i believe that will all come out in the investigations and the planning thats going on right now. Im not going to discount it, but i think thats probably at the end the most extreme measure we could take to do what we need to do, which is to protect those Service Members out there doing their mission. Marines always seem to be the first ones in when we have a conflict. With that being said, over in the middle east as afghanistan and iraq whats your feelings about a threestate solution in iraq as far as keeping a onestate baghdad solution to the problem that we have over there . Seems like were not getting very much traction on going down the same path weve been down. I dont know what your thoughts would be on a kurdistan. Senator, i would respectfully say thats way out of my lane to talk about a threestate solution, but you think we have im so sorry, sir but my time is running. Do you think wed have a problem giving the sunnis the will to fight in that area . I was in anbar for a year. Theyll fight. They have to believe that the government that supports them is going to support them. In the iraq government can convince the troops in anbar it is my personal professional opinion they will fight. If they cant do that they will continue to have a hard time. Thank you so much sir. I appreciate it. Thank you. And thank you general miller for your service, and ms. Miller, for your service and your familys commitment to defending america. I think you answered well when you said right now we dont think the russians want to kill us but isil does and actually taking action on that end. I had the opportunity to be with a wise member of parliament of one of our allies recently. His comment is our number one priority right now should be to defeat isis before it becomes even stronger. Theres a danger it could grow stronger. What would you think about that in terms of our immediate achievable priority . Should we be taking more effective action to confront the rise of this Extremist Group in iraq . Senator, i believe that the actions were taking now in support of the iraqi government, the effectiveness remains to be seen. Right now, theyre in the process of trying to regain control of ramadi. I believe the iraqis can do this. I believe they have the capability. If well led and supported, they have the will. Do we need to go after isil and make sure they are not able to create a safe haven and to continue to foment their violent theories of how life is supposed to be, yes, sir, i do. If confirmed, i would look forward to offering potential other options that we could possibly be more effective. Right now, were going to see some success here. I may be wrong but its not going to be overnight. Its going to take some time. A key area is the anbar region. You were there for a year. Were you there when the transformation took place . I know the marines that were involved in that. When the tribal leaders reacted against al qaeda and ran them out of the area. Yes, senator, i was. So youve seen that. How did we help them . What did we do to convince them that they had the kind of support that they should be successful and throw out al qaeda, and do you believe we can do that again and are they capable of throwing out isis which i also believe they do not favor and oppose and wish were not there . We support it as we are now. The Iraqi Security forces. The situation was not as the adversary didnt actually hold as much ground then as they do now. Im not aware. Ive not been there since i left in 2007. I was back in 2011 when the u. S. Forces pulled out so my knowledge basis aged and i would hope to go back and see with it my own eyes if confirmed to see whats going on. We provided capability. Weve provided support. Weve provided training. At the end of the day, they have to fix this. They were successful to a degree that many of us didnt expect, and it was a decisive moment in the creation of a stabilized iraq. Theres no doubt about it. We did a lot of things that supported them and gave them confidence. Without putting large numbers of forces on the ground without leading in combat operations and conducting those operations do you think that providing embedded soldiers with the iraqi forces with Communication Systems with the ability to call in air strikes resupply, evacuation, those kind of things that an embedded american soldier provides and the confidence it provides could that be a positive factor in helping the iraqi forces to have the confidence necessary to get on the offensive and once again throw off these extremists . Senator, its been my experience that if we have americans with foreign militaries providing those capabilities that they do perform at a higher level, but there have to be other things in place so that the force protection of those forces, those soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, is also guaranteed. I thank you. I trust that you will provide the best military advice you can to the president to your superiors, and to the congress. Ill ask you to continue to give your best advice. Yes, senator. I will. Thank you. Senator sessions, that was a great series of questions because they were the same ones that i had so i appreciate it. I just want to touch refine a couple of those points. Youre not only being nominated to be commandant of the marine corp. Youll be a member of the joint chiefs of Staff National security adviser and secretary adviser to the president. You dont strike me as a guy that doesnt mind speaking up as necessary. Your value, your wisdom, your judgment is why youre in this position, and if you dont provide it in an unvarnished way, youre not fulfilling this job. I deeply hope you will be forthcoming and as straightforward as you have been today with the highest levels of the administration because thats just vitally important. The president isnt well served if he doesnt have people who tell him the straight truth. Are you committed to that mission . I am senator. Thank you. Again to follow up on senator sessions questions about our role in iraq, you were there as youve mentioned. What are the elements of a successful advise and assist mission . How do we convey the will to fight other than simply providing weapons and supplies . What are the pieces . What did you learn from your experience in iraq because we have to have these people fight for themselves . If they dont this battle is lost. Senator there is the material piece. You have to give equipment thats reliable and works. Then you have to train the force to use that equipment. They have to have confidence in it. They have to be competent in it use. They have to be able to shoot use the radios drive, and then they have to be willing to go out and confront their addversary adversary. That requires leadership. The most difficult part will be theres leaders in every unit. Youve just got to find them. One of the frustrations we had previously back many years ago was there were iraqis there. We had to make sure the right iraqi was leading the unit and that wasnt always the case. I have not been there. I have not met the officers in charge. The marines that are there from time to time i hear from them. They are not discouraged. Theyre pressing. So they need people to train. They need the equipment. They need the ability to train them. The iraqis need a leadership so its kind of a stew of things that have to be put together. And i think were trying to help them make that stew and well see here as they go towards the ramadi objective if theyre effective or not. We also have the problem of syria. My concern is that time is running out in the sense of isil is not only gaining ground theyre gaining ground organizationally. Theyre looking more and more like a state. They are governing. Theyre talking about succession of their leadership and consolidating in many areas where they are. I understand the limits of American Force and we cant do it all with air power but how do we deal with syria . Were doing some limited training there, but it seems very insignificant given the nature of the threat. We can be very successful in iraq, but you still have that large ungoverned area of Eastern Syria that is a potential home base that is potentially a home base for this group. Syria, in my mind, is much more complicated than iraq. But they are linked. So if iraq were able to reestablish their gorders in my military opinion, it would facilitate what we do in syria. But right now, i think, the objective to train Syrian Opposition fighters with isil with the ability to protect them ssms is a prudent move. It hasnt been as successful as any of us had hoped. But right now that is as good as were going to get right now. But the syria situation again, i follow it. But im not there. I dont live it every day. Its exponentially greater than iraq. I agree. Thank you. Thank you general, your wife, you and your family have given to this country. We look forward to your countried service in the future. Thank you, sir. When it comes to recruiting and retaining your marines, what is the most important thing . Is it modernization . Is it having the up to date equipment . Is it compensation . What is the most important to the young people . Senator, we have done a lot of surveys to find out what is the one thing that convinces a marine to stay. There is not one thing. Its it could be duty station. It could be chance for special training. It could be opportunity to go over seas. It could be education. It could be just quality of life and the experience they had. So every marine is different. And so we have to offer kind of a find out what it is. And if we want to keep them, convince what it is we have to offer them to keep them. So were are fortunate we have had a lot of marines we have not had problems either recruiting or retaining. Im not naive enough to think that will always be the case. But right now, we have had sufficient tools if you will to convince people to stay. I would say for married marines a lot of it is housing and child care and medical. How are you able to fulfill the Combatant Commanders requirements . You are looking at reductions as we move forward here. And there are some risks involved with those reductions, i think. Are you able right now to fulfill those requirements . Do you think you will continue to be able . And do you think you may have to change your role in the future in orderer to meet the requirements required by those commands . Senator, right now, we believe we are meeting the Combatant Commanders requirements. The Combatant Commanders have a lot of requirements and our concern right now as a service as the armed forces command, my job is to help generate the force to meet those requirements. So we are working you know, were trying to keep the force of the a 2 to 1 deployment ratio ratio. And if the force gets smaller and the force goes down we are going to be inside that which is a concern to us. So you are always balancing a risk to force and we are working with the commanders to see if we cant figure out new, different innovative ways to find out the needs to meet the mission. And at the same time buy us a little more depth to dwell we leaf. Whats the mission of the marines . The mission of the marine corps is to provide the nation readiness in Crisis Response and secure the naval bases and to do this the things as the president may direct. Have you seen that Mission Change during your time in the marines . No, maam, i have not. As we look ahead at different threats that are coming up in the future, do you see e the development of the antiaccess weapons, like the long range antiship missiles, is that going to impact the marines a operations at all . Clearly the increasing capabilities of adversaries and the aerial battle space is of concern. We talk about this, we exercise it. We train it as we have gotten the forces off the battlefields of iraq and afghanistan and get on ship. We are working with that on the naval partners as part of the naval campaign. There is both a technical piece to this and a tactical these to this. We have to be a little more artful and skillful in how we approach this. Because they have capability. Because the days we could sail where we wanted to sail without consideration of that, those days are gone. So you think we will have a strategic impact how marines are going to be deployed in the future . We have to be very wary of the capabilities and we have to part as part of a joint force and part of a naval campaign, they have to have it set to the marine corps power for sure. Thank you sir. Its an honor to meet you. Thank you mr. Chairman. I know we had an opportunity to discuss general Sexual Assault and the problem around it and the progress that we see in some of the numbers. But the stubborn and cultural issue of retaliation and you have made a commitment to me that is a priority to figure out the best way to combat that within the culture of the marine corps. I also want to take a moment to acknowledge that the marines have work to do in recruiting women. The marines have 7 of women. And when you are confirmed, you have to make an important decision to recommend that any positions remain closed to female marines. What im worried about is the pipeline. If we are not recruiting women, you will not get women in the variation positions that will ultimately make the marine corps stronger and better and make our nation more secure. So i would love to have some feedback from you after youre confirmed about any ideas you have as the chief on how we can do a better job of recruiting more female marines. Absolutely, senator. Lets talk about your audit. Im big on audits. You all you have been under audit longer than any other service. And its my understanding, the marine corps identified hes toricily they we requesting too much funding and was able to reallocate about 100 million in the 2012 plan. To make better use of the funds. I mean this is a great example. I think people think an audit is like going to a dentist. You know you are going to do it and its going to be painful and you are not sure if its worth it. But audits are not like that. Because audits reveal a lot to help you allocate resources more effectively and figure out where your needs are. And like you found with there was an ability to move many around that was important to the marines. In 2017 all the services are supposed to be audit ready. I have been on it and for long as i have been on the committee and im skeptical about the concern. And the services and the d. O. D. Must meet. I would like to have your commitment to make the audit process within the marines a permanent priority Going Forward so we never again get to this place where we have a massive amount of resources with no transparency. Senator, you have my commitment if confirmed we will work it as hard as we can to get a cleaner, qualified audit to account for every single penny we spend. Thank you for that commitment. And i will be like a broken record on the audit thing until we get audits from all of our branchs and we can begin. It would really help us in our jobs. It would help us make the case if we were able to have the transparency that a auditn audit provides. Lets turn to transparency. In response to the advance questions, you noted that one to two deployment to dwell ratio is unsustainable. And i want to talk about the fact that the challenges posed by isis in the middle east and aggressive russia neither of those are planned for. So what would the effect be on the course if a significant Marine Response is is required to address is unplanned con