Topics include readiness, modernization and how to meet the demand of the future. This is two hours and 20 minutes. Good morning. Today to receive testimony on the plans and programs of the department of the navy, fiscal year 2018. I want to thank each of our witnesses for their distinguished service to the nation as well as the sailors, marines and civilians they lead, who are serving around the world today. In recent months our nations senior civilian defense and military leaders have testified to this committee about the severe threats we face around the world. Theyve reported shortfalls in readiness that our military advantage over our potential adversaries is eroding and the dire need for new, modern capabilities. As secretary mattis testified here on tuesday, the greatest immediate threat that our military faces is right here in washington, because uncertainty, continuing resolution, arbitrary and inadequate caps on defense spending, more years of the budget control act and the threat of sequestration, we desperately need a new approach. Unfortunately, the administrations fiscal year 18 budget request is insufficient to meet the challenges we face, rebuild the military the readiness and capacity of our force, and regain our military technological advantage. It is no wonder then that the department of the navy submitted over eight billion dollars in unfunded priorities. Our navy has been too small for more than a decade, despite more than 300 ships since 2006, the fleet has remained between 270 and 290 ships. These capacity shortfalls have largely driven readiness challenges. 10month deployments have become the norm when it used to be six. Gaps in key regions are annual, more than half of navy f18s are not ready for combat and theres backlog of more than 14 billion in afloat and shore readiness. A navy with 355 ships with the right mix capabilities is an appropriate goal, but this budget request makes no progress toward it. However, steps can be taken this year to grow the fleet and this committee will consider all options. Chairman, this project requests only support a marine corps of 185,000 marines and 31 amphibious ships, despite a requirement for 194,000 marines and 38 amphibious ships. Meanwhile, marine corps aviation is in crisis. Fewer than half of marine f18s are ready for combat. As a result, nondeployed Marine Aviation quad rons are short in the number of aircraft needed to train or respond in a crisis. The budget request will help the navy and marine corps to stanch the bleeding but we must be better than that. We need to expand and modernize our forces because our adversaries are expanding still. Indeed, as chairman dunford testified on tuesday, the competitive advantage that the United States military has long enjoyed is eroding. In a few years if we do not change trajectory we will use our qualitative and quantitative advantage. A navy and marine corps must be sufficiently sized and capable of projecting greater power over greater distances from the air, the sea and beneath it. We need new concepts of operations and new programs that enable, and in particular the navy needs a carrier air wing with greater range and striking power, especially through unmanned platform. I continue to urge the department of the navy to examine how smaller Aircraft Carriers could improve current plans for super carriers and amphibious shims and provi amphibious ships and provide a more capable and credible maritime force. At the same time we advocate for more defense spending, we must be committed to exercising rigorous oversight of acquisition programs to ensure the best use of limited taxpayer dollars. I assure you this committee will. Initial cost overruns, more than double the cost of each combat ship, Development Costs for the ships and their modules now exceed six billion dollars and they keep rising. Meanwhile, war party capabilities of the lcs, mine Counter Measures and Antisubmarine Warfare have fallen years, i repeat years behind schedule and remain unproven. Because of long running cost, schedule and performance issues with this program, i support the departments proposal to pursue as quickly as possible full competition in selecting a new frigate with greater lethality and survive ability. The naech should procure the mind ber of lcs necessary to keep the workforce viable to compete with frigates. Secretary stackly has testified that will be one lcs in fiscal year 18, not four. I want to emphasize, secretary stackly testified that would be one lcs in fiscal year 18, not more. On the Aircraft Carrier, while it is encouraging to see the ship finally delivered to the navy, the request from the jerrold r. Ford or cvm78 exceeds the cost cap by 20 million. In addition, the navy wants to award the construction contract for the third ship, the enterprise, or cvn80 in march of 2018 as a cost of 13 billion, which is 1. 6 billion more than the previous ship. This is unacceptable for ships certified to be a repeat design that will deliver just three years later. Secretary stackly and admiral richardson, i would like an explanation. Generally given the importance of replacing our aging marine corps amphibious vehicle and aircraft fleets, they must explain the failures such as the expeditionary fighting vehicle, and deliver these capabilities on time, at cost and up to expectations. Some of the greatest threats and challenges in future will be in the maritime domain. It is important to ensure our navy and marine corps are not only ready for todays fight but also developing the capabilities for tomorrows fights. This budget requested to start, i am afraid it is not enough. We should not ask our military to choose between readiness and modern dags, between present needs and future needs. We owe our sailors and marines and all of our men panned women in uniform a lot more than that. They serve and sacrifice and fight for us every single day. Let us do no less for them. Senator. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. I want to join senator mccain in welcoming secretary stackly, admiral richmond and general to this committee to testify to the programs for the department of the navy for fiscal year 2018. We are grateful for your service, particularly grateful to the men and women you lead. Please express our consideration and thanks to them. I want to thank secretary stackly for his many years of service to the country, both on the navy and this may be your last appearance as secretary. Thank you very much for a job well done. Im sure it is a sad moment for secretary stackly. He was very upbeat before. Thank you again, mr. Secretary. They say they have the talents and need to support ongoing operation, same readiness, need to modernize and keep the technological edge critical to success. Department of the navy faces serious readiness problems caused by deferred maintenance, reduced flying hours and cancelled training and deployments. Continued maintenance will address some of the navys most serious readiness problems. Im interested in hearing the witnesss views on this matter. What if anything the navy is doing to accelerate overhaul of the attack submarine prevented from operating because diving certifications have expired. Thats one blatant example of the challenge that we face. The current plan failed to get this boat recertified until some time in 2019. All areas of our naval forces are maintaining extremely high operational tempo, high level operations tempo contributed in part to the conclusion and the chief of Naval Operations in four Structure Assessment calling for increases in the goal from the navy fleet from 308 ships to a level of 365 shims. Demand is overwhelming for attack submarines, destroyers and Strike Fighter inventories. In addition the navy is now in fiefgt year of operating with fewer than required 11 Aircraft Carriers, and during the next decade as a First Priority the navy will need to find new class of Strategic Missile submarine to replace ohio class. Im interested in how the navy is managing current demand on the assets and how it plans to manage future demand, particularly as we begin current funding of the replacing now the colombia class program, as we begin that this year. Department of the marine corps, the general has said recapitalization of our forces essential to future, invest in Ground Combat vehicles, aviation command and control, and digitally and operable protected networks. The marine corps continues to make modernization of ground vehicles a priority of developing an amphibious vehicle, to replace inventory of Amphibious Assault vehicles, as well as partnering with a tactical vehicle. I would welcome an update from our witness on these programs and if they believe there will be significant delays in the field due to delays in acquisition program. The department of the navy budgeted an unusual number of significant programs, some which issues with execution, as it was pointed out and detailed. Last year i raised the issue of the navy races a budget, a problem that was solved for you when the fy 17 dod provided additional aircraft. Theyre asking for the approval of the same program. I would like to hear why we should depart from five Year Contract regimen as established in title 10 of the United States code and count on the department of the navy to pay more attention to what in terms of multiYear Contracts and with the case last year. The Defense Department defense strategic guidance issue in january 2012 followed by 2014 qdr announced a renewed strategy on u. S. Orientation of asian pacific. Consistent with that strategy, working the realign forces in south korea and okinawa and plans forces in australia, singapore and possibly elsewhere in the region. Im interested in hearing how the navy is implementing these strategic positions. In this request the administration is asking for decrease in the department of defense line of roughly 54 billion above the budget for fiscal year 2018, described in the budget control act. For that total the navy budget would constitute increase of roughly 12 billion. However, i must point out unless congress can achieve full and bipartisan agreement to achieve full bca, annual approval for the decrease for the department of navy will seek for a similar amount. The president s budget corrected the issue of making cuts of roughly 54 billion nondiscretionary as way of balancing, which from my perspective is untenable position. In fact will encompass unless bca is modified because you will forfeit what youre given. Even more confusing and disorienting way. We must find another way. I thank the witnesses and look forward to their testimony. Thank you. Welcome to the witnesses. Secretary stackly will begin with you. Yes, sir, thank you, mr. Chairman. Distinguished members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today with the cnl and the com man dant, department of the navys 2018 budget request. Extremely grateful for your committees strong support for our navy and marine corps and we look forward to working closely with you on this budget request. As a nation forward global force your navy and marine corps stand ready to respond to crisis around the world, from the north atlantic to the mediterranean, from the straits of malaka and the vast ex panels of Pacific Ocean and around the ground in 140 countries around the world, and our fleet are conducting combat operations, maintaining maritime security, responding to humanitarian crisis and disaster. The value of our presence and ability to conduct prompt seabased operations is the surest deterrence to conflict and downturn of our national interests. Maintaining scale of these operations relies upon our ability to maintain a high state of operational readiness. We have been increasingly challenged to do so by the growing imbalance answer of the size of the force, the operational demand placed on force and funding available to operate and sustain the force. Years of combat and high operational tempo accelerated aging of our ship and aircraft, increase maintenance requirements, gone down munitions and supply parts and impacted training. Budget constraints, budget uncertainty with continued rest lags exacerbated the issues, with the net impact being a decline in material condition of our shims and aircraft. Accordingly, our priority in this budget request has been placed on funding maintenance, training and munitions and to increase human days and flying hours. It is critical we make these course corrections without turning to our modernization and procurement accounts as bill payers for maintaining ready will rely on growing the force to match the challenges that lie ahead. So building readiness is a priority in 2018, and building the size navy and marine corps and the capability also that the nation needs will be the priority and the Defense Strategy review in our 2019 budget. With this budget the Department Requests you support to procure nine ships in 2018. The Aircraft Carrier enterprise, two virginia class submarines, two early burke class destroyers, two combat ships, one to follow an amended budget proposal, a fleet boiler and towing salvage ship. It includes critical to the navys top ship building priority, the colombia class ballistic submarine program. We are committed to improving the cost while dlifg for the naechl. We held cost constant for the past six years, made significant reductions on cvn79 in construction and committed to further improvements on estimated cost on enterprise cvn80 submitted in this years budget. We are seeking your support to continue with multiyear procurement strategies that have yielded substantial savings and provided critical stability to highly successful virginia submarine and early burke programs. We are seeking your support as we transition from the combat ship to a frigate design that will provide multimission capability and increase survive ability for our Small Surface combat programs. The three ships appropriated in 2017 with the additional shims were requesting this year help fill our gaps with the Small Surface combatants and insure a healthy Industrial Base for a competitive frigate down select in 2020. The budget request continues the steady recapitalization of navy and marine corps aviation capability. In total we plan to procure 91 manned and unman aircraft. Mature pro decks for most of our major aviation programs. Particular note, the budget request includes funding for 24 f35s and 14 super hornet aircraft which will help arrest the decline in our Strike Fighter inventory while keeping us on target for six squadrons of the generation aircraft in 2024 time frame. Were requesting congressional approval for a third b22 multiyear procurement in 2018 which provides the most affordable method to procure the final 65 aircraft of the program. Despite this strength of 185,000 marines, the proper size for todays mission, marine corps investing in selected ground capabilities to distrinlt operations and address changes in tp rational environment including procurement of amphibious combat vehicles, replacement of about onethird of legacy humvee fleet and survive ability upgrades to Amphibious Assault vehicle. No quantity much next generation ships, aircraft will bring victory without the field dedicated and talented sailors, marines and civilians who build, maintain and operate our navy and marine corps and who provide our naval forces with our asymmetric advantage. Despite 16 years of combat operation, extended deployments and reserve mobilizations, todays force is the most talented and highperforming in history. In return, it is our responsibility to provide the incentives to attract and the conditions to ensure all who are qualified to serve in the navy and marine corps can do so while creating an environment that promotes dignity and respect for all. This remains a top priority for the department. Our priority in this years budget request is to rebuild the readiness and lay the foundation for future growth in terms of numbers of ships and aircraft and advance capability of the force. To support these objectives we will need to make certain reforms to the way we do business to ensure we are being the best stewards possible with the taxpayers funds. However we need your support in breaking the cycle of continuing resolution and providing the increased outline and detail by the president s budget request to defense caps imposed by the budget control act. This action by congress to cut the gordian knot we know as bca, our militarys ability to provide for Nations Defense will decline by every dimension you choose to measure. I want to thank this committee for your enduring support for our sailors, ma perines and their families and i look forward to answering your questions. Good morning, senator mccain, Ranking Member reed and other distinguished members of the subcommittee. I want to thank you for the privilege to be here today with my colleague, general miller and secretary of the navy, to represent our navy team. Our sailors, civilians and their families. Before i begin i would like to take a moment to add my voice on behalf of the navy to the chorus of voices who are hoping and praying for congressman scalise and the other victims of yesterdays brutal attack. We all admire their strength and toughness and send our best wishes for a quick recovery. I want to take some time this morning to briefly outline where your navy stands today and where we need to go. Im recently back from travels to rhoda, sing ah more and guam. Our sailors are in harms way around the world facing rising threats. They are talented, dedicated and laser focused on their mission. This is despite the growing challenges of the security environment and the challenges that we have imposed by inconsistent delays and inadequate funding. Today i hope to convey a sense of urgency. Our adversaries are improving more quickly than we are, and i agree with the chairman that our advantage is erode in. We must increase our naval power today, pick up the pace and maintain our winning advantage. This effort starts by ensuring we have a Firm Foundation for solid growth, restoring wholeness, for balance. This began with the fiscal year 17 budget which helped the readiness decline. I thank the committee for their support, but more needs to be done. The challenges are sufficiently deep and it will take both sufficient funding and some time to fully recover. As you pointed out, sir, we have hundreds of aircraft grounded due to maintenance backlogs and shortages. Our fliers do not fly enough, theyre working to keep airplanes up in the air. We have not funded air parts at required level. Maintaining our shims is also a struggle. Submarines and war ships are tied to the peier, unable to submerge and get under way. I know you are interested in adding more to the fleet, as am i, but if i cannot have a ship ready to go the sea, then the net effect is the same as not buying a ship. It is one less ship today, and u. S. Naval power suffers. Please stand by. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2016]] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] this film examines how the war was sold of the American Public through the efforts of the committee on Public Information and how dissent was discouraged and outlaud. And it led to a booming industrial economy. His is about 20 minutes. Notice