Transcripts For CSPAN3 Armed Services Chairman Expresses Fru

Well, good morning, Senate Armed Services Committee Meets this morning and receives testimony on the department of defenses fiscal year 2008 budget request. We welcome you and thank you for your many years of distinguished service and leadership of our men and women in uniform. Before we begin we all want to acknowledge the service and sacrifice of Sergeant William beas, william balanced ridge. These three soldiers were killed this weekend in afghanistan. The thoughts and prayers of this committee are with their loved ones. The sacrifice of these showers a painful reminder that america is a country at war. We face a stalemate and need an increase in resources if we are to turn the situation around. We ought to defeat isis where u. S. Troops are helping to destroy isis and retain mosul and raqqah. North koreas closing in on the development of a Nuclear Capable Ballistic Missile that can target our homeland and iran continues to destabilize the middle east and seek to drive the United States out of the region. At the same time, weave entered add new era of power competition. Russia and china, despite their many differences, are both modernizing their military it is, developing advanced capabilities for our power globally. Russia continues to occupy crimea, destabilize ukraine, threaten our nato allies, falls to the murderous regime. Thousands of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines deployed in harms way around the globe, those of us charged with the awesome responsibility of providing for the common defense must ask ourselves, if we are doing Everything Possible to support our brave men and women in uniform to meet the challenges of an increasingly dangerous word and suck is seed in their mission. Im sorry to say we are not. We have asked our military to do more and give more, but rf given less and less. Our witnesses Opening Statements are a harsh indictment in this respect but they are right. I yes, maam ploer my colleagues to listen to their testimony and to thooed their admonition to us. Spending caps mandated by the budget control act have led to a 23 cut to the Defense Budget. These rukss confounded by continuing resolutions have left us with shrinking readiness and ageing equipment. This has put the lives of the men and women in the uniform at greater risk. Administrations fiscal year 2008 budget request, if enacted, could help to arrest the decline in our militarys readiness but alternately and unfortunately, it false short of the president s goal to rebuild the military. 603 million is arbitrary and inat quad. Arbitrary because the top line was written in six years ago prior to to the sequester cuts. Inadequate because it hepts a 3 decrease in defense plan. Totaling over 31 billion, all of this mr. Mattis testified that he supports. Our military Service Leaders have testified to this committee that this budget would staunch the bleeding, but we owe our men and women in uniform more h than that. Its been said that this budget request focuses on readiness and it is true that the request is funding. Increases would make the current force more ready for next year but ultimately readiness is more than training hours and time on the ranges. Real readiness requires sufficient capacity to enable our troops simultaneously to conduct operations, prepare for the appointment, rest and refit and focus on the challenges for tomorrow. The joint force will continue to consume readiness as quickly as it is produced. These increases in capacity are reelectricitied in unfunded requirements. True readiness is also modernization. If we mortgage future pay for present commitments, we have achieved little, especially at a time when our adversaries are moving at an alarming rate to americas technological advantage and calling into question our ability to produce power. This presents the choice between readiness and modernization. Fact is, 603 billion is simply not enough to pay for both priorities, which is why the services unfunded requirements are heavy on the procurement of new capabilities that are desperately needed. All of this presents this committee and this congress with a significant choice. The administrations budget request is just that. A request. Ultimately, it is our independent responsibility to authorize and appropriate funding for our military at levels and in ways we believe to be providing for the common defense. I believe this is request is a start but we can and must do better. This will not be possible, however. As long as the budget control act remains the law of the land. This Defense Budget request and the funding for our needs is literally illegal. This law has done Severe Damage to our military. It has harmed. It has ground process toss a halt. Worst of all there are four more years of bca caps to go. We cannot go on like this. Our men and women in uniform deserve fwr. Its time for congress to reininvest in our readiness capabilities, rebalance our joint force and renew americas military advantage. To do so , we must revise or repeal the budget control act. We must give our troops what they need to succeed today and in the future. Will the politics on this be tough . Yes. We must ask ourselves how many more times will we send our sons and daughters into a situation unprepared will it take us to get over our egos. Thank you. I want to welcome our distinguished withins this morning, thank them for the service. I want to join with the chairman in paying tribute to the soldiers of 1012st who gave their lives and their families. Theyre examples of thousands and thousands of americans r that serve and the families at home who serve with them. 2017 Trump Administration budget seeks 65 billion. The budget control act, the bca of 2011 and the sequester is the law of the land. This exceeds the bcas spending cap by 52 billion. Rather than request an outright repeal, President Trump recommends off setting it with nondefense spending. Unless theyve changed, the off set will harm nondefense spending and sales prevent across the board leaving dod in a worse position. Weve heard many hearings this year. Like chairman mccain, i believe it is time to repeal the b. C. A. Setting arbitrary values has not made our country safer. Nor do these caps which were set nearly six years ago accurately reflect what a investment we need to keep america competitive and strong. I am not opposed to increased military spending. Democrats have and will continue to support robust defense spending. Its careful to review the proposal presented by the president to ensure that the allocation of men and women having what they need and return home safely. Every member takes this duty seriously. I also believe it must reflect our core values. Our military person el it is our duty to protect that. Our biggest concern is because it robs peter to pay ball. It eliminates 17. Trillion billion dollars to prevent wars which is the kind of spending that is so crucial to our military effort. It slashes funding for health, and training for health care. This budget request also eliminates programs to help vulnerable americans here at home. Certainly we need more resources to climb its way out of things but i do not believe he would do so at the expense of diplomacy. Over the last sa years we have found it important enough to send our brave young men and women to go to war but we have not paid for these wars, as is historical. We fwheed to look at our federal budget. The bca between defense and nondefense spending has pitted each category of funding against the other. Well be better served if we consider it by needs holistically. So that Overall National security strategy. Such a strategy has not clearly emerged as we enter the sixth month of this administration. We seem to careen from one crisis to another most of which are of the president s own making. Secretary mattis and general humphries you have been consummate professionals and a steady hand in tumultuous times. I look forward to working with you and my colleagues as we address these important issues. Im proud that this committee has always worked in a bipartisan fashion. I look forward to working with all the committee members. Thank you very much mr. Chairman. Secretary mattis, welcome back. Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to testify in support of president s budget request for fiscal year 2008. Mr. Chairman i request the committee accept my written statement for the record. Im joined by the departments new comptroller. Thank you mr. Chairman and member of your committee for your swift recommendation. This holds me accountable to the men and women of the department of defense. Every day more than two million Service Members and one million civilians do their duties. People have sacrificed for their country and its my privilege to serve alongside them. We are keen whyly aware of the sacrifices. Many times in the past we have looked reality in the eye, met challenges with the help of congressional leadership and built the most capable war fighting force in the world. There is no room for com play sensy and we have no god given right to victory on the battle field. It earns victory through commitment and sacrifice. And yet for years, the department of defense has been threatened by across the board cuts by sequester, a method so inyour yus to the military, it would never go into effect. But it did go into effect and the damage has been severe. In addition, during nine of the last ten years, congress has had 30 separate continuing resolutions to for the department of defense. We need bipartisan support for this budget request. In the past, by failing to pass a budget on time or to eliminate the threat of sequestration. Continuing resolutions coupled with sequestrations placed troops at greater risk. Despite the tremendous efforts of this committee, congress as a whole has met the present challenge. I refired from military Service Three months after sequestration took effect. Four years later i returned to the department and ive been shocked an what ive seen about our readiness to fight. While nothing can compare to the heart ache caused by the loss of troops in these wars, nobody in the field has done more to harm them as skes sequestration. Our troops have shouldered a much greater burden but our troops sticky commitment cannot reduce the risk. It took us years to get into this situation. It will require years of budget and funding to get out of it. I urge mechanics of this committee and congress to achieve three goals. First, fully fund our request. Second, pass the fiscal year twiegt budget in a timely manner to avoid yet another harmful solution and third eliminate the threat of future sequestration request. Stable budgets and increased funding are necessary because of four external factors acting on the department at the same time. The first force acting on us that we must recognize is 16 years of war. When Congress Approved the all volunteer force in 1973, our country never envisioned sending our military to war for more than a decade without cause or conscription. The war has played a heavy burden on the men and women in uniform and their families. The worsening Global Security situation mr. Chairman spoke about. Russia and china are seeking vito power over the diplomatic and security decisions on their periphery. Their actions continue. While iran remains the largest long term challenge, all the while terrorist groups murder the innocent and threaten peace in many regions while targeting us. Third force is adversaries actively contesting americas capabilities. For decades the United States enjoyed dom n understand superiority. We could deploy our forces when we wanted and operate how we wanted. Today every operating domain, land, sea, air and cyber space is contested. A fourth concurrent force is rapid technical thing. Technological change is one that necessities new investment, innovative each of these four forces, 15 years of war, the worsening security environment, tested operations in multiple domains and the rapid pace of technological change requires stable budgets and increased funding to provide for the protection of our citizen and for the survival of our freedom. I reiterate that security and solvency are the watch words. Providing for our security and we cannot defend america and help others if our nation is not both strong and solvent. So we in the department of defense owe it to the American Public to ensure we spend each dollarwisely. Trump has nominated for Senate Approval specific people who will bring their skills to our processes to ensure we do so. The first step to restoring readiness is under way thanks to congresss willingness to support the administrations request for an additional 21 billion. Your support put more aircraft in the air, troops in the sea and troops in the field. We all recognize it will take a number of years of higher funding delivered on time to restore readiness. President trump requested a 639 billion line for the Defense Budget. This years budget reflects five priorities. The First Priority is continuing to improve war fighter readiness begun in 2017. Filling in the holes from tradeoffs made during 16 years of war, nine years of continuing resolutions and budget control caps. The second priority is increasing capacity and looet ality while preparing for future investment. Our fiscal year 2008 budget request ensures the nations Current Nuclear deterrent will be sustained and supports continuation of its muchneeded modernization process. The third priority is reform how the Housing Department does business. Im earning the trust of congress and the American People. We have begun implementation of a range of reform and initiatives directed by the 2017 National Defense authorization track and we are on track to enter a full Financial Statement audit as required by statue. I urged congress to to conduct a 2021 enclose your or background. I recognize what you must exercise to consider this. Its one of the most successful programs we have. A properly based closure effort will generate 2 billion or more annually and over a fiveyear period, that would be enough to buy 300 apache attack helicopters or four virginia class submarine. The fourth priority in the budget request is keeping faith with Service Members and families . Talented people are the companys most valued asset. To ensure the military is the most capable war fighting force in the world. Investment in military compensation, blended retirement, the military Health System and family programs are essential to fielding the talent we need to sustain our competitive advantages on the battlefield. Our 23i9 priority is support for overseas contingency operations. With fiscal year 2008 budget request 64. 6 billion focussing on operations in afghanistan, iraq, syria. Isis and other terrorist organizations represent a clear and present danger and i am encouraged by the willingness of our allies and partners to share the burden of this campaign alongside us. Moving forward, the fy 2019 budget will have to make hard voices as we shape the with 2019 program. Well work to ensure future budget requests are both sustainable but provide military option that supports americas security. In summation, first i need the bca caps lifted and a budget. Not a continuing resolution. Passed on time. And the future of future sequestration so we can allow an adequate way to move hed. Please consider the following. For 2017, as a supplemental, we asked for 30 billion and the congress provided 21 billion for our administration to address readiness short falls. Second, this fiscal year trump has requested 574 billion plus 29 billion in the department of Energy Budget plus 65 billion for overseas contingency operations. This is a 5 growth over 2017. This request is 52 billion above the budget control act defense caps. We have a strategic are review under way. That will allow us to come back in fy 19 to fy 23 when well confront the situation that the chairman and i have laid out in our written statements. I am keenly aware that each of you understands the responsibility we share to make sure the military is ready to fight today and in the future. I need your help to inform your fellow members of congress about the need to pass a Defense Budget on time. Thank you for your strong support over the years. I pledge to collaborate closely with you for the defense of our nation in our joint effort to keep our armed forces second to none. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Chairman dunford is prepared to discuss the budget request. General dunford. Chairman mccain, thank you for the opportunity to join secretary mattis under second today. Its because of them i can say can confidence that your armed forces remain the most capable in the world. The competitive advantage that the u. S. Military has long enjoyed is eroding. A number of factors intruded in that. Since 9 11 an extraordinarily high level of operational tempo has accelerated the wear and tear of our weapons and equipment. Meanwhile, budget instability and a budget control act has forced the government to operate with far fewer resources than required. We prioritize nearterm readiness at the expense of replacing aged equipment. We maintain a force that assumes force as soon as we build it. While rebuilding and maintaining full spectrum readiness. The secretary and the Service Chiefs have addressed it in their testimonies. But beyond that were confronted with another challenge which i suggest to be near term. Our adversaries and potential adversaries have developed advance capabilities and operational approaches specifically designed to limit our ability to project power. They recognize that our ability to project power is good enough to defend the homeland, advance our interests. Secretary mattis alluded to, china, and iran and fielded a wide range of cyber, space, and maritime capabilities to