I will a congress this recording efforts of the chief of Naval Operations, the secretary, and the senators and members of congress through leadership that is grounded in transparency and i count ability. Thank you, and i look forward to your questions. Transparency in and accountability. Thank you, and i look forward to your questions. Thank you mr. Spencer. I was just on a trip with several of my colleagues, senator warren, senator perdue, senator graham, senator whitehouse, and among other places that we spent the fourth of july as i have for many years ul and outside of kabul with men and women of the military with a number of events that we do for them with the fourth of july, a town hall meeting with a large number of men and women who are in uniform. , this happens asked aecade, and he very us to question. He asked, how many in the room were there for more than the first time in afghanistan . Majority raised their hands. He said, how many have been here more than twice . Majority raised their hands. He said, how many have been here three times . A significant number raised their hands. Me, it wasrds, to something that was a graphic demonstration of the incredible burden that our activeduty overary has been bearing the last 15 or 16 years. They are brave, proud, the best navy we have had in a long, long time, but they are not fully equipped, and they are not fully trained, and they are not given the authority and responsibility that they need in order to win this conflict. The fact is, in afghanistan, we are not winning. We are not winning. No less than our military commander in afghanistan will tell you that is a fact. That has to tel turn around. We cannot ask these men and women to keep going over there with a strategy that in order to n Afghan National army in order to defend itself, it has to have permission from somebody in the white house on the National Security council staff. I am exaggerating a bit, but the fact is if you ask any of these young men and women who have been there and there and there, they will tell you that they can win this fight, but they have to have the equipment and authority to do so. It is not that they are not well read. They are. It is not that they are not capable. They are. But it is a do not lose strategy, which is epitomized by the former president s speech at west point, where he said, we are going to surge and increase the number of troops there, and we will win, and by the way, we are leaving on a certain day. Baghdadi and you hear that, i think the conclusions you draw are obvious. We have troops stuck at the pier, two Nuclear Submarines have been sitting at the pier for a year because of a lack of spare parts. 60 of of our f16s our f16s are grounded. It has to do with the budget control act, one of the greatest enacted byrdice ever the congress of the United States. How serious do you think the problem is . What do you think we need to do . Senator, i believe it is one of the most serious issues we are facing right now for National Security. The budget control act has wreaked havoc with our readiness. The impact on the lives of marines. Rs and read i find comfort and excitement on the fact that everyone is leaning in on this issue. There is a lot of heavy lifting that has to be done. There is a lot of shes moving that has to be done. We have to address capabilities. We have to streamline the process, and i believe that is the one on the issue. My priorities, they are people, capabilities, and process to address these and provide, and apply the resources we have for the down payment on readiness and move forward into building out the fleet. Senator mccain on the third one, the process, probably the greatest source of frustration to members on this committee of this committee on both sides. A few years ago in 2013, i asked a former chief of Naval Operations who was responsible for the 2 billion cost overrun on the uss gerald ford. He said he did not know. I asked a former chief of staff about the f35 cost overruns. He did not think anybody had been fired. What are you going to do about this now . Two years in a row now, we have held people accountable. We have held Service Chiefs in the mix and help them responsible. We have taken a number of measures to hel hold people responsible. But how is it we reached a point where you could have a 2 billion cost overrun on an Aircraft Carrier . One ship. 2 billion cost overrun, and no one is responsible. Mr. Spencer senator, my career has been steeped in accountability. I can tell you right now that the accountability starts right here. The way that we address this is through Behavioral Management. You reward positive events. You have other tools at your disposal to take care of performing. R projects were not you make it transparent. I will be coming before you to ask for resources, but i also have to have my decks clean to make sure they are put forward in a fiduciary early prudenily prudent manner. Senator mccain the you know of anyone has been fired because of cost overrun . Mr. Spencer not yet, senator. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Thank you for your commitment to serve the navy. You reflected in your Opening Statement the critical nature of the triad and the back that the navy is the leading edge of that with the columbia comprised program. I assume you feel the same way . Mr. Spencer most definitely, senator. Ofin the spirit conversation, we want to measure that program stays on schedule and on budget or below budget. A remarkable job with the virginia class, keeping them ahead of schedule with each new vote. We want that same tradition. I know you want that same tradition with columbia. Mr. Spencer most definitely, senator. Senator reed thank you. As i mentioned before, not only do we need more ships, we need more operational concepts and new technologies. I wonder if you have given any thoughts on your discussions with the secretary or the cno about what areas you see that you could collaborate with the cno on. Mr. Spencer i have, senator, starting out with the acquisition process itself. I laid out in my , we did a study at the business board, 32 plus layers of people needed to sign off on an acquisition process. That did not involve major platforms. We have to allow the people who have the education and intelligence to make acquisitions and face off problems to provide solutions. They have to know and be responsible for the outcome and be accountable for it. That is one of the biggest steps we will make right off the bat. Senator reed are there any break to be you are the mold and a leap ahead approach . Mr. Spencer most definitely, senator. People have asked what you think of the 355 ship navy. It is a great goal to have. I cannot tell you what the construct would be sitting here today because unmanned below the water, on the water, and in the air is an area we are just beginning to chip away at. That will provide great yield for us. Senator reed thank you. There is another aspect of this whole technology, to operate more efficiently. One of the major constraints going back to the age of steam is fuel. Energy efficiency from an operational standpoint would seem to be a critical aspect. Are you going to continue the efforts . The navy have done some remarkable things in terms of alternate energy fuels, etc. Mr. Spencer i believe if confirmed, my responsibilities are to export any and all avenues that provide us longer legs, less of a tether to fuel sources. That goes across the board for technologies also. Senator reed we have all indicated i do not know what the right word is. A discomfort with the budget control act. It has reached the point now where our complaints are important, but do you think it would be helpful if the president made a major address to the country and a major proposal of how to resolve this . I do not recall very much his comments on the bca. Mr. Spencer i believe we all have to come together as a country to address this. It is devastating what it is doing to us. If we look back at when it was dreated, it created a bluff car to bring everyone together, and all of a sudden, the bluff was called and the bca was put in place. I look forward to doing whatever i can to educate the American Voters as to what is going on with the bca and how it is affecting us. Senator reed i concur. The bully pulpit is one major one. I think we need some directions, some guidance. Not just exploitation to do better, but to plan to actually get it done. Mr. Spencer agreed. Senator reed i think you. I look forward to working with you. I thank you. I look forward to working with you. Mr. Spencer thank you, senator. Whatever happened to the 1968 beige volkswagen . Mr. Spencer i wish i would keep it. It is probably worth more than the car i am driving now. One of the things i have been very proud of our uniforms is the fact that for the first time in my years i have spent here in the house and the senate, they are talking about the threat that is so real out there, and you and i talked, and by the way , thank you to the time that you gave. Everyone i have talked to has had a visit with you and know where you are coming from. The first time i have seen the uniforms come out and talk about this unprecedented threat we are facing right now and why it is a threat. We do not have the credibility of someone in uniform. That goes all the way up to the secretary level. I am sure you are going to be talking about that. You will not shy away from the reality, the level of threat , the news reports that north korea successfully tested an icbm capable of reaching the United States coupled with a Nuclear Program that poses an imminent threat to the United States. In one of our hearings, we had general stuart go as far as to say it is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when. I would hope that you would elaborate as much as some of the rest of them are because we are not going to get the attention. We are talking about sequestration. We are talking about the problems we are having. , 52 of the1964 entire budget was defending america. It has been steadily going down since that time. It will take a resurgence of people at the top letting them know that times are not the way they used to be. Right now, we have a mentally deficient individual running our country that is totally unpredictable. We have had hearing after hearing. That is one thing the top people in the military say that is totally unpredictable. A subcommittee we had in january, admiral moorran said the navy has a bette readiness t would take years to take down. Our highest irony is to have complete readiness. Anything you want to say about that that has not been set in response to the questions from my predecessors . Mr. Spencer senator, shying away from issues at hand is not something i do well. If i am confirmed, i truly believe the whole focus of my work would be the pointy end of thie spear. We will stand up and make sure that not only working with you all in this chamber by going out america and letting americans know what the real issue is. Senator inhofe i would like to ask you a question on shipyards and depots. The navys recent challenges have been documented. Of our f18s unavailable due to maintenance problems. How do we solve this . We are looking into the future and right now i problem that is they are today. Is there today. I want to mention the whole idea of maintaining an organic capability remember when i was first elected we talked thought50, and i surely we can do better than that, but we are still 5050. Quite frankly, i think it has worked pretty well. What do you think about the handling of the depots with organic ability . An spencer senator, it is interesting balancing act we have to address when it comes to industrial capability. I can separate aviation and ship building. I will address ship building first, where we have lesser numbers of providers. I do not say we glad hand people at all, but industrial science to the most efficient way produce is to have a clear line of resources. In this chamber, i believe we can address that. We have to work outside the chamber to work with some of our providers to ensure that they are providing us the best longterm sustainable relationship we can have to deliver equipment in the most costeffective, quick manner we can. Senator inhofe lastly, i just say that you do address the 355 ship issue. I am sure you have given some thought to what would be the appropriate personnel for a fleet of 355. Looking into the future, i assume you would be starting to address that now while we are addressing the great threat we currently face. Mr. Spencer yes, senator. If we take the full gamut of what is available to us to tackle the 355 ship goal, we should be thinking outside the box. We should be thinking possibly bringing things out of the ready reserve. We should be looking at ways to construct better, faster, cheaper. We will be looking at a frigate down the road. All of this capacity increase will require manning. There will be some numbers that have to be adjusted going forward. Senator inhofe sure. I look forward to working with you. Mr. Spencer thank you, senator. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Welcome to the committee, mr. Spencer. I think youll be pleased to know that an amendment was adopted during our recent mark up of the defense bill sponsored by myself and senator cotton affectionately known as the king cotton amendment that calls for unconditionalngressional repeal of the act. I think it would be helpful if you could in your capacity as secretary assuming you are confirmed to work with the administration to impress upon them the importance of this really Critical Role in readiness. I commend that to you as a suggestion. Used the term you term Disruptive Technology, and later on, you mentioned that there were 32 layers of the acquisition process. How in the world do you incorporate Disruptive Technology having to go through 32 layers of approval . Mr. Spencer it dies fairly early, probably on layer two, senator. You have to address the Behavioral Management of how we are going to think and act in our actions. If in fact you provide people the latitude to make decisions and the span of control expands and hierarchy contract, but again, you have to tie this to accountability and responsibility. Sen. King following up on the chairmans questions and his concern about this issue, i would urge you to get together with your colleagues and step back and really look at the acquisition process in a fresh way given the imperative of technological incorporation in a speedy way and think about, how do we get on a war footing when we are making destroyers one every two weeks and airplanes one every 15 minutes as we were during world war ii . How do we get a sense of urgency into this process . That, to me, i think you will be a great person to lead that given your experience. Mr. Spencer senator, my analogy i have been using in talks prior to this meeting is that we are looking at october of 1957 and sputnik has just flown over our head. The technological gap in our gaps are shrinking compared to our oneonone competitors, and we need to get a sense of urgency, get on the forward foot, and use all Resources Available to us. This is what makes this job exciting in my eyes. One of the lessons of that era, toesident kennedy have goals. Sen. King a different line of question. The you have any idea the retention rate in the navy . Loss rate is of these highly trained sailors and marines . Mr. Spencer i do not know the exact number, but i know it is of concern. Sen. King it seems to me that might be an area of rich usefulness to investigate because if we can retain someone rather than recruiting and training new people, that would dollars andxpayers retaining the expertise we need. I commend that you as an area of focus. Mr. Spencer another great area of excitement in my eyes, senator. As i stated in my Opening Statement, the Human Capital section of our budget is our most expensive and our most valuable. We have to work and extract the best practices from the private sector in areas how we can keep people to make the navy. Sen. King every pilot and mechanically can retain is what we do not have to spend 1 million to train. We talked a little bit about procurement and cost overruns. We have had hearings before this ford,g on the f35, the and other programs. One of the things that comes through is trying to build things before they are fully designed and before the design is mature and tested. We just approved a 15 ship multiyear for the ddg flight three, which we want, everybody wants. The question is, is that design fully mature . Not one has yet been built. I hope that is an area you will look at in your work. Representing the state that bills these ships, i want them built as soon as possible, but i also do not want to repeat some of the mistakes we have seen with the ford and f35. Mr. Spencer senator, on behalf of the navy, i would like to think your efforts and everyones efforts in this building for providing us an increased capacity. If you would allow me the time to get up to speed on the direct issue at hand, i look forward to coming back to you with a granular answer. Sen. King thank you. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Thank you mr. Chair. Thank you mr. Spencer for joining us today. I would like to start by just asking you some simple yes or no questions if i may. Do you commit to cutting waste was spending in making it a priority . Mr. Spencer yes. The you commit to working with me on military Sexual Assault and retaliation in the navy and marine corps . Mr. Spencer most definitely. We provide me advance notice should changes to the policies be considered . Mr. Spencer i will. The eucharist to have an unbinding approach to the process . Mr. Spencer i do. Thank you very much. I appreciate the fact that you took some time last month to sit the and visit with me about needs of the navy in the marine corps. One thing i was very encouraged about is the fact that you said, in order to move the needle, we are going to have to person fire a little bit. I d to perspire a little bit. I do not want to speak for other members, but i think on this committee we are ready to perspire a little bit and get things moving. If you could, if you are confirmed, how do you envision the departments relationship with congress, and what is your plan to enhance the relationship, and how do we Work Together to move that needle . Mr. Spencer senator, from the time i left the marine corps and entered the private sector, i have reported to either my bosses, and as i progressed down my career and ran guppies, i still reportedly board of trustees or a board of directors or an executive committee. That is the way i have been trained. In which the best. It has been proven it works the best. It has been proven to work the best. This,e my partners in senior partners, and i look to you for guidance and direction. We will have to Work Together in lockstep to tackle the problems we will have. We will be asking for a terminus amount of resources. We will be moving a lot of cheese. We will try to streamline an organization, all simultaneously. We may fall off of the bicycle every now and then. I will become fully transparent and tell you when we fall off of the bicycle and hopefully tell you before we do, but i want to manage expectations in an open and transparent manner. Sen. Ernst i have received that very much. As you know, we did talk a little bit. I am sure you know our aircrews continue to experience Physiological Episodes in highperformance aircraft, the f35,f18, and now the and yet we still have not found a fix for that. A few weeks ago, the air force announced it was testing sensors pilots. F35 and monitore this is something i have recommended to the air force and the navy. Leaders in past hearings. I am very pleased they are finally taking action. If you are confirmed, do you commit to finding solutions to this problem . How would you ensure that these solutions are shared across aircraft and Service Branches so that we do not repeatedly see the same costly problems undermining our war fighting capabilities . Mr. Spencer i will commit to you, senator, it will be a top priority to address the second ty. T of you to address the second part of your question, one of the things the became apparent, is board is an amazing problemsolving machine. Some of the problems that result is they do not actually share the solution among the building. It is fairly siloed. I believe that working with my fellow Service Secretaries if confirmed, that is one of our key issues is to start sharing best practices. Sen. Ernst very good. Finally in my remaining time, we have talked a little bit about the number of ships. I am not so concerned about the number of ships, just to ensure that the platforms are doing what they should be doing, but they types of ships are important as well and making sure we have an optimal navy and a navy that will s support our marine corps. We know the marine corps has and playing a Critical Role most often in an infantry type of role. We see them in the desert quite frequently. But amphibious ships seem to be an afterthought. Can you explain to me what your direction might be in making sure that amphibious ships are included in the discussion when it comes to the number and type of ships we have . Mr. Spencer most definitely, senator. If you look at what the Navy Marine Corps team is inherently, it is our Forward Deployed force. To affect that forward deployment in the most effective manner, we have to have the amphibious ships for the marine corps. Sen. Ernst thank you for your time. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chair. Thank you, mr. Chair. Thanks, mr. Spencer. I applaud you for your nomination and congratulate you for it. You are very qualified for this position. I look forward to supporting you. My friend john warners support for you did not dissuade me. I look forward to working together with you. Before i ask you a question or two, i want to put on the record a concern i have as secretary of the navy will set a tone, and one of the told you have to set isthose that come before us candid and answering questions questions. Ring a public hearing we held in the last couple of weeks and i asked the admiral a question. There had been a bloomberg article about the president s budget coming to us with funding for a second lcs. The bloomberg article that came of junehe 19th or 20th said part of the funding was going to come through a 325 billion reduction of funding for Aircraft Carrier overhaul. Admiral the question in the hearing. My understanding from the article is part of the funding for the second lcs will be reducing Aircraft Carrier overhaul by 300 million. Is that accurate . If so, give me context why that would be a good idea and what it would mean. His answer is, i will not speculate on what will be in the submission to you, but i will tell you that what you just cited is inaccurate. Are you familiar with the bloomberg piece that he referenced . Is that not an accurate article . Correct. I was surprised to get the president s budget submission june 29 and 325 million is being moved from Aircraft Carrier reactor to support of a second lcs. I think that is exactly the question i asked him. He told me the money was not coming from that and the article was inaccurate. I have yet to get a next phonation for why he testified to that. We are all the boys on this committee, big boys and girls. Wear used to getting answers, some answers we like and some we do not like, but we depend on getting candidate answers. I hope that will be a told you will set as secretary of the navy for all witnesses who would appear before the committee that they would not try to hike the ball or play semantics. Mr. Spencer in my eyes, we cannot afford to do that. I will support transparency and accountability. It will be the tone set at the top. Thank you. That message will be very clear, i am sure. 355 ship navy, i want to ask you about this because we did an amendment. I think it would be a good thing. You talked about grappling with what the ship mix is. Let me talk about two aspects of what that would mean. 355 is a number. Surface, underwater, man, unmanned mother is a lot of work to do to determine if we were to be at 355, what the correct mix would be, correct . Mr. Spencer correct. Sen. Kaine to the extent we are talking about ships, personnel, Aircraft Carriers. Talk a little bit about so we can think about what this commitment might mean down the road for this committee as authorizers. What are some of the bigger questions we will have to grapple with together with you if we tried to reach that goal . Mr. Spencer senator, to address the second of my priorities, which is capability, i agree with you. 355 is a good number for people to focus on. Do we know exactly what the mix is . Since we are talking out a decade, we might not know, and we should not know right now because we have evolving technologies. What i will tell you is whether it is a 355 ship or not, what we want to get our head around is, can we have a capacity number but have a capability that is even greater than that . Have the capability of a 355 that might be a 300 ship navy. I am speculating, but that is the concept i am working with you all on, where we are going with our capabilities because that is where the punch is. Technologies allow us to have different platforms. Some that we may not even know of right now that will develop in five years. We should keep our eyes and ears open. I look forward to working with all of you in the chamber on those types of issues. Sen. Kaine thank you very much. Thanks, mr. Chair. Spencer, congratulations on your nomination. Thank you for accepting the call of duty of your country once again. I want to associate myself with the remarks of senator king. The budget control act must be repealed. It has not worked. It has not restrain spending and will not future. I think we know what will happen if it goes forward. Will have a continuing resolution in september. We will have some twoyear budget in november an. And the whole thing will be started over again in 2019 and one all for a bill that no from senator fischer to my right and senator donnelly to his left voted for. 112th congress was not the Constitutional Convention and the bca is not the constitution. My question, just to be clear, is can you build a 350 ship navy if the budget control act remains in force . Mr. Spencer no. Sen. Cotton thank you for that. Is the president s budget request sufficient to build the navy . Mr. Spencer it would depend upon the timeline. You would be giving the future secretary of the navy as a goal. Sen. Cotton thank you. Thate to say, mr. Spencer, the welfare of sailors and marines is of utmost concern for me. Your predecessor displayed questionable judgment on matters that left a muslim was unpopular Service Secretaries in the modern era. Just to go to a few of those thesions, he politicized navy ships. He made strange changes to the navy uniform. He publicly dismissed reports of combat effectiveness of mixed. He dumped the navy s rating titles, some of which have been around for 200 years. He tried to power navy fleets with unproven technologies. He questioned the character of marines that disagreed with his policies. It will make it somewhat hard as you start out to restore the credibility of the secretariat. To you think making these kind of changes will enhance the navys ability to deter war and if necessary fight and win a war . Mr. Spencer senator, i testified before this committee i believe in 2015 that it was my belief that the department of defense specifically individual services was not to be a peach we dish for social experiment. I believe policy should be developed at the dod level and discussed and socialized and deployed and obeyed. We have to Work Together, including all of our Service People to make sure they are given what they need whether that be spiritually, whether that be psychologically, whether that be materialistic we to fight forward but to materialistically to fight forward. Sen. Cotton i think everyone would agree that our priority is to deter our nations adversaries. I want to turn to a particular matter now and the time i have left. Last month, the navy revoked the license of a contractor they. Ong used to the change was sudden to me. After incidents of terrorist attacks on military installations, i am concerned the navy is fixing something that is not broken. Could you please be sure to review the contracting plan for base access and get back to me about why the navy took this action and what its plans for basic security are . Mr. Spencer if confirmed, i will. Sen. Cotton i dont want you to do anything to presume confirmation even though it seems like a pretty good bet so far this morning. Thank you mr. Spencer again for your willingness to serve our country. Mr. Spencer thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Spencer, welcome to the committee today. It is an honor for me as the newest member of the committee to be here and get to meet senator warner, who served with such distention over the years distinction over the years. I want to thank you for your willingness to serve. I want to add my condolences to the families that suffer the tragic loss of the 50 marines and sailors yesterday 15 marines and sailors yesterday. I appreciate your comments on the need to keep a robust Industrial Base active in order to achieve the 355 ship navy. We have to have consistent workflow through our navy yards. There are many others around the country who are facing the same situation. Let me ask you one question about testimony that admiral lesher gave to the committee two weeks ago, i believe. We must increase our procurement of helicopters like the seahawk to meet the needs of a larger presence. Do you share this view . Can you tell the committee if you are confirmed that he will take a close look at our helicopter structure . I know helicopters are of particular interest to you. Mr. Spencer senator, i will commit because we have to look at all resources necessary to fight the wars, yes. Sen. Strange thank you very much. I would like to thank you the best in the time i have as you take on this physical position. Assuming your confirmation. Your previous comments on sequestration budget caps, i share the concern of our chairman and my colleagues on the committee about the disastrous way we go about things and h. It is shocking to me. I was not here when the budget act was passed so we will do our job, i hope, to correct that going forward. I want to thank you again for your service. I look forward to working with you once you are confirmed. Mr. Spencer thank you, senator. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Spencer, first of all, thank you for your service to our country. Appreciate the opportunity to sit down and visit with you in our office. I find the opportunity to visit in advance to be very helpful. I would like to have you share a little bit of information about the state of our depots. In particular, i have heard anecdotally that the depot levelss of the d bol is inconsistent. If confirmed, will you commit to exchanging such best practices with other services . Mr. Spencer senator, again, right in the wheelhouse. We have to share best practices. Confirmed, the mantle you will hear coming from the navy is working with other Service Secretaries to find out where they are extracting the best efficiencies and what we can adapt and if we are doing something with great efficiency, we will share with other services, too. Sen. Rounds this is something that is critical because right now, you have response abilities for the service of the aviation assets. Some depots seem to have a better handle on how they are doing it than others. Most certainly, there are different approaches to having this being done. I think it would be beneficial for the Different Services to establish a best actresses approach. St practices i appreciate your willingness to move forward in that type of a process. Thank you for that. Defense as part of the advisory board, you proposed the insure of dod commissaries the United States under the banner of saving taxpayers 1 billion per year. As you know, this measure was never adopted. What was the biggest lesson you learned about your experience with the restructure proposal . Mr. Spencer it was an interesting proposal. Andas an interesting study never became a formal proposal but ended up in the washington post. What we were working under the banner there was something the,. Quote as quick or, better the something referred to as quick or, better, faster. We had a solution by one of the major Logistic Companies in the business. It was a fascinating experience for me to find out how the Building Works and how the Society Works that is the dod. You have to pace yourself in certain areas, but again, when it comes to if i am confirmed, i will look everywhere in the navy under every single rock where we can find efficiencies. When i have shared with you that we will have to work lockstep together with the Senate Armed Services committee, there are some big boulders we may have to move. Sen. Rounds there is a difference between finding efficiencies and simply reducing benefits. I want to walk into this a little bit. In light of that 2010 recommendation to restructure the department of defense commissary benefits in the United States, what would be your philosophy regarding personnel benefits should you be confirmed by this committee . Mr. Spencer senator, a learning lesson that will give you insight into my thoughts if confirmed as secretary was more our study on the modernization of the military retirement system. When we rolled that program out or study out, there was quite a bit of feedback. One of the Veterans Service organizations was nice enough to publish my home email and home phone. I took 127 phone calls. It was fascinating. Once you got through anger and frustration and you started talking to people and you came with the following approach, you have a dollar to spend on benefits. Your retirement costs . 60, Health Care Costs . 40, commissary costs . 15, around morale and welfare costs seven cents. Where do you want to spend your dollar . Understand from our servicemembers what they value. I think we can come to some big conclusions without any erosion in benefit performance. Sen. Rounds one last question. Do you agree with the f35 and its fifth generation to abilities are needed for the air wing now and in the future . Mr. Spencer yes. Sen. Rounds thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, mr. Chair. Mr. Spencer, thank you. I am sure if you had a fitbit on for the past couple of weeks, you put on dozens of miles because i have seen you all over the buildings. I appreciate you being so accessible. I want to follow up on the f35 question and your responses to the questions for the record. There was a question asked about directing a reassessment at the department of navys total curcumin program for the f35s. I am not sure what precisely was thought about in terms of a reassessment, but you said review. I think in response to senator roundss question, you believe it is a very important part of our arsenal. Can you talk a little bit about what a review or reassessment would actually yield . Mr. Spencer i believe when it comes to a critical weapons platform, there ought to be a continual focus on delivery of the actual aircraft or weapon systems or whatever the case may be whatever we make a decision to buy a platform that is not autopilot. My response is this is a continually ongoing attention to the actual acquisition and acquisition process it so. Thank you. I want to go to another response that related to brac. I think you said you thought it made sense for us to consider another round. Can you think anything in particular that it would actually yield . Mr. Spencer senator, from my knowledge gathering over the past couple of months, i believe the navy is in fairly good shape when it comes to utilization of assets to the point if in fact we go to a 355 ship navy, you cannot give away waterfront property. It is very expensive to get back. In the same token, i believe that we should continually assetsthe value of our just as a case of being. Sen. Tillis thank you. You mentionedion, in response to some of senator ernsts questions that you view us as a kind of board of directors. I like that analogy. I have used it myself here, but we know that senior managers particularly in board meetings are the best ones that will come in and be very direct and forthright with respect to board policies or actions that are making your job more difficult. I want to tie that into the perspiring line of questioning, too. One confirmed or if confirmed when confirmed or if confirmed, i intend to support your nomination. What things do you think you have to say we have to change as a matter of policy, consistency . We all know that sequestration has to go away. What more do you need to put up . Where are you likely to put us out of our comfort zone . You were spared because i forgot i bring the 680 page rfp bring defining the next generation handgun. Some of those are because we told you all to do things a certain way. How are you going to help us actually streamline, free up those resources for video the and the navy . Mr. Spencer senator, when i originally said we will Work Together, that is a fine example. Lets take acquisition. If in fact we have a large platform weapons program, one of the things that i might propose is we have the Program Executive and the Program Manager stay in place for the first generation of production. Sen. Tillis and have their job depend on it . Mr. Spencer and have your job depend on it, but that flies in the face of up an out. We will have to adjust how we promote people and if we will expect this out of them. Yes, coming to you with various situations you can help us with two clear maneuvering lanes would be greatly appreciated. Sen. Tillis i look forward after your confirmation to you coming here and coming up with a long list of things we need to do differently so your job can be easier to achieve. Mr. Spencer thank you, senator. I look forward to it if confirmed. Sen. Tillis thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you to our witness for being here. Before i begin come i want to join my colleagues in offering the deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the servicemembers who died in yesterdays crash of the transport and refueling aircraft. Our thoughts are with them and the entire navy and marine corps family. Now, mr. Spencer, in recent years, there have been a number of reports of Workplace Safety violations at a private shipyards that the navy relies on to build its fleet. In fact, according to several labor statistics, ship your illness andand i injury rate that is higher than the general industry. The list of reported injuries in violations that these workers are exposed to our bone chilling. Amputation, electrocution, suffocation, falls explosions, chemical burns, cancercausing fumes. The navy is spending hundreds of billions of dollars at shipyards where workers are routinely injured and maimed because of lax safety standards, but a Navy Spokesman responded to those concerns by saying, and i will are note spokesman, we be overlords of private shipyards when it comes to work with a safety. Do you agree with this attitude . Mr. Spencer no. I cant. I truly believe as we go forward in todays environment, and we are talking about in the case of shipbuilding amping up the production, we have to have a sustainable environment. That does not support a sustainable environment. I would hope it would be a whole of government solution. I think osha is probably involved. We look forward to making sure we are good stewards of resources. Sen. Warren good. Do i hear you saying that if confirmed, you will commit to look into how the navy tracks and monitors Workplace Safety violations at the shipyards that it is doing business with . Mr. Spencer yes, senator. Sen. Warren good. We are talking about going to lead to a 355 ship navy, which would result in considerably more volume at these shipyards, and i think the least we can do is make sure the American Workers who are employed in those shipyards and are building those ships are aborted reasonable protections are afforded reasonable protections going forward. Mr. Spencer i agree. Sen. Warren the navy operates on the frontline posed by Climate Change, including rising sea levels and floods, more intense storms, higher temperatures. The navy has long recognized the risks posed by Climate Change. Released010, the navy a Climate Change roadmap, which observed Climate Change is a National Security challenge with strategic implications to the navy. It is affecting and will continue to affect u. S. Military installations and access to Natural Resources worldwide. It will affect the type, scope, and rotation of future navy missions. Mr. Spencer, do you believe the climate is changing and that Climate Change will continue to affect the navys installations and missions . Mr. Spencer senator, the navy, from my briefings to date, this totally aware of rising water issues, storm issues, etc. We must protect our infrastructure. I will work hard to make sure that we are keeping an eye on that because without the infrastructure, we lose readiness. Sen. Warren so i think that as a yes . Mr. Spencer yes, all about readiness. Sen. Warren good. Ig confirmed if confirmed, under your leadership, i think this is what you are going about readiness, both in terms of preparing our own bases and installations and preparing for the crises and insecurity that Climate Change will exacerbate around the world . Mr. Spencer yes, senator. Sen. Warren in a criminal speech in front of sailors and marines, former labor secretary bus warned that if we got to act on Climate Change, instability around the globe will inevitably intensify and even our bases will risk being lost. I think he is right. I will be counting on you, mr. Spencer, to carry on where secretary mavis left and make sure we adopted the threat and we are ready. Mr. Spencer thank you, senator. Sen. Warren thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Spencer, congratulations to you and your family. Appreciate your desire to serve your country again. I wanted to get back to the byue that i think was lost the last secretary of the navy. I want to associate my concerns that senator cotton raised about your predecessor, who took his eye off the ball on many things, readiness, but particularly training. To that list that senator cotton mentioned, the previous secretary of the navy gave an order to integrate boot camp in two weeks. He said, have this done in two weeks. The most reckless order i have seen as a member of this committee by anyone in the military. So i want to get a sense of your view on training, on hard, rigorous training. There has been a lot of focus on korea in the last several months. The members of this committee, myself included, have a lot of concerns. Have you read the book this kind of war . Mr. Spencer i have not. Sen. Sullivan i think that is something i have extra copy of that i would like you to take a look at. It is about the korean war and our lack of training and lack of readiness and what it did to the men and women in the marines and army that had to go fight. A really dire situation. Book,cribed in the thousands of americans were killed in the summer of 1950 because they were not trained, hard, ready to fight. Can you give me a sense of your philosophy on training sailors and marines . Unfortunately in the last month, we have had accidents at sea. A lot of talk and concern about what happened with the refueling tanker just yesterday. What is your view on how we should be training our marines and sailors . Mr. Spencer senator, it is my point of view, and if confirmed, the total will be set from the Secretariats Office that we are all here for one purpose, and that is the pointy end of the spear. Whether ay, all focus dental hygienist, whether motor pilot, we have tot train. It is mandatory. The bca has really good into training, and we are seeing the impact of that unfortunately. We need that turned around and corrected immediately. Sen. Sullivan i looking forward to your confirmation. You will see that even this Committee Puts forward issues and areas of focus that do not relate to training. If you see that happens to much, count me as one of the supporters to get back to what you are talking about, which is serious hard training so our men and women can come home if and when they have to go to war. You and i had a good discussion about an issue that has taken up a lifetime in the committee with regard to Arctic Strategy and whether it is a new strategy that the secretary of defense or the admiral recently put out a book on sea power and had a whole section on Arctic Strategy. Are you familiar with the new dods Arctic Strategy . Mr. Spencer i have read it, sir. Sen. Sullivan part of that strategy talks about and yet last month, admiral richardson said that it is absolutely true. We do not have the capacity or capability to conduct any ops in the arctics. We have a strategy that says we need to do something and the ceo of the navy saying we do not have the means to do it. There are two areas of elective get your commitment to work with this committee on if confirmed. First, as we look at a 355 ship navy, in order to ensure we can have the capability to conduct ops in the arctic, can you take a hard look at the issue of ic ardeninge our ships, which at subcommittee to weeks ago, the navy indicated they are not looking at the issue at all . Mr. Spencer [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] that would fall squarely underneath that. And two weeks ago again, this committee in the ndaa put forward language that authorizes the procurement of the six icebreakers. Right now, the United States has two. One is broken. If you actually go out to seattle where theyre home bakers these are coast guard icebreakers. I would recommend you do it because its kind of a sad affair. We have men and women in the coast guard wearing the uniform the United States is deploying on ships that were commissioned over 40 years ago and are barely seaworthy. So theres been a bit of a back and forth and you and i have discussed this between whos responsible for that. The coast guard as a navy. Can i get your commitment of the cooperation in order to enable our country to procure icebreakers with the c. N. O. And the navy and say its in the National Interest of the United States to have more than one icebreaker, the russians have 40. Theyre building 13 more. Can i get your commitment to work with the coast guard in this committee on that important task . Mr. Spencer most definitely, senator. If im not mistaken, you all have provided some money for the navy to provide support for the coast guard and the exploration of the next generation of icebreaker and thats totally supportive in my bind. Great. Thank you. , on behalf of the chairman senator please. Join a Unanimous Committee in supporting your confirmation. Two things. Please know as the future secretary of the navy that this committee is serious about helping you and helping President Trump get to the 355 ship fleet. Weve had over times since i was in the house of representatives, goals that we never quite got to. It was 308, it was 313. Here we are at 276 ships in our fleet. We have language in the d. O. D. , our house counterparts have language in the ndaa over there indicated to show you were serious. And we think we got you the money this first year to get us on the path to 355 ships. So please know that were serious about this. And went to be your teammates there. Let me ask you my one question about the first logical episodes that are occurring to our palates, particularly our training pilots in the t45. Thats the three undergraduate polite Pilot Training basis. Ive learned more in the last four or five months about that than probably is wise for someone of my educational attainment. Ive learned that there are many types of hypoxia but the real problem with the training planes and our three Pilot Training stations is the toiks hypoxia d try as we might with fresh minds to a direct diagnosis. And the best ive heard is maybe maybe patch together a halfway of a solution here with a bit of a solution there and get us back to flying at the correct altitudes that we need to train these men and women to do the hard work that is expected of hem. These episodes will maintain a top primplete thank you for that. We put a Little Something in the bill that i want to draw your attention to and hope it stays in the bill and is signed by the president. And it basically says while were putting the best minds of the government at work, the navy and d. O. D. Can, if they want to, not forced, to but can if sthept to they want to implement from a prize competition. All were doing is saying after the best minds that we have in the federal government and tried and so far havent found the exact diagnosis of what the problem is that causes the hypoxia, we could offer a prize to anyone in the country, anyone on the face of the globe for that matter. And you dont pay the money unless you get a solution. So i would just urge you to i would urge my colleague to lets keep that in the bill and try it seriously. And i would urge you after youre confirmed and if we dont get to a solution, which i certainly hope we get to a solution quickly. But if we dont, take this provision seriously. And lets unleash the brainpower of the entire country and the entire globe to try to get to the solution. So, whatever thoughts you might have on that statement and one minute, i would be happy to hear. Mr. Spencer senator, very exciting, chapter one of thinking outside of the box. Thats fantastic to hear. And it excites me that those tools and authority would be available to us. Thank you. And thank you, mr. Chairman. Yield back. Thank you. Congratulations. It is a real honor and i appreciate you being willing to serve. I keep hearing from Junior Officers in mar that security clearance bulldog. Backlog. Could you please look at this issue . A lot of jobs are being unfilled and people are not able to do their job without security clearance. Mr. Spencer having been a product of going through that, i know exactly what theyre going through. Yeah. I dont know whats going on out there. Its the policy of the Trump Administration to deny north korea the capability to hit the homeland with the nuclearity. Do you agree with that policy . Mr. Spencer yes. And one of the challenges for the navy is how would they avoid that if it ever came about . Do you agree with that . Mr. Spencer yes. All right. So when you look at four structure and the number of ships, its got to be based on threats. When you look at the world from a navy point of view, how would you say the world is in terms of a threat for the navy . Is there need for more ships . Mr. Spencer definitely, senator. He matrix of threats were facing now from the four plus one or however you want to define it is one of the more complex that the countrys ever faced. We need the capability. We need the capacity. Would you say this is one of the more challenging times for the United States navy since world war ii . Mr. Spencer yes. Would bit a bad idea for the congress to cut the navys budget . A really bad idea. Sequestration is an idea that needs to be set aside . Mr. Spencer yes, senator. Ok. In terms of how the military services work, about 50 of all cost or personnel cost, downes that . Mr. Spencer yes, senator. We have done on this committee some pretty Creative Things that the lower personnels go but we want to be generous to those two serve our country, one of the fair and generous those who retire. But we got to look at everything including personnel cost to have a sustainable budget. Do you agree with that . Mr. Spencer totally. Tricare. It is a part of the Department Defense budget thats growing exponentially. It is health care for the military Service Members and their family and everybody gets that. But on the retiree part, we havent really had a premium adjustment of any significance since 1995. Are you willing to work with this committee to make tricharean rows but more substantial . Mr. Spencer yes. How do you view that . Mr. Spencer thats one of the biggest goal. The personnel factor is growing at an unsustainable rate. Where the discretionary budget is being eaten up by personnel cost. We owe our uniform members and our retiries the best that we can retirees the best we can offer. Rougher people in the cyber arena. Do you agree that Cyber Threats in the military is growing, not lessening . Mr. Spencer exponentially. How do we keep the navy seal on track for a 20 or 30 year career went they can leave the navy and make four times what they make as a navy as a contractor . How do we attract the best minds on the side in the cyber arena they could go to Silicon Valley . How do we do that . And you dont have to give me a complete answer but i would like for you to think about that because the competition for these really high skilled war fire is immense and any thoughts on that . Mr. Spencer senator, again, my priority is being people capacity and process. People are number one. And we are going to have to take every single best practice we can find from within the government in the private sector to address the situation you just mentioned whether it be a seal, whether it be our cyber experts. Were going to have a find a flexible way for people in the cyber field to leave and come back. They have to be refreshed in their own community and i look forward to working with you all to think outside the box on how we can do this. And finally, Sexual Harassment and abuse of Service Members. This committee spent a lot of time and attention of trying to change the law and the culture. What is your view of that situation and where do you want to take the navy when it comes to Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault . Mr. Spencer one is too many. But lets know that the job of the Navy Marine Corps team is to inflict pain to the enemy. When i see that were inflicting pain upon ourselves, it must be stopped. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Spencer, thank you for being here. Thank you for your willingness to serve. Let me say at the outset that all of us are grieving and lifting up in our prayers the 15 marines and sailor who were killed last night in the c130 crash in mississippi. And we certainly want the men and women of the navy and the marines to know that were standing with them as theyre grieving those losses. I want to ask you about morale in the navy. Thats been a concern raised. What is your sense of the current state of mor value and what needs to be done time prove that . Mr. Spencer senator, the Navy Marine Corps team is biased for action. No is a tough word to pull out of the vocabulary. In my opening comment, i talked about how theyve been cobblely engaged and stretched then continually engaged and stretched then. They will never let us down. That being said, we need to Pay Attention their needs, whether it be change the p. C. S. Move to notification time out to where it was at six months versus one month to more sweeping needs in benefits and compensation to better product. Morale is a barometer. Senator ted the navy reported it had 2726 deployed battle war ships with over a third, 103 underway for deployment or training. Do you believe we currently have sufficient capacity to meet the strategic requirements weve played on the navy . Mr. Spencer there might be two answers to that, senator. Let me say that with the assets that we have right now, we are managing the best in my overview that we can. It comes down to risk management. Are we addressing every risk . No, were prioritizing them with more asset, more capability and more assets, we could be a better job. Senator ted what is the current dwell ratio on the navy and how does that need to be improved given ship growth is a years Long Initiative . Mr. Spencer if we could again, guy back to the when it comes to productty, if we couldnt have a clear sight to funding and resources, i believe well have a much more efficient flow through on maintenance whether it be aviation, whether it be sea craft. This will fit into adjusting the dwell time back to a normalized rate. And i think thats where we very well to focus because that goes back to your original question is where is morale . We have to adjust both. Senator cruz how do you plan to rapidly rebuild the fleet . Taking into consideration the c. B. O. s recent analysis that it would take into in the year 2035 to reach a 355ship navy even with accelerated ship building . Mr. Spencer first, i look forward to working with the c. N. Sexovement the expertise that is involved in the naval organization. That being said, we have to start thinking outside of the box whether we look to the ready reserve, whats sitting on the water thats been quoteunquote moth bald, whether we look at xpediting a strict trickett frigate transition. Senator cruz talk a minute about the Ohio Replacement Submarine Program and the columbia class would be the countrys second costliest program in history and part of a trillion Dollar Program to modernize the Nuclear Triad over the next 30 years and the submersible leg of the triad responsible for 70 of the nations Forward DeployedNuclear Warhead and remains a vital part of our National Security. A little over a month ago, it was reported the program suffered its first known glitch in the overheating of a prototype motor. Ere do you think we are in high ng and upgrade the class submarine and what needs to be done . Mr. Spencer ive not received any classified breach on the performance glitch youre talking about. On a fundamental basis as i said in the Opening Statement that i believe the leg of the Nuclear Triad is the most survivable and probably one of the we put it this way we must address the replacement situation. It is a huge cost. A huge expense. I realize that. Were going to have work in a whole of industry, whole of government solution to delays. Senator cruz thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman and thank you, mr. Spencer for your willingness to take on this new role. The navy instituted something called the accelerated Promotion Program to allow shipyards to compete with the private sector as im sure youre aware one of the real chgs is that many of our skilled workers are aging out and replacing them in a tight Work Environment is very challenging. So at the gs5 or gs7 levels will eligible for a onetime acceleration promotion after they complete a training program. Do you think that kind of program is helpful in retaining the workforce that we need and do you have any ideas of how we can get the workers we need to keep our shipyards up to date . Mr. Spencer senator, im not aware specifically of the program and i confirmed i look forward to finding out more about it and sitting down and having a conversation with you about it. I do have firm beliefs on how were going to have to work as a team both the Industrial Complex and the department of the navy to go forward and fulfill our goal to put capacity on the water. Whether that is what we used to call vocational schools, training schools out in the community. Ive been informed that for a wielder, it takes seven years to become a journeyman. Thats an extraordinary amount of time but thats an extraordinary important position. We have to start filling the pipeline and finding any vehicle we can that is beneficial to supply the process. Senator shaheen well thank you. Im sure that senator king would join me and inviting you to come to the ports to see the a. P. P. Program and to hear more about the challenges that theyre facing. I hope you will be willing to do that. Mr. Spencer i look forward to doing that if confirmed. Its a great experience. Senator shaheen this committee has spent a lot of time on the challenges that russia presents Eastern Europe and to our allies in europe. And obviously, one of the places where weve seen them be the most aggressive is in the black sea where they have with increasing frequency, buzzed our ships and our planes. Can you talk about what you would do as secretary of the navy to respond to that . Mr. Spencer senator, russia is a threat in many ways to the country. We must and i think every single naval officer and also a weapons person, whatever is trained they must protect themselves from lethal force but they must weigh in restraint. We have to stand strong. We have to have avenues of commukeses open with our adversaries. One would hope that in the military sector, there is professionalism that spreads to even our adversaries that we can have communications in that egard. Senator shaheen do you think that those communications have so far been successful . Do we need to establish more channels . Mr. Spencer i have not been briefed in depth with senator. But on a topical by a six i think we would need more channels. Senator shaheen ok, thank you. I was surprised to hear in testimony before this committee that china is looking at a 340ship navy by 2020 given the challenges that were fashion as we look at our longterm needs in the navy. Are you concerned as if you become secretary of the navy about what that means for chinas ability to more control over the South China Sea and other sea ways where we might come in conflict . Mr. Spencer most definitely, senator. The goal that one of the presentations that i sat through was 2045 was a goal of china to have many things in place. Their ship count in 2020 to be larger than they are now. It all concerns me tremendously. And i think we have to respond in kind to have the capability and capacity to ensure that we are positioned to enforce the Free Shipping lanes for not only ourselves and our interests but for those of our allies. Senator shaheen thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, mr. Chairman. And thank you, mr. Expense per for your dedication. And i was greatfied that you mentioned the tragedy last night. The navy experienced another tragedy as you well know when hit by afitzgerald was ship under circumstances that we dont know completely. One of the sailors, third class tom wynn from connecticut was among the deceased and i attended the Memorial Service for him just last week. And his family is still grieving as are the other families who lost loved ones during that incident. The commander of the United States seven fleet appointed rear admiral to lead a prime advocate investigation of the mishap. Id like to know if you are confirmed, will you commit to ensuring a prompt and thorough investigation of the u. S. S. Fitzgerald collision with the cargo ship a. C. Crystal . C. X. Mr. Spencer prompt, thorough and transparent with expedition. Senator blumenthal thank you. Heres been talk about the construction of submarines, the columbia class and virginia attack class, which is required to go from 48 to 66. As you know, and the challenge as the senator mentioned is not just with the flow of materials but also the Industrial Base. And not only at newport news but the supply chain that defense Industrial Base. And i wonder if youve thought about what can be done to provide the kinds of training and Skill Development resources for the suppliers and contractors and all the medium and Small Businesses that are involved in that defense Industrial Base. Mr. Spencer senator, im glad the supply chain has been brought up because we definitely hands imited supply of and backs to build things. But people many times dont focus on the actual chain itself. There are many cases out there in the private sector that we can take best practices from. Off the top of my head, we did a study at the defense business board and i. B. M. When sam was there tock over when i. B. M. Was in its grips of log at running out of cash. A major American Icon almost going into bankruptcy and he restructured his supply chain which he now builts a as a 16 billion competitive advantage he brought everyone in the tent. I would see us whether through d. L. A. , beyond the navy, the whole acquisition having to do a whole of team effort in this egard. Senator blumenthal finally, let me ask you about the c. A. 53k. It is the replacement for the marine corpss on heavy lift helicopter. It will play an integral role in the United States marine corps for probable decades to come, improving the ch53e super stallion. Will you commit to supporting this Critical Program assuming your confirmed . Mr. Spencer most definitely, senator. Senator blumenthal and let me 35 the k you about the f navy has. Whats your view of the f35 . Mr. Spencer again, ive not received any classified briefs but just in my knowledge gathering over the past months the marine corps is quite excited about what the f35 can deliver as a platform. The navy has its plans to develop the fifth or fourth generation structure within their Aviation Wing also and i look forward to find out one if confirmed. Senator blumenthal will you commit to support the plans now for acquisition . Mr. Spencer i do. Theres going to be a major change, but yes. Senator blumenthal thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. We thank you for your appearance here. I take it you have completed all of the paperwork. Is that correct . Mr. Spencer that is correct, senator. Well, itll be my intention to move your nomination at the next gathering of the Senate Armed Services committee and we look forward to confirming you clearly before we reach our elldeserved rest. And the pause for the month of august. O we will be moving your nomination quickly to the floor this senate and hopefully, we can get it done to get you to work. Senator reid . Senator mccain thank you, mr. Chairman. We look forward to interrogating you again soon. Mr. Spencer thank you. Thats richard spencer, nominated by President Trump to be secretary of the navy. Senate Commerce Committee wrapping up their hearing. The senate itself will deal with several of the president s nominees today. David nye to be a district judge. The senate is at 2 15 eastern and you can follow coverage on espn2. And we get an update on the latest Senate Republican health care legislation. We want to spend a few minutes getting a status report, taking a look at efforts in the senate when it comes to health care. Joining us is alex bolton of the hill. Good morning. Host theres a story out there saying that the Vice President himself who is saying when it comes to a vote on health care in the senate, he says its a close one. What does your reporting tell you about the status thats going on in the senate . Guest well its a very close call. And right now, they dont have a bill yet. Theyre putting it together and they are hoping to unveil it by thursday, setting up a vote by next week. Mitch mcconnell does not want this to drag on beyohe