2017. Ashton carter and joint chiefs appearedjoseph dunford before the House Appropriation Committee and how other factors are part of the proposal. This is to in a half hours. This is two and a half hours. Good morning. Our committee will come to order. Especiallymembers, the chairman mr. Rogers. Im pleased to welcome the 25th secretary of defense, ashton carter. This is dr. Carters second appearance before the subcommittee, although we know him well from his many years of service to our nation. We also welcome general joe done for, the great marine, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and dr. Michael mccord. Secretary, Prime MinisterWinston Churchill observed 70 years ago, and i quote, what ive seen of our russian friends and allies during the war, i am convinced that there is nothing they admire so much as strength, and there is nothing for which they have less respect than weakness, especially military weakness. Churchill was referring to the postwar leadership in moscow, and the same can be said today. Examine t as i the budget request before us today is our exactly the same amount as last years, and yet this administration no claims to provide robust funding for your department. Mr. Secretary, lower ragged edge a robust funding . He Department Must justify a shrinking army and marine corps, a slower navy, an older air force. We face more serious threats from more sources than at any time since world war ii. Russia occupies crimea and continues to menace ukraine, its neighbors, and our nato partners. China is building whole islands in the South China Sea, yet this administration suggests cutting and already an adequate shipbuilding budget. Many of our gains in afghanistan have been reversed. Isis await and now our departure. Irans Global Terrorist Network just received a massive transfusion of money, which seeks to challenge our interests and allies in iraq, syria, yemen, and the middle east. Devolving even further by the day with russia and the radiant sponsorship, we seem to be deconflicting our operations of those countries, hurting our allies. Isis has a major franchise in libya, operations in north africa, 160 miles of mediterranean coast. Terrorism is like a cancer across the world, and this budget does not do enough to hold its spread. Moreover, many of us on this committee are concerned that this budgets future military capabilities paper the requirements. Oursecretary, commanderinchief proclaimed in his state of the Union Address that we spend more on our military than the next eight nations combined, as if dollars and cents are the only yardstick by which we measure the effectiveness of our armed forces and the strength of our global leadership. S are measured based on our military capability and our national will. Those adversaries and some of our allies . Herers of our subcommittee this repeatedly from foreign leaders who travel abroad. We meet them here at home as they watch us continually tested without consequences. I also want to bring to your attention the concern of the National Security council. Its come to our attention repeatedly that the rules of engagement for our special forces and the rules of engagement for our conventional or says are being micromanaged right out of the white house. Im sure you would agree that the battlefield decisions should be left to military professionals. In closing, i can assure you that a bipartisan majority in Congress Stands ready to provide our commanderinchief with the resources that our military needs to meet challenges from russia and china and defeat the and other lethal. Errorist groups the nda required the administration to provide a strategy to counter violence extremism in syria, but we are still waiting. Having said that, id like to turn the microphone over to my ranking member. Thank you. Appreciate , i mr. Chairman, i appreciate you holding a hearing. Welcome to the hearing. I thank each of you for your commitment to service. I wish to express my continued concern regarding the selfinflicted uncertainty created by the legit control act of 2011. Admittedly, i use much of my sameat this hearing for a purpose, and although much has changed in the last 12 months, including the enactment of the bipartisan budget act of 2015 that mitigated the bchf for two years, it is hard to argue that the department of defense or any federal agency is now appreciably better positioned to plan or budget for the future. It pains me to think about how much less efficient the department of defense has been over the last six fiscal years, as it has been forced to carry our National Defenses strategy in an increasingly unstable security environment as you have described, while navigating the unpredictability of sequestration, of government shutdown, of vacillating budget caps, and continuing resolutions, and appropriations through no fault of the full committee that arrived well at the next fiscal year. Even the least clairvoyance among us can perceive the problems looming in fiscal year 2018. The bca was sold as a deficit reduction tool, yet the Congressional Budget Office 2025,ed it from 2016 to projected the military deficit would be more. The prolonged inability of congress or the administration to find a consensus needed to replace it in its full austerity policies that truly address longterm budget deficits, mandatory spending, and a lack of revenue is an abject failure. Despite thee note, ongoing efforts in congress to renegotiate the agreement to fiscal year 2017, i am guardedly willistic that the bba provide some predictability in this years appropriations process. We have a number, and i hope that this subcommittee, under the chairmans leadership, will be allowed to make the difficult a deliberate decisions needed to prioritize the Resources Available to strengthen our defense and minimize the risk of our nation for those in uniform. Secretary carter, you have said that this budget is a major Inflection Point for the department that takes the long view. Further, you have indicated that this request favors innovation and readiness. I was pleased t to hearhos to hear those sentiments, but based on the outcomes of the last budget requests, in skeptical of any Strategy Plan or program in future years. Understand that the motivation behind the dods decision is to assume more funding. That the am worried assumption may not come to fruition. I assure you that i am committed to working with my colleagues to find a lasting solution to our fiscal situation, which again necessitates addressing both revenue and mandatory spending. Simplylusion, i would also observe that i appreciate that the muchanticipated plan for the closing of Guantanamo Bay detention facility was transmitted to Congress Earlier this week. I hope the plan is considered on its merit rather than to be reflexively rejected. Mr. Chairman, again, thank you very much for holding the hearing. Thank you. Mr. Rogers, jim rogers. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, general dunford, thank you. Thank for being here, and thank you for your years of service to your country. We appreciate that very much, and we thank you for being here this morning for what is the first hearing of the subcommittee for fiscal 17. We have 21 hearings across the committee this week. Fifth year in a row, this has been able to be passed out of the house. I am confident we can do the same this year. We know our troops and their families are depending on it. Our only hope is that when we pass a bill Service Committee and on the floor of the house and send it to the senate that they act. Which they have refused to do for the last several years. Consequently, we get into an omnibus negotiation to keep it from closing down the government. Its time the senate acted on a bill. Amazing. Menr your leadership, the and women who serve in the u. S. Military answer the call time and again, leave their loved ones, put themselves in harms way, execute challenging abroad. We are mindful that i responsibility is to support our allies in need and respond to threats of our enemies that pose a significant demand on our troops. Theirommittee appreciates dedication and willingness to serve, and your leadership amidst the unprecedented challenges facing our nation this day. Environmentecurity continues to grow increasingly complex and unpredictable. The mounting threats we discussed this time last year still is and in some cases have increased. Two years after the russian annexation of crimea, russian aggression remains a threat. The sovereign states in the region and a considerable influence across the middle east. The Islamic State maintains its hold on population centers, where it terrorizes innocent lives, has created an unlivable situation for iraqis and now even libyans. Weve seen this conflict force the migration of millions of anple, precipitating unprecedented humanitarian crisis, at least in europe. Meanwhile, iran and north korea continued to rattle their sabers while china exerts military strength in the pacific. Today, we will discuss many of these threats and how your budget request addresses our ability to defeat them, however we continue to hear rhetoric from the administration that appears to minimize, or just flat out this understand, the reality and the magnitude of the threat that we face from violent extremism. Just this week, the president announced his intention to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. At a time when the threat of terrorist activity at home and abroad shows no signs of abating, the president s advocating for the transfer of known terrorists out of the United States custody. Where we cannot control their availability to return to the battlefield. Or detainees that he believes pose a continuing threat. Toasked the American People allow them to be detained on american soil, in their own backyard. As the president made the case that these prisoners will be subject to Strong Security measures while in the custody of other nations, the former guantanamo prisoner was arrested in north africa on terror charges. The director of National Intelligence tells us that 30 of the Prisoners Released from the facility have reengaged in terrorism. Yet the president continues to argue that releasing these prisoners will make us safer. Thats twisted logic. Once again, i am perplexed by to administrations decision continue to prioritize this misguided Campaign Promise despite clear direction from this congress, not to mention the implications for National Security. Set to decliney theher until 2017, conversation we will have today about responding to increasingly complex threats across multiple regions against enemies with very Different Missions and capacities becomes an even more matter. Ted the challenges you face are well documented. The demands they place on our troops and military leadership are great. I look forward to discussing how this committee can best equip you to lead in these Uncertain Times and respond to threats to American Security around the world. This committee remains confident in your ability to lead and protect our troops and to ensure the safety of americans at home and abroad. You have our full support. And we deeply appreciate your service and your commitment to our nation, our servicemen and women across the world. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. You have our full support for the men and women you represent, whether civilian or military. The best of america. All volunteersof doing remarkable things. This is secretary, the floor is yours. Thank you for being with us. Thank you. Your statement will be put in the record. Thank you, chairman. Chairman, thank you. And all of you, thanks for what you say about the troops. That means it all. That is what i wake up for every morning; im sure thats true the chairman as well. They are the best of america, and we are very proud to be associated with them, and im very pleased to hear you say the same things. It is good for them to hear that, so thank you all very much. And thanks for hosting me today, and in general for your steadfast support to the men and women of the department of defense, military and civilian alike, who serve and defend our country all over the world. I am pleased to be here with chairman dunford to discuss president obamas 2070 Defense Budget, 2017 Defense Budget, which was marked as a major Inflection Point. Im also pleased to be discussing the budget first before this committee, which has been a leader in securing the resources the Department Needs. Were taking the long view. We have to, because even as we fight todays fight, we must also be prepared for what might come 10, 20, 30 years down the road. Last falls budget deal gave us muchneeded and much appreciated stability. I want to thank you, all of you, your colleagues, for coming together to pass that agreement. The bipartisan budget act set the size of our budget, which is why our budgets commission in my testimony focus on its shape. Changing that shape, in fundamental but carefully considered ways to adjust to a new strategic era and seize opportunities for the future. Let me describe the strategic assessment that drove our budget decisions. Evident that its america is still today the worlds foremost leader, partner and underwriter of stability and security in every region across the globe, as we have been since the end of world war ii. I was in brussels the week before last, meeting with nato defense ministers and defense ministers of the counter isil military coalition, and i can tell you, they all appreciate the leadership from the department of defense of america. As we continue to fill this in during role, it is also evident that we are entering a new strategic era. Todays security environment is dramatically different from the last 25 years, requiring new ways of operating. Five evolving strategic challenges, namely, russia, anda, north korea, iran, terrorism. Five are now driving dods planning and budgeting, as reflected in this budget. I want to focus first on our ongoing fight against terrorism, isil, whichlly hi we must deal a lasting defeat. Most immediately is its apparent tumor, iraq and syria, and also metastasizing elsewhere in the world. We are doing that in africa, we are also doing it in afghanistan, where we continue to stand with the Afghan Government and people to counter al qaeda, and now isil, while at the same time, all the while, we protect our homeland. As we are accelerating our overall counter isolate campaign, we are backing it up with increased funding in 2017 in our request, requesting 7. 5 billion, which is 50 more than last year. Just this week, following the progress we have made in iraq by retaking ramadi, we also made operationally significant strides in our campaign to dismantle isil in syria. There, capable and motivated local forces, supported by the u. S. And our global coalition, have recreated territory surrounding the eastern syrian town of shadaddi, which is a critical eye so base a critical isil base. More importantly, by encircling in taking this town, we are seeking to sever the last major northern artery between raqqa and mosul, and ultimately dissect the tumor into two parts, one in iraq and the other in syria. This is just the most recent example of how we are effectively enabling and partnering with local forces to hel deal isil a lasting defeat. Next, two of the other four challenges reflect a recognition of a return to, in some ways, great power and competition one challenge is in europe, where we are taking a strong and balanced approached to deter russian aggression. We havent had to devote a significant portion of our defense investment to this possibility for a quarter century, and now we do. In theer challenges is asiapacific, where china is rising, which is fine. But behaving aggressively is not. There, we are continuing our rebalance in terms of weighted effort to maintain the regional stability we have underwritten for the past 70 years, allowing so many nations to rise and prosper in this, the single most consequential region for americas future. Otherile, two longstanding challenges posed threats in specific regions north korea is one. That is why our forces on the Korean Peninsula remain ready, as they say, to fight tonight. Because whileran, the Nuclear Accord is a good deal for preventing iran from getting a nuclear weapon, we must still determine in aggression and counter their malign influence against our friends and allies in the region, especially israel, to whom we maintain and on the unwavering commitment. The dod must and will address all five of these challenges as part of its mission to defend our country. Doing so requires new investments on our part, new postures and some regions, and also some new and enhanced capabilities. For example, in confronting these five challenges, we know we will have to deal with them across all domains and not just the usual land and sea, but also cyber, Electronic Warfare, and space, were our reliance on technology has given us great strength and great opportunities, but also lead to vulnerabilities that adversaries could seek to exploit. Hour approach has been able to deter our most advanced competitors. We must have, and be seen to have, the ability to ensure that anyone who starts a conflict with us will regret doing so. To be clear, the u. S. Military would fight very differently than we have in iraq and afghanistan. Be preparedmust for a highend enemy, what we call fullspectrum. In our budget, our capabilities, our actionss, and we must him and straight to potential foes that we have the capability to win, because a force meant to deter conflict must show that it can dominate a conflict. In this context, russia and china are our most stre