The senate to a halt as the fight over obamacare state enters the key to week stretch. You can read more at the hill. Com today. The defense secretary james mattis and general Joseph Dunford chair joint chiefs of staff testify now about the president s 2018 budget for for the pentagon. The Senate Armed ServicesCommittee Held at this hearing last week. Good morning. In the thin Arm Service Committee meets this one tracy testimony on the department of defense fiscal year 2018 budget request. We welcome secretary mattis and chairman dent for, secretary norquist, i thank you for your many years of distinguished service and your leadership of our men and women in uniform. Before we begin, i want to acknowledge the service and sacrifice of Sergeant Eric houck, Sergeant William bays, and Corporal Dillon baldridge. M these three soldiers from the armys 101st Airborne Division were killed this weekend in afghanistan. The thoughts and prayers of this committee are with their loved ones. The sacrifice of these heroes is a painful reminder that america is still a nation at war. That is true in afghanistan nat where, after 15 years of war, ws face a stalemate and urgently need a change in strategy and ag increase in resources if we are to turn the situation around. St we also remain engaged in a Global Campaign to defeat isis and related terrorist groups, from libya and yemen, to iraq and syria, where u. S. Troops are helping to destroy isis and reclaim mosul and raqqa. Meanwhile, threats around the world continue to grow moreand o complex and severe. North korea is closing in on the development of a nuclearcapable intercontinental ballisticis clo missile that can target our homeland. Terconti and iran continues to destabilize the middle east and seek to drive the United States out of the region. At the same time, we have entered a new era of great power competition. Russia and china, despite their many differences, are both modernizing their militaries, developing advanced capabilities to undermine our ability to project power globally, threatening their neighbors, and challenging the rulesbased world order. Russia, in particular, continues to occupy crimea, destabilize ukraine, threaten our nato allies, bolster the murderous assad regime in syria, and pursue a campaign of active measures to undermine the very integrity of western democracies. With thousands of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines deployed in harms way around the globe, those of us who are charged with the awesome responsibility of providing for the common defense must askose f ourselves if we are doing Everything Possible to support our brave men and women in uniform to meet the challenges of an increasingly dangerous world and succeed in their mission. I am sad to say that we are not. In response to rising threats,er we have asked our military to dn more and more but given them less and less. Our witnesses Opening Statements are a harsh indictment of this failure, but they are right. I implore my colleagues tots listen carefully to their testimony and heed their admonition to us. Efully since 2011, spending caps their mandated by the budget control act have led to a 23 cut to the Defense Budget. These reductions, compounded by growing fiscal uncertainty and continuing resolutions, have con left our military with shrinking forces, depleted readiness, and aging equipment. This has put the lives of our men and women in uniform at greater risk, as this committeef has heard in testimony for years from our civilian defense leaders and senior military officers. The administrations fiscal year 2018 budget request, if enacted, could help to arrest the decline in our military readiness, but ultimately, and unfortunately, it falls short of the president s commitment to rebuild our military. The proposed Defense Budget of 603 billion is both arbitrary b and inadequate, arbitrary because the topline is simply what was written into the budget control act six years ago prior to the sequester cuts, and inadequate because it represents just a 3 percent increase over president obamas defense plan. It is hardly surprising, then, that this committee has received lists of unfunded requirements from the military services totaling over 31 billion, all of which secretary mattis testified last night in the house Armed Services committee that he supports. Our military Service Leaders have testified to this committee that this budget would stanch the bleeding, but we owe our men and women in uniform more than that. It has been said that this budget request focuses on readiness, and it is true that s the requested funding increases would make the current force more ready for the next year. But ultimately, readiness is more than training hours and time on the ranges. Real readiness requires sufficient capacity to enableres our troops simultaneously to conduct operations, prepare for deployment, rest and refit, and focus on the challenges of tomorrow. This budget delivers no growth in capacity, which means that the joint force will continue to consume readiness as quickly as it is produced. Those increases in capacity are reflected in each serviceskl unfunded requirements. True readiness is also modernization, because if wemode mortgage future capability to pay for present commitments, we have achieved little, especialli at a time when our adversaries are moving at an alarming rate l to erode americas military technological advantage and cala into question our ability to project power. Advan here, too, unfortunately, this budget request poses the old false choice between readinesspo and modernization. The fact is that 603 billion simply is not enough to pay for both priorities, which is why the services unfunded requirements are heavy on the procurement of new and additional capabilities that are desperately needed. Nd 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 that we believe sufficient to provide for the common defense. I believe that this budget request is a start, but we canel and must do better. This will not be possible, however, as long as the budget control act remains the law ofof the land. This Defense Budget request and the additional funding that our military needs is literally illegal under the bca. This law has done Severe Damage to our military. D has harmed the departments ability to plan and execute budgets effectively and efficiently. Lan an it has ground the congresss budget and appropriations processes to a halt. And 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 better. It is time for the congress to reinvest in our military, restore readiness and capabilities, rebalance ourorm joint force, and renew americas military advantage. s to do so we must revise or repeal the budget control act. And we must give our troops what they need to succeed, today and in the future. Will the politics of this be difficult . Yes. But the question all of us here must answer is how much longer will we send our sons and daughters into harms way will e unprepared before we get over our politics and do our jobs . Senator reed . Thank you very much, mr. Chairman crowley fishing to consider funding levels for department of defense to maintain our nations military. I also want to welcome our distinguished witnesses this morning. Thank them for the service to the nation. I want to join with the chairman in paying tribute to the soldiers of the 100 first who gave their lives, and their families. There are examples of thousands and thousands of americans who serve and the families here at home that serve with them. Today we consider the first fiscal year 2018 Trump Administration budget that seeks 574 billion in base funding and 65 billion for overseas contingency operations. As we all know the budget control act of 2011 and the sequester are still the law the land, this budget request exceeds the bca defense spending cap i 52 billion. Rather. Rather than negotiate with congress or propose and repeal of the bca or sequester, President Trump proposed offset the increase in defense spending with the 52 billion cut in nondefense spending. Unless the bca is change, the offset was seriously harm nondefense spending and failed to prevent acrosstheboard cuts reclaiming the 52 billion, leaving dod in a worse positione we have already held many hearings this year. Nursing simply i and the leaders have repeatedly urged us to in sequestration. Like chairman mccain i believep it is time for repeal of the pc. Setting arbiter spending threshold on defense andhairma, nondefense spending has not made our country safer and it is not fix our broader fiscal problems. Nor do these caps which was set nearly secures ago actively reflects what are military needs in order to confront todays threats or the domestic investment we need to keep america competitive and strong. Let me be clear i am not opposed to increase military spending. Democrats have will continue to support robust defense spending but it is our duty to carefully review the proposal as presenter from present to ensure the funds allocated properly so that our fighting men women have what you need to complete their mission and return home safely. Every member regardless of party takes this duty solicitor i think a budget must reflect our nations core values and take care of americans who remain at home. Our military personnel have a vision of the america they are fighting for and it is our duty to protect them. I therefore have concerns about the request because it robs from peter to pay paul. Y the president proposal increases defense spending but it also limits, eliminates 17. 3 billion from the state Department Efforts to prevent wars, which is the kind of spending that secretary mattis has said is a crucial to our military efforts. It slashes funny for Health Investments the nih and cdc and trading for Healthcare Professionals to fight against Global PublicHealth Epidemics such as ebola this budget request also eliminates programs that help vulnerable americans here at home. Certainly our military needs Additional Resources to climb out of the hole it is in and at the same time deter conflict with near peer competitors but i do not believe we should do so at the expense of diplomacy and vulnerable americans. I will also know that over the last 15 years we have found it important enough to send our brave men and women to war but weve not had the courage to raise revenues to pay for these wars as this nation has historically done. As we examine what funding requirement is necessary for the safety and secured of our country, we need to look at our federal budget with much more confidence. D the bca between defense and nondefense spending has had the unfortunate effect of paving each category of funding against the other. Ef instead we will be better served if we consider the needs of our nation holistically. Ider t i believe will be best if best f examine the president s budget. Request in the context of an Overall National security strategy. Such a strategy has not clearly emerged as we enter the sixth month of this administration. We seem to kareem from one foreignpolicy crisis to another. Many of which are the administrations on making the this takes attention at a time where several significant nationals who challenges in which we need we focus. Secretary mattis and general dunford youve been competent professionals and steady hands in a tumultuous time. But we face many difficult decisions both strategic and budgetary that demand the kind of leadership and engagement that old a grounded and focused president can provide. I look forward to working withth you and my colleagues as we dressed these important issues. Im proud of this committee has always worked in a bipartisan fashion during this process and a look for to working with the chairman and all the Committee Member succumbed a reasonable agreement again the issue. Thank you very much, mr. Chairm. Secretary mattis, welcome back. Thank you, chairman, mccain, Ranking Member read endeavors of the committee. I appreciate the opportunity to testify in support of president budget request for fiscal year 2018. Trantor request the committee except my written statement for the record. Im joined by chairman dunford and the departments new comptroller, under secretary of defense david norquist. Thank you mr. Chairman and members of the committee for swift consideration and the Senate Confirmation of Defense Department nominees. This budget request hold me accountable to the men and women of the department of defense. Every day more than 2 million Service Members nearly 1 million civilians do their duty, honor and previous generations of veterans and Civil Servants who have sacrificed for our country. Its my privilege to serve alongside them. We and the department of defense are keenly aware of the sacrifices made by the working people to fund our military. Many times in the past we have look reality in the eye, met challenges with help of congressional leadership, and built the most capable war fighting force in the world. There is no room for complacency with no godgiven right to victory on the battlefield. Each generation of americans, from the halls of congress to the battlefields, earn victory through commitment and sacrifice. And yet for four years at the department of defense has been subjected to or threatened by automatic acrosstheboard cuts as a result of sequester, a mechanism meant to be so injurious to the military it would never go into effect. But it did go into effect and as forecast by consecutive defense panetta, the damage has been severe, hollowing out our force. In addition during nine of thehe past ten Years Congress has enacted 30 separate continuing resolutions to fund the department of defense, thus inhibiting our readiness and adaptation to new challenges. 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, congress sidelined itself from its active constitutional oversight role. Continuing resolutions coupled with sequestration locked new programs, prevented service growth, stalled Industry Initiative and place of troops at greater risk. Despite the tremendous efforts of this committee, congress as a whole is met the present challenge with lassitude, not leadership. I retired from military Service Three months after sequestratioo took effect. Four years later i returned to the department and ive been shocked by what ive seen about our readiness to fight. While nothing can compare to the heartache caused by the loss of our troops during these wars, no in any in the field has done more to harm the combat readiness of our military man sequestration. We have only sustain our ability to meet americas commitments abroad for our security because our troops have stoically shouldered a much greater burden. H but our troops still commitmentc cannot reduce the growing risk. It took us years to get into the situation. It will require years of stable budgets and increase funding tou get out of it. I urge members of this committee and congress to achieve three goals. First, fully fund our request which requires an increase to the Defense Budget caps. Second, as a fiscal year 2010 budget in a timely manner to avoid yet another harmful 2018 continue resolution. Third, limit the threat ofso future sequestration cuts to provide a stable budgetary planning horizon. Stable budgets and increase funding are necessary because of for 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 coaching of invasions in our military to war for more than a decade without pause or conscription. Americas long war has placed a heavy burden on many women in uniform and their families. A second concurrent force acting on the department is the worsening Global Security situation the chairman spokeio about. N th we must look reality in the eye. Russia and china are seeking veto power over the economic, diplomatic and security decisions on their periphery. North koreas reckless rhetoric and provocative actions continue, despite United Nations century and sanctions. Iran remains the largest longterm challenge to mideast stability. All the while terrorist groups murder the innocent and threaten peace in many regions while targeting us. A third force is at the series actively contesting americas capabilities. For decades the United States enjoyed uncontested or dominant superiority in every operating domain or realm. We could general deploy our forces when we wanted, assemble them where we wanted and operate how we wanted. Ed. Today, every operating domain out of space, air, sea, undersea, land and cyberspace is contested. A fourth concurrent force is rapid technological change among the other forces know the changes one that necessitates new investment, innovative approaches and new programam starts at a been denied this by law when wev we been forced to operate under continuing have resolutions. Each of these four forces, 15 years of war, the worsening security environment, contested operations in multiple domains and the rapid pace of technological change requi