Committee meets to receive the testimony of the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chief of staffs on the administrations fiscal year 2018 budget request. We welcome secretary mattis for the first time before our committee and we welcome chairman dunford back. The question today, as it is each year for this hearing, is how well the administrations proposal meets the security needs of the nation. Factoring in both the external threats and the current state of our military. This committee has repeatedly heard testimony over the past two years that our country faces more serious complex security challenges now than we have faced before. The hearings and briefings we have held on the current state of our military have been disturbing. The administrations budget request of 603 billion for base requirements is 6 above the 17 enacted level and 3 above the last Obama AdministrationBudget Proposal. Its 37 billion below what this committee assessed last fall was needed and 58 billion below the fy 12 gates budget validated by the bipartisan defense panel. Of course, the issue is not about numbers. The issue is about what those numbers provide for the men and women who serve and what security the budget provides to the nation. Its about whether we can defend the u. S. And allies against north korean missiles. Its about whether we have the number of ships and planes to deter aggression and maintain peace. Its about doing right by our most valuable asset, our people. The men and women who serve deserve the best weapons and equipment our country can provide. Im afraid today they are not getting it. Its always tempting to avert this discussion into a broader budget debate about taxes and other spending issues. They are not within the jurisdiction of the committee or witnesses. Regardless of our views on those other issues, we cannot wait until we solve our budget problems to fund our military. We cannot wait until we perfect our acquisition, to have planes that fly and ships that sail. The world is not stopping and waiting on us to get our act together. It moves on and its moving on in a dangerous direction. 2018 is a key decision point. We have spent six years just getting by, asking more and more of those who serve and putting off the choices that have to be made. We cannot keep piling missions on our Service Members without ensuring they have all they need to succeed. Does the administrations Budget Proposal accomplish that goal . That is the question we intend to examine tonight. I yield to the Ranking Member, mr. Smith for comments. Thank you. I agree with much that you said. The best way is to sum up putting off choices. Thats what we have done for quite a while, not just on the Defense Budget, but on tax reform, on all aspects of the budget as well. I think the impact of the military is, as the chairman describes. The problem we have is a major disconnect between what we would like to do and the amount of money we are prepared to do it. As the chairman mentioned, the president s budget at 603 does not match what our committee assessed was needed, even more tellingly. It doesnt match with what the president says he is going to do. In fact, it is very, very distant from that. If you talk a 350 ship navy, 570,000 person army, talk about all the planes, all the Nuclear Modernization they want to do. I dont begin to know what the yearly number would be to get to that. I am suspecting it is well north of 700 billion to 800 billion. We have these ideas but we dont have the money to get there. Who is in the lurch . The people of the military. They are left with missions they dont have the resources to fill. We have to start making choices. I have a preview of your remarks and i agree with you. Certainly the house of representatives is in no position to talk about making choices. Its the middle of june and no budget. We have never gone this long for providing this. We continue to stall, i think, in hopes the money will magically appear or well figure out a way to spend money that doesnt count, something. We have to make choices. We have to decide what we are going to fund. I will disagree with the chairman on one issue, the notion that as the Armed Services committee, Everything Else that goes on in the budget doesnt have anything to do with us and we shouldnt worry about it. One thing does. That is revenue. How much money you have, in my experience, has a profound impact on how much money you are able to spend. Ill skip for the moment the argument about the department of Homeland Security and the department is. I think all those things are important. If you want to get down to the basics, even if you say forget about that, all we are concerned about is the Armed Services committee and providing for the men and women in the mail tear, the planes, military, all that, it is nonsensical to say the revenue doesnt impact that. It absolutely does. If we are talking about putting together a tax reform proposal that is going to further cut taxes 2 to 3 trillion, if there are members of this committee that want to support that and come back to the committee and talk about how terrible it is we dont fund our military, that is a huge inconsistency we need to reconcile. Lets make sure we provide the money for them. If we are not prepared to provide the money, we need to come up with a different set of stran strategies. North korea to iran to russia to a rising china, to, not to mention, the terrorist groups out there and active. It would be difficult to redo that strategy. Are we pert off doing that than a strategy we have no intention of funding . Right now, thats what the executive branch looks like they are doing. They have a strategy they have no intention of funding. We have to fix that. Two quick things and ill ask the question when i get the chance. Countering what russia is doing is an enormously important thing for us. They are in a comprehensive effort to undermine the values our country has fought for in the post world war ii environment. They have a complicated cyber effort, propaganda effort. They are doing all this stuff to foster authoritarian regimes and undermine alliances that the u. S. Relied on in that post world war ii world to maintain peace and security and protect our interest. We need a strategy on that. I would be curious to get your status on what we are doing in qatar. You hear what the secretary of state is doing then the president says something opposed to that. It is a very destabilizing situation in the middle east. I agree with the secretary of state, we should find ways to solve the problem, not throw gasoline on the fire. Im not clear what the administrations strategy is. I would think, mr. Secretary, you have opinions on what we ought to do to resolve that situation. I look forward to that comment. With that, i yield back and look forward to your testimony. Committee welcomes james mattis, secretary of defense. Joseph dunford jr. Joint chief of staff and david norquist, the comptroller who has been on the job about a week. Welcome all of you to the committee. Without objection, any written comments you would like to make would be included in the record. The floor is yours. Ranking member smith and members of the committee, i appreciate the opportunity to testify and support the president s budget request for fiscal year 2018 and i appreciate the committee accepting my written statement for the record. I am joined by chairman dunford and david norquist. He is new, but will be vital to gaining your confidence that we know where our money is going once you give it to us through a good audit. This request holds me accountable to the men and women of the department of defense. 2 million Service Members and 1 million civilians do their duty, honoring previous generations of veterans and Civil Servant who is sacrificed for our country and a privilege to serve alongside them. We, at the department of defense are aware of the sacrifices made to fund our military. Many times in the past, we looked reality in the eye, met challenges with the help of congressional leadership and built the most capable war fighting force in the world. There is no room for complacency and no god given right to victory on the battlefield. From the halls of congress to the battlefield earn victory through commitment and sacrifice. Yet, for four years, the department of defense has been subject to or threatened by automatic across the board cuts as a result of sequester, a mechanism meant to be so endureious to the military, it never goes into effect. It did go into effect by secretary of defense panetta and the damage has been severe. In addition, during nine of the past ten years, congress enacted 30 separate continuing resolutions to fund the department of defense. We need bipartisan support for this budget request. In the past, failing to meet it, congress sidelined itself from the constitutional rule. Sequestration blocked new programs, prevented service growth, stalled initiative and placed groups at greater risk. Despite the efforts of this committee, congress, as a whole, met the present challenge not with leadership. I retired from military Service Three months after sequestration took e feint. Four years later, i returned to the department and have been shocked by what i have seen about our readiness to fight. Nothing can compare to the heart ache of the loss of our troops during these wars, no enemy in the field has done more to affect us than sequestration. We meet americas commit. S abroad because our troops have a bigger burden. It cannot reduce the growing risk. It took us years to get into this situation. It will require years of stable budgets and increased funding to get out of it. I urge members of this committee and congress to achieve three goals. First, fully fund our request, which required an increase to the Defense Budget caps. Second, pass an fy 2018 budget to avoid a harmful resolution. Eliminate the threat of sequestration cuts. Stable budgets and increased funding are necessary because of four external forces acting on the depment at the same time. The first force that we must recognize is 16 years of war. When Congress Approved the all volunteer force in 1973, our country never invisioned sending our military to war for more than a decade without pause. Americas long war has placed a heavy burden on men and women in uniform and their families. A second concurrent force acting on the department is the worsening Global Security situation. We must look reality in the eye. Russia and china are seeking veto power over the economic diplomatic decisions. North koreas rhetoric and actions continue despite United Nations center and sanctions while iran remains the long term challenge. All the while, terrorist groups murder the innocent and threaten peace in the regions and target us. A third force, acting on the department is adversary contesting americas capabilities. For decades, the United States enjoyed uncontested or dominant superiority in every realm. We can deploy our forces when we wanted, assemble them where we wanted and operate how we wanted. Today, every operating domain, air, sea, land and cyber space is contested. Fourth concurrent force is rapid tech know logical change. Among the other forces noted this far, innovative forces that denied us by law when forced to operate under continuing resolutions. Each of the four forces, 16 years of war, contested operations in multiple domains and the rapid pace of tech know logical change requires stable budgets to provide for the protection of our citizens and the survival of our freedoms. I reiterate that security and insolvency are my watch words. The fundamental responsibility of our government is fund the American People, providing our security and we cannot fund america and help others if our nation is not strong and solvent. We, in the department of defense owe it to the public and congress to spend every dollar wisely. President trump nominated Senate Approval for individuals to bring fiscal processes to ensure we do so. This first step to restoring readiness is under way. Thanks to congress willingness to support the administration for 21 billion in resources for fiscal year 2017 to address vital war fighting short falls, your support put more aircraft in the air, more ships to sea and more troops in the field to train. However, we all recognize it will take a number of years of higher funding, delivered on time to restore readiness. President trump requested a 639 billion top line for the 2018 Defense Budget. This budget reflects five priorities. First priority, continuing to improve war fighter readiness in fy 2017, filling in the holes from trade offs made during 16 years of war, nine years of continuing resolutions and budget control caps. The second priority is increasing capacity while preparing for future investment driven by results from the National Defense strategy. Our 2018 budget request will be sustained and continuization of the modernization process. The third priority is reforming how the department does business. I am devoted to gaining full value from every taxpayer value earning the trust of congress and the American People. We have begun implementation of a range of initiatives directed by the 2017 authorization act and are on track to enter into a full agency wide Financial Statement audit as required by statute. I urge congress to support the request for authority to conduct a 2021 base realignment and closure or background. I recognize the careful deliberation that members must exercise in considering it. It is one of the most successful and significant programs. We forecast a properly focused base closure effort will generate 2 billion or more annually over a fiveyear period, enough to buy three apache helicopters or four virginia class submarines. The fourth priority is keeping faith with Service Members and their families. Talented people are the departments most valuable asset. We must balance these requirements against other investments critical to rea readiness, equipment to make sure the military is the most capable war fighting force in the world. Investment, blended retirement, the Health System and family programs are essential to fielding the talent we need to sustain our competitive advantage on the battlefield. The fifth is overseas operations. The fy 2018 president budget requires 64. 6 billion. Folks seen on operations in afghanistan, iraq and syria. Increasing efforts to sustain natos defenses to deter aggression and global counterterrorism operations. Isis and other terrorist organizations present a clear and present danger. I am encouraged by allies and partners to share the burden of this campaign. Moving forward, the fy 2019 budget by the National Defense strategy will have to make hard changes. The department will work with President Trump, congress and the committee to ensure future requests are sustainable and provide the commander in chief viable military options. I am keenly aware each of you understand responsibility we share to ensure our military is ready to fight today and in the future. I need your help to inform your fellow members of congress about the reality facing our military and the need for congress, as a whole, to pass a budget on time. Thank you for your strong support over many years and ensuring our troops have the resources to fight and win on the battlefield. I pledge to collaborate closely with you to keep our armed forces second to none. Chairman dunford is prepared to discuss the dimensions of the budget request. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member smith, its an honor to join secretary mattis and norquist here tonight. Im representing your men and with women in uniform. I can begin saying your armed forces today are the most capable in the world. However, the advantage the United States long enjoyed is eroding. Since 9 11, a high operational tempo accelerated the wear and tear of weapons and equipment. Budget instability and the control act enforce the department to operate with few resources for the strategy of record. As a consequence, we have near term readiness at the expense of equipment. We maintained a force that consumes readiness as fast as we build it. Rebuilding and maintaining full spectrum readiness. They have addressed the dynamic in their testimony and i fully concur with their assessments. We have another significant challenge that i think is near term. Focused on the threat of extremism, adversaries and potential adversaries have operational approaches and designed to limit the power. Our ability to project power is the capability necessary to defend the homeland, advance interest and meet the Alliance Commitments. Sex secretary mattis these are specifically designed to limit our ability to deploy, employ and sustain our forces. Russia and china modernized a Nuclear Arsenal and north korea on a path to fill a icpm that can reach the United States. In a few years, if we dont change the projectry, we will lose our competitive advantage. The consequences will be profound. It will affect the Nuclear Deterrents or conventional deterrents and ability to respond if it fails. Alternatively, we can maintain the advantage with sustained funding. To the end, fy 18 budget is an essential request. This will not restore readiness or the erosion. Doing this will require an investment beyond fy 18. Specific recommendations for fy 19 and beyond. We know a budget 3 above inflation is the floor necessary to preserve the relative competitive advantage. We ask for your support. While we do that, we recognize the trust to the american taxpayer. We take it seriously and will eliminate redundancies where possible. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you. Thanks for ensuring americas sons and daughters are in a fair flight. With that, im ready for your questions. Thank you. Do you have a statement you would li