moment. >> something else i saw firsthand wasn't a surprise to me but it was the outpouring love from you, my colleagues, both republican and democrat. i know right after the shooting we were practicing and democrats were practicing too and my colleague and friend and sometimes arch rival and baseball from back home in new orleans, unfortunately the star too many times, somehow figured which hospital i was sent to and got there probably the first person there on the scene in his baseball uniform to check on me. so many others of you, again, both republican and democrat reached out in ways that i can't express the gratitude of how much it means to me, jennifer and her whole family. it really does show the warm side of congress that very few people get to see. >> c-span, powered by cable.

>> defense secretary lloyd austin and joint chief of staff chair answered questions from lawmakers regarding the biden administration's decision to pause weapon shipment to israel amid the country's ongoing war with hamas before appropriation hearing in the senate's 2025 budget request. this is about two hours ying on

conflict between israel and hamas and the russia-ukraine war. appointing before a senate appropriations -- on the 2025 budget request. you're watching live coverage on c-span3 . >> i want to call this hearing to order. good morning. i want to welcome our witnesses, secretary austin and general brown. we appreciate you being with us here today. general brown, this is your first appearance before the subcommittee. your position today, and i want to thank you for your commitment and long-standing service to our nation.

secretary austin, lester, when you testified before this committee, we discussed the -- default. thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and we were able to come together with a bipartisan matter to avoid a catastrophic government shutdown but we have failed miserably in getting the budget down on time. here we are, more than halfway through the fiscal year and you just got your budget, albeit six months late. these repeated delays have real impact and i hope you will illustrate for us the impact of these late budgets and constant continuing resolutions. we are meeting today to discuss dod's $803.5 billion budget request for the next fiscal year. this is a 1% increase above last year's budget and it is consistent with the budget caps that were agreed to in the bipartisan fiscal responsibility act. on a side note, i will tell you

this, mr. secretary. the ranking member collins and myself think we need a bigger number. that reason for that, and you know this better than i, is because of we are going to invest in future technologies, this number has to be bigger. the military services and the commands are telling us they have unfunded requirements and excess of $20 billion. the price of fuel is much higher, our military is engaged in operations around the world. the national security supplemental that congress cleared just last month, some eight months after the ministration presented addresses some of those concerns . it includes important funds that support ukraine's continue fighting -- we have given to the ukrainians, supports israel's air defense capability , and provides much-needed infusion of cash to pay for operations in the red sea and investing capabilities critical.

that alone will not help you or us get the job done. because of the bipartisan budget caps on the fy 25 budget request is roughly $10 billion below what you had planned for last year at this time. we need to understand what risk this lower budget creates for military personnel for operations around the globe and the modernization efforts. we have to get a budget done so the men and women in uniform can go about their business of keeping america safe. i support the ongoing efforts to chart a path forward that will work and will work with anyone to get this job done. once again, thank you, gentlemen, for being here. thank you for your testimony, before you begin your opening remarks, i want to recognize susan collins, senator collins, for her opening statement. >> thank you very much, chairman tester, for holding

this very important hearing. general brown, as this is your first time testifying before the subcommittee, in your capacity as chairman of the joint steve substance -- chiefs of staff, let me join the chairman and extending a special welcome to you. i also want to thank both of our witnesses, as well as the comptroller for your service and the service of the men and women you represent. i look forward to hearing from you, how the president's fiscal year 2025 budget request will affect the department's implementation of the 2022 national defense security strategy. the goals of which i largely support. we must be clear that this budget request would represent a real cut in funding for the department of defense, as it

fails to keep pace with inflation. it proposes a defense funding increase of just 1%, $8.6 million, relative to the current fiscal year. that amount is well short of the 22.5 billion year over year increase that the department would need, simply to cover projected costs relating to fuel, military and civilian pay and medical care. this is a nearly $14 billion shortfall. it being said, the presidents request shifts funding away from modernization, readiness, and procurement. to cover these must pay costs, if the world were becoming safer, then perhaps it could be absorbed with little risk and national security, but unfortunately, that is not the world in which

we live. russian president vladimir putin continues his brutal bombardment in ukraine. hamas refuses to return the remaining 133 hostages, including five americans who have been held for 214 days since hamas' attack on israel. iran and its proxies continue to fan the flames of violence throughout the middle east and china's military budgets and navy continue to grow, including a 7.2% increase in defense spending in the chinese budget, compared to last year. in the past few months, two of our combatant commanders have told me that the threats we

face today are the most dangerous than any that they have seen in any time during their careers. in addition, we see a resurgence of isis, k, and other -- blinking red in terms of a potential terrorist attack on us were western allies. indeed, we've seen terrorist attacks. the proposed inventory divestment and cuts to shift the vehicle and aircraft procurement, included in the presidents budget request would require us to incur excessive risk without there being any discernible reduction in the threats facing our country. the budget request would result in the smallest air force fleet in the service history. we would have the smallest army since the start of the

volunteer force in 1973. our naval fleet of 290 ships is already small, -- more than 370 . under this budget, the navy's overall fleet would grow by just one ship, a single ship, during the next five years. far fewer than the -- china will have. the technological and high-end capabilities that we have enjoyed since the end of the cold war is also eroding. it's being directly challenged by china and russia. on a more positive note, i want to commend you, mr. secretary, and your teams, for efforts to make the department more innovative and, in taking steps

to strengthen the industrial base. finally, i would be remiss if i did not use this opportunity to thank chairman tester and chair murray for working with leader mcconnell over the last several months. indeed, this entire subcommittee, to get the national security supplemental across the finish line. these investments will help to strengthen our own military and defense industrial base, while supporting key partners abroad. from the portsmouth naval yard in southern maine to the defense finance accounting service facility in northern maine along our canadian border, and many places in between, thousands of mainers proudly support and contribute to our nation's defense, -- which builds naval destroyers and -- which manufactures

military jet engines perform essential roles in support of our national security. all of the men and women who serve our country, whether in uniform or in the defense industrial base or as a civilian federal employee deserve a budget that supports them. i look forward to hearing from our distinguished witnesses today. >> thank you, senator collins. first up, we will have secretary austin. appreciate you being here, mr. secretary. you have the floor. >> chairman tester, ranking member collins, establish members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of president biden's proposed fiscal year 20 2025 for the department of defense. i'm pleased to be joined by our outstanding chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general cq brown and the departments comptroller, michael corr. let

me thank you for supporting everything we do -- and our military families. -- and succeeding through teamwork. are budget request for fiscal year 2025 will advance all three of these priorities. first, the presidents request will invest in cutting-edge capabilities across all domains. that includes $48.1 billion for naval and shipbuilding capabilities, $61.2 billion to reinforce u.s. air dominance, and $13 billion to reinforce army and marine corps combat capabilities. our request will also -- to strengthen our space architecture and $14.5 billion to develop and field advanced

cyber security tools. it will direct $49.2 billion to modernize and recapitalize all three -- of our nuclear triad. it will sharpen our tech edge through $167.5 billion investment in procurement and $143.2 billion in r&d. second, this budget request will support our outstanding troops in their families -- and their families. that includes raising baseplate -- base pay and investing in better housing, making childcare more affordable and -- sexual assault and suicide in the military. third, this request will help the department further deepen our teamwork, worldwide. our network of allies and partners remains a strategic advantage that no competitor can match. you can see it's power in our strengthening ties across the indo pacific, and in today's

expanded and united nato and in the 50 country ukraine defense contact route that i convene. are budget remains rooted in the 2022 national defense strategy. i request positions the united states to tackle the departments pacing challenge, the people's republic of talent -- china, with accuracy. it will help meet the acute threat of putin , it will help take on the threats from north korea and global terrorist organizations, and other malign actors and it will help us continue to deter aggression against the united states and our allies and partners and to prevail in combat, if necessary. not today, i want to underscore three key messages. even as our budget requests

abides by the mandatory camps set by the physical response ability act, it's aligned to our strategy. we may tough but responsible decisions that prioritize readiness, modernization of the joint force, and support for our troops in the families. our approach dials back some near-term not set to come online until the 2030s. second, we can only fully reach the goals of our strategy with your help. i'm grateful that congress passed a fiscal year 2024 appropriations in march and the single greatest way that congress can support the department is to pass predictable, sustained, and timely appropriations. my third and final message is that the price of u.s. leadership is real. but it is far lower than the price of u.s. advocation. we are in a global struggle between democracy and autocracy and our security relies on american strength of purpose.

>> israel is committing war crimes. it is to be in violation of u.s. law. -- >> you may proceed. >> in our security relies on american strength of purpose, and that's why our budget request seeks to invest in american security and in america's defense industrial base. the same is true for the recently passed national security supplemental that will support our partners in israel, ukraine, and taiwan, making investments to increase submarine production. creating

good jobs and more than 30 states. so we are grateful for our partners in congress who help us make the investments needed to strengthen america's security through both the supplemental and the president's budget request. united states military is the most lethal fighting force on earth. with your help, we are going to keep it that way. i deeply appreciate your support for our mission and our troops, and i look forward to your questions. thank you, chairman. >> secretary austin, thank you for your testimony. next, we will have general brown. general brown, you have the floor. >> distinguished members of the -- i'm honored to join but to appear before you today. -- -- i want to thank you for passing the -- which provides

vital support to our allies, and our defense industrial base. strengthen our -- in preparation for any future contingency. the global security environment is increasingly complex. the 2022 national defense strategy identifies five key challenges. the people's republic of china, our pacing challenge, continues its risky behavior around the globe. in newly aggressive russia, with its unprovoked war against ukraine. a reckless iran, we saw a few weeks ago, who attempts to escalate -- with proxy forces. destabilizing north korea, which threatens regional security, and -- which leverage instability to advance their cause. these challenges are interconnected, which demands a strategic approach addressing the immediate threats while preparing for future

contingencies. it requires all of us to operate with a sense of urgency. days after becoming chairman, i laid out three expectations in my message to the joint force. -- modernizing with new concepts and approaches, and trust is the foundation of our profession. our military exist to fight our nation's wars. we train every day to ensure we are still good at what we do that we deter the adversary for engaging u.s. in conflict. this budget request hundred $47 billion to sustain readiness and ensure the department can counter near-term threats. we are also focused on better integrating our allies and partners and are planning operations by investing in critical programs and capability, exercises, training, and in operability. investments ensure the joint force can respond when the nation calls. while we are focused on this

today, it is critical to modernize these concepts to prepare for tomorrow. -- to outpace our competitors while transforming from costly legacy platforms that are no longer relevant to the threat. this budget strategically invest one point -- to equip the joint force with unparalleled combat capabilities across every campaign. this budget also invest hundred $43.2 billion in research, the test and future communities -- capabilities. finally, it digital innovation, multiyear procurement of critical and the strengthened industrial base. with rapidly evolving threats, modernization is critical. lastly, trust is the foundation. joint force must build upon and

uphold the trust of each other, trust of our families, trust of our elected leaders, and trust of our nation. enhancing the quality of service on the quality of life for our personnel is not just an obligation. it's a strategic imperative. the budget includes investments in quality of service efforts, such as advanced training, educational benefits, and career development, while also investing in projects like housing, medical clinics, and childcare facilities. as well as funding -- and robust programs to combat sexual assault. we must create an environment where all can reach their full potential. trust that our joint force stands ready, ready to defend our national interest, ready to deter aggression, and ready, if necessary, to fight and win our

nation wars. i think you for your support and collaboration to face the security challenges of the day and prepare for tomorrow. we are living in consequential times and there's no time to waste. thank you, and i look forward to your questions. >> thank you for your statement, general brown, and there will probably be be multiple rounds, but there will be five minutes per member. this is for you, secretary austin. the budget request is consistent with the fiscal responsibility act however, the proposed growth is below current inflation levels. it does not account for billions of dollars for additional requirements in identified by the military services. as has been pointed out by both of you, this is a very dangerous time that we live in my lifetime, probably comparable to the early 60s with the cuban missile crisis. so, mr. secretary, where are you taking a risk because of this budget cap? i should say, where are we taking risk because this budget cap. >> thank you, chairman.

first of all, our budget continues to be strategy driven. over the last several years, we have worked hard to make sure that we link the budget requests to the strategy and that has been, in my view the best approach to constructing the budget. but to me to the caps approved by congress, we have to make some tough but responsible choices. we prioritized near-term readiness, as you heard me say earlier, chairman. we decided not to invest in some modernization that would not deliver results before 2030 and we invested in our people and our families. the kinds of decisions that we had to make were tough

decisions that we had to make, things like fifth and sixth generation aircraft, but having said that, our budget does include, as you heard me say earlier, $143.2 billion for rdt any -- and hundred -- because we respect -- expected some risk we will need to have a growth and a top line in the years to make sure that we can recapture some of the things that we were not able to get into. >> so let me follow up on that. you talked about, you're going to focus on the projects that can give you results before 2030.

so that means basically, with this budget, what we are doing is we are putting off expenditures into future budget cycles because these projects after 2030 are projects that will have to be taken care of fiscally, correct? >> that's correct, chairman, and our plan is to, going forward, invest in those things, but we weren't able to do it in this budget. we've prioritized near-term readiness in taking care of our people and i believe that is the right approach. >> you believe that in future budgets, if we are able to invest in those projects that we would be able to catch up and remain on schedule? >> i do, chairman, provided, if we are provided the resources and the growth in the top line in the out years that we will ask for. >> general brown, you talked about where we are today. is there operational impacts from this budget today over the next year and what impact does

this have, say, five years down the line? >> for operational impact, because in our focus on radius, i don't see operational impacts. now is the secretary highlighted, we had to diverse our modernization. we think a decade from now, there's potential challenges that if we don't get the additional support and topline. >> excuse me, what kind of challenges are we talking about when you say additional challenges. >> well, part of it was the modernization. the thing i focused on was ensuring we have both the capability and capacity. we have to make sure that we have the capability, it stays ahead of the threat and we also have to be able to operate in many of the areas around the world like we do today and that is where we need to make sure we are working closely together on the out years to ensure that we can actually continue to modernize and make sure we stay

ahead of the fray. >> senator collins. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. secretary, let me follow up on the chairman's question by asking you a very basic question and that is if you had your preference, would you be operating under a 1% increase? in other words, do you think that congress should revisit the 1% cap that is imposed by the fiscal responsibility act? >> currently, the cat makes it more challenging and forces us to make choices that, if we didn't have that cap, we obviously would have to make. so yes, it does provide more challenges but certainly, we have worked hard to link our

request to arch strategy and as much of our strategy as we can support, we are going to support. >> thank you. i want to switch to a different issue on october 25th, 2023, that was the darkest day in maine history in my lifetime. 18 mainers lost their lives, 13 others were injured, in the worst mass shooting that we have seen. the killer, robert card, was a sergeant first class in the u.s. army reserve. the governor of maine established an independent commission that has issued an interim report, and that report included several very troubling findings about missed opportunities to -- prevent

this tragedy. for instance, mental health providers recommended that, quote, measures be taken to safely remove all firearms and weapons from his home. the army reserve reserve action -- access to military weapons. this recommendation was never communicated by the army to relevant law enforcement agencies in maine. we had members of mr. cards unit raising alarms with their supervisors about their fear that he was extremely dangerous. he actually assaulted a fellow soldier. he was institutionalized for two weeks at a hospital for those -- we have an inspector

general's report that was underway to look at this more thoroughly. after i receive that report, i intend to draft legislation that would require our military services to report to the appropriate authorities when someone, when a service member poses a threat to him or herself or to others while protecting the second amendment rights of our service members. would you commit to working with me on such legislation to establish formal policies and procedures so that we can ensure that our military services share this kind of relevant information with law enforcement and with state

officials under the appropriate state laws? >> thank you, center. first of all, this was a tragedy, and my thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected by this tragedy. the health and welfare of our troops is very important to me. at the top of mind, all the time. so is the health and welfare of them my community members. so absolutely. we will work with you to ensure that we have the mechanisms to, where appropriate, pass relevant information to authorities and as i look forward to my staff engaging your staff on this issue going forward. >> thank you very much. >> senator -- >> thank you, mr. chairman. welcome, mr. secretary, general brown, and mr. mccord .

secretary austin, while i am glad that we were able to pass the national security supplemental, i think all of us were relieved that that happened, what we have seen is that russia's industrial base has been able to increase production in part due to sanctions, in part because they're getting assistance from the pubic peoples republic of china and we know that -- those are the same drones that they are using in the middle east to kill american servicemembers and attack us so, can you talk a little bit about how the administration is seeking to limit industrial base cooperation between russia and china and what, in this budget, will help us do that? >> we certainly have raised this issue in the right channels,

senator, and you are right. prior to, at one point, russia had experienced significant losses because of the work that ukraine and its forces was doing. they had inflicted significant casualties on the russian forces, destroyed a significant amount of its equipment, and so to your point, we saw the russia engaged north korea. provided quite a bit of munitions and missiles. the drones provided by iran really kind of help begin to turn the tide there for russia a bit and allow them to kindly get back up on their feet. in addition to them increasing their production in their industrial base but without the help from iran, north korea and

china, to your point, this probably would not have occurred to the degree that it has occurred. so we have engaged in the right channels to emphasize our serious concerns about the prc and others providing this sort of support. as you know, there are sanctions that we continue to look at in a number of areas and now, we revisit those sections to ensure that we are being as effective as we can, and that continues to be a work in progress. so this is the whole of government effort and again, >> well, thank you. clearly we still have work toen do. secretary austin the last time i saw you before the armed services committee we talked about the 60 minutes report about health incidents and you

committed to -- genesis of those incident. but one of the other aspects of that are the personnel who have been affected by those health incidents and in dod the appropriate -- the fiscal year appropriation's bill for dod in 2024 provided funding specific for payments to victims of health incidents and there's funding in 2025 to provide payments as well but the rule-making that is required to get those payments out the door has not yet happened. will you commit to this committee that the department will work on that and provide the required payments to victims?pa >> absolutely. >> and do you know when dod plans to publish its final regulations around this issue? >> i'll have to get back to you on that. >> if you could get back to the

committee, i would appreciate that, i know that we have a number of people who are waiting for help who have been affected. one of the areas where we still have challenges is in the area of disinformation and misinformation. so can you talk about how the budget invest in our capabilities for cyber and the information to counter what we are seeing from virtually all of our adversaries. >> there's areas that we invest in the information domain, in particular there's's about $14.5 billion in our cyber capabilities for both offensive and defensive cyber. there's about $1.8 billion for artificial intelligence to better understand he would use that and also important how our adversaries would use intelligence against us is really, again, how we bring

together our data and using our data and having ways to handle the misinformation and make sure we stay ahead in the cyber realm to get the information out and get the facts out early and part of this is not only investment in the technology but investment of training of our force to move at the pace the way information moves today. that's something we will continue to work on as well. >> well, thank you, my time sufficient. ich hope we are working with the global engagement center at the department of state because clearly this is an area where we have equal amount of work to do, thank you. >> chairman, thank you. mr. secretary, thank you for your presence and service. the administration has halted a shipment of american-made ammunitions to israel even if the administration's goal to reach a ceasefire agreement does this not send the wrong message to our ally israel and embolden

iran and iranian backed groups. we should not be signaling to enemies but support is conditional. many of us in this room worked hard to get aid included and passed by the house and senate in the emergency supplemental. my questions on this topic are three, should we be concerned that the aidd that was included in that recent supplemental is in jeopardy of withheld from israel, did the secretary of state secretary blinken consult with you on this decision and do yould agree that that halting u. assistance to israel emboldens its enemies. >> thanks, senator. first of all, commitment to israel's security as you have seen from the very beginning we have -- billions of dollars of

assistance in rapid pace into israel and as you just mentioned with your help and we are grateful for this, we just passed the largest ever supplemental appropriation and most recently on april 11th and 14th you saw us lead an unprecedented coalition to defend israel as iran attack israel with significant number of drones and ballistic missiles. with that said, we are currently reviewing some near term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in rafa. >> so you agree with the pause, i know you were consulted and agreed with the pause,

mr. secretary? >> again, i think we haven't made any decisions, we did pause as we reevaluated some of the security assistance that we are providing to -- >> stop the clock so jerry gets his full 2 and a half minutes. >> we have been very clear, that israel shouldn't launch a major attack in rafa without accounting for and protecting the civilians that are in that battle space and -- and, again, as we have assessed the situation, we paused one shipment of high payload

ammunitions and again i think we've also been very clear about the steps that we'd like to see israel take to account for, to take care of those civilians before major combat takes place and we certainly would like to see no major combat take place in rafa but certainly our focus is making sure that we protect the civilians. again, we've not made a final determination on how to proceed with the -- with that shipment and i would highlight that this -- this shipment doesn't have anything to do with the supplemental appropriations that you just said helped us -- helped us get and my final comment is that we are absolutely committed to continuing to support israel in its right to defend itself. >> mr. secretary, thank you, i worry about the suggestion that support of the united states is conditional. let me turn to a different topic. legislative proposal 480.

the national guard, codictates the national guard equities cannot be withdrawn without the consent of state's governor. i'm informed that recently governors from 53 states and territories wrote you a letter opposing legislative proposal would you tell me what the department's thoughts are, do you consult with governors and based -- >> i have received from the governor, senator and most recently secretary of the year has reached out and engaged the governors to talk about this issue and explain the rationale. as you know when we stood up space force, we took on units

and people that were focused on the space mission and incorporated from the air force, from the army, native, incorporated those people and units into the space wars. this -- this measure will affect, i believe, a small number of people but i certainly understand the governor's concerns and we owe it to the governors to engage on them and secretary of the year has engaged them personally. >> i encourage that to occur. >> chairman of the full appropriations committee senator murray. >> thank you very much, chair tester and thank you for the witnesses for joining us today. right now we face a number of serious challenges across the globe. that's why vice chair and collins pushed through the gridlock to hammer out and pass a strong national security package that sent support to our allies especially ukraine, humanitarian aid to civilians

and message to allies and adversaries alike that america is still strong enough and united enough to lead the free world. we didn't just pass a bill, we passed a critical test on the world staining and something i don't want anyone to forget, the bill in the house eventually passed was identical to the one the house passed earlier. the delay was not without cost, allies lost precious time and resources during those two months that we can't recover. this is similar to the cost that we face each time we flirt with the government shutdown or put the government on autopilot under continuing resolutions. those situations come with cost and notably neither china nor russia face the threat of a government shutdown or a cr. i'm certain all this agree that democracies are stronger than dictatorships but we have got to prove it and that will take bipartisanship because as we all

know, our work is not done. we must make small investments to help promote global conflict and stability which, of course, keeps our country safe. that means ensuring our military remains the best in the world, supporting the men and women in uniform who sacrifice greatly to keep our country safe, having allies back and taking all of the government approach to keep our country strong and secure. we are working with tight fiscal constraints but secretary ossin we make sure not only that your department has the resources need today execute our national defense strategy but that your counterparts across government also have the resources they need to keep our country safe. the 1% increase in funding provided for fy25 under the cap is an adequate for nondefense spending and we all know this

very clearly. so as members talk about how we might increase investments to better meet defense needs, we cannot ignore our needs here at home as well. when it comes to additional resources about the caps which the vice chair and others have mentioned i'm going to insist on parity for nondefense spending to make sure we are providing for our children and families keeping them safe. after all our safety also depends around the world and counterterrorism efforts and law enforcement personnel work to go identify and disrupt threats are public health system and pandemic response efforts, the officials enforcing our sanctions to help choke off resources to dictators like putin, the chinese communist party and ensuring we remain on cutting-information of research and manufacturing and so much more. so with that in mind, secretary, can you talk about your work

with your counterparts whether that's state, commerce and other agencies and how their efforts assist the work that you do to keep the country safe and national defense strategy? >> you've heard a number of sect rays say chair murray, that if we don't find state and others to the right level then we are going to need more bullets because they do great and important work to -- to move things towards greater stability and security in all regions of the world. and so it's this whole of government effort, this interaction between departments, in support of our overall goals and objectives that really is what causes us to be effective, so it's important that they do

get -- they do get supported. >> thank you, that includes our veterans and challenges they are having with the va budget. secretary on $60 billion to support ukraine, a package this committee worked on for months, the war continues in third year, how is funding being used, what improvements are we seeing on the front lines? >> it's still very early on as you know it does take time to get some of this capability in but we in anticipation of the potential of getting the supplemental approved we forward position some things, critical things like air defense interceptors and artillery ammunitions if it were to approved we would be able to rapidly move those things in support of ukraine and we are doing that and, you know, i talked to my counterpart in

ukraine every week, just talked to him yesterday, as a matter of fact, and checking on how that's going, what his most critical needs are and -- and i think, again, this is going to be very, very helpful but to your point, it's hard to buy back time but given that i think without this help ukraine would -- would have a very tough time defending against what is superior force with the russians. and is our inventary here at home being replenished? >> the supplemental will help in that regard. we want to make sure that -- that we -- we do have the ability to replenish our stocks and as we have drawn down some of the stocks and provided weapons and -- and vehicles to ukraine, we will replace those weapons with newer models and --

and all of that work flows through our industrial base and it'll affect 30 different states in the country and that creates good jobs, good-paying jobs for americans and we remain excited about that. .. ..f35 power training center n

the future it is important this mission begins on time with the necessary resources. can you speak to how this would strengthen the war fighting capabilities and create an enduring advantage our allies and partners? >> this clearly provides the capability for us to enhance our interoperability and it's a great platform, great capability. the training is always first rate because of the commitment of our trainers. there's a lot of countries that capability and having the ability to train is

absolutely important so it contributes to the overall reign of the combined force. interoperability means having the right policies and procedures but it also means the ability to work together with our comrades in other countries so this face-to-face work that is conducted in places like this i think is critical. >> general brown, you and i recently visited a munitions production facility and a soul the urgent need for the defense industrial base to increase capacity and replenish our stockpiles. the passage of the $95 billion security supplemental will proves that when we provide assistance to our allies and partners we strengthen our defense industrial base as well.

this fiscal year congress also approved a multiyear procurement for six missile programs for the first time. a general brown, what impact will the multiyear procurement authority have on the defense industrial base and specifically munitions production? >> what it does is provide opportunity for consistency to be able to provide demand so they can actually get a workforce, have a supply chain and know what to forecast for over several years. i think that is going to help us in the long run because that will help build trust, help drive down cost and end sure we get the capability to deliver on time. we have been consistency it's going to decrease that and increase the cost then also increase how long it is going to take to get the capabilities in the hands of a war fighter so

the procurement and the supplemental, federal investment is hugely important not only for allies and partners but for the force as well. >> i appreciate you getting out and about i know you are traveling in these places and again i think that's really important. i appreciatee the focus taking care of people. for increases the housing allowances and the quadrennial review is due to be completed by january, 2025 and in the meantime there's also multiple recommendations to enhance pay flexibility for service members including certain career fields and targeted raises for junior

enlisted service members. in your opinion where would it be most effective if implemented? >> let me thank you for the support you've given us. as you've pointed out we are asking for 4.5% pay raise in this budget request were to take it back a bit, and 234.6% pay raise you supported us on that andt, then the fiscal year 24 budget we asked you for a 5.2% pay raise and that's the largest pay raise in 20 years. so when you add those together, that's a pretty meaningful increase. my goal is to provide reduced cost on troops and families and provide more resources.

anything we do in terms of these types of actions to answer your questions does reduce the strain on the troops and families. whether or not we can do that going forward certainly any recommendation that is made we will have to do in an analysis in terms of how it affects the budget now and intoet the futur. so as you propose different things, we certainly look to work with you and provide you that an analysis. >> thank you mr. chairman. >> thank you chair, vice chair. mr. secretary, thanks for being here. i want to talk about the closure and remediation. once the decision was taken to shut downll red hill, that part went relatively smoothly and was ahead of schedule and then

there's the whole enterprise of the new concept as it relates to fuel in the pacific. i'm going to set that aside for the moment because the thing that community is working on and thinking about the most is long-term health impacts and environmental impacts and of the appropriated money that we provided to the department is allocated for that. we have some broad categories for what i think is called community response but i would love it if you would articulated both at the conceptual level and as granular matters what you're thening to do with of remainder as it relates to making sure none of that eventually makes its way back into any of those aquifers and anyone that's been harmed by ingesting gets taken care of by the department.

>> as you mentioned, once the d fueling was complete, we stood down the task force and then stood up a task force that the navy is now in charge of and it is charged with environmental remediation. i've had personal conversations with both a leader of the task force and thefo secretary of the navy on how important this is and they are committed to ensuring that they do the right things to make sure we get this right going forward. we owe it to the members of the community to ensure that we do in fact do this. in terms of specific amounts of funds that are allocated to each segment of this, i have to take that for the record and come

back to you. >> we just got briefed on it yesterdayy and it's still categories 95 million here, 32 million there, five, 62 going into the task force. we don't even know what these numbers mean, but the community is askinge what is happening wh the money. it has to be obligated by the end of this fiscal year and so time is short so if we can get it done with that it doesn't have to be with you but it can be any member of your team and that would be very -- >> with your permission i would like to thank you and the delegation for your continued support. withoutwi that we probably wouldn't have the adequate resources to do the things that are going to need to be done going forward. >> thank you. ane general brown, you know the amount this committee can providee us finite given that te indo pacific is the prayer ready

theater. less diplomatically than microgrid question what keeps you up at night, what are the unfunded priorities that you think we need to take a look at in the indo pacific? >> i'm very confident in the joint force so there's not much that keeps youou up late at nigt but we have the capability capacity for the joint force. so it is the things we highlighted earlier in the hearing that if we had to differ because of the fiscal responsibility, so i want to make sureal that we have that capability and capacity. it's also the multiyear procurement that we spoke about on munitions. also what a strong defense industrial base. i want the vantage not only with our joint force of our allies

and partners. >> a little bit outside of the committeee that on the committee as well if anything certainly in the state a lot of the dod's assets are on the infrastructure so it's exciting to fund, electrical redundancy but we are not capable if we do not have those things operating well. so let's at least elevate it even though it's not the kind of thing that you do a ribbon-cutting for if you are a good politician. so, thank you. >> all those things cost money and it's another reason we need to revisit. thank you mr. chairman and all of you for being here for your great service tohe the country.

a secretary austin, i am a little concerned, very concerned about the credibility of the administration's deterrence policy. when i see president biden messaging the groups i just think president biden saying don't. we've had people not adhering to that and i am concerned we are eroding our deterrence by setting these sort of ambiguous boundaries and letting our and adversaries walk all over. what steps are you taking to establish a more credible deterrence against these threats from the adversaries? >> i take it that you are speaking about the middle east. so, we had a number of goals at the very beginning and one of

them was to protect people and troops and civilians in the region. another was to recover the hostages in another was to ensure that we are doing everything we can to support their efforts. and to ensure that we contain this and not have a regional conflict breakout. so you saw early on some pretty substantial capabilities to discourage people from trying to do that from trying to blow this into a regional conflict and i think even though there's been dustup throughout the region, we don't see a regional conflict at this point you will recall

leading up to january we saw a number of attacks against our troops into bases and use all of us in february conduct a pretty major strike but the president authorized in both iraq and syria. since that time we have seen two incidences and attribute those actions to rogue elements, so in that case they have been deterred from attacking our troops. but in terms of iran and its actions in the region iran continues to present a threat to the region and that is something we are going to have to remain infocused on for sure. >> let me ask both of you a question here about the reports that we all voted many of us.

to reinvigorate not just our own defense industrial also what is the status of withholding weaponry that we voted to send to israel? are we doing that? why are we doing that? our commitment is ironclad. as i said earlier billions of dollars for the security assistance and as you mentioned the largest supplemental and we are going to continue to do what is necessary to support israel. >> are those reports falls? >> false? >> we are currently reviewing

some shipments in the context of the unfolding events. >> so we are withholding our shipments of weapons predicated on the strategy that israel is employing is that the bottom line? >> we've not made any final decisions on this yet, but yes there are some things we are taking a closer look at. >> thanks for clarifyingg it. i wouldn't say that i agree with thank you for clarifying. this is one of the things that has come up. how did you see that now that we've passed this into the president signed it? >> it's going to put us on a much better path not just the

supplemental but the 24 national defense authorization act which allowed the multiyear procurement. i wouldn't look to expand that in the future because what that will doo is provide for the defense industrial base so they can work at the facilities and supply chains and allow us to make sure we have capacity from the nation standpoint. >> so we are on the glide path to renew the munitions applies to a satisfactory level? >> we are on a good path. on another piece, getting the budget on time is important to provide that level of consistency to write the contracts and gives the defense industrial base the confidence they can trust him have that workforce and supply change. >> i think we all hear you. thank you. >> thank you to the leadership

of the committee, the full mmcommittee chair, vice chair fr navigating some very challenging dynamics and getting ultimately delivered to the war fighters and all the different departments andd agencies supported in the supplemental, the critically needed additional funding. asit a member of the subcommitte i look forward to working with you. i have two questions i would like to focus on as you heard the chair and her compelling ing commentary, we need to coordinate between defense diplomacy and development to be as effective as possible particularly in places that are on the margins of the main conflict currently, occupying most of your time. i chair the subcommittee that funds the state department and usaid. five years ago president trump signed into law the global fragility act senator graham and i and two dozen other senators cosponsored and worked on and it's a simple proposition. it requirespr coordination betwn

the dod, usaid and state and fragile countries that are not yett failed states not yet the scenes of active combat, but wherebu we might implement the same sort of strategy we've pursued in columbia over along period of time to prevent a fragile state from becoming a failed state. one of my concerns has been the general lack of engagement. there are severals areas of fos and one of them happens to now be the subject of i think renewed intense engagement, coastal west africa. i visited the relevant base that is now being occupied by both russian and american troops as we are likely being forced to leave. i'm very concerned about the

security and stability region and our partners with whom we have trained and prepared for quite some time have been asking for years for additional assistance. mr. secretary, i would be interested in your input on what the plans are for taking advantage of this existing how we can coordinate planning between the diplomats, the development professionals and security professionals of the government and allied partners in an area that is newly of some focus because of the threats of violent extremist organizations. how do we plan to use this tool? >> we are fully committed to supporting the act and you are

right. as you know what we do, to group some thrives in ungoverned spaces and what we do is try to help countries develop their own capability to control their sovereign spaces but you've got to haver a reliable partner and in this case -- >> we could to spend a lot of time and not to be rude but i have very little time. we have an unreliable partner and i visited those facilities and regret the significant investment that we made will not likely move down to the benefit. i just was wondering how you see

prioritizing and partnering with states developing security plans for coastal west africa if i might. >> what i was going to say next you are right this is an importantrt area and we are working with state currently to address those places you mentioned and potentially develop a capability to have a presence and partner in a more significant way. and that work is ongoing now. >> i look forward to consulting with you both about this because i think there is an urgency from a security perspective. this is what keeps me up at night is a number of capable foreign terrorist organizations that seee this. if i might ask one last quick question. >> damn quick. >> i also recently visited in jordan and iraq the threat to

the forces posed by the low technology drones that iran is providing to russia at a scale. i see there's a specific counter funding this year's budget. just briefly speaking to the importance of having flexible funding and the ability to develop and deploy quickly state-of-the-art defenses to the troops. thank you. >> senator baldwin. >> thank you mr. chairman. mr. sec., the army continues to budget for tactical vehicles at rates below the minimum sustaining rates industry requires to keep production linesen open and further, the ay is risking a gap in production by transitioning to a company that has no experience in this platform so i'm worried the army

is due to complete a strategy this summer but i'm concerned about the ability to create itss own work frankly. the tactical wheeled vehicle sector is an important part of the overall industrial base and national security strategy. so mr. sec., can i count on sound decision-making on the vehicle programs and further, will you engage the office of the assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy in reviewing the management of the tactical vehicles and providing recommendations?

>> we want to have the capacity to address the needs going forward. >> wisconsin's industrial base s of course are always on my mind and i want to shift to the shift building. we are all troubled by the 75 day shipbuilding revieww that found major delays among most of the programs the navy estimates that it will be delayed by as many as 36 months. as you and i discussed last year we worked to secure funding for the workforcer development program that would support a growing the skilled workforce that we need to sustain robust production of the frigate. i'm disappointed it took 15 monthsga for the 2023 funds.

will you explain to the committee the importance of continuing to fully fund the program and its associated workforce development needs on a consistent annual basis and will you commit to work with mee to ensure the navy works diligently andbl responsibly to execute the funds? >> the budget does include requests for fully funding but to your point making sure we have the workforce to keep up with the demand is critical so to not only recruit to maintain the talent that is needed to do that and we have to continue to invest in that and pick up the pace. we will continue to work with our industry leaders.

i met with some industry leaders and talked about what we are doing with the resources that are being provided to invest in the industrial base and we will continueas to do that going forward. i think they are doing some things on their own to invest, but we have to work together in a more meaningful way to increase capacity. >> thank you. senator graham. rather than get an invite of the navy i want to agree with the following. the assessment requirement report said we need 381 man ships, 134 unmanned for a total fleet sizeee of 51554043. general brown, is that right? >> i'm not familiar with of the complete study but i do know that we need additional. i'm o just assuming the people

that issued this new what they y were talking about. we are on track to have 294 ships under the budget proposal, is that right? to 93 and 2030, 294. there must be a lot of shipbuilding. the problemm is money. it's not your fault. i'm not blaming anybody. i think the committee ought to look into an account if you believe the navy is essential that to comeco up with a sustainable plan to get the navy and shape to detour the war with china andto other places i think we've got to look at sort of modernization in a bipartisan discussion about the things you need to win the wars we hope we never have to fight by deterring

them. let'sha go to ukraine quick. general austin you said ukraine is a vital national security interest to the united states. do you agree it will send a signal of weakness? >> with all due respect, you're wrong in my view so i'm going to keep supporting ukraine. you've just confirmed that we are delaying transfer or stopping the transfer of certain weapons like to thousand pound bombs to israel. is that correct? >> we are assessing where we are right now. >> there are media reports that have happened, is that correct? >> that we've made a decision?

we made no decisions. >> are you worried if you make a decision to deny the weapons that israel says they need that they would send a signal to hamas and iran to keep pushing? >> we want to make sure we are providing the right kind of weaponry. >> would you have supported dropping the atomic bombs on hiroshima and nagasaki in world war ii? >> i think it is based on the situation where -- >> we know it's happened. do you think that was disproportionate? in hindsight do you think it was a decision to drop on the japanese cities in question? >> do you agree if you had been around and they said to drop

them? >> i agree with of the chairman. >> if they've got two atomic bombs, should we drop them, what would you say? >> i think the leadership was interested in curtailing -- >> what is israel interested in? doat you be a lot believe iran wants to kill all the jews that it could? do you believe that hamas is serious when they say we will keep doing it over and over again.al do you agree they will if they can? >> i do. >> do you believe that hezbollah is a terrorist organization and under the destruction of the jewish state? >> hezbollah is a dedicated to their destruction and you're telling me you're going to tell them how to fight the war and what they can or can't use when everybody around them wants to

kill all the jews and you're telling me that if we withhold weapons in this fight, the existential fight it will descend to the right to signal? do you think it's the right thing to get out of afghanistan? >> thi support the residence decision. >> it was ag disastrous decisi. if we stop the necessary weapons tois destroy the enemies of the state of israel at the time of great peril we will pay a price. this is obscene and absurd. give them what they need. this is hiroshima and nagasaki on steroids. >> senator murphy. >> it's pretty stunning how they failed to learn they tell us

there are substantial grave limitations to the ability of military force to eliminate a terrorist threat. in fact history tells us that the application of overwhelming military force can in fact grow terrorist threats, not shrink them you said israel has the right to defend itself. i agree that if the strategy is making it more likely that the attacks will occur then it's not an effective strategy. it's all well and good to get angry about a conversation with israel over the right strategy

to defeat terrorism, but we have lots of experience in failed strategies. the national intelligence estimate released just earlier this year said the gaza crisis has galvanized violence by a range of actors around the world and while it's too early toea tl it is likely the conflict will have a generational impact on terrorism both al qaeda and isis inspired have directed supporters to conduct attacks against israeli and u.s. interests. here's my question. how do we apply the lessons that we've learned in iraq and afghanistan as a way of how to defeat hamas and what is your assessment of whether this campaign is in thehe long run

going to decrease to recruit and maintain strength and the ability to hurt israel in the united states? >> we said all along that hamas doesre not equal the palestinian people. they are not one and the same and what we've learned to your point, the key lesson is you have to protect the people, the civilians in the battle states otherwise you create more terrorists going forward so it's not only a moral imperative but it's also a.m. strategic imperative that those are the things we continue to have a dialogue on but there've been

far too many civilian casualties and i think we should do everything possible to ensure that we are protecting. >> i think you are right that there is a strategic and moral reason to care about the number of civilian casualties in gaza even if you don't care about the moral consequences of 13,000 children i think you should care about the strategic consequences into providing bulletin recruiting material to the organizations we were trying to destroy. let me do a hard turn. as you know this budget downgrades the commitment to building the submarines from 2-1 a year. we made a big mistake when we hollowed out the industrial base we went from having 12,000 down

to 1500 and it took a decade or more a step back i'm worried about the ability you just can't do that if you take this even if it is one year but it's a big step back andd commitments to te program. >> increase the backlog by putting more demand on the system or invest more inen the industrial base and that's the approach we've taken. twenty-three and 24 we asked to invest in the industrial base.

for this budget we are asking for $4 billion. the supplemental gives 3.3 and australia is also investing in the base. as i talked with industry leaders, we've talked about how we go about recruiting more people increasing strength in the supply chain so that work is ongoing and needs to be done but we have to increase that capacity and i and others arguments both ways in terms of the demand versus in the capacity that they believe and i believe that we will get there we just need to do more in terms of capacity. >> i appreciate that investment, but that has to be an immediate pathway to get us back on track rebuilding those two virginia classes. thank you mr. chairman.

mr. secretary do you believe that israel has to fully defeat hamas so that they don't come back and have another attack like october 7? >> i do believe they have to be defeated, yes into the goal of the leadership. won't giving them precision weapons like the joint attack and munitions into small diameter bombs help them fully defeat hamas with less collateral damage, less impact those precision weapons will help them fully defeat hamas so why wouldn't we get them those weapons just as fast as we can? >> i tend to agree you need the

precision guided munitions so they are the right typewo and that's why we recently provided small diameter bombs to israel. >> but clearly it was the intent of congress to get back that assistancedi so we are watching very closely it can be as expeditious as possible so they don't generate and do the same attack they did on the seventh. wouldn't you agree with of that? >> some types of munitions are better suited than others but we would like to see that begin to happen in terms of casualties and more precise -- >> do you agree or not we need

to get the assistance to fully defeat hamas. >> we have been doing that. >> do you agree or not? >> i do. >> given the incredible threat from china and russia and the buildup particularly with of their nuclear arsenal and given the review, are you fully committed to modernization of the nuclear forces to the sentinel program and how and what are you going to do to keep that on track? as you know it is keyed to the strategic deterrence and in this budget there is a $49 billion focus on that portfolio. as the airis force works we want to continue down the path to

modernize because this is 124/7 to provide that strategic deterrence. >> are you fully committed to doing what you need to keep it on track? >> do you feel you have the plan in place right now to do that? >> this is where they are working through and they haven't gotten a break from them but i did do know thatyo the air force is focused on this and based on my vast experiences and how important it is but the nation. >> is there something you would want to see from this committee would help you do that? >> the consistent funding on time will be helpful to move forward and this constant dialogue to figure out where we can take any slack to get the capability. >> our chairman is from montana and of course in north dakota if

there's something else that needs to be done the last question i would have for youous hower are you making sure we hae enough with this development for space-based assets and i know that it is important we are committed to funding it and advancing it. i'm concerned you are not doing enough to maintainac the capaci. what are you doing to make sure that all of the forces not just air force but all of the forces are asking for? >> as a joint war fighter i've been focused not just on the air force but all the services and when i look at the isr in particular it is a capability not only but how we bring in

from the maritime assets and from our space assets how we transition. how do we take down the information for things to analyze and determine intent and it's not just minor to command the. you and i had worked on this for a long time and you had a commonsense approach so we want continue working on it but what you do affects every single. making sure and we will work with you to do that we have had

good participation today. to step up and fix what is going on in the southern border it's not sustainable at all and it's unacceptable. the dhs continues to rely on dod support to make sure they are doing what they can do but i don't see any funding in the budget for the personnel so a couple things many years serving on the southern border? >> there's about 2500. >> and how do they cover the

cost? operationally who gets shorted? it's important that we do everything we can. the price tag has been about $4 million but we are supporting an agency and the dhs is the lead agency and again it's important to the country and we are going to do -- >> let me ask you this, mr. sec., do you agree with my perspective at the administration they need to do moreto to secure the border ande shouldn't have to depend upon the military to do that?

if we are required to assist and the president agrees with the fact that there's more that should be done and that's why when you came up with this bipartisan approach it was very much supported. congress dropped the ball on that and some folks wanted to be used as a political tool. i'm frustrated. at the secretary is recusing herself for reasons by the way that understand members of congress created that problem. northrop grumman is doing what they can, the air force is doing what they can, bechtel is doing

what they can do. you've educated on why this is a dangerous time, yet i don't get the sense of urgency on the ground-based missiles that we have. we've got timelines and quite frankly we had a general and the committee and we asked about timelines. great guy, incredibly talented and couldn't even give me the year the anticipated starting the program and i get it there's studies going on and cost issues. can you giveti me any sort of ts is in your old job front and center and in your new job by the way but can you give me any idea on if i should be concerned

about the timeline continuing to slip on the ground-based that i think is critically important moving forward? >> i don't have the details but my focus is to do everything we cann to bring that capability fortht so i am focused and want to make sure so i do have like you have some concerns i want to understand where we are and what we need to do to ensure we bring that capability forward as much as possible. >> we are here to help but unless we get the timelines into goals and everything set up, there's going to be a lot of

pressure because quite frankly i do not think it's acceptable to continuing to say don't worry about this, it's coming. the truth is we've been at this for a while and i haven't seen it coming. i've seen it progressing to the point itis needs to. senator, i will get to you. you mr. chairman and i apologize.hairman and i we are jumping in between the committee's this morning. but gentlemen, thank you for being here and for your leadership. i know there's been a great deal of discussion about the threats from china, iran, the conflicts in ukraine. but i feel it's important to always underscore that we never take our eye off of north korea.

just last month we filed missiles in the direction of japan one of our strongest allies in the pacific. it was the pre- minister who noted just shortly after the most recent launch from north korea the frequent launch is threatened not only japan but the international security so i just make the statement to let you know it's something we are engaged in tracking and i know you are as well. i want to ask you not about north korea, but about a focus on the arctic. your fy 25 budget overview states that the goal of this year's budget request is to, quote, develop a monitored in response approach. i read that to suggest that this is a passive approach in the

arctic which i think would be a strategic critical error. as you know we are already behind, underequipped when it comes to assets and about 50 vessels in the united states. here we have barely to. mr. secretary, you've had strong statements noting that the united states is to project power in both regions and also serving as a frontline and homeland defense missions so you're saying all the right things, but i'm concerned about the wording and i would ask for you to expand on what the monitored response approach really entails. >> the united states is an arctic nation and of course this

is a strategically important region for a number of reasons. we are going to take actions to prioritize the region. a new arctic strategy would account for the changes in the warming climate and the fact that we have new members of nato would make it very helpful in working going forward. we see each of the military services making investments in in their ability to operate in that environment also the combatant commander to partner on with canada to modernize

norad so again it's important to us. every time we do that we learn a lot more about ourselves and the challenges facing us but the arctic will remain important to us. i would suggest also when we factor into the strategy and to make sure that it's resourced to demonstrate that whether it is in the proper arctic equipment cold-weather service incentive programs and the like.

it creates operational control issues and are unable to in a timely and efficient manner. the tracking this issue i know that the proposal is currently being considered. i don't know if you have any updates that you can provide now or at a later point in time but it is something we are looking address ahead of co conversation.d of co >> i'm very familiar with of the operational challenges associated with our forces in alaska that are focused on north

common. i'm not aware of the direct proposal but based on experience is something we have to take a look at to make sure we don't create unnecessary scenes to make sure we can respond and what the nation requires of the capabilities stationed. senator collins. >> thank you mr. chairman. mr. secretary, congress haspr overwhelmingly and with bipartisan support indicated providing weapons and other assistance to israel. of these funding bills have passed with 70 to 80 votes in the senate, and by similar bipartisan margins in the house. you said in response to a

question today no final decision has been made. i would suggest pausing or delaying the delivery is a decision and is a decision that most members of congress would take issue with. iit was reading a report from jn spencer who is the chair of the studies and he said, quote, israel hasr. implemented more measures to prevent civilian casualties in urban warfare than any other military in the history of war so that leads me to ask you what condition is the administration asking israel to

fulfill before releasing these weapons that the administration deliberately delayed despite strong congressional support for the system. >> it's about having the right kind of weapons for the task at hand. a precision weapon that is very useful in the environment is helpful but not so much a 2,0000 that could create a lot of collateral damage. israel needs to do more to protect the civilians in the battle space and we want to make sure we saw a plan to move those civilians out of the battle space before executing any kind of a ground combat operation.

we would also like to see more precise operations. i don't doubt that they have some very good policies, and they do, but it's important to make sure thatmo we are followig policies and we've been having conversations about this and we think it's imperative that we do more to protect civilians in the battle space and that's the real issue. >> i would suggest to you that it is hamas that is concealed in areas and is using our hostages, israeli hostages and innocent palestinian civilians as human

shields. i think we need to remember and always remind ourselves that it was hamas that massacred 1200 and of the israelis that started this conflict. ..

>> and to follow up on the chairman's point according to one dhs official cited in a washington post report more than 10,000 migrants from central asian countries have entered into the united states in the past year, some of whom have crossed the border illegally so is the department of defense also keeping its eye on the terrorist threat which i believe is as -- the fbi director said blinking red and working with our intelligence community. >> absolutely, senator, we are. you know, i -- i meet routinely with director of the cia and director of national

intelligence and discuss, you know, our assets and resources that we have that are focused on collecting on -- on these groups and i will remind you that we were -- we were the country that warned both iran and russia of a pending attack and -- and so we couldn't do that if we didn't have the visibility that we have. now, it's not perfect and we will continue to do everything we can to make sure that we have every sensor available helping us here. >> thank you. >> general, the air force recently awarded a contract for the new survivable airborne operation center saoc to replace doomsday, would you, general, highlight the importance of this aircraft in the event of a national emergency or destruction of ground command

and control centers aircraft or the destruction of ground command and control centers >> so it's very important that not only puts control for the leadership of the nation before the nuclear command as well. it plays a key role to continue to operate when we have any type of crisis or contingency. >> what is the reason there needs to be replacement of the current aircraft? >> based on age. one thing we have to pay attention to, that all the platforms we have within the department is to ensure we have a viable platform that we can sustain from a maintenance standpoint because at some point he gets more costly to maintain than to move into a

new capability. and as technology advances, we want to make sure we have the most advanced capabilities that the nation best offer platforms that we use not only for command control but for warfighter's.>> thank you. secretary austin, the posture committee report recommended executing the modernization program of record. including the replacement of all delivery systems. can you highlight some of the key successes related to modernization of strategic delivery systems? >> i will say, again, we are asking you in this budget for $49 billion to invest in all three legs of the triad. we've requested to this point hundred 49 billion and that money is being put to use to

upgrade capabilities across the board. as we look at the threat of going forward, the threat that we face today is not the threat we were facing 10 years ago. and it will not be the same 10 years from now. this is kind of a changing challenge, and we have to keep pace with that. we anticipate going forward there will be more changes that will have to be made as our adversaries get more capability. >> thank you both. >> i want to thank you for being here, gentlemen, we appreciate the testimony of given today and the answers to the questions the senators may

submit additional questions. we ask you to respond to them in a reasonable amount of time. a special thank you, even though you didn't say anything, mike mccord, you are a component of making all this work and i want to recognize your good work. thank you very much. >> thank you, chairman. i appreciate the opportunity to engage with the subcommittee throughout the year.>> absolutely. but we will reconvene on wednesday, may 15th, and as of right now we stand in recess.

>> by a vote 88 to 4 the senat passed reauthorization bill for federalviation administration progra. that legislation now goes to the house rinal approval. current fundingnially set to expire this friday at midnight, senators also approved a one-week faa extension unt may 17th to give the house more time to take up the long-term measure. >> c-span's washington journal our live forum involving you to discuss the latest issues in government, politics and public policy from washington and

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