Department of Defense Authorization for Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2005

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:30 p.m. in room SR-232A, Russell Senate Office Building, Senator John Ensign (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Committee members present: Senators Ensign, McCain, Inhofe, Cornyn, Akaka, E. Benjamin Nelson, and Pryor.

Committee staff member present: Leah C. Brewer, nominations and hearings clerk.

Majority staff members present: L. David Cherington, counsel, William C. Greenwalt, professional staff member; Gregory T. Kiley, professional staff member; Lucian L. Niemeyer, professional staff member; and Joseph T. Sixeas, professional staff member.

Minority staff members present: Maren R. Leed, professional staff member; Peter K. Levine, minority counsel; and Michael J. McCord, professional staff member.

Staff assistants present: Andrew W. Florell and Sara R. Mareno. Committee members' assistants present: Christopher J. Paul and Dan Twining, assistants to Senator McCain; John A. Bonsell, assistant to Senator Inhofe; D'Arcy Grisier, assistant to Senator Ensign; William K. Sutey, assistant to Senator Bill Nelson; Andrew Shapiro, assistant to Senator Clinton; and Terri Glaze, assistant to Senator Pryor.

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JOHN ENSIGN, CHAIRMAN Senator ENSIGN. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome.

The Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support meets today to begin our hearings for the fiscal year 2005 Defense Authorization Request. Before we begin-and Senator Akaka will be with us in just a moment—I'd like to thank him. We worked together and had a great team last year, worked across party lines, and put the Armed Services and the defense of our country first and foremost before any political considerations, and I just want to say thank you to him and to his staff publicly today.

This subcommittee enjoys a broad charter, the result of oversight responsibility in areas that are as diverse as they are plentiful. Over the next 5 weeks, the subcommittee will be examining a number of issues relevant to ensuring the readiness of the Armed Forces and the effective management of the Department of Defense and the four Services. In addition to today's discussion on military readiness programs, the subcommittee's agenda for this session includes: on March 23, a hearing on Defense Department financial management policies and practice; on April 1, a hearing on issues related to military installation and the Department's budget request for military construction; and on April 6, a hearing to examine Defense Department acquisition policies. We have a great deal of work ahead in this session, and I am looking forward to getting started.

Our focus this afternoon will be to discuss key military readiness programs of the Services. These include programs that support operation and maintenance of ships, aircraft, tanks, and related systems; train personnel; provide for logistics; and maintain base facilities. I'm looking forward to candid assessment from each of the witnesses on the current status of these programs and their assessment on how these programs are supporting the overall readiness of the Services today.

The President has proposed a $102.6 billion request for the readiness programs of the active and Reserve components for fiscal year 2005. This is a 5.1 percent real increase over current spending plan for fiscal year 2004. While we have received the Services' lists of requirements for fiscal year 2005 that were not included in the budget request, I am particularly encouraged to see that the President was able to meet over 96 percent of the funding requirements for the coming fiscal year for each of the Services with his budget proposal. Given the challenges facing the military today to maintain a fully ready force while defending the homeland, fighting the war a terrorism, and supporting the transitions to peaceful democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan, I believe this request is right on the mark.

We will be specifically interested to learn from the witnesses today their assessment of how the President's budget request for fiscal year 2005 will support readiness programs and what the potential implications would be of any reduction in the President's request. In addition to your thoughts on the budget for readiness programs, we will also be interested in learning about the progress that each of your services has made in resetting units that have returned to their home stations from deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Finally, we look forward to hearing your views on any long-term readiness issues that could develop as a result of the sustained deployment of military units for contingency operations.

I am convinced that we must support the Department's manpower enhancement initiatives. With active component/Reserve component rebalancing and the military-to-civilian conversion initiatives, we can fully maximize the talents and skills of at least 70,000 service members that are resident today within the active, Reserve, and National Guard. We simply cannot afford to have to

day's service men and women serving in billets and occupational specialities that are not essential for 21st century challenges.

Further, I believe that time is of the essence. The costs of not implementing these initiatives are simply too high. Every day, someone decides either to continue in the service or to seek relevance in the growing civilian economy. We have such a tremendously capable group of men and women in uniform, and I don't want to lose them.

The Defense Department's initiatives will greatly increase the readiness, responsibility, and flexibility of the force. For me, this is the bottom line. I look forward to each of the witnesses taking a moment to share their views on these initiatives.

We are privileged to have testifying before us a panel representing each of the Services. All are exceptionally qualified officers joining us today: General George W. Casey, Jr., Vice Chief of Staff, United States Army; Admiral Michael G. Mullen, Vice Chief of Naval Operations, United States Navy; General T. Michael Moseley, Vice Chief of Staff, United States Air Force; and Lieutenant General Jan C. Huly, Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps for Plans, Policies, and Operations, United States Marine Corps. Many thanks to each of you for joining us today.

Now I turn to the distinguished ranking member, who I said some nice things about before you got here. Welcome, Senator Akaka.

STATEMENT OF SENATOR DANIEL K. AKAKA

Senator AKAKA. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Senator ENSIGN. As a matter of fact, it was a brilliant, glowing statement. [Laughter.]

Senator AKAKA. Thank you. I'll look at the record. [Laughter.] I'm delighted to be here with you and working with you, Mr. Chairman.

I want to begin by saying how much we appreciate what the brave men and women of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, who are putting their lives on the line for America, are doing for our country. We're proud of them and all of the leadership of the military. Our men and women in uniform around the world are in our thoughts and prayers, and you and your soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines all have our sincere gratitude.

I want to also welcome our panelists here this afternoon, and thank you for sharing your insights with us on readiness today. We appreciate your being here. I want to welcome you, individually, General Casey and Admiral Mullen, General Moseley, and I understand Jenny is here—oh, yes, welcome—and also General Huly.

Each year when we conduct this hearing, I think we have reached the peak of strain on our forces; but each year, the stress on our forces gets worse. I sincerely hope that this year does represent the peak, as the level of engagement of our forces right now is very high and is a significant strain. I also hope that the efforts each of your Services are making to reduce their strain are effective. So even if our military is faced with the same level of operational commitments in the future, the burden on our personnel and their families will be lessened.

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