Defense
[[{"fid":"63","view_mode":"teaser","fields":{"format":"teaser","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Rep. Pete Visclosky","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Rep. Pete Visclosky"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"teaser","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Rep. Pete Visclosky","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Rep. Pete Visclosky"}},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"alt":"Rep. Pete Visclosky","title":"Rep. Pete Visclosky","height":"234","width":"188","style":"float: left;","class":"media-element file-teaser","data-delta":"1"}}]]Pete Visclosky (IN), Ranking Member
Betty McCollum (MN)
Tim Ryan (OH)
Marcy Kaptur (OH)
Jurisdiction
Departments of Army, Navy (including Marine Corps), Air Force, Office of Secretary of Defense, and Defense Agencies including activities related to military personnel; operation and maintenance; procurement; research and development; and the Military Health System. Also includes intelligences activities such as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency. Jurisdiction excludes Department of Defense-related accounts and programs under the Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works).
Thank you very much, Chairman Frelinghuysen. I appreciate you holding this hearing and look forward to working with you to craft the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Defense Bill.
Secretary Carter, General Dunford, and Under Secretary McCord, welcome to today’s hearing. I thank each of you for your commitment to our military service members, their families, and the civilian personnel under your command. Your testimony and insight are vitally important to the Committee’s deliberations as it carries out its role in providing funding for the defense of our country.
Mr. Chairman, I yield myself as much time as I may consume and ask unanimous consent that my full remarks be entered into the record.
I would like to begin by expressing my appreciation to Chairman Frelinghuysen and congratulate him on the collegial and transparent manner in which he crafted H.R. 2685, the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Defense Appropriations Act. I also want to express my sincere appreciation for the efforts of Chairman Hal Rogers, Ranking Member Nita Lowey, and all the members of the Defense Subcommittee.
Also, this bill could not have been written without the dedication, long hours, discerning and thoughtful input of our committee staff and personal staffs.
The 2016 Defense Appropriations bill would shatter caps on defense spending by adding $38 billion in base costs to off-budget war accounts, creating a massive hole in next year's budget, destabilizing long-term planning, and allowing domestic priorities to wither on the vine. By making a new budget agreement less likely, it would have drastic and negative consequences on our schools, roads and bridges, law enforcement, scientific research, and other domestic priorities critical to military families and all hardworking Americans.
2015 enacted level, base: $492.9 billion
2015 enacted level, OCO: $64.0 billion
2016 budget request, base: $526.9 billion
2016 budget request, OCO: $50.9 billion
2016 House bill, base: $490.2 billion
2016 House bill, OCO: $88.4 billion
Highlights and key points:
In testimonies and responses to direct questions from Congress, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and uniformed leaders of our Armed Forces have made clear the risks of relying on Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) to fund core and enduring defense costs. This approach would create a massive $38 billion hole in next year's budget and destabilize critical long-term planning. Additionally, it would have a negative impact on domestic priorities critical to military families and all hardworking Americans.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter (5/6/2015):
Chairman Frelinghuysen, I want to thank you on the collegial and transparent manner in which you crafted the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Defense bill. You have been placed in a very untenable position and have produced a sterling work product.
I also would like to express my appreciation to Chairman Rogers, Ranking Member Lowey, and the other Members of the Subcommittee for their efforts. I would particularly like to express my gratitude to the four new Members of the Subcommittee – Representatives Israel, Ruppersberger, Diaz-Balart, and Graves – for the contributions they have made in their inaugural year. Finally, I would like to thank the Subcommittee staff and the associate staff for their hard work.