Hearing of the House Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016

Hearing

Today, Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH), of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air & Land Forces, made the following remarks regarding the Subcommittee Markup.

"Today the Subcommittee meets to markup H.R. 1735, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016.

I want to thank the Ranking Member and all of the members of the subcommittee for their attendance and participation in the hearings and briefings that we have held this year.

Our Subcommittee Members have been actively engaged on the important issues facing the subcommittee in a truly bipartisan manner.

I'd like to express my sincere thanks to Ms. Sanchez, as well as to her staff, for their support and cooperation in putting this mark together.

And I would like to especially thank Mr. Cook for serving in the role as Vice Chairman of the Subcommittee. His guidance and friendship throughout this process has been invaluable.

Given that are global security environment continues to get worse this mark will minimize the level of risk being absorbed by both the military services and the defense industrial base.

This mark strikes the appropriate balance between equipping our military to effectively carry out its mission, while also providing needed oversight to ensure accountability and appropriate use of taxpayers' dollars.

This mark addresses the priorities of the Members on both sides, as well as addresses unfunded priorities of the Department of Defense.

I would like to briefly review some of the highlights of the Mark.

Current ground force scenarios assume that they will always have air dominance. As we know, based on current events---both classified and unclassified----this may not be the case in the not so distance future if we don't continue to modernize existing tactical aircraft and field additional 5th generation capabilities.

In regards to this issue, the Subcommittee recommends additional funding to the full committee for::

a. F/A-18F Super Hornets
b. F-35Bs per the Marine Corps unfunded requirements list.

At the same time---the proposed mark does not rubber stamp the administration's request for the F-35 program:

On the F-35 Engine, both the contractor and program office believe they have a fix in place in regards to last year's engine fire. The mark proposes a provision that would direct an independent look at the engine program to make sure it is on the right track. It is NOT an attempt to bring back the alternate engine.

On the F-35 Autonomic Logistics Information System, this was a major concern that came up during our recent CODEL to Eglin Air Force Base and the hearing that we had last week. Like the engine provision, this provision would also direct an independent look into the ALIS program to make sure it is on the right track and/or to make any recommendations for improvement.

This mark will address Blackhawk helicopter modernization for the National Guard --- Currently there are over 300 UH-60 'A' model helicopters in the Guard spread out over 45 states. Ohio has around 11 and I believe California has around 13. These are very old aircraft. The current Army plan is to divest these aircraft by 2023.

The mark proposes legislation and recommends budget changes to accelerate this divestment and which will provide the Guard with modernized Blackhawk helicopters sooner rather than later.

In terms of funding, the subcommittee's recommendations to the Chairman's mark will include full funding of most major programs in our jurisdiction, while adjusting under-performing programs.

The mark and the subcommittee recommendations to the Chairman include:

Support full funding for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle;

Support full funding for the Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle Increment One program;

Advance the procurement and development of the most up-to-date body armor and personal protective equipment systems;

Support Marine Corps aviation recapitalization with full funding for 19 V-22 Osprey, 28 new H-1 series helicopters, and continued development of the CH-53K heavy lift helicopter.

Support full funding for the Global Hawk unmanned aerial system and other critically needed high altitude intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms like the U-2.

Provide for continued growth in unmanned aerial systems (UAS) capability, including 15 MQ-1C Gray Eagles for the Army and 29 MQ-9 Reapers for the Air Force.

We have also recommended to the full committee additional support for the following critical capabilities:

* UH-60 Blackhawk modernization for the National Guard
* Survivability upgrades for Apache attack helicopters
* Stryker combat vehicle lethality improvements
* Munitions
* Gray Eagle unmanned aerial system modifications, and
* military service unfunded requirements

And, in the subcommittee's continuing attempt to fund National Guard and Reserve Component required capabilities at the appropriate level, the Subcommittee has recommended that additional funds be authorized as part of a National Guard and Reserve equipment account in the Chairman's mark.

In summary, this is a good Mark and it will address the critical modernization needs of the military services, and I encourage your support."

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