Hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee - Posture of the Department of the Air Force

Hearing

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee(SASC), today delivered the following opening statement at a SASC hearing entitled, "Posture of the Department of the Air Force." Witnesses at today's hearing include Hon. Deborah Lee James, Secretary of the Air Force, and Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

As prepared for delivery:

This is the last of our service posture hearings for the FY15 budget. Soon this committee will begin drafting the National Defense Authorization Act -- what I consider to be the most important bill Congress passes each year.

U.S. interests are being challenged across the globe in ways I haven't seen in all of my years serving in this body. Yet, while the threats to our national security are growing, the readiness and capabilities of our military are being degraded by drastic budget cuts.

Just two weeks ago, Secretary Hagel said, "American dominance on the seas, in the skies, and in space can no longer be taken for granted." Put in the context of this hearing, the ability of our Air Force to provide air dominance is at risk, which puts America at risk.

While I appreciate the Air Force prioritizing funding for the F-35, KC-46, and Long Range Strike Bomber, budget cuts are driving force structure decisions that increases risk to unacceptable levels. These cuts include: cutting the size of our fighter force below the Air Force planned minimum of 1,900 aircraft; cutting our low-density, high-demand systems such as E-3 Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS), E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (J-STARS), U-2s, and EC-130s with no new assets available to replace them; completely divesting our A-10 fleet; cutting construction and sustainment funding of our aging military infrastructure; and cancelling modernization programs such as C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) and F-16 Combat Avionics Programmed Extension Suite (CAPES) as well as deferring maintenance on a fleet of aircraft that is approaching 30 years old.

I am interested in hearing from our witnesses about the current status of the Long Range Strike Bomber, the F-35 and KC-46A, how they plan to increase readiness levels, their concerns about our aerospace industrial base, the morale of our Airmen, and the modernization and sustainment of our nuclear forces.

Finally, on Base Realignment And Closure (BRAC). While I understand the 2005 BRAC may have been unique, now is not the time to spend billions of dollars in the near-term on another BRAC round, especially as aircraft are being grounded, ship deployments are being cancelled, and workers are being furloughed.

Congress must adequately and consistently fund our military -- continued cuts due to this Administration's misguided budgets priorities and sequestration undermines our national security.

Thank you Mister Chairman, I look forward to hearing from our witnesses.

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