November 18, 2009

“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to today’s hearing on Resourcing the National Defense Strategy:  Implications of Long Term Defense Budget Trends.  In the first week of February, 2010, the Department of Defense will deliver two critical documents to this committee.  One is the Quadrennial Defense Review, which will outline the national defense strategy and some of the major policy changes required to implement it.  The second will be the President’s budget request for fiscal year 2011, the first true budget of the Obama Administration and one of the primary mechanisms for adopting the QDR’s recommendations.  These documents, along with the two ongoing wars, are likely to dominate the discussions of this committee next year.

October 29, 2009

          “Today’s hearing is the last in our series of ‘hypothesis’ hearings examining the ways in which DOD sometimes loses value in defense acquisition.  Our task today is to determine whether DOD can better utilize small business to improve innovation and competition in acquisition.  Our hypothesis is that the Department can and should better utilize small business to access new innovative technologies and to enhance the discipline that competition brings to acquisition.

October 22, 2009

“Today, the Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee will meet to discuss the challenges and implications of counterterrorism as it relates to General McChrystal’s initial assessment of the situation in Afghanistan and President Obama’s upcoming decision on a new war strategy.  This is an important discussion, and I want to thank our witnesses for attending and lending their expert opinions. We welcome you and your thoughts and any recommendations you may have. 

October 21, 2009

“Today, the Committee meets to receive testimony on the status of the U.S. Military Redeployment from Iraq: Issues and Challenges.  Our witnesses today are: The Honorable Michèle Flournoy, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy; Vice Admiral James Winnefeld, the Director for Strategic Plans and Policy, J-5; Mr. Alan Estevez, the Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness; and Lieutenant General Kathleen Gainey, the Director for Logistics, J-4.  General Gainey, I believe that this is your first time appearing before the committee.  Welcome.

October 15, 2009

“Welcome to today’s hearing entitled ‘Can the Department of Defense Protect Taxpayers When It Pays Its Contractors?’  It continues the panel’s series of hearings which focus on a particular hypothesis about where value is lost in defense acquisition.