Press Releases

Today, Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA), Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, made the following remarks on the hearing titled “Department of the Air Force 2017 Budget Request and Readiness Posture:”

"Thank you all for being here today for our Readiness hearing on the 'Department of the Air Force 2017 Budget Request and Readiness Posture.' This is the first of four hearings on the Services budget requests and readiness postures. In December and January, the Services testified on increased readiness risks due to reduced installation investments. Today, I look forward to hearing how the Air Force’s budget request enables a readiness recovery plan and where we continue to take risks.

I would like to welcome all of our members and the distinguished panel of Air Force experts.

This morning we have with us:

• General David Goldfein, USAF

Vice Chief of Staff

• Lieutenant General John Raymond, USAF

Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations

• Lieutenant General John Cooper, USAF

Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Engineering, and Force Protection

Thank you all for testifying today and we look forward to your thoughts and insights on these important issues.

The purpose of this hearing is to clarify the Air Force’s choices for its budget requests, to address funding priorities and mitigation strategies, and to gather more detail on the current and future impacts of these decisions on operations and training.

Once again, I want to thank our witnesses for participating in our hearing this morning and I look forward to discussing these important topics."