THORNBERRY ON NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BUDGET REQUEST FROM DOD

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following opening statement, as prepared for delivery, at the Full Committee's hearing entitled, "The Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Budget Request from the Department of Defense." For testimony and other information and to watch the hearing click here. 

"The Committee is pleased to welcome back the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to discuss the Administration’s fiscal year 2019 budget request for the Department of Defense.

We meet under rather different circumstances than last year.  Congress and the Administration have worked together to provide to the military the resources they need to begin to reverse the erosion of our military strength.  There is agreement on the funding levels for defense for FY ’19.  We know how much we have to work with. 

The challenge as we work through the details is that some of the consequences of the years of cuts and neglect are becoming more apparent.  A study published this weekend by Military Times found that aviation mishaps have risen about 40 percent since the Budget Control Act took effect.

The alarming number of aviation accidents just in the past 3 ½ weeks reveals how deep the damage goes and magnitude of the task of repairing and rebuilding our capabilities.  Meanwhile, as events in Syria remind us, the world does not slow down and wait for us to rebuild.

This Committee has held a number of hearings and briefings this year to examine more closely the challenges we face, from readiness to space and cyber.  We have studied what are adversaries are doing.  We have heard from combatant commanders, service chiefs, and outside experts.  The issue today is how well the Administration’s budget meets our national security needs under the parameters set in the Bipartisan Budget Act.  We also want to examine how this budget request implements the new National Defense Strategy about which the Secretary testified in February.

I am committed to working with the Department to achieve reforms that enable our military to be more agile and more efficient in facing the threats which confront us.  The challenges are great, but if Congress and the Department work together, we can ensure that the military has what it needs to meet them."