Thank you, Chairman Inhofe, and I would like to join you in welcoming Secretary Esper and General Milley to this morning’s hearing.  This will likely be the last time that General Milley testifies before this committee in his capacity as the Chief of Staff of the Army, and I want to thank him for his leadership of our nation’s soldiers.    

The President’s budget request for FY2020 includes $182.3 billion in funding for the Army.  Of that amount, $150.7 billion is for base budget requirements, and $31.6 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) activities.  This request should be evaluated in the context of the National Defense Strategy (NDS) and the national security challenges facing our country.  The renewed focus on strategic competition with China and Russia will require the Army to train for full spectrum operations and to field equipment necessary for a high-end fight.

I commend the Army for recognizing that while there is a change in strategy, budgets remained constrained.  I understand that as this budget was developed, senior Army leadership scrutinized existing programs to determine which ones supported the Army’s modernization priorities, and which programs should be reduced or cancelled so that savings could be reinvested.  While the Committee may not agree with every budget decision made by the Army, they did make tough decisions to prioritize funding for the future fight.  

In support of the focus on near peer competition, the Army has also made major structural changes to expedite modernization across the force.  The Army has established eight cross functional teams to demonstrate capabilities through prototyping and experimentation for major modernization priorities.  The Army is also exercising new acquisition authorities provided by Congress, while Army Futures Command  was established as the single command for all modernization efforts.

Delivering cutting edge capabilities to the warfighter under an expedited acquisition timeline is always a challenge.  To do so while undergoing a major structural and cultural change with the establishment of Army Futures Command makes this process even more complex.  While I applaud the Army for taking a hard look at their acquisition processes, we do not have a wide margin for mistakes given the threats from our adversaries. I ask our witnesses this morning to share what the Army has learned to date from these efforts.

While modernized military platforms and upgraded equipment are critical for the battlefield, ensuring our soldiers are ready for the fight remains our highest priority.  I commend Army leadership for their focus on unit readiness, and for submitting a budget proposal that supports 25 combat training center rotations for brigade combat teams. 

This budget request seeks an increase of 2,000 active duty soldiers, as well as a slight end-strength increase for the Army National Guard and Reserve.  It is imperative that as the Army grows, it remains focused on quality of our soldiers rather than the quantity.  The Army has acknowledged that they were unable to meet their recruitment goals last year, and I would like to know from our witnesses how the Army plans to address these challenges. 

The President’s budget also requests an across-the-board pay raise of 3.1 percent for all military personnel, equal to the annual increase in the Employment Cost Index.  However, once again the President has decided not to include in this budget the funding necessary to support a pay raise for civilian employees.  This budget request also makes reductions to federal employee pensions, affecting current and future employees. 

Civilians working in the Department of the Army are force multipliers and part of the total force.  Unfortunately, by denying a corresponding pay increase for our civilians and cutting their pensions, the President’s budget request sends the message that their work and contributions to our national defense are not valued, and it hinders the Army’s ability to recruit the very best civilian workforce we need.  I hope to hear from our witnesses their views on the morale of the Army’s civilian workforce, and their ability to effectively manage the total force, including civilian employees.

Finally, I want to close on two important issues.  First, this Committee has received the list of military construction projects that will be targeted in order to resource the President’s proposed wall.  Many of these projects are Army military construction priorities, and they will be at risk for delay or cancellation.  Also, there are concerns that troop deployments to the Southern border may undermine Army readiness goals.  Given the efforts by the Army over the past several years to rebuild readiness, I would like to hear from our witnesses today whether raiding funds from military construction projects, or deploying soldiers to the border, will have a detrimental impact on readiness. 

Second, I want to emphasize the urgency of fixing the substandard living conditions that are pervasive in privatized military housing.  I appreciate that the Army has acknowledged the enormity of the issue, and that they are working to address this crisis.  In the meantime, this committee will continue our stringent oversight until every servicemember and their family has access to the high quality housing that they have earned and deserved. 

Again, thank you, and I look forward to hearing from our witnesses.