John McCain

Secretary Stackley, why is LCS-4 delayed in its delivery date? Will this affect -5 through -8?

Secretary Stackley, in your opinion, what is the incentive for the contractor to negotiate price reductions with the Navy in good faith?

The next carrier, CVN-79, is now estimated to cost the Navy $11.3 billion.

Secretary Stackley, do you have concerns that the concurrent development, testing, and installation of an electronic aircraft launch system designed to replace legacy catapult systems will affect either cost or schedule for CVN-78?

Secretary Stackley, please provide a revised 30-year shipbuilding plan that takes into account, to the best of your ability, the sequestration of defense accounts over the next 9 years.

Senator McCain. Secretary Stackley, your testimony states that the Navy will need an average annual level of shipbuilding investment of $16.8 billion over the next 10 years, and the 10 years after that about $20 billion annually to meet…

The Navy cannot 'imagine continuing [the current defense program] with another half a trillion dollar reduction over the next 10 years.'

Any allegation that somehow costs are under control or being reduced are contradicted by the CRS report.

The President's budget for fiscal year 2014 on shipbuilding is a fantasy.

I do not think some of us would have voted for it if we had known of that kind of escalation, Mr. Secretary.

Some of us do expect those increases to be anticipated rather than just saying we had to add on those costs.

The only problem here is that under intense questioning in past years, I asked whether these problems were envisioned, particularly in a new platform, moving in and out different modules.

So you are counting on a dramatic increase in shipbuilding request funding in the coming years?

Secretary Stackley, Congress provided $263 million for advanced procurement in fiscal year 2013 appropriations for a 12th LPD. What is the plan for the use of those funds?

The fiscal year 2014 budget fully funded the SSBN(X) development effort. It does not repair the 2-year delay initiated in last year's budget.

Congress rejected the Navy's proposal last year to early retire seven cruisers.

If ships have a certain service life that requires so many days per year at the pier for maintenance, how would rotating crews provide more presence per ship?

The Navy concluded that a fleet of 306 ships would be adequate to meet the range of worldwide requirements

Secretary Stackley, what is the Navy's position on a proposal to authorize and appropriate an additional $825 million in fiscal year 2014 and authorize 2-year incremental funding for a 12th LPD-17-class vessel?

Secretary Stackley, is the Navy currently assessing any plan to accelerate the construction of additional amphibious ships?

How might advance appropriations impact Navy flexibility if sequestration were not averted in fiscal year 2014?

Admiral Myers, does the current strategy include any margin for design or development challenges?

Secretary Stackley, how would a delay in the design of the VPM impact the Navy's ability to move forward with production on block V in fiscal year 2019?

According to the witnesses' prepared testimony, the introduction of new payload capacity for SSNs is one of four cited rationales used to justify a decrease in the battle force requirement reduction from 313 to 306 ships.

Congress also provided the Navy an additional $2.4 billion to cover the costs for 2 years of ship modernization, operations, and sustainment.