John McCain

Fifteen years of war have tested our Army, but time and time again, our soldiers have met that test and proved their commitment, courage, and determination.

I am really happy to hear that you are going to take those actions. Has anyone been fired for the fact that it has been five years?

I think the term choose is rightfully a correct term to use because no one is forcing Native American families out of BIE schools.

I think a lot of us are also fiscally conservatives but when you have a 50 percent graduation rate, we are going to have to think outside the box.

I think it is very hard to allege that somehow the infrastructure would be harmed if a student now costing $15,000 a year for a BIE school to attend another school such as St. Michael on the Navajo Reservation which graduates 99 percent of…

However, we are concerned with the implications of this bill.

Sen. McCain understood the plight of these BIE families and immediately offered to fight for them.

I would be astounded if you did. I have never seen an organization such as yours support an opportunity for Native American children or American children to have another opportunity.

The department does support the goal of providing additional educational opportunities to Native American students.

Both Congress and this Committee have shown tremendous bipartisan support for increasing and promoting tribal sovereignty within the education system.

Mr. Roberts, I think it is really remarkable that according to GAO the last time the BIE inspected the safety of a BIE school in Arizona was in 2011.

Here we have a proposal to allow, if the parents desire, another opportunity to provide their children with an education.

NIEA thanks Senator McCain for putting forth legislation that would include students attending BIE schools to have an alternative educational option in Arizona.

I also want to acknowledge Chairman Barasso, Vice Chairman Tester, and Senator McCain for introducing legislation specific to improving the educational outcomes of Native students.

In recent conflicts, the United States has enjoyed little challenge to its command of the air, allowing the use of shorter range, direct attack munitions, such as the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) to prosecute ground targets.

In your judgment, are your air-launched munitions inventories sufficient to support current operations and the Defense Strategic Guidance writ large?

Marine Corps aviation readiness appears to be in a crisis. How did we get here, what are you doing to improve readiness, and what are the biggest challenges to overcome?

The committee is concerned that the Department of Defense's ideas for airborne data links have lacked vision and been disjointed.

What are your views on alternative management structures for the F-35 program, such as establishing separate service or variant program offices rather than maintaining a joint program office?

The follow-on modernization for the F-35 is estimated to cost the DOD nearly $3 billion over the next 6 years alone.

VMFA-121 will move to Iwakuni, Japan next year and deploy aboard ship in 2018, marking the first O-CONUS and shipboard deployments of the F-35 respectively.

Will the lack of a dedicated airborne electronic attack aircraft community create a center of excellence void for the Marines?

When the last EA-6B Prowler squadron sundowns in 2019, the Marine Corps will no longer have a dedicated airborne electronic attack aircraft.

The Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) has been designated the first program in a 'SkunkWorks' pilot that aims to streamline the acquisition process.

Do you believe the Navy requires more Growlers to fulfill the needs of the joint force?