John McCain

Do you believe the statutory and regulatory requirements for the management of a Major Defense Acquisition Program are a good for transparency and oversight?

What lessons has the Department learned from the F-22 modernization program?

What specific steps have been put in place to ensure this 'acquisition malpractice' is not repeated?

Secretary Kendall, under what type of contracts are the deliveries of software blocks, fixed price or cost plus?

General Bogdan, the committee understands that the program office has identified three fixes to the escape system deficiencies and that they will all be complete by November of this year.

Mr. Sullivan, can you provide the committee any examples of a program pursuing a block buy or multiyear procurement strategy prior to a full rate production decision?

Managing the F-35 Follow-on Modernization program within the existing F-35 program does not adhere to the 'best practices' identified by the GAO.

What are the dangers of finalizing the requirements prior to completion of Initial Operational Test & Evaluation (IOT&E)?

General Bogdan, will you need additional funding beyond fiscal year 2017 to complete System Development and Demonstration (SDD)?

Secretary Kendall, do you consider the F-35 block buy contracting proposal under consideration a multi-year procurement scheme? Why or why not?

I think it is unlikely the Air Force will meet its objective date, which is mid-2016.

The process the Joint Program Office has in place for determining what capability upgrades will be in which block increment, and when these capabilities are developed and procured, seems to be generally unsatisfying to all the services…

Why the change? Why does a FPIF contract offer the government the best value?

High military risk is a very strong statement, and I am sure you thought long and hard before you made it.

I am often a critic of the administration's policies, but that sentence can be laid at the doorstep of the Congress of the United States of America.

Those are pretty strong words. I thank you for them.

I think that is pretty straightforward.

Last fall's budget deal set the size of our budget, and with this degree of certainty we focused on changing its shape in fundamental ways--making choices and tradeoffs to adjust to a new strategic era, and seize opportunities for the…

Part of the responsibility for our inability to act as efficiently and rapidly as possible will lay at the doorstep of the Congress.

Subject to the will of the entire committee, that would be my intention.

It's hard for us to understand, General.

I am grateful to Congress for your continued support, and I look forward to working with you to ensure the United States maintains the most capable fighting force in the world--and to ensure we never have to send American men and women…

The Navy has indicated that the long periods between deployments for some carrier air wings is one reason the Navy would like to deactivate one air wing.

In your judgement, would procuring 16 MV-22 in fiscal year 2017 be in breach of the multi-year procurement contract which stipulates 18 aircraft would be procured?

Is stability in Afghanistan and the region in our national interest, particularly in light of the testimony of General Campbell and General Nicholson that the situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating?