Madeleine Bordallo: “Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for calling this important hearing on the recent GAO report on the DOD [Department of…”

I have long stated that just as important as it is to provide our service members with new, modernized equipment, we must fully maintain the assets that we already have.

I am concerned that in a year where readiness has been cited as the Department's top priority, the Department's budget request falls well short of meeting the total depot maintenance requirement for the Army and the Marine Corps.

I think it is fair to ask if the Army is, in fact, just creating more overhead that will further slow an already cumbersome process.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And I hope you don't extract this from my 5 minutes, but there is a native of Guam in the audience today, and I am very proud of her.