Mazie Hirono

You should get the approved requirements, that, when you don't have the JROC approval...

The important concern that I want to make sure is reflected in your assessments is that we continue our commitment to the rebalance to the Pacific.

I think maintaining our shipbuilding capacity in this country is really critical, as you mentioned in your testimony, that other countries are forging ahead.

These caps already seriously challenge our ability to meet our national security needs.

Unless modified for the years after fiscal year 2016 and beyond, I believe that they will threaten our long-term national security interests.

So, General, it would be inaccurate to think of the ACV 1.1 as a less capable than the tracked ACV from everything you just told us.

General, I assume you are familiar with the advanced amphibious assault vehicles that China appears to have developed.

The fiscal uncertainty that we have been operating under for too many years has resulted in a chronic and increasingly dangerous disconnect between strategy, military requirements, budget estimates, appropriations, and the efficient and…

As Commandant of the Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford recently said, there is an amphibious ship and connector capability gap that we must deal with if we are to revitalize amphibious forces and meet global demand.

So if we do not deal with sequestration in the way we should, which is to eliminate it, would you just then decrease the number of battalions?

I am concerned that sequestration could disproportionately impact the Marine Corps on everything from modernization to readiness.

Has the Total Force Management Support Office been stood up?

If so, how many fulltime employees does it have?

Cybersecurity is a field that appears to be moving much faster than the acquisition processes you describe.

Do you need the Congress to give you more flexibility or release from constraints in order to better support PACOM and other Combatant Commands?

Without a capable and motivated workforce, all the changes to rules and regulations will not amount to much.

The Department has said that it is 30 percent compliant with the fiscal year 2008 requirement to develop an inventory of service contracts

While Congress continues to urge the DOD to implement a common reporting application to support its annual inventory of services contracts, multiple challenges hinder these efforts.

Congress can help strengthen recruitment and retention of the best talent by making the Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Fund (DAWDF) and the Expedited Hiring Authority (EHA) permanent.

If we gave more authority to you three to manage your programs, would that relieve some of this burden and speed things up?

Acquisition Reform has been around as long as the Government has been procuring items.

Balancing our desire to reduce global warming, climate change and the desire for the economic activity in that area.

I think it is high time because as we sit here talking about economic development issues in the Arctic area, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me that we are not party to that convention.

This is a question relating to the U.S. rebalance to Asia while threats continue to materialize in other regions.

The Indo-Asia-Pacific region, or the PACOM region, is the most militarized part of the world.