I think that was an important change, and I hope that Admiral Moran agrees with that, because we cannot continue to have all these waivers for the readiness of these ships before they deploy.

There is a concern about something called innovative accounting techniques to indicate to us that these 80 percent goals are being met.

I am glad to hear that Pearl Harbor is one of your first shipyard focuses.

I think when I met with you, I was very interested in making sure that when we purchase the ships, et cetera, aircraft, that corrosion is one of the factors that we would consider in putting out the contract to begin with.

Meanwhile, the modernization plans are proceeding. They are being implemented per our Secretary.

I consider this to be a major improvement after years of neglect of this important infrastructure.

Will the delays in the SSC program have any effect Marine Corps' ability to conduct amphibious assault operations?

Secretary Guerts, we understand there may be delays in projected deliveries of Virginia-class submarines, particularly from Newport News.

Can you tell what is wrong with the contractor's effort to produce these craft on time?

I consider this to be a major improvement after years of neglect of this important infrastructure.

I think that we do need to pay a lot more attention to these other aspects that are not specifically DOD.