Thad Cochran: “This is a 26-percent increase over the current year funding level. That sounds like a substantial increase.”

And I plan to use my best efforts to identify the areas that we can make improvements in, and take a hard look, but at the same time realize we need to get a bill.

We want to know what the priorities are for funding.

I understand that the Army's unfunded requirements list includes a $3.1 billion increase in end strength beyond the fiscal year 2017 NDAA mandate.

We appreciate very much your leadership in the research effort and we commend you and those who work with you for helping make sure we have what we need in order to make our nation safe and secure.