What is your assessment of the readiness of those nuclear forces to conduct strategic deterrence missions as well as to provide support to regional combatant commanders in the event of a regional crisis or on-going conventional conflict?

The Army requires adequate, sustained long-term and predictable funding.

What more can Congress do to enable you to hire the civilians you need to increase readiness?

I would hope you would always make sure people understand. You talk about risk, which talks about readiness, which talks about lives.

I would say if we can afford to reach the point where that yield is achieved and realized, I would agree with you.

That's not what the Constitution tells us we're supposed to be doing.

Only then will our industrial base be able to provide the readiness required of our Navy today and into the future.

None of those will get started.

I have had the advantage of dealing with these issues for 22 years in the Senate.

The budget process is broken.

how does each service plan to address the growing importance of software maintenance on your depot-level sustainment operations?

Is weapons system sustainment being adequately incorporated into initial acquisition planning for new weapon systems to ensure these systems can be efficiently and effectively maintained over their life cycles?