Rob Wittman

I thank the gentleman from Virginia, and I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

I thank the gentleman for yielding. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

I thank Mr. Newhouse for yielding. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this amendment.

This amendment strikes a provision of the SHARE Act that will allow the importation of 41 polar bears legally harvested from sustainable populations in Canada before the polar bear was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act…

I claim the time in opposition to the amendment. The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman) is recognized for 5 minutes.

I urge adoption of the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman). The amendment was agreed to. Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr…

I thank the gentleman from Virginia for his perspectives on this and for the good conversation we have had in trying to find common ground to make sure that we are, indeed, supporting the great outdoors and the sportsmen and -women that…

So it really starts to show the openings in the fabric, so to speak, when you have to do those things.

I want to make sure we are not too fast and loose with numbers.

That $500 million would go a long way toward helping increase the sustainment, restoration, and modernization divot that is currently programmed into our budget.

I want to thank you all for being here for this Readiness Subcommittee hearing on the Department of the Army's 2017 operations and maintenance [O&M] budget request and readiness posture.

So I am wondering if--you seem to be somewhat hesitant to say that the Navy can actually move it to the left.

Seems like to me, though, that what we are learning on LPD-28, we have made much of that transition.

Submarines are the original stealth platform. They clearly give us an asymmetric advantage.

Discuss the linkage between decreased aircraft inventory, airframe age and flight hours, manpower and readiness.

Live-fly training, particularly for 5th generation aircraft, can be limited due to range restrictions, airspace and threat replicator limitations, environmental factors, and other issues.

In July 2015, the Marine Corps declared that the F-35 had achieved initial operational capability (IOC) even though it had not met all of the requirements outlined in the Marine Corps IOC requirements letter.

This patch, if you will, that is going to temporarily stop the reduction in readiness from 50 percent on down, this is a patch, and that is all it is.

I do want to encourage you to do one thing. The people on the committee, the Armed Services Committee, I think will support you regardless of what party they are in.

One of the concerns I have going forward is to make sure that we don't get too shortsighted.

I just want to make sure that we reflect the proper policy so you can continue to grow both the capacity and the capability.

Does your 2017 budget request, does that reflect maintaining the necessary effort in core functions going forward?

I would like to recognize a number of our great young airmen that are here from Langley Air Force Base.

I want to welcome everybody this morning. I thank our witnesses for joining us.

Good morning. I want to call to order the Subcommittee on Readiness of the House Armed Services Committee.