now a pentagon briefing on air force operation. air force secretary deborah lee james and chief of staff general mark welsh spoke with reporters for more than an hour.

>> good afternoon everybody. welcome to the state of the air force press briefing. and brigadier general mobilization assistant to the director of public affairs and i'm very privileged to introduce the honorable deborah lee james secretary of the air force and general mark welsh is chief of staff of the air force. let me give you the groundrules wrote that. what we are going to do today is secretary james and general welsh will have opening remarks and then we'll open it up for questions and answers. standard rules of engagement apply today so please state your name and affiliation when you are called on and then we will do one question and one follow-up and depending on how much time we have with us if we can get to other questions. if there are any questions we don't get answered today you are more than welcome to call the air force press desk so without any further ado secretary james

over to you. >> thank you general and thanks for spending time this afternoon. i have now been on the job as the 23rd secretary of the air force for about seven months and during that seven month period i have divided my time obviously some of it here in washington focused on working with our congress, working on budget matters, a 480 of policy issues and the other part of my time i have focused on getting out and around and seeing our air force in action. i have seen all of our five core missions at work now including 39 different bases across the united states in 22 of our states and i've been overseas now twice to include afghanistan, kuwait, the united arab and are at qatar the united kingdom and germany. when i took over as secretary of the air force i did establish right from the beginning three priorities that are critical for all of us as we go forward to

accomplish all of our missions in these three priorities just as a reminder are taking care of people, number two striking the right balance between the readiness of today and providing for our readiness and modernization tomorrow and number three very important in this tight budget environment we need to make sure they make every dollar counts because the taxpayer dollar is precious and we have to spend all of those dollars wisely. today but i would like to do, i could like to give you my update on how i think we are doing against all three of these priorities. beginning with taking care of people is obviously critically important and there are many many elements to the people's story in the air force but i will tell you my take after seven months has been very blessed in the air force because we have impressive airmen. they are smart. they are dedicated. they're motivated. they are really pumped is the way i would put it. we have been very fortunate to have and continue to have solid recruiting and retention and for

the most part across her air force morale is high so all of that is very good news. i will tell you this. i do feel our airmen are feeling some strength -- strains and the biggest issue on them minds of our airmen and i know this because i do calls it the right does the uncertainty that they are facing because of the downsizing and uncertainties of budgets and where are we going with their air force. general welsh when i yield to him in a few minutes is going to give an update on the downsizing and our force management processes but one thing i would just say for now and i know i speak for both of us our mutual desire is to get where we need to go as quickly as we can to get it over with as quickly as we can and then to move on to the future of our air force. beyond that there are two special topics that i would like to pick out. many topics are personal but there were two i would like to

touch upon in the first one is sexual assault, and very important topic. everywhere i go each and every installation i always ask privately with our sexual assault response coordinators again around the country and around the world, i do meet with him in private. i asked them to get me the utmost candor in the bottom line question i'm a is looking for is to you think we are on the right path links are we making progress in stamping out this crime? my take on this after seven months and in all of my discussions plus my discussions with other leaders and so forth is that we are making good progress. our reporting is up. we have increased reports in fy13 and also the preliminary reports for fy14 are often i think that is good news because that means to me at least i believe it means that our victims are feeling more comfortable in coming forward

and explaining what has happened to them. now we don't yet have our prevalence data. that will be coming later in the year so we don't yet know the progress we have made or not made when it comes to prevalence. we will know later this year. i'm also hearing from the field that they believe the commanders on top of this and they are taking it seriously. it's a serious matter across her air force and is viewed as such. i am hearing that her training as been improved. i've gone through some of the training myself when i thought it was terrific training so the training has been improved over the last year or two and we are constantly looking at the care we give to victims to tweak it this way are to tweak it that way to make it the absolutely most supportive that we can. as i think you know if the general proposition rededicated ourselves in the last few months of what we call her core values which is important across all parts of the air force in the core values of course our integrity, service before self

and excellence. all of these things to me add up to what i say we are making progress on this front but progress is of course not good enough. what we have to do is keep on it so it means persistent focus persistently there should been persistent action for pretty much forever. the chief and i are fully committed to doing just that. the second topic on personnel as their total force which of course was means or active-duty air national guard or reserve and civilian workforce. everywhere i have been i have seen a terrific total force team in action. and when it comes to the active duty, the guard and reserve you are probably aware that we have made the commitment over the next several months to the end of this calendar year. we are going to be assessing on a mission by mission basis our force to see what additional capability might be put in the

future into the guard and reserve and we believe we will have 80% of our entire force looked at between now and the end of the year. so of course we don't know how that will turn out but i would expect that out of that we will come up with additional capabilities that we would ask our guard and reserve to assume in the future. i see the future of our people program to be more reliant, not less reliant on national guard and reserve. shifting now to the balance between the readiness of today and our modernization meaning our readiness of tomorrow, coming off a 13 years of war and most recently coming off of sequestration i will say in my opinion we are not where we need to be or want to be in the air force when it comes to our full spectrum of readiness. and certainly if you look back over the last month or two it has been an extremely volatile world which makes me concentrate even more on our readiness.

.. it has been difficult to get some of these proposals approved through the congress. it is not dead yet, but it has been a difficult road. it also appears that we will not be provided with the authority to do another round of base closures. basically, the message that we

keep taking to congress at every stage is that we can as obviously it's congress's constitutional prior if to rearrange priorities but in so doing please to not carve money out of our readiness account. readiness is key, and ready to get those goals up. please lift sequestration. fees choices were troublesome, all on your hands. it will get worse and more difficult. this is a message that i wanted to repeat today. we need to get full spectrum readiness up. now that i talk about today's readiness, let me shift to the future i also told, i think we will have greater reliance because obviously you know our numbers have been coming down.

right to leverage their reserve more. we have to maintain a technological edge. we have to be remaining ready with top-notch people. we need to become more agile. so what does all that means? it means a lot of things. we need to keep working diligently of our top three programs. the new fighter, the new tanker, the new bomber. in the general would give you some updates on the street. these and other technical investments as well. going to need to invest more in my opinion in space and cyber. you guys have heard me say it again, we need to continue and invest more in the number one mission, the nuclear enterprise. obviously we need to keep the focus on readiness. now, all of this is tricky business because we're back to the story of the budget which is likely to remain flat.

i am focused on getting the absolute best value for the taxpayer. the musket ability at the least cost. south us achieve this goal we have to do a number of things. keeper programs on track and delivering and on schedule and not over running to the best of our ability to read we have to build affordability from the beginning. and that is what we did. combat rescue helicopter. we have to attack headquarters spending. we just announced that we are going to reduce 20% in 1 year, not five. we are aggressively going after contract spending as well. spending on contractors.

this has already been happening. the need to take a fresh look at that. and we're bubbling up ideas from the field. what they see in their work environment. the campaign. gun thousands of ideas. not every idea is implemented will, but we are reviewing them in implementing some. savings from the ideas that we already approved, but this is our way of giving everyone involved. just a few more words about the air force of the future. today we're rolling out a new combustor cheese it framework. this represents a road map to help guide our long-range

planning efforts. smart money and policy choices going forward. very important not only have a strategy but he follow through with money sources. as i was going to my confirmation process on capitol hill, a courtesy calls with senators, they felt that the air force seems to lack consistency in our policy choices star resources. one year we would say this, another year that. that was the perception i heard. well, this kind of framework of three follow through should certainly help us obtain better results in that consistency department. a document is a third and what you might call trilogy. the first is our vision document that kind of tells us who we are. the second one, a global vigilance toward power, reached,

a document that talks about our five core missions tells a while we do story, and the third one that we are rolling up to date talks about where we're going. you, what, where. as you go through you will see, it is not a war fighting document, not a new national security strategy. does not replace current doctrine. rather it is a framework intended to help guide us in our tettleton responsibilities for our air force which is organizing and training and equipping going forward. the basic premise is that we never ever seen to accurately predict the future. never get it right. therefore we have to continue to be able to step up to the plate into a range of missions and also that we need to get ahead of the curve when it comes to these enormous, rapid changes we're seeing, changes in technology, changes in nations

and groups acquiring weapons, changes in how we communicate. facebook and twitter ten years ago, enormous changes. geopolitical s ability changes. so these are the hallmarks of the strategic environment. therefore, instead of focusing on a specific term we're trying to focus and recognize this quick pace of change and we have to recognize the imperative that we be able to change. strategic agility is what we are going for. this phrase should allow us to rapidly adjust to revolving threat environments faster than our potential adversaries and help us counter some of this great uncertainty. now, this whole concept is going to take time to instill into a big institution like the air force because i don't know that we are known for being enormously agile. and so this is where we will get

started. we just reorganized our headquarters air force staff in order to take these points and ultimately, over time, make those resources and policy decisions to make that strategy real. as we move forward our prediction you will see us in bed this concept of strategic agility into a lot of key areas that we will be working on. when it comes to people and training, tettleton responsibility, embedded to policies the concepts of more empowerment for air force, herrmann members. pau active reserve. the verge or constructive training so that we can train in different ways in which trade today. diversity of thought, critical thinking of the things you can expect to see his work on.

in acquisitions, designed, agility, requirements. opportunities, pieces are technologies within programs and be able to harness rapid prototyping to bring in his idea in the service more quickly. continue to elevate affordability as well as export ability. think through in the beginning. we want allies to manage our probability. what type of things we can export. when we come to investment, you can continue to see as dr. ross on the you are aware of the may be some less so. we have to invest more in our nuclear deterrence. i said that repeatedly. isr will continue to be extremely important and we will continue to invest. standoff and long-range weapons. i mentioned the importance of

space and cyberspace. key technologies could be game changes. we don't know yet, but they could be. and the last point i will give you about the strategic framework as we talk about a multi domain approach. so this is the idea that we have three domains of we operate in. we operate in the air coming in space, and in cyberspace. and for any knew challenge that we might encounter, it may be not the correct answer that requires a new crime or a new mission to go on a plane. maybe there are ways to leverage and always to leverage cyber in order to address that. we don't know but we have to open up our minds much more to what we're calling the multi the man approached. so as i conclude, the bottom line that i would give you after my first seven months on the job , our forces in good shape today but we are feeling

strains. the future depends in large part on how well we plan and execute some of the things we've talked about today and how well we do that consistently over the years we certainly hope and expect and we will continue to work with congress to help us in this regard, to support us in this regard. we're going to continue to talk of lifting sequestration and protecting readiness. again, i want to thank you for your time today. let me yelled back. his. >> good afternoon. thank you for taking the time to be here. our air force supports military operations all over the world of play every day whether ongoing operations in afghanistan, counter-terrorism activities to my training with and assuring friends during exercises in eastern europe, a nuclear alert

in the american midwest, conducting partnerships, standing and watching or sitting here at home. our job is to provide combat commanders. we are pretty good and our job. we will continue doing all of this. the ready to do the job today and being able to do it ten years from now. that is not an easy task, but these days under sequestration and is getting increasingly difficult. we prioritize three acquisition programs because we believe they are operational imperatives to the joint force of 2025 and beyond. if we expect to remain the world's leading air power nation which gives us an undeniable asymmetric advantage we must recapitalize our aging legacy fleet. let me start with our fighter

fleet. the f35 is the answer, the only answer. and there is good news to report. we are reaching important milestones. the air force base just a delivery of the 26f358. the fighter squadron now has its full complement of aircraft. that is a major milestone on the flight path for the air force. test and training programs are moving forward steadily. the recent engine fire has gotten a lot of attention slowing flight activity to completely understand the root cause implementing a restrictive flight of a low which will remain in effect until we understand the root cause completely. i do think it is important to remember that engine fires happen when you fly high-performance aircraft. this is not the first and it

will be the last. 14,000 flight hours. i'm confident the program will remain on track and reach imc by december 2013. they casey for six pegasuses another top operational imperative for the joint force. the 179 aircraft will feel between 2016 and 2020 will bring more refueling capacity, improved efficiency, increased cargo and air medical to both our forests and fighting team.

the first test aircraft is scheduled to fly this fall. it continues. they have led every contractual requirement to date. the recent announcement of a change -- a charge against the program to correct a deficiency. the contractor will cover those costs. there is no additional cost. the long-range strike bomber is the third of our major programs giving our country the ability to hold any target on earth. also gives us the ability to conduct air campaign and operational flexibility across our ride right to file a wide range of operations. all long-range air refillable highly survivable aircraft with

significant nuclear and conventional standoff and direct attack weapons payloads. initial operational ability. it will be an adaptable and highly capable system based upon mature technology. as i think you know we have established achievable requirements. we recently released a request for proposals. expected in the spring of next year. well these acquisition programs are critical to our success if there is nothing more critical to our success than the air men in power this great air force. this is a tough time. chair asking great men and women have done everything asked of them in pretty tough places to and voluntarily leave our force. there is nothing good or easy about it. the secretary and i have a responsibility to balance are forced to a size we can afford to train and operate, and many to do it before we return to

sequestered levels of funding if the existing law continues to take us there. we submitted a budget to reduce the number of active duty air and from 330,000 to 307,000. our forest management actions have already approved about 13,400 airmen for voluntary separation and over 6,004 and voluntary. these will leave are forced by the spring of next year. air force budget proposals are being debated by congress. so we're not sure whether or not we will be allowed. those force structure decisions have personnel implications. final decisions can be made until those are made. is difficult to tell where we will end up. as we promised chairman, we have done and are doing everything we can to maximize voluntary separation programs prior

implementing a voluntary measures. that will make it any easier. we will do everything in our power to ease the transition back into civilian life. we thank them for their service. i would like to finish by saying our men will meet the challenges we face head-on and overcome them. >> must choose it for more. where are discuss this deterrent to nuclear weapons in the structure must be recapitalized were necessary to be modernized when needed. it strikes me as a non-committal statement.

>> all start. maybe japan. i think we do need to modernize it. it's a question of when. we're doing that ourselves within the budget card through the next, cycle. we are also in discussions with zero sp, the secretary and deputy secretary. a point that i continue to make them believe there is agreement on, this is a national asset and then for an issue for all of us. so i think as we work through this process obviously we will have more to share, but i would suspect you will see more money put in. >> the national mission, are you saying that the air force should have a bigger piece of the pie as a result?

>> so we're doing is trying to explain the total picture wherefores. so this will of configured out in the next several months we do feel that additional moneys to will be in order because this is such an important national asset >> the documents we are releasing today, three documents the will form our overall strategy. the call of the future peace pulling us in a direction of those principles and conduct and behavior that we think we have to half. the next piece is the air force master plan. we will take the 12 existing core function master plans, consolidate them into a single master plan which should have the de chair looking for which we driven by the words i just

read to revert right to have this as a mission when it to make sure the infrastructure is capable of doing the job. that should shore up the master plan. we can create consistency across mission areas. a call to the future. the master plan is resource pound ended at ten year balanced budgets. we hope it will provide consistency in message, funding, and build trust with the people we have to have trust with to get consistent, dependable investment in those programs that have to be maintained and recapitalized.

>> 100 percent. staffers or harder%. >> so my answer to that as we can to everything. therefore we have to have some clear priorities. nuclear is number one, and we need to understand that. that is precisely why we are shifting resources and personnel the personnel are not all there. they are coming. there are eight critical specialties within the career field. they've got to be staffed at one of the%. that is the decision. i will tell you, a hundred percent level overseas forces. that is also critical. again, nuclear is considered to

of the spear. >> this test of the are hard look in the mirror at how we do business because if the requirement can be reduced by getting smarter about how we do the job that is part of the process. >> i know you have a breakthrough that technology. >> kind of the big picture for me. the real speed really compresses and reduces immunization time. that's an important concept. anything we can do to speed up the effect is a good thing.

i don't think hypersonic in the near term will impact the icbm. >> i was going to say i think it's too early to tell. >> thank you very much. are would like to ask you about compression. as a result of the situation in russia there has been a system wide reaction to some of the decisions that have been made that lead up to the situation. some people in the national security framework solution of employment and some of the contingencies of the round table . now this far into development or reared doing very well, affleck developments how you reconcile the lessons from rd180 with the challenges that could be faced with having one engine for an

entire allied air force? >> say your last sentence again. >> probably not verbatim. how you rectify the lessons from the experience. that is not a performance issue but a supply issue. essentially you could be cut off the situation here now face. whether it's a performance issue were supply issue. you're facing a performance issue. ten or 11 allied nations. >> i think of it and the standard of little bit better. >> first of all, big picture. bear with me. the big picture on russia

obviously we are standing firm, working with our allies. was just over there. this was an extremely important topic. people are monitoring the situation with russia receiving attention of the highest levels, diplomatic overtures and sanctions. you are all aware of that. everyone is aware that we have proposed as we call the european reinsurance initiative additional monies for additional rotational forces in exercises and different engagement activities so that the presence of our nato allies is very much out there. with respect to the rd180 we are heavily reliant on a for our space launch program. and our desire is to get off of that reliance as soon as we can. right now there's been no

interruption in the supply despite tweaks to the contrary, and we do have a two years type of. we're working through options and i will get off of reliance. we have near-term and long-term things of we are looking at depending on how the world conditions go. for example, speeding up the purchase. that is an additional engine. giving the new entrants were working diligently putting our resources, money, people against the certification process. were trying to figure out how we would do a new engine. or working through all that and would expect to have more

respect. with respect to the engine in the f35 the entire fleet is not grounded. the have limitations. your specs and a gradually be used up. it is not unusual to have something like this happen. we are all optimistic that we will be working through it. so i do not believe this is in any way showstopper. it was unfortunate, but they're going through and trying to narrow down the root cause to really will work through. i don't see the two as particularly similar. >> it would be a little alarmist to assume we have a problem. making pretty darn good engines for long time.

i think what we found in the program so for, almost 9,000, this engine works pretty well. today it did and would need to figure out why. >> to you feel that the decision was premature? >> i would like to have 17 onion 63 f 35 shoot the engine that were sure there will. >> so about a paragraph dedicated to unmans systems arm to drones around the world, very few countries.

in thinking about the air force over investing in expensive manned systems when he talking above being in bed hospice, we haven't figured out, replicate. the situational awareness it gives you is unlike anything else we've been able to bring the other. have we are a root able to replicate that the game changes. until we are you have to put on the man systems in the areas where it makes sense. i don't think at this point in time their better at every job.

arista of less than 10 percent of our total. it's not like they're taking over at the moment we will continue to expand. we have to take it all little bit slower. by the way, one of the ways to make sure we don't do that, in a 2014 chairman of the year. just wanted to point him out to you. he's a great chairman. is a c-17 engine guy. maybe you can build a launch platform for somebody. >> yes, sir. strategic agility. in a dark railroad taking advantage. it seems to be don't change the

requirements. how do you reconcile the two? more frequent overall? >> there are what they are. we have to do the best of which have with the architecture is to read when it comes to the new program, to the extent we build and modularity, open architecture and the like, ways that we can plug in different types of capability, technology. that's the idea. inform future programs. do the best that we can with strategies. >> it is also within existing programs. we were talking about propulsion

if the advanced engine technology demonstrator program proves that you can create systems as if you anywhere between 30 and 45% on fuel costs and we should be building into every fleeted we have decision plans for implementing new technology and competition is to replace existing engines because it will pay for itself quickly. i think we have to be will to take advantage of things. it may not be a major change overnight but we should look for it in every level. >> what's coming up the you can work your, the programs of our coming a. >> of j. starr replacement, and a trainer with the next few years.

>> the recent influence in africa. and raising red flags to both of the above security for your aircraft. catherine their readiness. >> for everyone involved. command-and-control responsibility for that aircraft . the latest effort about the incident and sulfur is that u.s. european has told us that the young man died of asphyxiation. unknown know how he would phrase it i don't know if he was from there are not.

it's an airplane land to mike as gas, turns. the crew chief would go out and check. he was not in a position to be seen from there. they had to remove an ounce of usual as panel. so how he got him they're is a huge question mark. there will conduct an investigation where they have facts as they find them. >> the readiness issue, there might be shortfalls. >> i would sing the full spectrum security. as the chief said, a question of what was the security, the standard protocols. obviously something fell through the cracks. there were able to gain access to the aircraft.

>> i wanted to pick up on her question. the pivot points. i guess there's no point in asking about water of the bridge . the you think it was a mistake, so much fit into a program like the f35, three very complex challenges, and to what extent are you able to go forward and create opportunities, sustainment and potentially a new engine. all of those things as they go along. so this is like looking back looking forward. >> i think what is important at the end of any you start to feel the program. you should learn everything they can. at the equivalent of awful lot.

some good lessons and things we might consider doing differently the important thing is not to look back and be critical but figure what it means about the way forward. this idea of strategic agility is one of the lessons. the problem of the acquisition side, the process has to become more agile. all of us would agree with that. how you get there from here is the problem. this is not quite a change overnight. in everything we do in our master plan looking at how we move forward, we should consider this idea of how to become more agile consistently and confidently over time, and it has to include all the partners. >> early on, the ability of an ability of some of the key

players to get access and to build a start the process quicker, what are you doing about that to prevent that from happening again? >> i have a different view. the problem with an accident scene is someone has to be is in the accountable for making sure you control evidence. that is the first response ability. the interim safety board president. the tape off the area and begin isolating evidence. so the evidence will appear determine the problem. it takes about a day and a half to get the full time board president to beat have experts start to show up. that is actually very fast.

before the safety board arrived. because until that is available trying to piece together what happened is virtually impossible and so that was actually removed from the airplane and sent to the contractor the second day which is way ahead of the normal time one. the confusion got to be what we had not come to an agreement with representatives to be part of the process of every one of texas' quickly. certification decisions of the engine company can have the data the star work and root cause analysis and have the information to know exactly how it affected their test program.

but they're all the time, and they were actually there with the interim safety board but no one knew who was officially the connection. so we have to put together and mou on services and in the department so that next time this happens there is a quick response and everyone know exactly who is authorized. >> go ahead. >> we were being told in a combat force was not ready to fly. now congress is potentially trying to take money out of europe's readiness account to pay for the a per rams so what

kind of measures the ticking now >> of course congress has not completed its work. the message where putting forth, and there are people who are very interested in this. as congress chefs priorities and decides that this will happen or that won't happen, they are working with the same topline members of the budget control act of we have to budget against what we're saying is please don't carve money out of readiness. is too important and would need to recapture some of that. i would also say something that i have learned that have a much greater appreciation for.

take flying. there is flying in flying. it's not quite like riding a bicycle. you can't stand down for three months and totally get back and be able to do all of the same capabilities. you might be able to get back into the cockpit and fly the plane, but there are very, very difficult maneuvers, high-technology equipment which is why we put an emphasis on the full spectrum. the eye and difficult type of flying, simulated tests that we could face. it is particularly that type of flying that we feel like we have to have more of. these of the masses we're putting forward. >> have we going to have another crisis?

that unless you get the money from congress? >> of course the law of the land right now will return in athaliah 16. we know what that means for defense. we are in discussions and it is quite possible that the president's budget request that goes to capitol hill could be higher. and so in the most recent years we have done is created several versions of budget. as you recall, the president's budget level and at a lower level. so i would predict it will go through something like that again, putting forth will be feel we need and then put forth if we had to live with that here is that we would manage.

>> in your answer in sounded like you had a solution developer replacement engine. is that correct? i you ready to do that? why not do it now? in year framework documents when you think about agility your mind, is it more important for future friends to build and design them more quickly or design platforms that can evolve over time and last 60 years? what is the future in your mind? >> so there is no solution your peers trying to paint the picture with options on the table. also trying to paint the picture that the situation with russia is serious. we are quite reliant but not

exclusively so some time to think through the way forward. affair is one underpinning were going to want have is this kind of reliance to develop the results and it is. >> two things. both are true. it depends on what your building. for example, platforms have proven. we should design for a longer life. whether the stinkers, bombers, buyers, whenever it might be. other things that we should look at, rapid acquisition programs the we know will change. it's a combination in the two.

until the the same process for everything. >> any update? >> no. congress has the influence. doing their work. >> it's a great platform. >> you think terrorism will go way? coor's no. it's about balancing the forced to provide spectrum emissions. if i ask the combatant commanders today, if you had $4 billion to spend would you prefer to keep the kayten or would you prefer to buy more is or or other things? and novelist of 15 things that would prefer us to spend money on. we don't make up our requirements. the combatant commanders create the requirements to. >> the vital platform.

we will probably be in these areas. we are not calling for. and you know it the next time? if you look, mayors of going to be in these battles. >> so my answer to that would be , it is possible we will after we wind and the combat operations. we can't predict. it is possible we could get into something else were we would need higher levels of close air support. if that is the case we've got it. we have the f-16, the f-15 e. and there are other platforms as well. additionally this was designed to be a five-year gradual retirement plan.

it is not as though we suggested that the 18 go away overnight. the close air support mission is a sacred one. >> we have one more question. the question is, what do you want to give a instead? sequestration is the issue. we have to come up with a plan that is 20 billion less than we had three years ago. 20 billion the year. if anyone else has a solution that balances air force capabilities we would love to hear it. >> in queue. can you elaborate on the strategic framework? the capabilities our technologies your liking of you might like to acquire over the

next months and years. the corollary, request for papers, moving toward a defense what that says a lawyer goals in cyberspace. >> i don't know anything about it. i don't know what it means for our goals. other than i know we put out a white paper asking for information. that did not come to my office we can find out more about that. o.c. a fracking do you a better answer. as far as this document goes to what it really calls were his first to get our act together. we are making a big change in cyber from airports perspective, from a group of technologies

that grew up supporting very focused, narrowly focused technical support to u.n. operations. that is where siren began. the air force and air component commanders are worried about paying affects on big battlefields. how do we reshape our thinking to think about executing the five core missions, how would we get to doing more of those jobs and the multiple domains? how do we do more high as core, more command-and-control, more strikes of different types, the targets that open up and the effects that we can produce. that is the chains of the year forced knees to make. making it mainstream to the core missions over her forces opposed to hand its capability with talented people. that is what this is calling is to figure out.

>> fighting hard to preserve the funding? >> i think the funding we have now is pretty stable. there is no intent to pull it out. we have to become experts. >> if you remember, one of the things i said, this is a framework that is designed to inform us and get as we are making of money in policy choices. as we go forward, if there are suggestions of think we have a good reason not to. [inaudible conversations] being

here. the mission of the epa is from text human health and the environment. lately the epa has ventured well beyond its mission. in recent rulemakings its recent rule makes are an unprecedented

power grab that's infringing on the rights of individuals and small business owners. the results on our economy is potentially deva staegt. the epa needs to re-evaluate their decision. these rules have direct consequences for small business and the american public deserves to have a complete picture of the costs and benefits of all of these rules. unfortunately the epa seems focused on telling one side of the story and ignoring the other. what the epa is not revealing is how its rules will affect small businesses. the epa is required to tell the story by the regulatory flexibility act. the rfa requires epa to go through the common sense process of assessing how its rules will affect small entities and whether there are less burdensome ways to meet their objectives. instead of complying with the law and getting input from small businesses the epa has ducked these rulemaking requirements. unfortunately small businesses won't be able to duck the power plant regulations or waters of

the united states rule once they are finalized. they are being required to comply with the rules, pay the costs or face the consequence. all small businesses want clean water and clean air but they want rules that are rational. they want to know what they are required to do. hat the costs are expected to be and how their operations will be affected. last but not least small businesses want to be treated fairly in the rulemaking process. i hope this hearing will be a wake up call for the epa. avoiding their obligations under the rfa is simply not acceptable. the committee has been getting the epa to testify on this topic and i want to thank deputy administrator perciasepe for joining us today and i look forward to discussing this issue and i, again, want to thank you for being here. i now yield to ranking member velazquez for opening statement. >> thank you, mr. chairman. a clean environment and economic growth go hand-in-hand.

between 1970 and 2011 air pollution dropped 68%, while private-sector jobs increased by 88% and gdp grew by more than 2,200%. this is not coincidence as studies continually show environment stewardship is not only good for our families but also for our businesses. today the epa play as vital role, protecting the public health and safety by implementing a vast array of environmental laws, which in turn support our economy. through its implementation of the clean air act, we have seen significant improvements in our nation's air quality. in a given year enforcement of the clean air act has saved 160,000 lives, prevented 1.7 million asthma attacks and stopped 13,000 heart attacks.

it is estimated that 13 million missed work days are prevented thanks to the cleaner air we enjoy boosting economic productivity. we have seen similar benefits from the epa's enforcement of water regulations. since the enactment of the clean water act billions of pounds of pollution have been kept out of our waterways, doubling the number of safe areas for swimming and fishing. as a result americans are healthier, our waterways are remediated and industries like tourism, fishing and recreation, which are dominated by small businesses are seeing greater opportunities. while it is fair to say that these outcomes are positive and epa is justifiable the agency must be mindful of how new rules

and regulations impact our nation's small firms. to this point our committee has already examined several epa regulations and the agency's obligations under the regulatory flexibility act. what this hearing has shown is the small business impact can vary from rule to rule. when it comes to electricity generation, it is clear that the direct cost are born mainly by large utilities. however, with regard to the discharge of certain chemicals into the water, small businesses and farms are likely to barrymore of the actual costs associated with the regulations. yet epa determined neither rule will have enough of an economic impact on small firms to trigger an analysis. during today's hearing i hope to hear how the epa is implementing its obligation under their regulatory flexibility act as well as conducting