ry there is nothing significant we will accomplish unless we have the courage to take them on and that is what this campaign is about. they met to believe the remarks at this point. see the entire event in the seas and video library. courtesies and.org. live now to the u.s. senate. senator's in for a brief pro forma session. . adjourn:

>> and we'll return now to the urban league event. here is presidential candidate bernie sanders. >> to me, it is not acceptable that the top one-tenth of 1% owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%. it is not acceptable that one family, family that owns walmart, owns more wealth than the bottom 40% of the american people. it is not acceptable that in the last two years the 14th wealthiest people saw their wealth increase by $157 billion

more wealth than is owned by the bottom 130 million americans. the truth of the matter is that we cannot run away from that reality. income and wealth inequality is the great moral issue of our time, it is the great economic issue of our time, it is the great social and political issue of our our time, and together we must address that issue. [applause] now, let me touch on another issue before i get to your theme of equal consequence. some of you may have heard maybe you didn't. it didn't get a whole lot of press. a few days ago former president jimmy carter described the

american political system as corrupt, he described the united states as an oligarchy with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nomination for president or to elect the president. what he was talking about is the disastrous supreme court decision on citizens united. [applause] a decision which says to the wealthiest people in this country, you already own much of the economy now we're going to give you the opportunity to buy the united states government. that decision is undermining the very foundations of american democracy, what men and women have fought and given their lives to defend. you tell me what it means when one family, the koch brothers' family, will spend more money on this election cycle than either

the democratic party or the republican party, spend almost a billion dollars to buy candidates who will make the. rich:er and everyone else disease rich richer and everyone else poorer. that, to me, is not democracy that is old oligarchy. that's why we've got to overturn this disastrous citizens united decision. [applause] and i guarantee you that all of the issues that candidates have talked about that you believe in will not take place when a handful of wealthy people are able to control our political system. now, when we talk about education, i trust that all of you know -- as you do -- that we live in a highly competitive global economy. to my mind, it is insane, and i

use that word advisedly that we have hundreds of thousands of bright young people, often minorities, who have the desire, who have the ability to get a higher education and go to college, but they can't go to college for the simple reason their families cannot afford the tuition. that is absurd. we need to have the best educated work force in the world and not tell hundreds of thousands of bright young people that they cannot make it into the middle class or they cannot contribute as engineers, as doctors and scientists. [applause] and that is why i have introduced legislation and will fight for as president to make every public college and university in america tuition-free. [cheers and applause]

and what that means is that kids in the fourth grade and in the sixth grade will know that if they study hard pay attention, do their school work each if their parents -- even if their parents, like my parents, didn't go to college, even if kids in the neighborhood didn't go to college, they will be able to go to college because the income of their families will not be a determining factor. this will revolutionize education, i think. [applause] and when we talk about education, what we also have to understand and be frank is the world has changed since the 1940s and '50s. mom is in the workplace. [applause] dad is in the workplace. we need a first class childcare pre-k system in this country.

[applause] in my state and all over this country, working class families struggling to find affordable, quality childcare childcare workers are paid minimum wage. that is not how we should treat the most vulnerable children in america. universal pre-k well paid teachers. [applause] now, let me say a word about jobs. you read every month that unemployment is 5.3%. the government comes out with the statistic. please know that that statistic is only one of many statistics the government releases on jobs. that statistic does not include those people who have given up looking for work and those people who are working part time, millions, when they want to work full time. real unemployment is not 5.3%, it is 10.5%. it is a crisis.

and now let me tell you what very few people are talking about which is an even greater crisis. and that is youth unemployment which we don't talk about at all. i asked for last month a study from the economic policy institute, and they came up with the results that nobody is questioning. listen to this. if you are a white kid between 17 and 20 who graduates high school, you have a 33% unemployment rate. if you are an hispanic kid, you have a 36% unemployment rate. if you are an african-american kid, 17-20, high school graduate, you have a 51% unemployment rate. that is unacceptable, that is

turning our backs on an entire generation. [applause] and we must not allow that to continue. [applause] now, when people talk about the tragedy of the united states having more people in jail than any other country including china, one of the corrupting factors -- one of the contributing factors is that we've got five and a half million young people in america, in my state, in your state without jobs without education hanging around on street corners doing bad things. it is my very strong opinion that it makes a lot more sense for us to be investing in jobs and education rather than jails and incarceration. [applause] that is why along with

representative john conyers of michigan i introduced legislation that would create one million jobs over the next several years for unemployed kids. and that is why i have introduced legislation that calls for a trillion dollar investment in rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, creating 13 million decent paying jobs. [applause] and when we talk about jobs and income, let me be perfectly clear. the $7.25 minimum wage that exists nationally is, in my view a starvation wage. [applause] and that is why last week alongside young people in the fast food industry who are standing up and fighting for dignity, i introduced the legislation that will move us to

$15 an hour minimum wage over the next few years. [applause] i strongly supported the affordable care act. it has done a lot of good things. but we should understand that the united states today remains the only major country on earth that does not guarantee health care to all people as a right and that is why i will continue fighting and introduce legislation for a medicare for all single-payer program guaranteeing health care to every man, woman and child. [applause] now, when we talk about justice when we talk about the need for all people in america to be treated equally and with dignity, we have got to deal with some hard realities.

and those realities include the fact that today if you can believe it and i know you can one in four black males -- today -- can expect to spend time in prison during their lifetime unless we change that dynamic. this is an unspeakable tragedy and this country can no longer ignore that. blacks are in prison at six times the rate of whites. a report by the department of justice found that blacks were three times more likely to be searched during a traffic stop compared to white motorists. african-americans are twice as likely to be arrested and almost four times as likely to experience the use of force during encounters with police. 13% -- and this is an extraordinary figure, and i think not an accident -- 13% of

african-american men have lost the right to vote due to felony convictions. can't vote, can't participate in the democratic political process. now, in my view we need some major changes in criminal justice in america. and as president of the united states, i promise you my justice department will be vigorous in fighting all forms of discrimination in every area of our life not only in police matters, but in housing in credit in every area that impacts minority populations. across our nation, as all of you know and we see almost every day, too many african-americans and other minorities find

themselves subjected to a system that treats citizens who have not committed crimes as if they were criminals. a growing number of communities throughout this country do not trust the police, and police have become disconnected from the communities they are sworn to protect. when i was mayor of burlington vermont, the largest city in the state, one of the things we did -- and i believe this very strongly -- is we moved toward community policing. community policing means that police are part of the community, not seen as oppressors in the community, and that is the direction that we have got to move. sandra bland michael brown eric gasher, walt -- garner, walter scott freddie grey we know their names. each of them died unarmed at the hands of police officers or in police custody.

let us all be very clear, violence and brutality of any kind particularly at the hands of law enforcement sworn to protect and serve their communities is unacceptable and must not be tolerated. [applause] we must reform our criminal justice system. black lives do matter, and we must value black lives. [applause] we must move away from the militarization of police forces. you've all seen on tv this heavy duty equipment. it looks like they're invading the cities. [laughter] true. you know, it's like they're going to war and that is not the signal that police departments should be sending around this country. police should be part of the community, not an oppressor force. we need a justice department which takes the lead in working with states and localities to

train police officers. force should be the last resort, not the first resort. for people who have committed crimes that have landed them in jail there needs to be a path back from prison. the recidivism rate in this country is incredibly high. people go to jail we send them out of jail, they have no jobs, they have no money, they have no housing, and then we are just shocked when they end up in jail. we must end the overincarceration of nonviolent young americans who do not pose a serious threat to our society. it is an international embarrassment that we have more people in jail than any other country. it is a obscenity that we stigmatize so many young americans with a criminal record for smoking marijuana, but oddly

enough, not one major wall street executive has been prosecuted for causing the near collapse of our entire economy. [applause] doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. [applause] we need to end prisons for profit. [applause] i do not want corporations making money and more money based on how many people we lock up. [applause] the measure of serious and effective law enforcement should not be how many people go to jail, but how many people we can keep out of jail. [applause] we need to invest in drug courts and medical and mental health intervention. mental health, what an issue. so many of our people in jail are dealing with mental health

issues, and i can tell you as a senator i get calls, i think others do as well. senator, my brother, i am worried what he is going to do to himself to other people. we've searched desperately for affordable mental health care, we can't find it. that's a story going on all over america, that is a story that has to change. [applause] furthermore, we have to to take a hard look -- and the tragedy last month in south carolina reminds me of that so strongly -- that there are still those who seek to terrorize and they are terrorists, the african-american community with violence and intimidation. some of us thought that that had ended 50 years ago but it hasn't. we need to make sure that federal resources are available to crack down on the illegal activities of hate groups.

[applause] there are hundreds of groups in this country whose sole reason for existence is hatred of african-americans, hatred of immigrants, hatred of jews, hatred of catholics. that has got to end, and the federal government must be active in ending that. [applause] so brothers and sisters, thank you very much for allowing me to be with you and to share some ideas. and let me conclude maybe in the tone that i began. [laughter] and that is that these are very very difficult days, no question about it. but i believe that if we stand together as a people, if we don't let people divide us by race, by gender by sexual orientation, by what country we

were born in if we stand together if we have the courage to take on those people today whose greed is destroying america, if we do that, there is nothing that we cannot accomplish and i am confident that the urban league will be in the forefront of that struggle. thank you so much. [applause] >> senator bernie sanders! [applause] thank you very much, senator. three quick questions and the national urban league will promulgate a questionnaire which will seek your position on the specifics of our 21st century agenda. can you commit to respond to that questionnaire? >> absolutely. >> number two millennials young people are a big part of this organization and an important part of the electorate today. any word you'd like to say specifically about the role that

they will play in your campaign, in your administration or in the future of the nation? >> well, mark, just the other day, on wednesday night some of you may know we did something that was unprecedented. we had 3700 organizing meetings in every state in this country bringing out more than 100,000 people. and you know what? most of them were young people. and i believe very strongly not only in terms of my campaign, but in the future of this country that we have got to mobilize the idealism and the energy of young people, and my campaign will do everything we can to make that happen. >> and an important part for the african-american community of the racial wealth gap the income inequality gap has to do with the fact that our small entrepreneurs, african-american-opened

businesses -- owned businesses are facing froze been credit markets and difficulty to grow. talk about that in terms of how it fits into your thinking. >> thank you for making that extremely important point. people can't succeed in small business unless they have accessible affordable credit. on the broader level one of the points that i'm making in this campaign is that wall street is an island unto itself, more concerned about their own profits than making affordable loans to small business and potential homeowners. and that's why i have called for the breaking up of the major financial institutions in this country -- [applause] which will, in fact, increase credit for small and medium-sized businesses. >> senator bernie sanders let's thank him for being here with us. [applause] >> thank you very much. >> at the national urban league. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, we're

going to stand at ease, and we have one mr. speaker today, our final candidate. so don't go far. ♪ ♪ colors on the street red white and blue. ♪ people shuffling their feet, people sleeping in their shoes. ♪ there's a warning sign on the road ahead, there's a lot of people saying we'd be better off dead. ♪ don't feel like satan but i am -- so i try to forget it any way i can. ♪ keep on rocking in the free world. ♪ keep on rocking in the free world.

♪ keep on rocking in the free world. ♪ keep on rocking in the free world. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ i see a woman in the night with a baby in her hand. ♪ -- streetlight near a garbage can. ♪ now she puts the kid away she's gotta get a hit.

♪ she hates her life and what she's done to it. ♪ there's one more kid that'll never go to school never get to fall in love, never get to be cool. ♪ keep on rocking in the free world. ♪ keep on rocking in the free world. ♪ keep on rocking in the free world. ♪ keep on rocking in the free world. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ we've got a thousand points of light for the homeless man. ♪ we've got a kinder gentler machine gun hand. ♪ we've got -- ♪ -- god's universe -- ♪ keep on rocking in the free world. ♪ keep on rocking in the free world. ♪ keep on rocking in the free world.

♪ keep on rocking in the free world. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ the colors on the street, red

white and blue. ♪ people shuffling their feet, people sleeping in their shoes. ♪ there's a warning sign on the road ahead -- >> would resume and return to your seats let's give senator bernie sanders another round of applause. [applause] and i also want to once again thank all urban league trustees ceos gilders young professionals, affiliate board leaders, national and affiliate staff. let's give them a round of applause for all of their work. [applause] and jermaine once again this has been a great morning a great session. you've been just a wonderful crowd. and also let's give the representatives of the media a big hand for coming out and supporting by letting the american people see this forum

today. [applause] our final candidate hails from a family that is no stranger to the state of florida, to the white house or to more than politics. or to american politics. three generations of members of the bush family have served the federal government and two have held the to value office. the oval office. our next speaker's looking to win the trifecta. [laughter] and our next speaker served as governor of this state the sunshine state of florida. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the national urban league governor jeb bush. [applause] ♪ ♪ >> thank you all very much. i appreciate your hospitality and your excellent choice of the best date to hold your annual conference. [laughter] [applause] i'm not biased or anything.

the urban league movement runs deep here with seven affiliates from tallahassee to broward county and greater miami. if you were all hoping to find the most diverse dynamic, forward-looking site for your convention, you came to the right place, and you all are always welcome in florida. [applause] mark i especially thank you and the trustees for this really kind invitation. i'm honored to be your guest. i'm pleased to see other candidates here as well. secretary clinton, governor o'malley senator sanders and a good man who's bringing a lot of wisdom to the republican side, dr. ben carson. by the way i'm glad he'll make it into the top ten for next week's debate. before that thing's over we might just need a doctor. [laughter] just saying. [laughter] for my part i'm working hard every day for the vote, and in

politics the best kind of support begins in friendship and fellowship. my florida friends and partners in the urban league include some of the most formidable people that any of us know. among them, a national trustee education leader and great woman, julia johnson. prison -- [applause] give her a round of applause. [applause] and a man who basically built this movement from the ground up in south florida my dear friend t. willard fair. [applause] he came to this state for a job interview i with the miami affiliate. as he tells the story, and i quote: i didn't know if they intended to hire me, but i intended to be hired. [laughter] that was 55 years ago and as we've all learned since when he intends for something to happen, don't be too surprised when it does. he's an unstoppable leader, and

i'm honored to call him my friend. after i lost my first election in 1994, i went through a period what some people might call self-reflection, but i referred to it as listening and learning. i converted to my wife's catholic faith. i went to family courthouses where there were cases of children abused and neglected. and parents trying, but unable to meet their obligations because of barriers, language, skills or otherwise that held them back. in my next campaign, i visited 250 schools across florida. many of them in low income communities. i also partnered with the urban league of greater miami to do something that was totally new to me. together we built the liberty city charter school, and at that time there were no charters in florida. so we said let's change the law, let's go build a charter school. let's start something new and hopeful for people who shouldn't

have to wait for a real opportunity. and together we got it done. that first year 90 black children in liberty city began their journey toward success. and the day that school opened was one of the happiest, proudest moments of my life. through that listening and learning, what i found were children who had the god-given ability to achieve yet for reasons out of their hands -- structural historical, economic -- they didn't have the same chance at success as their peers. i'm indebted to tao and to many others around florida for giving me that perspective. it made me a better person, a better candidate in 1998 and a better governor for eight years that followed. that experience still shapes the way i see the deep-seeded challenges facing people in urban communities today. i know that there are unjust barriers to opportunity and upward mobility in this country.

some we can see others are unseen but just is as real. so many lives can come to nothing or come to grief when we ignore problems or fail to meet our own responsibilities. and so many people could do so much better in life if we could come together and get a few big things right in government. i acted on that belief as governor of florida. it's a record i'll gladly compare with anybody else in the field. just for starters, leaders know there are plenty of tough calls we have to make, so we should not be wasting time agonizing over the easy ones. so 14 years ago when the question was whether to keep the confederate flag on the grounds of the florida state capitol i said, no and put it in a museum where it belongs. [applause] another easy call was reaching out for talent wherever i found

it for my cabinet and staff state agencies and the courts. look, you're not going to get good judgment in government when everybody comes from the same life experience. [applause] we increased the number of black floridians serving in the judiciary by 43%. [applause] and i was particularly proud that during my governorship the state use of minority-owned businesses tripled. you can't serve all the people unless you represent all the people. and we did it. [applause] ..

we made florida the number one job creating state in the whole nation. [applause] we play conservative principles and apply them surely without wavering. we found with your obstacles imposed by government, more people had the opportunity to achieve earned success. we gave more people the tools to move up in the world through adult education and workforce training. we expand a community college system and made it or affordable for low income families. florida in those years helped thousands more first-generation college student make it all the way to graduation. we didn't lose sight of the ones who miss their chance at a

better life or maybe even lost their way and landed in jail. in florida, we didn't want to fill prisons with nonviolent offenders so expanded drug courts that started in florida all across the state and created prevention programs. i took to the u.s. i the u.s. i would that real justice in america has got to include restored justice. [applause] i open the first state base present in the united states and signed it into executive order to promote the hiring of ex-offenders. in this country we shouldn't be writing people off, denying them a second chance of a life of meeting, many only asked for a chance to start again to get back in the game and do it right another country we should say yes whenever we can. [applause]

we also went after the real enemy that afflicts our cities, smugglers, drug cartels and violent criminals to profit from the end you would've so many lives. we passed tough sentencing laws for gun crimes the nature of the dangers people were kept off our streets as a result of all of this we brought violent crime in florida down to a 27 year low and drug abuse done as well. social progress is always the story of widening the circle of opportunity. for that reason i gave the challenge of school reform everything i had a governor because if we fail at that responsibility it is a bitter loss. i believe the right to rise in this country and a child is not rising if he is not reading. [applause] when i took office, florida was near the bottom is an achievement. almost half of all fourth graders were functionally lit a literate and half of all high school kids never graduated.

so he overhauled the whole system, set clear standards and brought up the best and are great teachers. we insisted on testing and accountability. we created the first day by private school choice programs in america. we expanded high-performing charter schools and ended the insidious policy of social promotion in third grade the practice of passing unprepared kids along as if we didn't care because we did care and we should care. you don't show that by counting out anyone's child. you give them all a chance and that is what we did in florida. [applause] a lot changed in those years. graduatiograduatio n rates went up by 50%. the number of black and hispanic students passing ap exams increased four times over. we also became the leader in early childhood education and we still are today.

among minority children, florida saw the greatest gain anywhere in the united state and was a show? it shows every child could learn no matter their race no matter their bat around or where they live. i know this can be done. the debate is changing. old orthodoxies are falling away, but we can never forget the long-term reform doesn't help a child right now. years of learning our year is lost forever. i think of the kids in washington d.c. who received opportunity scholarships. a couple thousand boys and girls, almost all of them black have been given a chance to leave the worst schools and go to the bass. yet every year the unions and politicians want to shut the program down because they don't like parental choice. here's the deal. this is what i believe. every parent should have choices. every school should have high standards and high expectations

and the federal government should have nothing to do. washington should provide resources especially where the need is greatest but building knowledge in shaping their is the job of principals, teachers and most particularly parent. that is where the power should the loan. when president obama says that for too long we've been blind to the way past injustices shape, he is speaking the truth. [applause] but we should be just as candid about our failures in addressing injustices of the more recent origin. in our cities we've got so many people that have never known anything but poverty is so many young adults with no vision of a life beyond the life they know. it's a tragedy for them in such a loss to our country because everyone has a god-given purpose to live out and god-given talents this world needs.

every one of them was also promised one-day break in life in the form of a public school to help them learn who they are and what they can do. for millions it is a false promise as technology advances the first rung of the latter is higher and higher and higher. if we don't create an education system that allows young people to reach it we are setting them up for a lifetime of failure. you and i have to call the situation what it is. the worst inequality in america today in the source of so many other inequalities. i want to work with the urban league movement to end this injustice once and for all. [applause] for half a century, this nation has pursued a war and poverty and massive government programs funded with trillions of taxpayer dollars. the decades long effort while well-intentioned as many losing

one and the casualties can be counted in the millions who've never had a chance to work, his family felt that into drugs and violent impression of the spirit. one of the best antipoverty programs led by two committed parents as the family breaks down so does opportunity. poverty among dual parent families is about 7%. among famous for single mothers it's about 35%. the reason is simple. it's a lot tougher to raise a family alone. too many kids growing up without their dad. fathers absent in the child's life need to step up and take responsibility and it's incumbent on us [applause] it is incumbent on us to turn the tide in the break down of fatherhood in america. for many that is not an option and there's no tougher job in the world than being a single

mom. [applause] so is governor of florida i tried to do something about it. i doubled up for us to collect child support payments and we increase selection by 90% and the children were better off because of that. [applause] together with a quality education and family support system, and in the cycle of poverty requires access to jobs. i have set a goal that will define the economic agenda should i become president. i do not for one moment except to suppose a new normal of anemic 2% growth. i believe we are ready to achieve annual economic growth of 4% and a lot rides on the difference in the difference is simple to state. the new normal is more businesses going under rather than starting now. 4% growth is a true revival of the other in 19 million new jobs. the new normal is the static

president for struggling city's pier 4% growth as more enterprise in urban areas more people moving in a higher tax base and more revenues and a better chance to save our cities. we can do this as a country and grow at a pace that is sup everybody and there's no excuse for not trying. audacious goals are second nature to the men and women of the urban league. the spirit is most needed when things break down as we know they do in anger and violence. we've seen that yet again this year when all the issues we discussed make it harder and harder for people to imagine a hopeful future and easier to see why there's anger and disillusionment. trust in our vital institutions is at historic lows. it is up to all of us to work diligently to rebuild the trust. that happens one person at a

time. one politician at a time. one police officer at a time. one community leader at a time. it begins with respect dialogue and the courage to reach out in peace. those are the qualities we saw it in to have your affiliate presidents. michael mcmillan of st. louis and jay howard henderson of baltimore. [applause] these good men were tested and they showed us the way. strength to love this martin luther king called it always shows the way. sometimes as in charleston last month it shines as a true light in the darkness. in the community of that city we found such graces come as such. he is part such a road goodness such boundless mercy all gathered in one story.

we like to think charleston's response to evil told the world something good and right about this nation and our people and they surely did. even more the congregation of believers in that city gave witness to the character that built a movement and inspires it to this day. i want ever to live up to the goodness of charleston and work with you to better our communities whether as your neighbor or as your president. i know there are great and lasting things we can achieve together, maybe only together to keep america faithful to its ideals of equality and justice for all. your support in that effort is something i will work every day to earn. i welcome your friendship and ask for your vote. god bless you out in thank you for the invitation. [cheers and applause]

ladies and gentlemen, governor bush one more time. governor we at the national urban league will promulgate. ladies and gentlemen, please keep your seats. i've got three questions and an announced vent about the schedule for today. we are going to promulgate a questionnaire. and then the other two questions. one is about young people the new generation and millennial and the next one is small-business african american owned businesses frozen credit markets, lack of opportunity and what you do about that. >> as it relates to millennial city think about it people in their 20s have not gotten a great deal in the last two years. college attainment rates are lower today than our generation. my generation.

>> thank you. but it is remarkable. we basically flat lined the levels and measure four-year degrees in terms of attainment in six years. student loans have grown up financially the graduation rates haven't risen. young people are stuck with bad. the job market growing at 2% is not great in the first rung on the ladder for some people appeared our government is obsolete. millennial star frustrated with that because they are much more tech savvy. we're not growing at a rate to less people. obamacare is designed to be affect did for young people to be mandated in the exchanges of healthy people to take care of people our age that may not be as healthy. they haven't gotten a great deal. the point is we got to create a high-growth strategy for people. you can't have a society where the next generation has less

opportunity than what we had. one of the ways you do that if they relates to african-american home business is to use the power of government. we had a tough fight with a program called one florida, very controversial. we ended up because we turned it into a leadership model instead of saying we'll have a bunch of people counting the certifying businesses, i pretty much know you are a black man. you pretty much know i am a white guy. i don't need to spend a lot of quality time going through that. we turn all these bureaucrats and certifiers and compliance officers into marketing arms for businesses and the amount of increase in procurement or hispanic owned businesses grew exponentially or hundred%. government can play a useful role and providing opportunities for people that otherwise

sustain their business and expand out. i think that is a useful place to operate as well. the final thing is the access to credit issue has been made worse by the most complicated financial regulatory system. i will tell you they're too big to fail challenge israel and increasing capital requirements for banks that have accumulated more assets today post cash than pre-cache. the same rules apply to small banks, community banks, banks in the communities both urban and rural and the net result is they can't stay in business because they have to hire the same compliance officer and accountants is jpmorgan. and so if we are serious about making sure the next generation of entrepreneurs its capital, we better protect your community

banks are going out of business. >> thank you, governor. ladies and gentlemen, governor jeb bush. he is going to work the worldwide. ♪ ladies and gentlemen, lunch will start at 12:30 instead of 12:00. workshops spread 11:00 to 12:15. please note the change. ♪ ♪

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>> this weekend on the c-span networks politics books. a discussion on immigration on c-span2 saturday night at 10:00 o'clock eastern the growing national debt and restructuring entitlement programs.

manage their own programs and take on greater accountability. we are interested in hearing your views. thank you. we look forward to your testimony. >> thank you command let me join you in welcoming admiral richardson and his family.

no one serves alone in the navy or elsewhere. you have an extraordinary record of service for the nation and the navy. you have a remarkable record as the director of the navy nuclear propulsion program command you are familiar with many of the issues. you will be askedasked to ensure we have a quality force been through (davidson was the service becomes to domestic

violence between seen all too often we have a world that is full of crisis, and the navy is one of the navy always been project for us, and it remains that way. how do we bring on the next class command these challenges are exacerbated by the prospect

of sequestration or temporary arrangements comparable you will lose the us military nominees in order to receive testimony forto the briefings and information have you appealed?$@#9y

>> i'm grateful to have my family with me today chairman as you recognized, as they have been throughout my entire career. my dad's a retired navy captain who served with distinction for 25 years through the cold war and i remember like it was yesterday the nights that my mom

and we six kids would get together in our living room, and my dad would come out in his service dress blues and his sea bag, we'd say good bye for six months, and then we would carry on supporting each other until my dad came back home. i got my start in the navy from my dad, and he continues to advise me -- sometimes vigorously -- and make me proud. my wife dana is here -- >> i had the same experience. [laughter] >> yes sir. my wife dana is also here. dana and i met as class mates in york high school in southern maine, and we married just as soon as we could after i greated from the naval academy. and be over the last 33 years dana has raised our five children while i was away at sea and has supported navy families in every way possible. she's always been there with me, challenging me and adding perspective, but i long ago grew to depend on her. our daughter, rachel, one of our five chirp is here representing the richardson tribe.

she's a student at the university of virginia and is a summer intern in the amputee center at walter reed. our oldest son, nathan, is a navy lieutenant. he and his wife are serving overseas in naples italy. our other son daniel, is doing research for renewable fuels in hawaii. our two youngest children, matthew and veronica, are visiting family in oregon before they return home to go back to school. if you ask dana, she would say we're just a typical navy family. we have moved 20 times, our kids have attended dozens of school, we've lived all around the country and overseas. today the richardson family, like so many other navy families, is ready to continue to serve our nation. i am also conscious that i am here before this committee for the very first time, and i want to thank you for your leadership in keeping our nation secure and keeping our navy the strongest that has ever sailed the seas. and if confirmed, i very much look forward to working closely

with you to continue that important work. i see the naval profession as a bond of trust and confidence with the american people and with our sailors and i hold some core beliefs about our navy that guide me. the navy must be at sea underway. it must be present around the world, protecting american interests, enabling access to international markets and trade, responding to crises and providing security. we are at our best when we operate with others, including our fellow services, especially the marine corps as well as with our partners and allies. the muscle and bones of the navy are our ships submarines and aircraft highly capable exercise frequently, well equipped and ready to operate from the sea and far from home. but the heart and soul of our navy are our sailors. every day around the world our sailors can be found on, under and over the sea. they are smart resourceful committed americans who want to be part of something special to

serve their country by being part of a high performing team. they are rightly proud of what they do. and they are a formidable force. despite a growing set of challenges and some of the significant strains, they continue to go to sea to do what must be done today and to adapt and innovate in order to prevail tomorrow. it is a privilege to work with and especially to lead such a capable and resilient team. america sends us their sons and daughters, their brothers and sisters, their fathers and mothers to go to sea with us, potentially into harm's way. in return for that sacrifice our navy must provide them a positive and respectful environment where they can thrive and achieve their highest potential. and finally the american people demand -- as they should -- that we execute our mission in a prudent and responsible way, worthy of their confidence in us. the bottom line is that in any situation, in any competition and certainly in any fight america expects that their navy

will find a way to win and we will. mr. chairman and members of the committee, if confirmed i will give everything i have to honor and strengthen the bonds of trust and confidence that your navy has with our nation and its people. thank you, and i look forward to your questions. >> thank you admiral. admiral richardson, general dunford recently stated, made a couple of statements in his appearance before this committee. one was that he said we can't we cannot execute the 2014 quadrennial defense review with the budget cuts as a result of budget control act known as sequestration. he continued stating ongoing cuts will threaten our ability to execute the current defense strategy. do you agree with that? >> yes sir i do. >> do you believe that as other witnesses have in uniform have stated that continued adherence to sequestration will put the lives of the men and women

serving in the navy at greater risk? >> yes, sir, i do. >> you do? are you seeing what i'm hearing that there is becoming a morale problem and possibly over time a retention problem because of the effects of sequestration on the ability to plan ability to train, readiness, long deployments, etc. >> senator from my experience when i get around the fleet -- and i do a fair amount of that -- morale remains high, but there is a degree of unsettledness and uncertainty that arises from uncertainty in the fiscal environment. and so as we manage our way through continuing resolutions, the looming sequestration sequestration always looming over us and manage our way through these times of reduced resources, there is an unsettled feeling in the force as this uncertainty clouds the air.

they remain committed as i said in my statement to doing the job that they've been given. they want to be trained properly to execute the mission, and so that's the way i see it right now. >> which sequestration is a hindrance too. >> it is, yes, sir. >> a two month gap of aircraft presence in the middle east later this fall while we are conducting air operations from the carrier there does that concern you? >> sir, that does concern me, but i would say that the overriding message that i hope is clear is our firm commitment to naval presence in that region. we have, we've been there for decades. we've -- >> the absence of a carrier doesn't really authenticate a commitment. >> sir, i think the commitment does remain strong and we'll work to mitigate -- >> so does this impair our ability to carry out operations,

the absence of the carrier? >> sir i think we will mitt grate any absence of the carrier through over capabilities -- >> tell me what replaces an aircraft carrier admiral. >> well sir, you could use other air assets strike assets to mitigate that gap. >> for example? >> land-based, air or -- >> so now you believe that land-based air can replace the presence of a carrier? >> sir there's no question about the value of an aircraft carrier in the region, sir. >> well, then that doesn't comport with what you just said. >> sir i was trying to make the point that -- about our long-term commitment in the region. >> i'm talking about a two month gap in the short term. >> yes sir. that gap is a reflection of the earlier strains on the force long-term commitments -- >> yeah. but my question was is that going to hinder our ability to carry out the needed operations

in the region where obviously there's conflict taking place? >> without that carrier, there will be a detriment in our capability there, yes, sir. >> after more than $2 billion in cost growth of the first three ford-class carriers, what -- as an example and a glaring example of cost overruns and schedules, delays what extent would giving the chief of naval operations greater responsibility for acquisition, programs, help reduce cost overruns, scheduled delay and fix this problem which at least in the view of many of us have difficulty justifying to our taxpayers? >> sir i share your concern about the cost overruns of the carrier, and i agree with you that they are unacceptable. from my experience controlling cost and schedule while delivering capability really resides from adhering to a few fundamental principles.

one is a clear command and control that is lean and agile. we've got to have the definition of requirements that is informed by available technology and available resources. you've got to have a stable design and a build plan before you begin production and finally, you have to have informed and close oversight. i think that the chief of naval operations is involved in every step -- every one of those four steps. and if confirmed i look forward to being very involveed in acquisition. >> well, unfortunately, the last chief of naval operations testified before this committee that he didn't know who was responsible for it. i hope you're aware of the changes that we're trying to make in the ndaa which would make the chief of naval operations more involved. and finally, do you believe that it's appropriate or would you be supportive of a provision in the

ndaa which calls for examinations of alternative platforms for aviation as opposed to what is basically right now the only game in town? >> mr. chairman, i look very much forward to supporting that study completely and seeing what information it produces. >> thank you. senator reed? >> well, thank you, mr. chairman. admiral richardson, following on the chairman's questioning the biggest program new program coming online is the ohio class replacement, and you talked about sort of getting it right from the beginning which is requirements. and you're in a very significant position right now with your participation in the nuclear reactor program. are you satisfied with the requirements as they exist today, 16 missile tubes on the ohio class, one of the most significant aspects?

>> senator the current requirement is for the replacement program are exactly what we need to continue to deliver that capability. >> and not only now but if you're the cno you'll continue to look closely at those requirements to insure that they're necessary and sufficient? >> yes sir. >> the other -- what other requirements with respect to the ohio class replacement do you think are critical besides the tubes? any other key sort of game changers that you're looking at? >> yes sir. certainly, as i look adç the ohio replacement program, a program that will be defending the nation well into the -- for 50 years, potentially into the 2080s, there for some things -- there are some things that you must get right from the very start, and then there are some things inside the ship where you allow technology to mature and advance. i would say that critical

component that must be addressed from the start is -- in addition to the missile tubes is stealth. and we've paid a great deal amount of time and energy to make sure we have the stealth requirements of the submarine right.w3 >> very good. one of the things that we have done in the last several years in the national defense authorization act is create a sea-based deterrence fund to try to aid the construction, deployment of this new class of submarines. the navy is developing lands to use this sea-based deterrence fund. do you have any notion of when those plans will be forth coming and available to us? >> sir first the creation of this fund, i think highlights the existential importance of this program to our nation and also that executing this program will require a combination both of resources and authorities. we're conducting a study right now to both mature the design

and mature the build plan. we should get that completed by the fall time frame, and i look forward to collaborating when we have that more mature. >> and the essence on the line this national sea-based deterrence fund, the same logic i presume, will apply. this is maybe a comment more than a question to the necessity as we go forward to replace the air and land-based legs of the triad also. because a service exclusively service-funded program is very expensive given competing demand. so is that your logic? >> yes sir, i glee with that logic. -- i agree with that logic. these are critical bills to reconstitute our strategic triad, yes, sir. >> thank you. one of the other areas which gives us an edge and we hope increasing edge and not a decreasing one is the labs and the test facilities and the intellectual infrastructure of the navy. and it's all over the country. we have the naval center in

newport, but there's so many critical aspects of this. particularly many these difficult budgetary times, do you have any concerns about appropriate funding for the laboratoryies, and will we lose out in terms of their contribution to national security? >> sir, i think it's absolutely critical that we maintain this intellectual capital to inform our decisions not only today but even more so into the future. addressing your concern that programs like ohio replacement remain attuned and relevant going forward is absolutely critical that we fund this so that we can remain relevant. also look forward to participating in discussions that can make them more agile and competitive with their private sec forcounterparts as well. ..

thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate your confirming what we all know certainly what senator king agrees with me about that the person at the naval shipyard is the finest naval shipyard on earth. we have a great partnership between me and new hampshire on the shipyard. i know you have a history with the shipyard and certainly i ran there before. >> that is where my wife and i met was up there and we dated

all the nonporous myth. [inaudible] [laughter] >> we will welcome you back to the shipyard. i very much thank you and your family for your service to the country and willingness to take on this important leadership position during these challenging times. yesterday before the committee on readiness senator kaine and i hosted a meeting. i believe we provided the testimony to you. one thing that is happening at the portsmouth naval shipyard is a strong partnership between labor and management that is driven performance significantly where they are producing the work they are doing on our

submarine fleet ahead of schedule under budget and to take away from the hearing but some of these best practices that are being put in place, that we need a better mechanism to share those among the ship yard before public shipyards to ensure that we can learn from each other, to make sure the strong partnership is bear for excellent performance between labor and management. i know that the naval system command partnership for an instant important start in that effort but i think there can be more done based on the hearing we had yesterday. i wanted to ask you about this issue in your commitment to ensuring we institutionalize best practices among our workforce and relationships between labor and management among all before shipyards. >> first i would say they are a magnificent of enforcement at

all of our public yards are strategic tools in our nation's capability. even in my current job as director of naval react as we are very involved with the shipyard and it has been a thrust of my time here as director to do exactly that. we can share best practices and lessons learned as well more effect of leap year that has been an emphasis of my time here and will continue. >> i appreciate it. as we looked at the request for combatant commanders for support from our submarine fleet and then we look at currently about 54 attack submarine and we are in lonely need of the request and some of the activity in the asia-pacific region this is very

important to have this capacity and we are headed is actually going down to 412-2029. one thing the committee has done is focusing on having the navy procure at least to the submarines per year. what are your thoughts on the shortfall in how we address it overwriting everything of course you sequester in our need to resolve that. going forward his top priority and making sure we have what we need. >> i think it is very clear can show hard evidence that we currently enjoy superiority in the undersea domain. that is hotly contested and we cannot rest for a minute and remain confident. we have to keep pressing to address your question exactly as you say we've got to continue to

mitigate the dip below the requirement to 48 and we do everything we can to mitigate that. one is the virginia class submarines per year are a critical part of the program and continuing to deliver a low budget and ahead of schedule. we must reduce the construction time. we are looking to do what we can to extend the life of our sub during the never everything we can to mitigate the trough. >> thank you heerden nomex time is expired. we are in this public forum and we face an end about what russia did yesterday in terms of blocking the request for an investigation and i think it shows it's not related to this hearing and concerns they address in the committee and your willingness to serve in this important position.

thank you mr. chairman. i'm hoping you would introduce me by saying i'm from the home of the greatest naval surface warfare center in southern indiana that mabel bastian. >> i'll try to do that in the future. >> admiral, thank you very match. my dad was a navy veteran. he loved every minute of having the chance to be part of it. when we look forward and the challenges we had in the nuclear area in regard to the submarine warfare. one of my greatest concern are the efforts to attack cyberwise to find out our technology, to find out our plans and map it

out going forward. it's not only on the naval side of the contract or side. i wonder what is done to make sure there is no backdoors open with our contractors that other countries can get into. >> senator, i share the activity in the cyberdomain as we speak today at the hotly contested domain and justin are defensive navy networks, we're subject to tens of thousands of attacks per day. attribution is very difficult but just like other domains success revolves around being properly organized, trained and equipped in the navy is moving out in that area with the formation of cybermission teams that would provide not only defensive and support capabilities but often tools available should our leaders choose to use those.

with respect to protecting networks, we use a variety of tools. some of those exact techniques i talk about in an open forum. we do maintain from a physical security, cybersecurity and personnel appropriate measures to prevent those supports of intrusive. >> i know you are working in connection with contract as developer best practices to ensure every avenue to the intellectual capital is cut off. one of the things we do is collaborate on how to be able -- i know this is a subject dear to the chairman car. how do we work in coordination to see if some thing can fit in both the navy and the air force.

i'm sure you'd want to continue that effort. >> absolutely. we cannot only meet the requirement that the more impatient and open to that. with respect to the work at the naval surface warfare center crane and their work in fighting proliferation of counterfeit parts in those things is a big part of maintaining security in the cyberdomain. >> thank you had had the privilege of traveling with you to one of our facilities and during that time we had a discussion about the mental health of our sailors. i'm sure you will continue the efforts of admiral greener and making sure the mental health challenges are there to make sure there's no stigma and assistance are available. >> absolutely we remain fully committed to that to help our sailors be fully part of a connected teen so when challenges, then a sort that can

fall back and get support. >> me ask you this. what keeps you up at night? what is your greatest concern. number one logistics life which he made the most and number two is what is the greatest danger you see in your job? >> i thank the chairman mentioned it and it's discussed here already the thing that has my attention is the growing complexity and urgency of security environment around the world. our nation is pulled in so many different directions not only the indo asia pacific and also russia and europe and certainly activity in the middle east. contrasting to that is sequestration is a symptom of a level of awareness that i look forward if confirmed to enhancing to make the message more vivid to close the gap

between the growing requirements and security environment and things like sequestration which are threatened the resources to address it. >> admiral, thank you for your service to the country. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you for your family for their service as well that in wartime or peacetime the deployment pace does not change the way noah put strains on families. what you represent for all the families, we are grateful for all the service. is china an adversary? >> senator, china is a complex nation. they are clearly growing in every dimension. many things they do have an adversarial nature to them. they've got a vastly growing nation, activity in the south china sea and land reclamation has potential to destabilize the

region. >> it doesn't sound like a rosy relationship right now with china between the united states and our allies that various published reports have speculated our civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with china and the obama administration has submitted to congress with the sensitive nuclear equipment technology to the army navy. this is troubling to me and given the side i would imagine an increase in capability would also worry you. you believe the united states navy has an appreciable military advantage over the pla navy at this point especially regarding nuclear naval capabilities? >> this is something i watch closely. the details are very, very technical and difficult to discuss in an open forum. i look forward to discussing that in a classified setting with you. we have taken a book closely at

the successor agreement to continuing to exchange nuclear technologies. an aggregate we would be better with a renewed successor agreement than without it. >> even if you suspected or knew the pla would divert the civilian nuclear technology towards nuclear naval systems? >> again covered the details of the assessment are classified but i can say with a fair degree of confidence that we are better with this agreement than we are without it. >> okay, thank you. right now the navy is on a budgetary path to 266 ships or less. you agree to finance at the 2014 defense panel which was a bipartisan congressionally mandated group of experts that we should have a target for his return 325 346 ships? >> the strategic environment we

could easily justify an appetite but another dimension is the resource part of the environment. our current plan represents the best balance to meet the demands not only the security environment but also to do that with available resources. >> secretary of the navy says the quantity has a quality of the sound. do you believe that is true and if so is it going to be enough of the quantity to give us the quality of its own kind? >> a 100% agree about the quality of the number of ships and the current plan does allow us to meet responsibresponsib ilities in the defense strategic guidance albeit with some risk. >> in the recently issued national military strategy, general dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff states russia china, iran north korea

among them but also the u.s. military advantage has begun to erode. are there areas the military advantage has begun to erode relative to adversaries? >> is a dynamic environment in the tech logical environment is changing rapidly. we've got to be more agile in our systems to stay competitive in that realm. i'm confident was supported the committee in congress and innovation of the navy we will do that. as you said, some of our readiness is -- we're still recovering from the effects of the 2013th sequestration as we continue to build readiness select better through resolve through says through public through our military advantage as it relates to our navy may begin to erode?

>> yes sir. >> i hope to provide you another sailors to support you need to modernize our fleet and continue to be afford to play for us to project american power. >> thank you, senator. i look forward to working with you. >> we now hear from the naval shipyard senator kaine. >> more focus well. thank you mr. chairman. congrats to your cavalier daughter, rachel. we are glad to have her here as well and your family. you've got a big day saturday. the launch of the uss john warner at the marvel days and former chair of the committee and wonderful colleague. that is a great program to exemplify a couple issues majerus questions about acquisition reform the virginia class program because of a co-op

petition between the shipyard in connecticut has been a pretty solid program in terms of delivering the budget. are there lessons for not acquisition strategy that we can replicate on ohio class or other platforms? >> senator, we intend to leverage all of those lessons to design and deliver the ohio class. using many of the same tools in virginia and we hope to bring to you a design that is very mature. one of the key successes to the program. we hope to provide you a stable plan that is funded with predictable funds will allow the team of shipyards to allocate risk and deliver submarines with the virginia class at the lowest possible price. >> another aspect of the uss john warner is obviously a

nuclear sub in your currently the commander of the nuclear propulsion. when we talk about sequester and the effects of sequester on the defense mission, sometimes we have to make sure we are broadening our view. and your current role you were closely with the department of energy iran nuclear reactor work as well, don't you? sequester doesn't affect defense by affect in the department of defense the nondefense account, department of energy one affected by sequester also have a significant effect on national security. >> senator, that's exactly right. secretary monies is clear about the national security mission he has not only for naval reactors which he fully supports but the nuclear weapons business. >> if we were to sequester defense accounts but not affect sequester in the nondefense

account things like nuclear research through the d.o.e. has a direct impact on national security would still be compromised. >> that is true. >> i want to ask you about readiness and the measures of readiness. senator ayotte and i are on the brink in a subcommittee. let's get into the metrics. my understanding is normally you have a third of the ships forward deployed to support regional commanders but then have an additional component and three arg's in a search status so kind of trained up and ready to deploy within 30 days. talk to us about how sequestration and budgetary uncertainty affects the search capacity readiness to respond. >> certainly our priority is we will not deploy forces unless they are fully ready.

we will be bad in every respect. tonight i was on stability is in the strategic guidance we also need the search force to respond to contingencies once a forward deployed forces have done their mission. currently our requirements that we have three carrier strike groups in three amphibious groups ready to deploy in the event of contingency right now we are up one of those three on a path to recover some risk for readiness and both of those areas by 2020 but that also is contingent on stable and reliable funding to get us there. >> from the earlier testimony, even the forward deployed with the two-month carrier got his affected by budgetary insert t. end up until 2020 our search capacity and readiness has been significantly affect did and we hope to get back to the search

capacity we think is optimal. >> yes sir. senator king and i were in india in a sober and visited ship elders in mumbai and there is a great deal of pride they are in a great deal of desire to partner with the united states. i like the fact he mentioned that in the asia-pacific region. idea india is a partner of growing importance as we look to the pivot of asia appeared as a strong desire to participate in naval exercises. they do more with the u.s. than any other nation and i would like your opinion about that. >> i agree there's tremendous importance and also potential to further relationships and if relationships and is confirmed i look forward to getting personally involved. >> ray, thank you so much. thank you mr. chairman. thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for being here and i want to take a special time and thank your father and your

daughter rachel for accompanying me today. special shout out to you for serving a walter reid right now. i have a dear friend that went through the amputee center. thank you so much for all your great service as well. admiral, reference to the every nuclear agreement, the obama administration has continuously said over and over again that the alternative to the every nuclear agreement is war. the president has made it clear in his statement that the only alternative is war. so as i am out visiting other people, that is the response and people say we have to go to war if we don't sign this agreement. in your best military judgment do you believe the only alternative to the nuclear agreement is war? >> my way of answering not would

be a major mission of our armed forces, the joint or is in the navy is to use all means necessary to deter that type of war not only for preventing iran from getting a nuclear weapon but also deterring many of the other tools they use to disrupt a cavity in the region. they've got considerable conventional forces, ballistic missiles, surface forces that talked about mining the straits of our moves, terrorist organizations throughout the region. we need to use the full set of capabilities the joint force and the navy can deliver to deter that. the military contribution is also a subset of the whole government approach along with allies in the region. >> so a whole of government approach and i think that's

extremely important that we remember that we do not have to fund this agreement and that does not necessarily mean we'll be going to war with iran. is that your assessment? >> man, i do support whole of government approach. >> admiral, you were just asked to give your personal opinion. the senator is asking for your opinion as to whether there are other options besides going to war with iran. >> i think there are other options besides going to war. >> thank you admiral. >> since we are on that topic iran's military budget is approximately $11 billion per year on defense. s. posture is altered by a variety of asymmetric and relatively low cost capabilities intact six including swarming at the come artillery rockets, ballistic missiles and uavs.

through the agreement, iran will gain $150 billion due to sanctions relief and the ability to purchase advanced weapons and equipment for the lifting of the u.n. arms embargo. even if a small portion is directed towards military capabilities and iran, what types of weapons and equipment do you believe iran would purchase to improve its ability to project force within the persian gulf. >> i think as we have been throughout the sensitive to proliferation market and so i would be very tense there and about than increasing ballistic missiles as well as cruise missiles in the combatants you mentioned as well. >> i appreciate that.

i think it is something we have to be ever vigilant about. this is a serious matter we are facing today with iran and potentially increase military capabilities in the region. this is not an american problem. this is not the radiant problem. this is a worldwide problem. i appreciate your attention to the modern i look forward to supporting you and your confirmation. thank you, mr. chairman. >> senator king. thank you mr. chairman. admiral, in this day and age where people move around so much and service families is hard to determine where someone is from. my definition is where you went to high school so i claim you as a proud son of the state of maine. delighted to have today. a second point i spent some time a year ago on one of your virginia class submarines. when i came home my wife said what most impressed you and she expected to hear about the marvelous technology and amazing

command center and all of that. i said what really impressed me was the young people on that though. the officers were excellent, but what i've noticed was the spirit and dedication and pride of the enlisted people, of the sailors. they were so engaged and proud of the work they were doing. i just want to commend you and pass along the observation you are taking command of an extraordinary group of people and of course the technology we talked a lot about today is important but ultimately people will make the difference. >> senator, thank you for the recognition. i cannot agree more. so privileged for the opportunity presented today. >> one of the questions the chairman asked you at the beginning does present a standard questions is would you give your personal opinion when

called upon in your position. i want to emphasize that. you are going to be in the national security council. you are going to be in the oval office at the upper reaches of the decision-making process at the pentagon. you have got to speak up if you have extensive experience wisdom and background and judgment to be brought to bear on these questions. we all experienced that moment in the meeting should i say something are not. i hope you remember this moment and even if it's the president of the united states have to respectfully disagree. we need that from you that is one of the most important things you bring to this position. will you give me commitment he will be just this side of noxious and making your case at the highest level of the united

states government? >> i specialize in going well beyond. i look forward if confirmed to if confirmed to participate in a most discussions. >> you need practice senator king will help you out. thank you, mr. chairman. your confidence is overwhelming. i mentioned about the arctic. i see the arctic is an area of tremendous opportunity and challenge characterize our force structure and capabilities in the arctic vis-à-vis russia, particularly in the area price breakers. >> senator, the united states as an arctic nation in the security environment is changing as navigation passages open access to natural resources opens up as well. we must remain engaged in the art to it. the navy has developed a roadmap to increase our capability in the arctic to pace the changing

security environment. we are partnering closely with the whole of government and other sister services, particularly the coast guard of the area. >> isn't it true in terms of price breakers and which are the road elders of the arctic, we have country road and they have a bunch of interstate highways. we have one. >> i think in very clear terms we need to address the icebreaker situation. >> it is a serious problem we have to really put some attention to what i understand it's in the coast guard's's jurisdiction that certainly affects your ability to operate in that region. >> no daylight between us on that. >> in her advance policy questions you mentioned you believe it would be in a would be the natural interests recede to the law of the treaty. could you expand on that a bit? >> i believe becoming part of

that community and particularly pertains to unfolding opportunities provides a framework to adjudicate disputes and participate as everybody moves to improve their capability and posture. >> because we are not members of the treaty, we are literally losing ground in the arctic. >> i think the coming part of the treaty is an part of our moving into the arctic. >> thank you admiral. thank you for her service. >> thank you, admiral for testimony on the arctic. senator sullivan will have more on that. it seems to me that just the icebreaker situation is indicative of the difference that russia and united states into place. would you agree with that?

>> if you just look at the resources, they been focused in the arctic for a long time. >> senator tillis. thank you, mr. chairman. admiral richardson, thank you for being here. congratulations to your family and thank you for your years of service. all spent time was spent in the office answering a range of questions. one general question i would have here and would appreciate your personal opinion and your candor as it relates to the current advantage we enjoy with adversaries like russia and china and the specific threat to those gaps been narrowed as a result of sequestration if you have to do it that in 2016. >> yes sir. as i said, the pace of technological change is just picking up. >> can you talk to specific

areas of greatest concern? >> in particular the ability to use the long-range precision guided munition, a weapon at longer and longer distances and anti-access denial capabilities that we talked about many times sorry particular concern. >> what it buys would you give us as we sit here trying to conference the defense authorization. we're trying to get appropriations process going. you are guiding us through what we need to do to help you do your job. what you need to tell us? what do we need to stop doing what do we need to start doing? >> we have proposed a solid plan had mentioned already the effects of sequestration and uncertainty in the fiscal

environment, budget environment. that is the greatest thing we can do together is put in place a long-term predictable stream of funding. >> thank you for that. i look at a little more parochial now with my marines in north carolina. i know the commandant of the marine corps has frequently stated the combatant command requirement for amphibious shift in the minimum is 38. we are at 30 operating today and it doesn't look like we will obtain an amphibious fleet of more than dirty for across 30 years of ship and plans. are you concerned with that and what more do we need to do what can congress do to help you overcome the shortfall? >> this is an area where navy marine