at noon they take up legislation regarding banks and financial relations. the 10:00 a.m. senators continue work on a bill to stop online sex trafficking and go to a debate calling a resolution calling for the president to remove u.s. armed forces from the conflict in yemen. devos testifies before the house appropriation subcommittee on her budget request. the commander of the air force space command testified on the president's budget for his agency. he was joined by two other defense officials at this house armed services subcommittee hearing. it is 40 minutes. welcome everybody.

our hearing on the 2019 budget was -- budget request for the program. as a remedy knows we were interrupted by boats were behind starting off, so for the sake of not keeping you here all night i will submit my opening statement in the ranking member told me he will submit his opening statement for the record. i would ask that each of you have five minutes. your entire statement will be accepted into the record if you would just summarize it. finish this session and go to the classified session immediately. i know that it takes a lot of time and energy to prepare for these things, but it really helps us. we really need to hear your thoughts at this time of year. with that i will recognize general raymond.

any general rapine. how do you pronounce that? -- rapuano.h >> i am honored to appear before this committee. it is my first time being able to testify in front of you in my dual hat. i have the absolute distinct privilege of leading and representing the air force and joint space personnel. previously, i'm wereasingly convinced that are at a strategic inflection point and we must accelerate our preparations to protect and defend against the conflict that begins in or extends to space. today's space capabilities are the foundation of protection

enjoyed force lethality. -- as an opponent of the strategic command i would be remiss if i did not echo the words of my boss to say that there are forces we prepared to deter and if necessary to respond and win. as our national security strategy states, the united states considers unfettered access to and freedom to operate in space to be a vital interest. our national defense strategy clearly demonstrates that it is the reemergence of competition. this budget is aligned with the national defense strategy to best -- we are

enhancing our space situational awareness and our ability to command and control. we are investing in tests and training infrastructure to further enhance our readiness and we are enhancing our intelligence,ith nudity, l at partners and space industry. i look forward to working with congress as we continue to focus on her . i am privileged to be here with myspace colleague and i look forward to your questions. recognizes --ow of the national reconnaissance office. >> thank you, ranking members of the committee. it is a pleasure to host you and your committee.

it is a great honor for me to be here today. the nro has a clear and critical mission for the nation. went to ensure the u.s. has an operational advantage. we are small with end-to-end responsibility. our research and developing team has developed the technology necessary to stay ahead of changing targets and dress. our acquisition teams are delivering the capabilities on time and within budget. 17 which you to come -- a clean and independent audit, demonstrating our ability to properly manage the resources entrusted to us. we at four successful launches last year. we continue toy

deliver critical and operational capabilities. fiscal year 2019 budget request was built on the successful history of the overhead intelligent systems for national security. the resilient specifically focused on investments that will deliver the space age capabilities will need in the future fight. more resilience, capacity and speed. greater resilience continues to be a priority. usele are being trained to systems to to their full advantage. new systems will have safety features built in. our investments focus on achieving the capacity and the capabilities required. ,e are increasing persistence

reducing the gaps currently exploited by our adversary. capabilities and space must be combined to deliver that directly to were fighters. enabled by advances in artificial intelligence, target recognition, machine learning and technology we plan to do exactly that. everyone is focused on our mission delivering innovative intelligence systems for national security. the current and projected environment is the change our mission. the men and women of the nro are more than up to that challenge. recognizes the assistant secretary for homeland defense and global security. ,> thank you chairman rogers and distinguished members of the

subcommittee. it is an honor to appear before you today along with general raymond in the u.s. strategic .ommand domain. a were fighting just as with air, land and sea and cyberspace, but arvind must be ready to address any threats to our national security. toneed an unmatched ability respond rapidly, swiftly precisely and command forces and multiple theaters of operation simultaneously. our national security strategy prominently recognizes the criticality of space and the potential for conflict to extend into space. our new national defense strategy strikes a course.

nds, long-term strategic competition with china and russia are the priorities for the department. isressing the challenges fundamental to that effort. today's potential adversaries and competitors have studied the way the u.s. force operates in a rapidly developing capabilities designed to challenge our freedom of action designed across all domains. -- they went to develop cascading impacts that rely on our space-based capabilities. denial of u.s. space it vantage is a key component of their strategy. the department is making critical investments in capabilities necessary to effect -- to affect the space domain to

-- the fy 19 budget request prioritizes activities to address the space threat and improves on the performance of our space system. we recognize the important need for the department to be organized and structured most effectively to deliver on our duty to protect the nation and its vital interests. the department must accelerate and is accelerating the changing dynamic to the frontier of space. we hillary take an action through interim and limitation guidance and look forward to completing the directive studies and changes that may be required. the department's partnership with congress is and will remain critical to our success.

to that end a remain grateful to the subcommittee's strong support and interest in this toal area and its advocacy dissuade aggression and establish a lethal force with the unmatched ability to prevail in, from and through the ultimate high ground of space. myself forcognize questions. the space launch industry is innovating in critical ways that could change cost. does the air force plan to integrate reusability into the air force program? you, i have gone on record in the past saying that i fully support reusability. and in my opinion we would be stupid not to go down that path. it saves us money and lets us do

it smartly, we fully intend to capitalize on the advantages. >> given president trump's recent endorsement of the independent space for its, how do you think congress should implement that direction? >> the president is very focused on outcomes. space, he hasized recognized the threats that have evolved in the pace at which they have evolved and he recognizes it as a were fighting domain. he is also interested in ensuring that the department's best organize and equipped to achieve our vital missions in and he is interested in exploring any options that can provide that enhanced capability. is leadingsecretary

the organizational and management review for the assessment of the space corps. that is one of the options getting close attention among others. recommendingo be that set of options at best ensures lasting u.s. leadership and success in space. >> i agree that the president cares about outcomes but i agree to look at his exact words which says we should have a space force, we will have a space force. detective shanahan is charged with trying to design that. i'm hoping you could show us a little bit of what it might look like before he does it but apparently that isn't going to happen. general, and the full committee we had some testimony about how

-- what we are between her we are now in the establishment of , the airspace corps force has a lot of challenges in dealing with national security space and some of the threats that we face. it was proposed that if the air force wanted to demonstrate that they get it, they would raise the profile of space in the department and put a significantly larger amount of money to get that challenge. unexpected have a number today. to give back to me and let me know what you think to enabler might be me to have all of the resources that you might need. thinkl tell you that i the profile of space is pretty

high in the air force. the budget this year represents an 18% increase, a $7 billion increase but i will be happy to put some thought on that and come back to you. they met the chair will not recognize my friend and colleague from tennessee, jim cooper. >> i welcome the stronger air force budget that i will defer questions to the further closed session. -- i will have some questions. i appreciate the questions we have had recently. unfundedion in priorities. as you told me there is an unfunded increase.

however we have to draw the line somewhere when doing budgets. $350u could have an extra million what would we get for that? and what are we losing by not having that? >> the way the air force to the unfunded priority was we would prioritize those activities we couldn't fit into the budget. although $7 billion is a significant increase for space and is a bold shift toward were fighting in being able to protect those assets. i will be happy to come back and talk specifically about the items. but they give congress options to help accelerate some of the things we already have in the program. >> we can continue the discussion. i would also like to ask you fort the increased need

space were fighting training. has recognizedne that space is contested and it is a war fighting domain, we need the personnel who have the training to excel in that domain. >> that is a key focus area for us. we have made some pretty significant strides toward that end. we implemented the space mission force which allowed us to enhance the advanced training of our cruise. we are increasing the focus of red flags as well. i would suggest it is not just about space trading but multi-domain training. what i'm focusing on is making sure we have space operators that are very smart and that we have joint or fighters that are

also very smart because that multi-domain collaboration and strength will carry us to where we need to be in the future. we spent about $175 million to get after additional trainers, exercises and wargames. you.stly for anyone of can we do a better job of partnering with the commercial sector with private industry to accomplish our goals? and if so, how? >> i don't want to monopolize, but i am passionate about this as well. we are working very carefully with -- one of the things we have done building open standards and a consortium approach to energize and harness all of industry focusing on

these issues. it is a key priority for us going forward and you will see that reflected in our budget. >> the nro has always spent about 95% of its budget within industry. >> i would add that this is an intense focus of the deputy secretary of defense was leading the reform efforts in the department. a big component are focused on acquisition and he is all about leveraging the commercial sector more effectively and i think we will see a number of reforms in that area. them of these are excellent things, thank you for the work that you do and i yield back. >> we have two members of our full committee that are with us today. i would like to ask unanimous

for them to sit in on this hearing and participate. without objection, so ordered. for the yearymond, 2019 budget it significantly alters -- let me back up a page here. you have had comments and are trying to get caught up and take it vantage whether it is private industry or others. the air force publicly says it will move faster get effective capabilities deployed which is 1610 agrees that the united states air force should operationalize existing best-of-breed commercial space capabilities, by not later than may 30, 2018.

us to bringplan for capabilities by this required deadline? this has been ongoing. >> it has been. the c2 system we have today -- commercial capabilities are leveraged significantly. inalso have a capability colorado springs called colorado campus. come it is can bring them up there and will roll them into our op center. earlier what we are trying to do is not have one company be a winner and a bunch of losers. we are trying to energize the developingstry by open standards and having a consortium-based approach where everybody can play.

i am eager to get all of commercial industry wrapped around those standards. >> general buck, commander of the joint forces command talked about this and said our capabilities are at the three. why are we not doing this more quickly? let's take advantage of what we .ave now >> i must not have been clear, we are taking advantage down and we will continue to take advantage. we are building the entire system off of that commercial open standards. we are leveraging those today and we will continue to leverage commercial hard as we look to fill some of the gaps that we have.

>> i will wait for closed session when we can get into more detail. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i'm not sure who this question needto, but does the dod to be more assertive about blocking potential acquisitions of u.s. companies by china in the space industry in ensuring >> congressman, that is a key issue. the is an issue that both secretary and deputy secretary have raised, looking at the supply chain and the implication of foreign ownership and investment and capabilities that are critical or essential to national security. i believe you're familiar with the process in which these types of transactions are theft by an

interagency committee accessing intelligence. we are focused within the on the ways in which adversaries can easily acquire capabilities or knowledge that they can use against us and we are actively involved in that process. dodre you saying that the is responsible or authorized to block these kinds of acquisitions? >> they are involved in the process that makes conclusions on transactions that are concerning and rise. >> so they have significant influence? >> we are a significant voter in the process. >> one other question.

, areg our red flag event these services taking into the possibility of partial loss of settling communications. our space into those -- we exercise that routinely. >> sir are any of your offices involved in crafting those training exercises? them assert that falls under my responsibility. we mark that routinely. them a thank you, mr. -- >> thank you, mr. chairman, i yield back. >> chairman for massachusetts is recognized for five minutes.

>> general raymond, china has significantly -- successfully conducted effective antisatellite missile launches effectively able to destroy u.s. satellites. this development fundamentally alters the balance between these powers and it has continued to evolve in favor of china. public reports indicate china would be able to destroy a staggering number of u.s. satellites in the opening days of potential conflict. up on thisollowing in the classified setting, but can you give us an overview of our strategy to counter those capabilities and echoing some of the other capabilities, are we committing enough resources to this development that could

fundamentally alter the strategic balance? china has made a commitment to be the world leader in ai by 2030. you have never heard such a commitment from us. unconcerned that we are following -- falling kind and this is something where we have to lead. contested,ecome very everything from the low-end to the high-end satellite demonstrated in 2007. this is a strategy that we share a tween the nro and department of defense. wrappeda vision and we in operational conflict around it. we have trained and exercise for it. there are several lines of effort we are doing.

you have to have the ability to have domain awareness. you have to have the ability to command and control. you have to have defendable architectures. in this budget we have made a significant shift toward having those architectures. you have to have partnerships just like we have in all other aspects of joint warfare. if i may interrupt, that is wonderful but the question is to they significant enough compete with our great power adversaries who have stuck their flag in the sand who say this is where we will be in 2020 and 2030? >> my view is we saw the best space given abilities in the world. will pick up the pace to stay ahead of that threat.

that $7 billion we have invested uncomfortable will -- confident will shift to provide us the ability to stay ahead of that threat. secretary, would you like to add to that? .> i disagree with general i think we can give you some more detail. automateden working intelligence and automated target recognition for quite some time. we've made real progress and it is in operation today. ust to reiterate, the emphasis is that we will be able to prevail in all of the domains critical to national security and achieving our objective. back. chairman yields

i will follow up with these questions in a classified setting. it is my understanding that traditional, evolved expendable launch vehicle are provided under federal action regulations 15. where new entrants are contracted under f.a.r. 12. it is my understanding that f.a.r. 12 is a more commercial way of doing business than f.a.r. 15. could you expand the differences between procuring large services with 12 versus 15. and does it have the same oversight on cost? or is one more stringent than the other? >> congressman, will take that

for the record. i am not an acquisition background guy. i will be happy to take it back and talk to our acquisition professionals. >> hearing yesterday general raymond, a panelist made it quite clear that the nation's spare warfare fighting construct must adapt to the threats that we face today and in the future. it is evident that the air force recognizes this, however -- the next generation, overhead persistent infrared is not clear. it's a different approach. the budget request is not more resilient.

could you comment on that? >> i would be happy to comment. it is more resilient. assessmentuired an of that, they have done that and i would be happy to provide more in a closed session. >> i yield back. >> jim yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california for five minutes. >> i will pass and hopefully get to the classified asap. >> we have no for the republicans. who do we have next -- no further republicans. who do we have next? i recognize the gentlelady from guam. >> thank you and thank you to our witnesses for being here today.

general raymond, there is an urgent need to reconstitute and replenish critical space capabilities to preserve continuity of operations continuity. can you speak to the responsive launch options that you would recommend the department pursuit to fulfill this need? thank you and it is great to see you again. we have invested in this budget pretty significantly. we have gone through a period of this before. we did this in the early 1990's when we launched satellites called iridium. there were a lot of senate -- companies that were in developed due to the replenishment launches. we have invested that in this budget. >> this next question is important to me.

all u.s. national security satellites are launched from fixed coastal u.s. launch sites that could easily be disrupted. these fixed sites also provide predictable locations from which adversaries could get close to discern u.s. capabilities. is the department of defense developing new launch sites with commercial capabilities to address these weaknesses and support a rapid, responsive, and resilient capability? i am a representative from guam. i will say that there have been inquiries about space capabilities in our territory from commercial investors. very recent were these visits. they are ambitious to begin operations. could any of you comment on this? commercial launch sites available today.

there are multiple spaceports. we would be happy to put guam on the list. one of the big things that has happened over the course of the last year, which was significant, is the move to autonomous flight systems and autonomous ranges. every time that spacex does a launch, they do it autonomously. we have to have the ability to protect populations and blow up the rocket if it went astray. we typically have command to struct and dennis. -- antennas. that is all done autonomously. that helps reduce the range infrastructure. commentsere any other from the other witnesses?

are you aware of the inquiries that have been made to guam? to looke been to guam at our andersen air force base and the guam international airport. is anyone aware of that? >> the commercial launch providers are going to do their own assessment as to what makes sense for their business. we will use the commercial launch providers. >> they were very interested in anderson air force base. i have no further questions. i yield back. >> no further questions. howed up.- oh, they s they slipped out and came back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from the great state of alabama. >> i did show up, mr. chairman. general i will keep you for a

few more minutes. my question pertains to personnel. we talk about space and we like to talk about the technological stuff. but it is the people that matter. do you think you have the proper number of service members to do this? do you believe you are efficiently manned to shift from a peacetime tempo to a war fighting one? are we effectively using the skills from the service members to capitalize and attack talents? >> thank you for the question. they are doing spectacular work for our nation. the air force has more mission than it does resources. the secretary of the air force and the chief of staff at the air force had asked me to conduct a study which we are doing as we speak to look at the scope, scale and professional development aspects.

i will report back to them this summer. >> do you think you can shift with your present number from a peacetime scenario to a wartime scenario? for 7, 365.e toy global -- 24/7, 365. global operations all the time. >> this would be unusual if it weren't like everything else in the public sector, the rapidly changing need for skills development. technology is moving so fast. do you feel you have the resources you need to continually provide skills treatment? >> i do. as i mentioned, one of my big priorities is professional development. we have completely transformed how we took -- how we train our operators. -- 100 75vested

million dollars in training infrastructure to get after the challenges we are currently facing. >> i am a strong supporter of what you are doing. we -- what we are doing in huntsville. keeping the civilian folks coming into that was part of my portfolio. i was amazed at how rapidly things were moving and i just know that you have that on steroids and i want to express my support for what you're doing and if you think you need more resources or help from us, please let us know. >> i really appreciate it. >> i yield back. >> we will go into recess and reconvene in about 10 minutes.