mr. pouner saying, no, no, they are messing up. he has always been right. but, i have heard mr. pouner in your testimony today, i have heard terms that i have never heard come from your mouth, good progress, solid development, and do you think that particularly the jpss is on track and what are the remaining issues and risks? what else can go wrong in the past that is true that everything that could go wrong has. but do you think that what you do think could still go wrong and how much under control is that? >> well, clearly, it's a much better picture than we have testified on in the past. ranking member miller. the couple of challenges that we see with jpss is operating within the $12.9 billion cap, because the program when you reconciled the cost estimates, it was somewhere around $14.6. so operating within that cap, there is still that $1.7 billion delta. there a plan to address that, but i think it is a challenge going forward. in addition, associated with addressing that $1.7 billion gap, this arrangement where you have a ride share arrangement with certain sensors and you

mr. pouner, maybe you can -- what is the finding? >> so that the gap is $1.7 billion. it is from $14.6 which is the cost when you reconcile the costs, and to keep it simple, the program was capped at $12.9 so that there was a tlr 1.7 that the program was trying to get down to. and the approach is that as we understand it, two primary ways in which they will reduce address the $1.7 billion gap, and swun that they found a more efficient way to operate and maintain the satellites which dr. sullivan referred to, and then also, too, there is a savings through the ride share arrangement with the free share riders and the climate is included, but fly them outside of the jpss program. there are e d il details that w to see about both of those things and how it tallies up to $1.7, and that is the comments that i made about that still questions within operating of the $12.9 cap. >> dr. sullivan, is that an accurate assessment of where the $1.7 will be made up? >>> it is, sir. >> i recognize mr. mcinerney for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. powner, one thing that st