fanl loinlly we look forward to the testimony today. us unanimously after nearly two years of hard work research and debate. i encourage the commissioners to speak freely without reservations. some of them i know, i'm sure will do that. thank you again commissioners for your extraordinary efforts. senator reid. oh. senator kerrey arrived. thank you senator kerrey for arriving. >> thank you, mr. chairman. let me join you in welcoming the witnesses and commending them for a job well done. thank you very much. and i think it's extremely important to the meeting today and i thank the chairman for holding the meeting. this hearing comes as the department yesterday formally submitted its budget for fiscal year 2016. while we await the full details there are a few immediate notable aspects. first, the requested top line of some $35 billion above the budget control act spending caps of defense. the spending cap for fy 16 represents no growth on real terms. the department has requested $35 billion more. shows how deep the funding shortfalls run,