On Tuesday, June 29, the House Committee on Armed Services held a hearing to discuss the Army’s fiscal year 2022 budget request. The purpose of the hearing was to review the budget proposal while considering five congressional priorities: Army modernization, well-maintained industrial base, conflict readiness, China as the prime adversary of the United States, and soldier care and training. Army Secretary Wormuth and Army Chief of Staff General McConville justified reductions in the FY22 budget request as a means for shifting focus to modernization. Most Republicans insisted that the budget request did not meet the needs of the Army. Witnesses
Members in Attendance Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA), Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV), Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX), Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-WA), Rep. Kaiali’i Kahele (D-HI), Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Rep. Joseph Morelle (D-NY), Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA), Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ), Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), Ranking Member Mike Rogers (R-AL), Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX), Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT), Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI), Rep. Scott Franklin (R-FL), Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK), Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL), Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI), Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE). Key Themes
Modernization and the Industrial Base Secretary Wormuth outlined the Army’s “Big Six” modernization priorities: long range precision fires, next-generation combat vehicles, future vertical lift, network, air-and-missile defense, and solider lethality. Gen. McConville added that multi-domain mobility was another priority. Rep. Moore asked if the Army’s 15-year Organic Industrial Base strategic plan could be accelerated. Secretary Wormuth and Gen. McConville clarified that the program needs time to assess the bandwidth of the industrial base and its supply chain and identify gaps that must be filled. Rep. Scott expressed concern that the budget cuts in procurement and munitions would affect the industrial base’s production capacity. Gen. McConville shared the concern but provided no further response. Rep. Kahele noted that a 2019 report stated 45 percent of Hawaii’s Army infrastructure is failing and total repairs would require $1.1 billion. He also asked about a $100 million hiring cap that causes inefficient fracturing of projects. Secretary Wormuth said she would investigate the cap. Rep. McClain scrutinized the budget request’s $4 billion cut to research and development as well as acquisition, saying it would hinder modernization. Secretary Wormuth responded that though some cuts were made to maintain signature programs, 74 percent of research, development, test, and evaluation (RDTE) would focus on next generation programs. Rep. McClain asked about the budget request’s effect on the M1 Abrams program. Secretary Wormuth added that the Army is exploring a new armored multi-purpose vehicle but will sustain funding for the Abrams as a bridge to a new program. Rep. Jacobs asked about the Army’s early approach to purchasing optionally manned armored vehicles. Secretary Wormuth responded that the Army uses an iterative approach that allows companies to compete. Gen. McConville added that this allows the Army to fly or drive before they buy. Rep. Fallon reported that 150 soldiers have been killed by Humvee roll-overs. While he was appreciative that the Army introduced the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), he also noted that new JLTVs cost $400,000 while repairs cost $17,000. He added, however, that the budget designated only $10 million in funding for upgrades, which would only repair one percent of Humvees. Gen. McConville responded that while repairs could fix the issue of roll-overs, it would not cover other issues caused by aging. Asked by Rep. Veasey on deep sensing capabilities, Gen. McConville stressed the importance of long-range precision fires and identified it as the Army’s next objective to meet the demands of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Rep. Luria strongly criticized the proposal, noting that conflict in the western Pacific would be a primarily aerial and naval operation, and that the head of the Air Force Global Strike Command said the Army’s effort to base long-range missiles in the Pacific was “expensive, duplicative, and stupid.” She charged that there are no basing agreements to house these missiles, the Marine Corps is doing the same but with more mobile capabilities, and that the cost of delivering far exceeds the Air Force and Navy’s capabilities. Gen. McConville responded by noting that our adversaries have sophisticated integrated aerial defense and the Army requires long range precision fire to meet this threat. Military Readiness Ranking Member Rogers asked if the budget reductions and lower purchasing power would affect readiness. Gen. McConville answered that the budget was sufficient to maintain a conflict-ready Army but noted the Army’s unfunded requirement letter. Rep. Murphy asked how the Army would shift focus to the Indo-Pacific region. Gen. McConville said that work with allies and partners would be critical. In response to Rep. Green on a similar question, he also said that multi-domain task forces would be essential to success in the region. Ranking Member Rogers and Reps. Jackson, McClain, Johnson, Waltz, and Bergman each expressed concern that the proposed budget does not maintain readiness for conflict with prime adversaries like China and Russia. China Ranking Member Rogers asked why the budget request allocated $7.5 billion less in spending power while China is increasing their military spending. Gen. McConville said that while China has a larger force and economy, the U.S. maintains supremacy over China. He also said the Army is focusing on modernization to sustain that supremacy. Rep. McClain asked why the budget cuts total forces from fiscal year 2022 projections and munitions procurement if China’s spending is increasing. Secretary Wormuth said that she is also concerned with China’s modernization but that the People’s Liberation Army remains outmatched by the U.S. Asked by Rep. Murphy how changes in recruitment and training would address the threat of China, Gen. McConville noted that training would shift away from the counterinsurgency doctrine. Reps. Kahele and Luria said they believe the Pentagon is not adequately reflecting the urgency to counter China. Gen. McConville said that winning with China would not necessarily involve fighting China. Instead, he proposed a whole-of-government approach to edge out China through modernization. Rep. Bacon asked how the U.S. could improve deterrence in Taiwan. Gen. McConville said that Anti-Access/Aerial Denial (A2/AD) through integrated aerial defense and anti-amphibian capabilities would assist Taiwan in deterring China. Soldier Care and Training Secretary Wormuth noted in her opening remarks that the Army would focus on investing in its personnel through inclusivity measures, improving quality of life, preventing suicide, and countering racism. Gen. McConville added that the Army would accomplish this by building healthy relationships within squads and between leaders. Noting that most problems occur with 17- to 24-year-old soldiers, Gen. McConville said early team building would be essential for this goal. Asked by Rep. Veasey how the Army would root out racism, Gen. McConville stated cohesive communities would assist in building inclusive spaces. Rep. Scott disagreed and asked if this new approach to racism would sow distrust among troops. Gen. McConville said that building respect in squads would prevent distrust from taking root, especially since trust is necessary for combat roles. Reps. Escobar and Speier asked what steps would be taken to address the historically high rate of suicide in the Army. Secretary Wormuth said the Army would use evidence-based suicide prevention programs and focus this into squads. She also committed to providing Congress with the number of suicides at each Army base. Rep. Horsford asked how the Army would collect data on sexual assault. Secretary Wormuth said that a command assessment program would help select leaders according to past command climate, and civil leaders would be placed in prosecutorial positions. Reps. Panetta, Strickland, Escobar, Panetta, and Speier expressed concern regarding housing for Army soldiers and their families. Rep. Speier reported that the Army planned to invest $10 billion over 10 years in housing, but that the Army had only requested $262 million for FY22. Secretary Wormuth pledged to review the plan again and ensure it meets expectations. Rep. Strickland noted that the market price for housing was outpacing the Army’s allowance for housing. Reps. Escobar and Green asked for the Army to investigate the quality of barracks for the 101st Airborne Brigade at Fort Bliss. Rep. Panetta asked if the Army would hold private contractors accountable for subpar military housing. Secretary Wormuth responded that the Army would no longer pay incentive fees up front and that 18 provisions of the Tenant Bill of Rights had been implemented in 37 of 44 private housing installations. Rep. Murphy asked what kind of training would be used to adapt to China and Russia. Secretary Wormuth responded that the Army would adapt to unconventional warfare, information operations, and psychological operations. Gen. McConville added that counterterrorism would not be discarded, but specialization in combatant regions would instead be strongly emphasized. Reps. Horsford and Morelle expressed concern over a report that claimed 1900 weapons, including machine guns and rocket launchers, have been stolen from arms barracks. Secretary Wormuth said that weapons accountability was very important and a task force, led by a 3-star general, had only identified 384 weapons missing since 2013.
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