Ranking Member Courtney’s Opening Remarks for Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee Hearing On The USAF Bomber Force Structure – Current Requirements and Future Vision

Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing. This is our subcommittee’s second opportunity this month to discuss the importance of our nation’s long range strike capabilities, as well as our current and future bomber fleet.

The need for a modern and effective bomber fleet is clear. The Air Force bomber fleet has long provided our nation with a flexible and effective deterrent tool. It delivers a full complement of conventional long range strike options for decision makers and composes one of the three legs of our strategic deterrent triad. Our nation’s ability to project power and convincingly strike from far distances is a fundamental cornerstone of our warfighting ability – both at the tactical level and the strategic level. As our near-peer competitors develop formidable anti-access and area denial technologies, maintaining our military advantage hinges on our ability to penetrate those defenses.

That is why the development of the Long Range Strike Bomber, or LRS-B, is integral to defeating those A2/AD challenges, and to advancing our nation’s power projection abilities. I strongly support the LRS-B program, and Congress must do all it can to ensure that it moves forward without delay. While our witnesses will be limited on what they can say about the program in this setting, I look forward to their testimony on the need for retaining our long range strike capabilities and the status of the program to date.

As we know, however, the LRS-B is not expected to be online until the late 2020s. Given this fact, it is essential that we continue to also invest in sustainment and modernization in our aging B-52s, B-1s and B-2s -- some of which are among the oldest aircraft in the fleet. I hope that our witnesses will provide greater insight into the Air Force’s plan to ensure the availability, readiness and relevance of these legacy platforms in the decades ahead.

Looming above these critical priorities, unfortunately, are the dual threats of a continuing resolution and across the board sequestration cuts. While it appears that Congress may be able to prevent a government shutdown this week with a three-month CR, the lack of any certainty of what lays beyond its expiration -- let alone whether we will muster the will to resolve sequestration for any length of time -- is already inflicting the kind of destabilizing impact that our defense leaders have long warned us about.

For example, Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work recently indicated that the award of the LRS-B contract could be delayed until later this year or even next. The possibility of delaying this needed strategic investment is deeply concerning to me, and I know many in this panel feel the same. But it is important to remember that this is not occurring in isolation – it is another example of the avoidable damage caused by the lack of bipartisan action on both short and long term budget challenges. I hope that our witnesses will clearly outline what the impacts of a CR and inaction on sequestration will be on the sustainment of our current fleet and the recapitalization of future capabilities.

Finally, I want to share with the witnesses my concern about recent reports of errors in the department’s cost estimation for the LRS-B program. While all indications are that the discrepancies recently highlighted in the press were the result of human error, I want to emphasize to our witnesses the need for the public and Congress to have confidence in the data that the department is providing for this program. The department is asking for a sizable commitment of our nations fiscal resources, and it is important that we can fully rely on the information provided to justify that investment.

Mr. Chairman, thank you again for holding this hearing, and to our witnesses for being here to share their perspective and expertise with us today.