[House Hearing, 115 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.A.S.C. No. 115-2]
CONSIDERATION OF THE COMMITTEE
OVERSIGHT PLAN FOR THE
115TH CONGRESS
__________
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
MEETING HELD
FEBRUARY 2, 2017
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__________
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COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
One Hundred Fifteenth Congress
WILLIAM M. ``MAC'' THORNBERRY, Texas, Chairman
WALTER B. JONES, North Carolina ADAM SMITH, Washington
JOE WILSON, South Carolina ROBERT A. BRADY, Pennsylvania
FRANK A. LoBIONDO, New Jersey SUSAN A. DAVIS, California
ROB BISHOP, Utah JAMES R. LANGEVIN, Rhode Island
MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio RICK LARSEN, Washington
MIKE ROGERS, Alabama JIM COOPER, Tennessee
TRENT FRANKS, Arizona MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO, Guam
BILL SHUSTER, Pennsylvania JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut
K. MICHAEL CONAWAY, Texas NIKI TSONGAS, Massachusetts
DOUG LAMBORN, Colorado JOHN GARAMENDI, California
ROBERT J. WITTMAN, Virginia JACKIE SPEIER, California
DUNCAN HUNTER, California MARC A. VEASEY, Texas
MIKE COFFMAN, Colorado TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
VICKY HARTZLER, Missouri BETO O'ROURKE, Texas
AUSTIN SCOTT, Georgia DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey
MO BROOKS, Alabama RUBEN GALLEGO, Arizona
PAUL COOK, California SETH MOULTON, Massachusetts
JIM BRIDENSTINE, Oklahoma COLLEEN HANABUSA, Hawaii
BRAD R. WENSTRUP, Ohio CAROL SHEA-PORTER, New Hampshire
BRADLEY BYRNE, Alabama JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
SAM GRAVES, Missouri A. DONALD McEACHIN, Virginia
ELISE M. STEFANIK, New York SALUD O. CARBAJAL, California
MARTHA McSALLY, Arizona ANTHONY G. BROWN, Maryland
STEPHEN KNIGHT, California STEPHANIE N. MURPHY, Florida
STEVE RUSSELL, Oklahoma RO KHANNA, California
SCOTT DesJARLAIS, Tennessee SCOTT H. PETERS, California
RALPH LEE ABRAHAM, Louisiana PETE AGUILAR, California
TRENT KELLY, Mississippi JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
MIKE GALLAGHER, Wisconsin
MATT GAETZ, Florida
DON BACON, Nebraska
JIM BANKS, Indiana
LIZ CHENEY, Wyoming
Robert L. Simmons II, Staff Director
Zach Steacy, Director, Legislative Operations
CONSIDERATION OF THE COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT PLAN FOR THE 115TH CONGRESS
----------
House of Representatives,
Committee on Armed Services,
Washington, DC, Thursday, February 2, 2017.
The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:13 a.m., in room
2118, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. William M. ``Mac''
Thornberry (chairman of the committee) presiding.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM M. ``MAC'' THORNBERRY, A
REPRESENTATIVE FROM TEXAS, CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON ARMED
SERVICES
The Chairman. The committee will come to order. A quorum is
now present, although I know some of our members are stuck on a
bus coming back from a late prayer breakfast.
Let me welcome everyone. The plan today is to consider and
vote on the committee oversight plan. We will then immediately
adjourn and go upstairs for a classified briefing with the
Defense Intelligence Agency to follow up on our hearing
yesterday about the state of the world.
Before we get to that, it is a tradition in this committee
that we specifically introduce and welcome each of the new
members to our committee. So let me do that on this side of the
aisle right quick and then turn to Mr. Smith to introduce the
members that he has so far on the other side of the aisle.
First I want to welcome Dr. Scott DesJarlais, representing
Tennessee's Fourth District, whose constituents are part of the
workforce of Arnold Air Force Base, Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, and Redstone Arsenal. Fourth term member, he has
worked closely with this committee on force protection issues,
especially after the shooting at the Chattanooga Naval Reserve
Center.
Next to him is Dr. Ralph Abraham. So if we have any medical
problems in our late night markup, we are set. Dr. Abraham
represents Louisiana's Fifth District, a voice for Louisiana's
military installations. He is not only a medical doctor, he is
also a veterinarian, and served in the Army National Guard and
is currently a Coast Guard auxiliary pilot.
The chair next to him is filled by Trent Kelly, who
represents Mississippi's First District. A colonel in the
Mississippi Army National Guard, he served for 30 years as an
engineer, including multiple tours in Iraq. It is good to see
Mississippi represented again on this committee.
Next to him is--oh, no. Kelly is--I am sorry. I didn't see
you. Trent Kelly is here.
The seat next to him, who is not here, is Dr. Mike
Gallagher, another kind of doctor, he has a Ph.D. from
Georgetown, representing Wisconsin's Eighth District. Mike
served 7 years as a Marine Corps intelligence officer,
including tours in Iraq, and has focused his work on
counterterrorism, Middle East policy, including time at the
National Counterterrorism Center, and unfortunately the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, which we will have to work out of
him as soon as we can.
Now, next to him on the end is Matt Gaetz representing
Florida's First District, home of one of the largest military
districts in the country, including Naval Air Station Pensacola
and Eglin Air Force Base. Matt is a recovering lawyer, and
joins us from his service in the Florida State legislature.
I think on the bus coming back from the prayer breakfast is
Don Bacon, who represents Nebraska's Second Congressional
District. He is a retired Air Force brigadier general,
commanded twice at the wing level at Offutt Air Force Base and
at Ramstein. He deployed four times to the Middle East.
Next is Jim Banks, who represents Indiana's Third District,
home of the 122nd Fighter Wing of the Indiana National Guard. A
naval supply officer, he has very recently completed a tour in
Afghanistan, and also chaired the Indiana State Senate Veterans
and Military Committee.
And, finally, we have Liz Cheney, who represents Wyoming,
home of F.E. Warren Air Force Base. Liz, of course, has served
multiple policy roles in the State Department, including the
second ranked official on U.S. policy in the Middle East. She
is an accomplished author and commentator on American
exceptionalism and national security, and has provided
assistance to this committee even before she was elected to
Congress.
So we are very pleased at each of the new members on our
side of the aisle, as we are with all new members to this
committee.
Let me yield to Mr. Smith for any comments and
introductions.
STATEMENT OF HON. ADAM SMITH, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM WASHINGTON,
RANKING MEMBER, COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
Mr. Smith. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
We have eight new members, we have three more coming, which
as I understand it, the Steering and Policy Committee will
finalize tomorrow. So we will introduce them when the time is
appropriate, but we do have eight new members, six of whom, I
believe, are here. So we will start with a couple who have been
on this committee before and welcome them back.
Colleen Hanabusa, who represents Hawaii's First District,
which includes Camp H.M. Smith, headquarters of the United
States Pacific Command. She is a lawyer by profession. As Mr.
Thornberry said, we won't hold that against anyone. I am a
lawyer by profession; fortunately got over it. She returns to
Congress and the Armed Services Committee, having previously
served in three Congresses: 112th, 113th, 114th. So we welcome
back her expertise. And certainly, Hawaii is a critical part of
our national security team. So welcome back.
Also returning is Carol Shea-Porter, who represents New
Hampshire's First District, which includes Pease Air Force
National Guard Base and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. She is also
returning to Congress, having served in the 110th, 111th, and
113th; is the daughter of a Navy World War II veteran and was a
military spouse while her husband served in the Army during
Vietnam. Welcome back.
We now have freshmen members, who are brand-new to the
committee, starting with Jacky Rosen, who represents Nevada's
Third District, which is just south of Las Vegas. And just
north of her district is Nellis and Creech Air Force Bases. And
she comes to the committee with experience as a software
developer and computer programmer for a variety of businesses
in Nevada. Welcome.
And we have Donald McEachin, who represents Virginia's
Fourth District, which includes Fort Lee, with the Navy
installations in Norfolk and Newport News area just outside the
district. He is the son of an Army veteran and a lawyer by
profession. He joins the committee having previously served in
the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate.
Next, we have Salud Carbajal, who represents California's
24th District, which includes Vandenberg Air Force Base, Camp
Roberts, and has Naval Base Ventura County and Fort Hunter
Liggett nearby. He served 8 years in the Marine Corps Reserve,
including active service during the 1991 Gulf war, and
previously served on the Santa Barbara County Board of
Supervisors for 12 years. Thank you for joining us.
Next, we have Anthony Brown, not far from here,
representing Maryland's Fourth District, which borders Fort
Meade and the U.S. Naval Academy. He is a retired colonel. He
served in the Army from 1984 to 1989, in the Army Reserves from
1989 to 2014, and was the recipient of the Bronze Star while
deployed in Iraq in 2004. He served in the Maryland House of
Delegates for 8 years and as lieutenant governor for another 8
years. It is great to have your experience on the committee.
Two more members who are not yet here, but I will introduce
them anyway. Stephanie Murphy, who represents Florida's Seventh
District, which includes Naval Support Activity Orlando, which
is involved in a range of research and development programs
supporting the Department of Defense. She also served as a
national security specialist in the Office of the Secretary of
Defense, where she worked on a wide range of security issues
from counterterrorism, foreign military relations, to strategic
planning for the Department.
And last, we have Ro Khanna, who represents California's
17th District, a district that includes a number of technology
companies doing work with the Department of Defense. He served
in the Obama administration as the Deputy Assistant Secretary
of Commerce for International Trade and recently taught
economics at Stanford University.
And let me just say in sum in agreeing with the chairman,
we have a remarkable amount of talent on both sides of the
aisle, as you can hear. I mean, the breadth of experience from
military to technology, and on, I think, is going to serve this
committee very well. So we welcome all of you and look forward
to working with you.
I yield back.
The Chairman. Very well said. I completely agree.
Now we will go to our business, which is adoption of the
oversight plan. This is required by House Rules. We sent it to
everybody a couple days ago, so that you have had a chance to
look at it. Obviously, we touch on a number of topics in the
oversight plan, but we also try to leave flexibility so that we
can adjust to changes that happen over the course of the next 2
years.
So we have worked on this collaboratively with Mr. Smith,
and hopefully this can be adopted with the committee.
What? Painlessly, he says. So I am all for that as well.
Do you have any other comments you would like to make?
Mr. Smith. No, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
The Chairman. Great. So let me officially call up Committee
Resolution No. 4 regarding the committee oversight plan for the
115th Congress. The clerk shall read the resolution.
Dr. Bright. Committee Resolution No. 4. Resolved, that the
Committee on Armed Services, U.S. House of Representatives,
adopt the committee oversight plan for the 115th Congress, a
copy of which has been distributed to each member.
The Chairman. Following consultation with Mr. Smith, I ask
unanimous consent the resolution be considered as read and open
for amendment at any point.
Without objection, it is so ordered.
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The Chairman. Is there any discussion on the oversight
plan?
Are there any amendments to the oversight plan?
If not, the chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah for
the purpose of offering a motion.
Mr. Bishop. Mr. Chairman, I move to adopt the Committee
Resolution No. 4, concerning the committee oversight plan.
The Chairman. The question now occurs on the motion from
the gentleman from Utah. So members in favor will say aye.
Those opposed, say no.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The ayes
have it, a quorum being present. The motion is adopted. And
without objection, a motion to reconsider is laid upon the
table. Without objection, committee staff is authorized to make
technical and conforming changes to reflect the action of the
committee in adopting Committee Resolution No. 4.
And I think that is all the business we have. Again, we
will start immediately upstairs in 2212 with our classified
briefing with the Defense Intelligence Agency.
The committee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 10:24 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]
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