At today's House Armed Services Committee hearing, Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) questioned Air Force officials about the exorbitant costs spent by the military.
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NewsTranscript
00:00I yield back, Mr. Chair.
00:03The gentleman from Florida, Mr. Walts, is recognized for five minutes.
00:07Thank you, Mr. Chair.
00:10Mr. Secretary, I was struck by a statement you just made, and I just want to touch on
00:16Representative Gates's concern about readiness.
00:19I'm the chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee.
00:22I understand there is a quality over quantity argument.
00:31But the basic issue is, if they can't fly, that is a strategic failing on our part.
00:42And I think the Pentagon has become so focused on—I know it's a balance, I know there's
00:47a pendulum swing—but on making these kind of handmade, bespoke, high-tech Ferraris.
00:55But sometimes you need a fleet of pickup trucks, and you certainly need, whether they're Ferraris
00:59or pickup trucks, that can operate in the desert and can operate out in the corrosive
01:03environment in the Pacific.
01:05So let's talk about some of your pickup trucks.
01:07The Air Force owns and operates DOD's largest fleet of commercial derivative aircraft.
01:13They use commercial parts.
01:15This, Mr. Secretary, is a bag of bushings.
01:21This bag of bushings, stamped out by machinists, don't need a high school diploma—it's not
01:30anything high-tech about this—all of this bag is compliant with the FAA specifications.
01:36How much do you think the Air Force pays for this bag of bushings?
01:41I don't know, Congressman.
01:43$90,000.
01:45This is a $90,000 bag of bushings that you need for any jet turbine engine just to operate.
01:56So the exorbitant cost due to DOD only buying commercial parts from the OEMs, which is essentially
02:03sole source, is literally driving us out of business.
02:07The interest on our debt alone is now exceeding, for the first time in American history, the
02:14entire defense budget.
02:15We can't afford it anymore.
02:17So with FAA-compliant parts, you cut the cost in half or even more.
02:24So my question is, why can't—I mean, these are commercial birds out there.
02:28By the way, it has all kinds of implications for contested logistics when you can access
02:33commercial parts in the middle of a war, potentially in the Pacific.
02:39Why can't we use FAA-compliant?
02:40I mean, it's the safety standard leader in the world.
02:45Why can't we do that?
02:46I don't know a reason why we couldn't.
02:48I'm familiar with some of the issues you're trying to raise here from my previous position.
02:52Yeah.
02:53I know you are.
02:54That's why I'm asking you.
02:55Yeah.
02:56Defense Logistics Agency used to report to me.
02:57That's where we do a lot of our parts acquisition.
03:04And we had an issue when I was there with people gouging us, basically, charging us
03:08too much for parts.
03:11And we ended up, I think, in court over it.
03:15What can we, just in the interest of time, Mr. Secretary, come back to us, how can this
03:19committee help you fix that?
03:21We literally can't afford the modernization, the recruiting, the pacing, everything we
03:25need if we're paying $90,000 for a bag of bushings.
03:29I work with Dr. LaPlante on this, because it's a systemic issue.
03:33And again, most of the parts buying is done through DLA.
03:36But you have the largest fleet of commercial birds that, right?
03:41You've got the Ferraris, but these are the pickup trucks that we should just be able
03:43to buy.
03:44What we have to be able to do is challenge the prices.
03:46We have to have knowledgeable buyers who can understand when they're getting a ridiculous
03:49price and go in and ensure that they get paid.
03:52Let's work together on that.
03:53I just need, in the interest of time, I just want to move, again, to the recruiting and
03:58the Genesis program.
03:59I have here a quote that was given during the Air and Space Forces Association Air Warfare
04:07Symposium that basically says, if you do the math, you're somewhere in the ballpark of
04:125,600 folks that we could have likely brought on if they weren't waiting on a medical approval.
04:20And now you have a program that digs into medical records.
04:24And so a kid who took ADHD meds, because maybe his parents got divorced when he was
04:2914 or 15, now can't get approved.
04:33Somebody who wants to serve, I think we're trying to solve one problem, and then we've
04:40created a whole disproportionate others.
04:44And I want to work with you on that.
04:48Let's fix the Genesis system and how it is affecting you.
04:51And then just my question remaining, you are the only service that in your proposal
04:58proposed a cut in junior ROTC in high schools.
05:02Do you think that junior ROTC in high school is getting to this Gen Z, getting to them
05:07early about service, leadership, discipline, followership is helpful?
05:10Junior ROTC is a valuable program.
05:14I'm not aware that we made a cut.
05:15We may have for some reason.
05:16I'd have to go back and get back to you.
05:18I look forward to working with you on that as well.
05:20You get a better citizen and you get a recruit.
05:22The gentleman's time has expired.
05:24The gentlewoman from Hawaii, Ms. Takuda, is recognized for five minutes.
05:28Thank you, Mr. Chair.
05:30Last summer I had the privilege of traveling to Japan.