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1 (2015)

handle is hein.cbhear/fdsysagpf0001 and id is 1 raw text is: AUT-ENTICATED US. GOVERNMENT INFORMATION GP DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2016 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met at 10:33 a.m. in room SD-192, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Thad Cochran (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Cochran, Shelby, Collins, Murkowski, Blunt, Daines, Moran, Durbin, Leahy, Tester, Udall, and Schatz. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY STATEMENT OF HON. DEBORAH LEE JAMES, SECRETARY OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR THAD COCHRAN Senator COCHRAN. The committee will please come to order. We welcome everybody to our Subcommittee on Defense Appro- priations hearing for the fiscal year 2016 Air Force budget request. We are very pleased to especially welcome the Secretary of the Air Force, the Honorable Deborah Lee James; the Air Force Chief of Staff, General Mark Welsh III. We appreciate your service, and we thank you for the critical role you are providing in helping to lead the defense of our country, protecting our national security in- terests. The President's fiscal year 2016 budget requests $122 billion in base funding for the Air Force. This is $13 billion more than the current funding level. The request also includes nearly $11 billion to support ongoing overseas contingency operations. We look for- ward to hearing your reaction to the President's budget (PB) re- quest. The committee recognizes the importance of the Air Force, and we thank you for your service in these critical and important posi- tions of leadership. The Air Force's priorities of being able to fight and win a war on terror is appreciated and admired, and we are pleased to support those goals. We want to be sure that we take care of our airmen and their families and be prepared for tomor- row's challenges. We recognize the difficulties that recapitalizing an air force can present, an air force fleet that has an average age of 27 years. It is our role to find the correct balance between the competing priorities and interests during these interesting times. (1)