[Senate Hearing 119-320]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 119-320
UPDATE ON MATTERS WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARIES
FOR ENERGY, INSTALLATION, AND ENVIRONMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE FISCAL YEAR
2026 NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
READINESS AND MANAGEMENT SUPPORT
of the
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JUNE 25, 2025
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Armed Services
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via: http://www.govinfo.gov
_______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
63-003 PDF WASHINGTON : 2026
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi, Chairman
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska JACK REED, Rhode Island
TOM COTTON, Arkansas JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire
MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, New York
JONI K. ERNST, Iowa RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii
KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota TIM KAINE, Virginia
RICK SCOTT, Florida ANGUS S. KING, Jr., Maine
TOMMY TUBERVILLE, Alabama ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts
MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
TED BUDD, North Carolina TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
ERIC SCHMITT, Missouri JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
JIM BANKS, Indiana MARK KELLY, Arizona
TIM SHEEHY, Montana ELISSA SLOTKIN, Michigan
John P. Keast, Staff Director
Elizabeth L. King, Minority Staff Director
__________
Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska, Chairman
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii
KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire
RICK SCOTT, Florida TIM KAINE, Virginia
ERIC SCHMITT, Missouri ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts
TIM SHEEHY, Montana TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
__________
June 25, 2025
Page
Update on Matters Within the Jurisdiction of the Assistant 1
Secretaries for Energy, Installation, and Environment in
Support of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization
Act.
Member Statements
Sullivan, Senator Dan............................................ 1
Hirono, Senator Mazie............................................ 3
Witness Statements
Marks, The Honorable Dale R., Assistant Secretary of Defense for 4
Energy, Installations, and Environment.
Waksman, Dr. Jeff L., Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for 13
Installations, Energy and Environment.
Johnson-Turner, Ms. Brenda M., Performing the Duties of Assistant 18
Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and
Environment.
Saunders, Mr. Michael E., Acting Assistant Secretary of the Air 25
Force for Energy, Installations and Environment.
Questions for the Record......................................... 57
(iii)
UPDATE ON MATTERS WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARIES
FOR ENERGY, INSTALLATION, AND ENVIRONMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE FISCAL YEAR
2026
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT
----------
WEDNESDAY JUNE 25, 2025
United States Senate,
Subcommittee on Readiness and
Management Support,
Committee on Armed Services,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:34 p.m. in room
SR-232A, Russell Senate Office Building, Senator Sullivan
(Chairman of the Committee) presiding.
Committee Members present: Senators Sullivan, Fischer,
Scott, Sheehy, Hirono, and Kaine.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR DAN SULLIVAN
Senator Sullivan. The Readiness and Management Subcommittee
hearing is now in session. I want to begin by noting that this
Committee is focused on readiness today, although,
unfortunately you're not reading about it in the press or
anything. It marks the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of the
Korean War, which is a real lesson in American readiness that I
think we in the Senate and hopefully in the Armed Services
continue to learn from today. Because that was a--outbreak of
that war was a real lesson and hard knocks in terms of
readiness, and it's something I think we all need to remember.
Of course, to the remaining American veterans of the Korean
War, we want to thank them for their service. I've never liked
the term the Forgotten War. I think it should be called the
Noble War because it was the United States coming to save a
country from a communist invasion, many of whom we didn't know
and young Americans sacrificed in enormous ways, 37,000 killed
in action.
We in our country unfortunately barely even talk about that
war. So, I wanted to begin by that. Our Committee meets today
to receive testimony on the Department's military construction,
energy installations, environmental and base closure programs
in the review of the Defense Authorization Request of Fiscal
Year 2026, I would like to welcome Assistant Secretary Marks to
his first hearing since his recent confirmation.
So, Mr. Secretary, welcome, I congratulate you and look
forward to working closely with you in this very important role
for our military and the Pentagon. I also thank the other
esteemed witnesses for being here today and for their continued
service to our country.
Each of you play an important role in ensuring our Armed
Forces are ready at a moment's notice to defend our country.
But right now, we are facing problems and challenges that are
detrimental to that objective. While our personnel are the
backbone of our military, the installations are what bring them
together. Simply put, our decaying facilities are causing
significant issues with regard to our warfighters and the
locations and resilience of our bases could serve as a
detriment to our national security during wartime.
With that in mind, I want to discuss our current basing
posture in the Indo-Pacific in the context of dispersal,
survivability, and logistics, including for bulk fuel and
energy requirements. I believe we have over concentrated our
basing and force posture in the Indo-Pacific at places like
Guam and we should look for opportunities to both disperse and
harden these facilities. Make them more resilient, and position
ourselves to better support operational and strategic maneuver
in a contested environment in this critical AOR [area of
responsibility].
I would like to hear from each of you on the implementation
of the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization
requirement to achieve 4 percent plant replacement value by
2030. This requirement came after a lack of priority from the
services that led to crumbling infrastructure in many areas
across the United States and the world. This has only driven up
the cost in damage service readiness. We must take immediate
action to mitigate this damage for many of these facilities
throughout the world.
As Chairman Wicker said during the Air Force Posture
hearing, ``This is the law of the land.'' I would additionally
like to discuss any updates each of you have in improving and
maintaining unaccompanied housing. The poor living conditions
which unfortunately include sewage overflow, mold, mildew,
broken windows, decrease the quality of life and readiness for
servicemembers mostly junior enlisted and their families, which
of course, negatively impacts readiness across the services.
We must ensure that our servicemembers are not living in
barracks that do not meet the standards set by the Department
of Defense (DOD). Additionally, your thoughts on the
Department's work in operational energy in how these systems
can transform the modern warfighter are crucial to this
Committee's work on contested logistics.
Finally, I would like to hear from each of the witnesses
about your future priorities since the Department did not
release the Future Year's Defense Program budget through 2030,
we are still waiting for that. The challenges we are facing
today are the result of years of pushing these problems aside,
kicking the can down the road. We must work together to
modernize our infrastructure to give our country and our troops
the best footing possible for any contingency that is thrown
their way.
Again, I want to thank the witnesses for attending today. I
look forward to each of your testimony, and with that, I want
to thank my Ranking Member, Senator Hirono, and ask her for her
opening statement.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MAZIE HIRONO
Senator Hirono. Thank you, Chairman Sullivan. I want to
thank each of our witnesses for your years of service and to
the many hardworking civilians in your respective
organizations, I thank them. This Subcommittee remains focused
on ensuring that the Department of Defense is equipped not only
to meet today's operational requirements but also to strengthen
the long-term resilience, readiness, and well-being of our
military installations.
I appreciate your engagement on each of these critical
issues. I have been very focused on infrastructure and I'm glad
that the chair recognizes the importance of modernizing and
repairing our infrastructure, which we have not done a very
good job on. I want to begin by expressing concern regarding
this Department's ability to deliver timely, efficient, and
cost-effective infrastructure, construction delays and cost
overruns undermine readiness and public trust.
I will ask each of you to identify specific areas where the
military construction process can improve and what steps are
being taken to enhance accountability and performance. I
recognize this is pretty much a perennial problem but when I
ask each of you to identify very specific ways that we can do
better, I mean, very specific things that are doable, things
that we can see the outcomes of the improvements.
So, please think about that as I'm finishing my remarks.
Another priority area is the quality of military housing, and
apparently both of the chair and I certainly have visited
military housing and see the needs there. So, both for families
and unaccompanied servicemembers, quality housing directly
affects morale, retention, and overall readiness. Significant
work still needs to be done. For example, the Department's
March report on its use of waivers highlighted 32 substandard
facilities on Army installations. Yet we know the problem is
broader.
That is why I am troubled to learn about the Army's plan to
divert $1 billion of facilities sustainment, restoration, and
modernization funding to pay for operations at the Southwest
border. These funds were originally intended for the repair and
maintenance of facilities like barracks. This is only occurring
because the Secretary of Defense has chosen at every turn to
waive reimbursement as an option in the many requests for
assistance from the Department of Homeland Security.
It's a curious choice made by the Defense Secretary
especially since the DOD's fiscal year 2024 Agency financial
report cited a deferred facility maintenance backlog of $267
billion. That is a significant part of the DOD's whole budget.
We have to do better people. We know that.
So, we need to understand how the Department plans to
ensure that soldiers have access to safe, well-maintained
housing considering this shift, this Committee asked the Army 3
weeks ago for simple details on planned versus executed
facility sustainment, restoration, and modernization projects
in fiscal year 2025. Yet we've not received anything to date.
So, Dr. Waksman, I expect the Army to deliver answers as soon
as possible to our requests.
Pivoting to the Indo-Pacific, as each of you know, several
of the militaries more essential training areas across Hawaii
are leased from the State and are set to expire in the coming
years. The training areas are foundational to joint readiness
in the region and at the same time they hold cultural and
historical significance to the native Hawaiian community. It is
essential that any path forward respects that significance
while ensuring our forces have access to the ranges and
facilities that they need.
The Department must work in good faith with State officials
and the community to ensure these leases are renegotiated in a
way that is equitable to all parties. Regarding military
construction in the Indo-Pacific, we have previously authorized
the extensions of the H-2B visa programs to ensure sufficient
labor for projects in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands,
Secretary Marks, as a construction in the region accelerates,
we need to understand the potential cost and readiness
implication of these mission critical visas that they are
extended.
I realize that the chair has asked the question as to the
continuing spending that's going on in Guam. But if we intend
to continue to do what we need to do in Guam, these visas are
very necessary. Next, I'd like to touch on demand reduction and
installation resilience. The Department's investment and
operational energy programs not only reduces the logistics
footprint for our warfighters but also enhances their combat
capabilities as well. It is critical these programs continue to
garner the bipartisan support they've had for years now.
Meanwhile, initiatives like the Readiness and Environmental
Protection Integration Program and Sentinel Landscapes
strengthen our installation readiness. These programs
strengthen our installations--sorry. These programs not only
improve energy security and mission assurance but also protect
surrounding ecosystems and prevent encroachment on military
basis.
Finally, I want to address the growing risks posed by
extreme weather and natural disasters to our installations.
Secretary Marks, as you experienced firsthand, these events
have cost the Department tens of billions of dollars and
directly impact mission readiness. It is imperative that DOD
approaches these risks proactively so that joint forces better
postured to adapt to the risks to military installation
resilience. So, we can expect a lot more of these unpredictable
weather events and as I know we should be better prepared to
deal with the damage costs by these massive weather events. We
have a lot of ground to cover today, so I thank each of you for
being here and thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Sullivan. Thank you, Senator Hirono, and now we're
going to begin with 5-minute opening statements. If you have a
longer written statement for the record, we'd be glad to submit
that for the record. We'll begin with you, Secretary Marks.
STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DALE R. MARKS, ASSISTANT SECRETARY
OF DEFENSE FOR ENERGY, INSTALLATIONS, AND ENVIRONMENT
Mr. Marks. Well, Chairman Sullivan and Ranking Member
Hirono and distinguished members of this Subcommittee thank you
for the opportunity to appear before you today. As you
mentioned, the newly confirmed Assistant Secretary of Defense
for Energy Installations and Environment, I really do
appreciate this opportunity to discuss the President's proposed
fiscal year 2026 budget for the Department of Defense's Energy
Installation Environment portfolio.
The President and Secretary of Defense have laid out a
clear objective for the Department, achieve peace through
strength. As the secretary has said, the threats we face are
serious. Our investments to counter them must also be and
that's what this budget is intended to do. I firmly believe
that the strength and lethality of our military is built both
on the weapon systems that defend us and on the readiness of
our servicemembers and their families who accomplish this
mission.
Make no mistake, our installations are weapons systems just
like our ships, tanks, and planes. We must ensure that they're
postured to carry out the entire spectrum of military
operations. At the same time, we know that America is a target.
Our installations are under threat not just from our
adversaries but from aging infrastructure, extreme weather, and
increasingly complex operational demands. Our budget request
includes 17.9 billion in military construction funds, 27.3
billion in FSRM [Facilities Sustainment, Restoration, and
Modernization] and 3.8 billion in installation, operational
energy investments and addresses these challenges by focusing
squarely on military readiness and operational capability.
This ensures our resources directly support what matters
most, maintaining ready forces and resilient OP installations
that can operate effectively under any condition. In
particular, we're focusing on energy dominance, infrastructure
modernization, operational energy security and investing in our
innovation and research programs in support of the warfighter.
At the same time, we recognize the resilience of our
installations is enhanced by partnering with our defense
communities and we're making a concerted effort to work with
them on mutually beneficial initiatives that enhance
redundancies and prevent risks to national security. We also
recognize that our servicemembers' readiness starts at home.
We want to ensure our warfighters are able to deliver 100
percent of their effort to their missions without having to
worry about issues with their housing or about the health and
safety of their family members back home. So, our 1.9 billion
in family housing and 1.2 billion unaccompanied housing request
supports our commitment to ensuring that the DOD's housing
portfolio provides a positive living experience for military
personnel and their families.
We also continue to address risks to human health and
environment through our environmental cleanup programs funded
at 1.5 billion. We're moving in the right direction but I
recognize we must do better on behalf of our servicemembers and
their families. To accomplish these goals, the Department must
ensure that we make the most efficient use of our resources and
manpower to enable us to focus on our core mission of defending
the Nation. Energy, Installations, and Environment (EIE) is
coordinating several efforts to review current processes and
regulations to create efficiencies and reduce costs, including
a review of our Military Construction (MILCON) and FSRM
investment portfolios, real property efficiencies and a review
of our implementation of environmental laws and regulations.
Finally, as part of this administration's effort to counter
China's malign actions in the Indo-Pacific, we continue to work
with key stakeholders to address DOD's use of lands and natural
resources in Hawaii through the Hawaii Coordination Cell. We're
also undertaking holistic master planning effort to effectively
sequence development, prioritize infrastructure needs and align
support functions with mission growth on Guam.
We'll look forward to working with Congress to address
issues such as further extension of the H-2B visa authorities.
Going forward with some big issues to tackle such as meeting
Congress' directive to significantly increase our FSRM
investment to at least 4 percent of plant replacement value. I
look forward to working with this Committee to address these
challenges head on and fulfill our commitment to our soldiers,
sailors, airmen, marines, and guardians. Thank you and I look
forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of The Honorable Dale R. Marks
follows:]
Prepared Statement by The Honorable Dale R. Marks
Introduction
Chairman Sullivan, Ranking Member Hirono, and distinguished members
of the Subcommittee: Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the
President's proposed Fiscal Year 2026 Budget for the Department of
Defense's (DOD) energy, installations, and environment programs. As the
newly confirmed Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy,
Installations and Environment, I look forward to working with this
Committee in the coming months to ensure our installations are postured
to support the President's and Secretary of Defense's focus on ensuring
the U.S. military remains the most lethal and effective fighting force
in the world.
The President and Secretary of Defense have laid out a clear
objective for the Department: achieve peace through strength by
reviving the warrior ethos and restoring trust in our military,
rebuilding our military by matching threats to capabilities, and
reestablishing deterrence by defending our homeland. To achieve these
objectives, we must ensure our power projection platforms are postured
to maximize our servicemembers' lethality and defend the homeland while
remaining secure against a wide range of threats.
The President has also recognized that national security relies on
establishing American energy dominance. The Department is laser-focused
on implementing this critical national security imperative to unleash
the United States' abundant natural resources and maintain our
leadership in energy technologies and innovation. We are working across
the interagency to advance these goals, with a key focus on the
national security objectives in contained in the Executive Orders on
Establishing the National Energy Dominance Council, Unleashing American
Energy, Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential, and
Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security,
among others.
In addition, we know that America is under threat. Our adversaries
are targeting our critical defense, government, and economic
infrastructure, both inside and outside our fencelines. Every domain is
contested--air, land, sea, space, and cyber.
Our installation investments focus squarely on military readiness
and operational capability. When we evaluate infrastructure
improvements or assess environmental impacts, we apply one clear
standard: how does this strengthen our warfighting capability? This
mission-focused strategy ensures our resources directly support what
matters most--maintaining ready forces and resilient installations that
can operate effectively under any conditions. We will continue to
assess weather-related impacts on our operations, mitigate weather-
related risks, conduct environmental assessments as appropriate, and
improve the resilience of our installations, but always through the
lens of enhancing military effectiveness and operational resilience.
As the Secretary has said, the threats we face are serious and our
investments to counter them must also be. That's what this budget does.
We also know we have some big issues to tackle, such as meeting
Congress's directive to significantly increase our facilities
sustainment, restoration, and modernization (FSRM) investments to at
least 4 percent of plant replacement value. I look forward to working
with the Committee to address these challenges head-on.
Supporting Lethality
The strength and lethality of our military is built both on the
weapon systems that defend us, and on the readiness of our
servicemembers, and their families, to accomplish this mission. Make no
mistake: our installations are weapon systems, just like our ships,
tanks, and planes. We must ensure that they are postured--in terms of
quality, condition, and laydown--to carry out the entire spectrum of
military operations.
The hard truth is that our installations are under threat, not just
from our adversaries, but from aging infrastructure, extreme weather,
and increasingly complex operational demands. In the past decade alone,
weather-related damages have cost the Department over $15 billion.
Our adversaries understand these vulnerabilities. They actively
seek to exploit our dependencies on energy and water infrastructure,
attempting to degrade our ability to deploy forces, undermine our
deterrent capabilities, and put our installations at risk. These
disruptions directly impact warfighter health and safety, training and
testing equipment reliability and performance, critical infrastructure
functionality, and overall force readiness and lethality.
To maintain mission readiness and sustain the installations that
make deterrence credible, the Department is investing over $1.5 billion
to ensure availability of energy to meet installation missions, provide
diverse sources of energy for onsite generation, field microgrids and
energy storage, deploy energy efficiency upgrades, and pursue
innovative and resilient technologies like small modular nuclear
reactors. Continued investment in energy efficiency through Energy
Saving Performance Contracts (ESPCs) and Utility Energy Services
Contracts (UESCs) with DOD's industry partners bolsters installation
energy resilience by reducing the installation energy demand and need
for backup resources during commercial grid disruptions.
One of the Department's most significant energy infrastructure
investment initiatives is the Energy Resilience and Conservation
Investment Program (ERCIP). The fiscal year 2026 budget request
includes $723 million ($684 million in construction projects and $39
million in planning and design funds) for ERCIP, focused on deploying
cutting-edge technologies, including advanced energy storage systems,
next-generation geothermal and nuclear capabilities, and sophisticated
microgrid networks--all essential to maintaining the military's
operational readiness.
The Department also must enhance the operational energy posture of
Joint forces. In fiscal year 2024 alone, the Department consumed 68
million barrels of fuel at a cost of $10.7 billion, with nearly half of
that fuel being purchased overseas. As we operate in increasingly
austere and contested environments, we need to ensure that air, sea,
land, and space platforms are assured the supplies of energy needed to
deter and, if needed, defeat adversaries.
The fiscal year 2026 budget request includes $2.3 billion to
enhance the operational energy posture of Joint forces. These
investments include enhancements to the range, endurance, and on-board
power of combat vehicles, advanced propulsion to increase the range and
endurance of surface combatants, increased standardization, safety, and
capabilities of advanced energy storage technologies, next-generation
adaptive propulsion, and mission planning and execution tools to
maximize combat capability per gallon of fuel.
The Department is revolutionizing how we plan for energy needs and
mitigate energy-related risks in combat operations. Our new Resilient
Logistics Operations & Analytics Demonstrator (RELOAD), a collaborative
project with DARPA and other defense partners, is significantly
improving our ability to make informed decisions about capability
development, bulk fuel posture, and operational concepts. RELOAD uses
advanced analytics to identify critical shortfalls in the Joint
Logistics Enterprise, ensuring we can effectively distribute, store,
and deliver fuel to the warfighter. By providing comprehensive
operational impact assessments of new technologies, alongside program
evaluations of cost and schedule performance, RELOAD empowers
Departmental leaders to proactively address energy-driven operational
risks and optimize resource allocation.
These efforts are underpinned by critical Defense-wide innovation
programs that set the technical direction for the DOD by funding the
development and demonstration of mission-critical energy capabilities
and helping them through the acquisition process. These include the
Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund (OECIF) and the
Operational Energy Prototype Fund (OEPF), which deliver game-changing
technologies focusing on Energy Dominance (through advanced command and
control), Energy and Power Projection (through revolutionary endurance
and propulsion systems) and Energy Surety (through next-generation
storage solutions). These programs have delivered remarkable successes,
including advances in nuclear fuel technology, wireless power
transmission, and unmanned aircraft endurance. For fiscal year 2026,
the Department's request for $169 million for OECIF and $55 million for
OEPF focuses on critical capabilities like airborne energy delivery in
contested environments, improved power management, and advanced energy
storage.
While our military operations depend heavily on energy
infrastructure, much of that infrastructure lies outside our
fencelines. The most powerful military in the world relies on civilian
infrastructure to train our forces, power our bases and project power
globally. With this vulnerability in mind, we are conducting
comprehensive assessments of our Nation's power and fuel
infrastructure, focusing particularly on coastal vulnerabilities, while
simultaneously evaluating strategic priorities like the development and
deployment of advanced nuclear technologies and partnerships in
artificial intelligence and data center development. These initiatives
not only align with the President's vision of American energy dominance
but ensure our military maintains the power it needs to defend our
Nation's interests at home and abroad.
Supporting Defense Communities and Promoting Compatible Development
The Department recognizes that the resilience of our installations
is enhanced by partnering with, not competing against, our defense
communities. Our defense communities are critical enablers that support
our defense installations and ensure our servicemembers have the
resources they need to carry out their missions. At the same time, they
face many of the same threats our installations face. We know our
adversaries are targeting supporting infrastructure like electrical
grids and water systems, and our communities are just as, if not more,
exposed to natural hazards than our installations. As such, we are
making a concerted effort to work with our defense communities on
mutually beneficial initiatives via direct support or planning while
also ensuring military operations, mission support, and warfighter
capabilities remain unimpeded and to prevent risk to national security
by incompatible development.
Key to these efforts is the Office of Local Defense Community
Cooperation (OLDCC). OLDCC provides technical and financial assistance
to states, counties, municipalities, regions, and other communities to
foster cooperation with military installations to enhance the military
mission; achieve facility and infrastructure savings and reduced
operating costs; address encroachment and compatible land use issues;
increase military, civilian, and industrial readiness; and support
military families. OLDCC will leverage the requested $159.5 million to
work with defense communities to further the Secretary's priorities,
ensuring their efforts both enhance the readiness and lethality of
military installations, ranges, and test facilities and provide
benefits back to the communities.
To date, OLDCC has awarded 11 grants in fiscal year 2025, to
include:
A grant to the University of Alaska Fairbanks to work
with Eielson Air Force Base, Fort Wainwright, the State of Alaska, and
local utility on permitting for a natural gas pipeline, respond to
other energy requirements, and address housing affordability issues.
A grant to County of McMullen, Texas to design a single
access road to the ROTHR-TX (Relocatable Over the Horizon Radar)
location and to obtain funding to carry out improvements. These efforts
will enhance the readiness of the McMullen Range, the only United
States-based radar system in USSOUTHCOM's surveillance architecture,
including enhancing detection and surveillance capabilities along the
southern border, and strengthen mission readiness and lethality at
Naval Air Station Kingsville.
A grant to the city of Virginia Beach Department of
Public Utilities to plan and design ?1.5 miles of a new 30-inch
diameter water transmission main to support potable water and water
suppression needs at Naval Air Station Oceana and Joint Expeditionary
Base Little Creek-Fort Story, ensuring the installations' readiness and
lethality.
A grant to Belle Chasse Academy, Inc., a charter school
in Louisiana, to design, renovate, and expand current facilities. This
project provides expanded capacity for 30-year student use and supports
learning for the more than 650 military-connected students (90 percent
of the enrollment), military families and warfighters, enhancing
lethality and readiness by improving recruitment and retention.
Of note, last month, OLDCC published two Notice of Funding
Opportunities for the Fiscal Year 2025 Defense Community Infrastructure
Program and the Community Noise Mitigation Program; both will be
awarded by the end of the fiscal year.
In addition to directly supporting our defense communities, the
Department recognizes that the condition of the lands and waters on-and
off-installation affects our ability to conduct weapons system testing,
realistic live-fire training, and essential operations that are vital
to preparing a more lethal and resilient combat force. Ensuring that
the land and waters surrounding our installations are compatible with
military mission requirements is critical to ensuring unencumbered
warfighter access to lands and ranges that replicate the operational
environment in which they fight. The Readiness and Environmental
Protection Integration (REPI) Program provides this assurance. Our
fiscal year 2026 budget request for REPI is $158.3 million, which will
fund cost-sharing agreements between the Military Services, other
Federal agencies, State and local governments, and private partners to
avoid or remove land use conflicts near military installations,
minimize environmental restrictions that limit military activities, and
improve the resilience of military installations, while addressing
mission-essential considerations, including flight hazards, operational
security, and wildland fire resilience.
DOD manages and maintains nearly 27 million acres of land, water,
and airspace across the United States and its territories that have the
principal purpose of supporting mission-related activities and
furthering the national defense strategy. Realistic environments are
essential to field testing new technologies and for the military to
train, which requires access to deserts, grasslands, rainforests,
tundra permafrost, coastlines, and other ecosystems. Training and
testing in varied ecosystems prepare our warfighters for any of the
challenges they may face while conducting global operations. Without
sustained strategic investment and management, DOD lands can be
degraded or eliminated, resulting in a net loss in the ability of these
military installation lands and waters to sustain a combat-ready and
lethal military force. To address these issues, the Department is
requesting $599.9 million in conservation and environmental management
funding. Through programs such as REPI, the Military Aviation and
Installation Assurance Siting Clearinghouse, and DOD Legacy Resource
Management Program, the Department can stimulate mutually beneficial
and cost-effective partnerships between local communities, Federal and
State agencies, and non-governmental organizations to support DOD's
ability to operate seamlessly across domains and maintain its strong
record as a steward of our Nation's natural, cultural, and historical
heritage.
Improving Efficiency
The Secretary of Defense has issued a clear directive to focus on
eliminating waste and duplication to enable the Department to focus on
its core mission of defending the Nation. In support of this directive,
EI&E is coordinating several efforts to review current processes and
regulations to create efficiencies and reduce costs.
MILCON and FSRM Review
For fiscal year 2026, the Department is requesting $17.9 billion
for Military Construction (MILCON) and $27.3 billion in Facilities
Sustainment, Restoration & Modernization (FSRM) funding. Given the size
and scope of the Department's infrastructure footprint, these
investment portfolios represent a significant opportunity to maximize
the effectiveness of the taxpayer dollars while improving the readiness
and lethality of our warfighters.
Under current processes, a military construction or large-scale
FSRM project can take 5 years to be incorporated in a budget request to
Congress and once funded, can take potentially another 4 years to
obtain beneficial use. The Department must develop more timely and
flexible processes and organizational structures to enable more agile
delivery of infrastructure needs.
As such, the Deputy Secretary of Defense has directed a 60-day
review of the Department's MILCON and FSRM portfolios. My office is
developing recommendations for proposed regulatory or statutory
changes, updates to DOD policy, and process improvements that improve
cost structure, efficiency of execution, and lifecycle sustainment. In
support of this, we are aggressively streamlining the Department's
regulations such as the Unified Facilities Criteria, evaluating how to
build additional accountability into our processes, and pursuing
additional contracting authorities to allow us to execute like the
private sector.
The Department appreciates the authorities Congress has provided in
recent National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAAs) to make our
processes more efficient, including increases to the unspecified minor
military construction (UMMC) threshold in the fiscal year 2023 NDAA,
the pilot program permitting replacement of failing barracks in the
fiscal year 2024 NDAA, and the increase in the threshold for
acquisition of low cost interests in land and a pilot program to
optimize our footprint using UMMC in the fiscal year 2025 NDAA. We look
forward to working with Congress to further our common goal of making
efficient and effective investments in DOD infrastructure.
The Department also shares Congress' interest in ensuring that the
current DOD construction agent model maximizes efficiency, is
responsive to the needs of the Department, and minimizes redundancy and
unnecessary costs. Consistent with Section 2877 of the fiscal year 2025
NDAA, my office has entered into a contract with the RAND Corporation
to review the roles and responsibilities for executing construction
projects. We will work closely with the Military Departments to ensure
the Department collectively provides a timely objective report on this
critical issue.
Real Property Efficiencies
As part of EO 14222, Implementing the President's ``Department of
Government Efficiency'' Cost Efficiency Initiative, and as required in
Section 2850 of the fiscal year 2025 NDAA, the Department is working to
reduce its leased space inventory. The Secretary of Defense has
directed us to reduce our administrative and warehousing leased costs
by 30 percent within the next 18 months. To achieve this reduction, we
have implemented regular building occupancy reporting that enables us
to identify existing spaces with capacity and focus our personnel
laydown within our installations. The reduction is a critical step in
enabling the Department to focus on its core mission of defending the
Nation by eliminating waste and duplication to maximize the value of
our real eState portfolio.
Reviewing Processes for Complying with Environmental Regulations
Another area of opportunity to improve efficiency and improve our
delivery of capability to our warfighters is to eliminate delays within
the environmental permitting process. As part of its response to
Executive Order 14154, Unleashing American Energy, the Department is
working with other key stakeholders in the Administration to streamline
how DOD implements the National Environmental Policy Act. The
Department recognizes that we have an immense responsibility to the
natural resources entrusted to us and we are working to ensure we are
maximizing our readiness and resilience while also fulfilling our
environmental stewardship obligations.
Quality of Life
Our servicemembers' readiness starts at home. They should be able
to focus on their missions without having to worry about issues with
their housing or about the health and safety of their family members
back home. The Department remains committed to ensuring that these
issues are addressed so that our soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines,
and guardians can bring 100 percent of themselves to their missions.
housing
Housing is both a crucial quality of life issue and a critical
mission-enabling asset. Our servicemembers and their families rightly
expect and deserve safe and secure places to live in return for the
sacrifices they make for our Nation. While the Department has taken
significant action to improve its management and oversight of its
housing portfolio, we can and will do better. The Department remains
committed to ensuring that all servicemember housing--whether it is
government-owned, government-controlled, or privatized--meets
appropriate life, health, and safety requirements and provides a
positive living experience for military personnel and their families.
The Department's fiscal year 2026 Family Housing budget request
includes $1.9 billion to fund construction, operation, and maintenance
of government-owned and leased family housing worldwide; invest in
select military family housing privatization projects and provide
oversight of privatized housing and lodging projects; and provide
housing referral services to assist military members in renting or
buying private sector housing. Additionally, the budget request
includes $1.2 billion in Unaccompanied Housing (UH) investments,
another step in the Department's efforts to continue addressing the
issues highlighted in the 2023 Government Accountability Office (GAO)
report on Military Barracks.
Over the past year, the Department has made significant strides in
reforming its oversight of its UH portfolio and implementing the fiscal
year 2024 NDAA requirements. The Department published UH guidance on
civilian oversight, issuances of waivers for privacy and configuration
standards, updated design standards, a uniform index for evaluation of
UH conditions. and standardized requirements and procedures for
maintenance work orders. The Department also engaged quickly with the
GAO to resolve open recommendations under their review of Military
Barracks; as of today, the GAO has closed 12 of the 31 recommendations
for the Department and is considering the Department's requests to
close 3 additional recommendations.
Resident feedback is a key indicator of the Department's progress
in providing safe and secure housing to all servicemembers and as such,
updated its housing tenant satisfaction survey to be applicable to all
housing, including unaccompanied. Most of the military Services
executed their housing satisfaction surveys this year, and we look
forward to sharing the results with Congress later this year.
The Department also continues to explore leveraging privatization
as a tool to improve UH by evaluating the results of the Services'
pilot projects and incorporating the lessons learned from the broader
Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI). The Department
currently has eight existing UH privatization agreements--six within
the Department of the Army portfolio and two within the Department of
the Navy.
These privatized UH projects offer apartment-style accommodations
rather than the dormitory-style accommodations of traditional
government-owned UH and provide authorized servicemembers with high-
quality, cost-effective options for on-installation residences in high-
cost or challenged housing markets, to include remote and isolated
installations. While these residences are generally reserved for more
senior enlisted personnel who have already lived in traditional UH, the
Navy's pilot authority under 10 USC Sec. 2881a allows them to issue a
higher rate of
partial basic allowance for housing to enlisted servicemembers,
ship or shore based, in the ranks of E4 and below who may otherwise be
mandatorily assigned to permanent party UH. The Department will
continue to seek innovative ways to provide high-quality UH to
servicemembers required to live on-base at cost-savings to the
government.
Military Housing Privatization Initiative
The Department continues to enhance the MHPI program and improve
our oversight of the private sector MHPI companies that own and operate
MHPI housing projects. As a result of our collaboration with the MHPI
companies, all 18 rights set out in the MHPI Tenant Bill of Rights
(TBoR) are fully available at all but one of the nearly 200
installations with privatized housing, representing approximately 99
percent of military families residing in MHPI housing. We will continue
our efforts to educate and engage Service Members and their families to
ensure they are aware of and take full advantage of the TBoR.
The Department continues to work on full implementation of other
MHPI reforms. In August 2024, the Department deployed the housing
complaints data base and is utilizing information received from tenants
through the data base and our valued Military Service Organization
partners to enhance the system as it approaches its 1-year anniversary.
In addition, the Department is over 85 percent complete on its
mandatory, one-time inspections of government-owned and controlled
family and privatized housing. The Departments of the Navy and Air
Force are both 100 percent complete and we will soon be submitting an
interim report on their behalf to annotate their closure and report
their findings.
The Department is committed to working closely with you and the
committee staff to ensure the long-term success of the MHPI program and
we will remain diligent in our oversight to ensure DOD's privatized
housing projects deliver quality housing and a positive living
experience for military personnel and their families.
defense environmental restoration
The Department must take deliberate and sustained action to address
risks to human health and the environment resulting from past DOD
activities and enhance mission readiness by completing cleanups and
restoring DOD lands for effective use. Our environmental cleanup
program includes the Installation Restoration Program (IRP) and
Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP). The IRP is focused on
cleanup of hazardous substances, pollutants, and contaminants, while
the MMRP is focused on responding to unexploded ordnance and munition
constituents at former military ranges. These programs encompass active
installations, Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS--sites that DOD
transferred to other Federal agencies, states, local governments, or
private landowners before October 17, 1986), and sites DOD transferred
to other entities as part of its Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)
activities. We are requesting $1.5 billion for these programs,
including $1.1 billion for environmental restoration on our active
installations and FUDS properties and $380.5 million for BRAC
environmental.
To date, the Department, in cooperation with State agencies and the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has completed cleanup
activities at 86 percent of Active and BRAC IRP and MMRP sites, and
FUDS IRP sites, and is now monitoring the results. During fiscal year
2024 alone, the Department completed cleanup at 121 sites. Of the
roughly 40,900 restorationsites, 34,379 are now in monitoring status or
have completed cleanup.
Our focus remains on continuous improvement initiatives in the
restoration program: minimizing overhead, adopting new technologies to
reduce cost and accelerate cleanup, updating criteria used to
prioritize sites for cleanup, and improving our relationships with
affected communities through increased dialog and public engagement.
These initiatives help ensure that we maximize our available resources
to complete cleanups.
While the Department continues to make progress on completing
cleanups, the remaining sites are some of the most complex cleanup
sites. Chemicals of Emerging Concern and others like per-and
polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) continue to pose challenges for DOD's
cleanup programs as new science requires reconsideration of previous
decisions and more expensive solutions to protect our servicemembers,
their families, communities, and the environment. Additionally, some
complex sites have either no feasible or only inefficient solutions for
cleanup and, as a result, the Department is making significant
investments in environmental technology to identify new potential
remediation methods in partnership with industry and academia.
In particular, the recent EPA drinking water standards for certain
PFAS are extremely low and present a significant challenge for the
Department. DOD is committed to prioritizing and responding to
locations where known levels of PFAS in private drinking water wells
are the highest, while also focusing on installing sustainable
treatment solutions, but this effort will take time and substantial
future resources.
In addition to our cleanup activities, the Department continues to
prioritize efforts to eliminate the use of Aqueous Film Forming Foam
(AFFF) at military installations. Over the past few years, the
Department has undertaken an aggressive initiative to develop and
demonstrate fluorine-free alternatives to AFFF. As of May 2025, six
products have passed the DOD qualification process. These products are
now available for purchase, and the Military Departments have used them
to make significant progress in their efforts to transition away from
AFFF use in more than 6,000 mobile assets and approximately 1,000
facilities.
INDO-PACIFIC PRIORITIES
hawaii
The relationship between the U.S. Military and Hawai`i has been a
critical piece of U.S. military and diplomatic strategy for over 125
years. Hawai`i's strategic location in the Pacific, unique training and
port areas, and support for critical defense missions make it a
cornerstone of our posture in the Indo-Pacific region. In support of
this indispensable defense mission, the Military Departments have
jurisdiction over approximately 222,000 acres of land in Hawai.i,
roughly 4 percent of Hawai.i's land base. This includes approximately
45,300 in lands leases from the State of Hawaii which are going to
expire between 2029-2032. These lands provide ideal locations for
specialized defense capabilities, multi-domain operating areas to
generate future force readiness, and training ranges that our Joint
Force leverages with allies and partners.
Retaining these mission critical training lands is a top priority
to support the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) warfighter.
The Department recognizes that past incidents, particularly the
fuel and concentrated AFFF spills at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage
Facility and the diesel spill at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex,
have resulted in a loss of public trust between the DOD and Hawai`i
residents. The situation has underscored the importance of working
collaboratively with stakeholders to address DOD's use of lands and
natural resources in Hawaii.
Military personnel in Hawai.i are working to engage consistently,
respectfully, and transparently to strengthen relationships in support
of the shared goals of national security, economic prosperity, and a
healthy environment. The Hawaii Coordination Cell (HCC), established
last year within EI&E, is working closely with the Military
Departments, USINDOPACOM, and OSD counterparts to support a
comprehensive and coordinated approach to support these efforts. The
HCC serves as a primary point of contact for State and local officials,
businesses, community organizations, and interested stakeholders to
connect with military personnel, engage in dialog about key issues of
concern and create opportunities for collaboration. These activities
are essential to enable the continuation of the critical military
missions in Hawai.i.
construction on guam
The Department is preparing to execute several critical posture
initiatives in Guam that will help to ensure a free and open Indo-
Pacific. These initiatives will require unprecedented levels of
military construction to ensure our forces have the right
infrastructure to organize, train, equip and, if necessary, deliver
lethal combat power. These efforts include the relocation of marines
from Okinawa, the deployment of the Integrated Air and Missile Defense
of Guam capability, and Polaris Point expansion. Additionally, this
surge in military construction activity will address damages caused by
Typhoon Mawar. The increasing demand for military construction,
compounded by labor and material shortages posed by Guam's remote
location, prompted the Department to pursue a comprehensive approach to
supporting delivering the right capabilities to USINDOPACOM and the
warfighter.
To address these challenges, the Department is undertaking a
comprehensive master planning effort to effectively sequence
development, prioritize infrastructure needs, and align support
functions with mission growth. This plan will consolidate all
construction activities across Guam, offering a cohesive and forward-
looking vision for the island's development. Furthermore, the
Department is working to integrate and synchronize military
construction efforts the Military Departments, Defense Agencies, and
DOD Field Activities. This approach is designed to ensure the timely
delivery of critical capabilities and quality-of-life improvements for
warfighters. The master planning initiative will serve as a dynamic
tool, accounting for mission timelines, dependencies, programming and
design needs, environmental factors, extreme weather considerations,
and other essential requirements to guide future infrastructure
investments.
Conclusion
Thank you for the opportunity to provide this energy,
installations, and environment program update. We appreciate Congress'
continued support for our enterprise and look forward to working with
you.
Senator Sullivan. Thank you, Secretary Marks. I appreciate
you touching on the 4-percent issue and a master plan for Guam.
That's all important.
Dr. Waksman, we want to hear from you now.
STATEMENT OF DR. JEFF L. WAKSMAN, ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF
THE ARMY FOR INSTALLATIONS, ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
Dr. Waksman. Thank you. Chair Sullivan, Ranking Member
Hirono, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee, thank
you for inviting me to provide an update on the Army's Energy
Installation and Environmental programs.
Our installations are no longer sanctuaries away from the
fight. To ensure mission success or installations must be
modern, resilient, and hardened to support any and every
mission, whether they're at home or abroad.
Achieving these requirements necessitates a sustained and
focus effort. Our investments and installations must facilitate
warfighter training, lethality, and readiness. The critical
services that enable installations to function must be secure
and reliable. Last, installations must be as efficient and
effective as possible. To facilitate the modernization
transformation of installations, this year's budget requests
$8.7 billion for facility sustainment, restoration, and
modernization, another 3.1 billion requested for new planning
and construction. Beyond the funding request in the President's
budget, our privatized housing partners plan to invest more
than $2 billion in our homes over the next few years.
Part of enabling our readiness and lethality is ensuring
quality housing for both unaccompanied soldiers and their
families. The Army recognizes that its deferred maintenance
backlog has grown over many years and has caused unintended
consequences with both housing and operational facilities.
While the Army continues to prioritize funding toward our
permanent party unaccompanied housing, we are bouncing
investments in our mission-oriented facilities. For privatized
family housing portfolio, we have made many improvements to the
Army's oversight of our housing providers. This includes new
quality control mechanisms and third-party inspections of our
homes, allowing our installations' leaders to verify the
quality and status that were completed.
To project power and provide resiliency or installations,
associated services need to be able to rapidly recover from a
disruption, whether natural or manmade. The Army continues to
explore a variety of technologies that provide more reliable
energy to our installations and soldiers to include nuclear
energy. To help improve the resiliency of our energy systems
beyond the generation source, the Army continues to conduct
black start exercises which provide us with vital information
about the interconnection of critical assets on our
installations and increase our resiliency.
We thank Congress for your continued support of our energy
resilience programs. Our installations must also provide
realistic world class training environments to maximize our
warfighters lethality. To that end, our environmental programs
are critical to meeting statutory requirements for preservation
of training lands and to ensure that the water on our
installations is safe for consumption.
One of our most critical training ranges is the Pohakuloa
Training Area in Hawaii, which allows combat training geared
toward the Indo-Pacific. The Army continues to work with the
State government and local Hawaiians to ensure that these
training lands can continue to support this vital training,
while also addressing the concerns of the local community.
The Army is also improving our business practices by
working with private partners to find ways to deliver higher
quality and more economical support installations. As an
example, our use of energy saving performance contracts and
intergovernmental support agreements save us millions of
dollars each year and help us to develop and improve
partnerships with our local defense communities.
In closing, the Army continues to strive to make many of
these critical investments designed to deliver the highest
quality, most efficient and safest army installations possible
to support lethality, readiness, and warfighting.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the
Committee, and I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Jeff Waksman follows:]
Prepared Statement by Dr. Jeff Waksman
introduction
Chairman Sullivan, Ranking Member Hirono, and distinguished members
of the subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to discuss the
Army's priorities for installations, energy, and environment. In order
to deliver on the President's promise to deliver peace through
strength, we must have strong, resilient, and reliable military
installations and infrastructure. Our ability to protect and project
combat power from installations around the world is no longer
guaranteed or routine. Installations must be agile and adaptable,
matching capabilities to threats to deter our adversaries and
demonstrate strength around the world.
Over the last year, the Army has made meaningful progress to
increase the adaptability, resiliency, and quality of our
installations, but more needs to be done to fulfill our commitment to
our soldiers, their families, and the American people. Working with
Congress, we will continue to build on our efforts in 2026 and beyond.
We must ensure predictable resourcing to enable our installations
to modernize at pace with our Army's transformation efforts. In support
of the Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance, we must first
target our investments to be in the right locations and in the right
types of facilities. These investments will help to ensure our
warfighters have sufficient operational and support facilities. Second,
we must transform our installations and services to ensure they are not
only reliable, but also resilient--able to adapt to new missions while
quickly recovering from disruptions and overcoming new and emerging
threats. Our installations must stand ready to support not only the
Army, but the entire Department of Defense, no matter the mission--
whether at home or abroad. Finally, our installations must be efficient
and effective to ensure that taxpayer investments are returning value
in building warfighter readiness.
facility investments
The Army uses a deliberate process to prioritize military
construction and other facility investment, which is used to produce a
Facility Investment Plan (FIP)--a prioritized list of projects, by
component, under consideration from which the Army develops
infrastructure requirements. This prioritization considers several
factors from our commanders and senior leaders, including the relative
importance of various facility types, the installation's location, and
the installation's primary mission. The FIP is used to inform the
Army's annual budget request.
The Army continues to work with the other military departments and
the Office of the Secretary of Defense to ensure our infrastructure
investments are synchronized with the Department's mission. We
acknowledge the establishment of minimum FSRM requirements for the
coming years in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and
the Army looks forward to working with Congress to develop a strategy
to resource this mandate.
unaccompanied housing--barracks
Our first and highest priority is to take care of our warfighters
and ensure they have proper facilities to conduct training and live.
The challenge we face is a substantial backlog of deferred maintenance
that built up over many years. The Army, with the support of Congress,
has significantly increased annual investment over the last few years
to address this backlog, but these investments sometimes take a number
of years to realize their effect. This year, for the first time, the
Army will open the annual Tenant Satisfaction Survey to soldiers living
in our barracks to help assess whether investments in our barracks are
improving soldiers' quality of life. In addition to making long-term
investments, the Army is also taking immediate action in situations
where living conditions are unacceptable with Commanders moving
soldiers into appropriate living conditions.
Investments in the Army's permanent party barracks with
construction and modernization continues to grow. The Army plans to
program a portion of the sustainment funding to meet 100 percent of the
requirement for permanent party barracks to prevent accelerated
degradation of these facilities.
The Army continues to look for new and innovative ways to maximize
our facility investments to improve our barracks quality and reduce the
costs to taxpayers. Last year, the Army initiated a privatized barracks
project at Fort Irwin, California, where a life-cycle cost analysis
showed it is more cost-effective to have a private company build and
manage the barracks than to build government-owned barracks. The Army
currently has five other locations with privatized barracks, with
another two locations under development.
army family housing
Taking care of our warfighters is also taking care of their
families. The Army takes care of our families whether their warfighter
is at home or not. The Army continues to make significant progress to
provide high-quality family housing--both government-owned and
privatized.
The Army has made significant investments in overseas family
housing, which is mostly government-owned housing. In fiscal year 2025,
the Army has planned $752 million for operations, maintenance, leasing,
oversight, and construction. We thank Congress for supporting the
Army's request to extend certain authorizations in the fiscal year 2025
NDAA--these extensions are critical as the overseas coordination
required for some of the projects takes longer than domestic projects.
In addition to ensuring high-quality government-controlled housing,
the Army is working to provide the high-quality privatized housing our
soldiers deserve. Over the next 3 years, privatized housing providers
will invest over $2.4 billion for the construction of over 2,000 homes,
renovations of 7,000 homes, and other developmental work. Over the last
2 years, the Army has implemented several oversight reforms to better
hold privatized housing providers accountable for maintaining the high-
quality privatized housing our soldiers deserve. These efforts have
included strengthening and clarifying enforcement language in ground
leases, conducting house-by-house inspections, implementing quality
assurance of construction and renovations, and developing a
standardized quality assurance maintenance program that will be
applicable to all privatized housing companies doing business with the
Army.
By the end of fiscal year 2026, the Army will complete third-party
inspections of all our family housing inventory. When our inspections
reveal deficiencies in work performed, the Army privatized housing
provider or installation Director of Public Works reacts quickly to
rectify the situation via the housing provider. The Army also conducts
an annual Tenant Satisfaction Survey to assess the quality of our homes
and keep housing providers accountable for maintaining those homes. I
am pleased to report that last year's survey results showed a notable
increase in tenant satisfaction from prior years.
safety and occupational health
The Army needs confident, trained, and fit soldiers to generate
readiness and project combat power. Those capabilities are diminished
when our warfighters are taken out of the fight due to injury or unsafe
facility conditions. The Army continues to work on decreasing
preventable injuries, especially in training environments.
Additionally, our investments in modern and safe facilities reduce
preventable health risks posed to our soldiers.
The Army is working to resource and implement the tactical vehicle
data record pilot program enacted in the fiscal year 2023 NDAA. These
recorders will provide critical data to support mishap investigations
and will give us the capability to proactively improve driver and
passenger safety by identifying hazards for mitigation. The recorders
will also provide the potential for daily monitoring of each vehicle
and will give individual feedback for improving driver performance.
Additionally, the Army continues to review the potential risks of
blast overpressure on our warfighters and civilians. The Army conducts
health hazard assessments for equipment--to include weapon systems--as
part of design, testing, and new equipment training. The Army utilizes
scientific collection and measurement methods to develop and publish
standardized training procedures, providing leaders and soldiers
guidance on proper use, required mitigation steps, and potential risks
related to blast overpressure. When new scientific methods or tools are
developed or monitoring indicates emerging injury trends, the Army
reassesses and publishes updated training guidance.
installation resilience
Modernized installations, which include ensuring access to reliable
power and water, are vital to assuring mission success. Given our
installations primarily rely on commercial utilities for energy and
water, we must ensure they are protected from external disruptions and
can quickly recover. Vulnerabilities, both natural and man-made,
associated with interdependent electric power grids, natural gas
pipelines, and water resources and systems can jeopardize installation
security and mission capabilities.
To assess these potential risks to our water and energy systems, 98
percent of our installations have completed Installation Energy and
Water Plans to identify requirements and risks, and to develop
mitigation techniques. For example, the Army is deploying microgrids on
installations, conducting Black Start Exercises (BSEs), and testing the
cyber domain through the Cyber Readiness Resilience Exercises.
In addition to decreasing installation operational costs, efforts
to reduce energy and water consumption increase resilience as less
water and energy are needed to meet mission requirements if service is
disrupted. The Army reduced energy use by 17.8 percent since fiscal
year 2003, and reduced water consumption by 25 percent compared to a
fiscal year 2007 baseline--a reduction of 13.5 gallons of water per
square foot.
Army has explored power generation assets that can be combined with
specific circuitry to allow the islanding of our installations,
providing resilient energy for critical functions, including deploying
microgrids. Army currently has 32 operational microgrids at 25
installations.
To test our energy resiliency, BSEs allow installations to
experience the impact of a power outage from a service disruption. The
Army has completed 20 BSEs, including, eight exercises in fiscal year
2024, and is planning six more in fiscal year 2025--two of which have
been completed and five in fiscal year 2026. In fiscal year 2024, Army
conducted our first cyber resilience readiness exercise at Fort Carson
and is planning an additional exercise in fiscal year 2025.These
exercises focus on understanding the potential effects and consequence
of cyber vulnerabilities on energy and water systems that support
critical missions, to include power denial as a primary consequence.
To be more efficient with taxpayer investments in our
installations, the Army's Office of Energy Initiatives (OEI) continues
to explore public-private partnerships that reduce the need for
appropriated funding and employ a wide array of energy technologies in
support of installation mission operations. The OEI looks to leverage
the value of underutilized installation land for the development of
energy-generation facilities that will enhance energy resiliency.
Rather than a monetary rent payment for leasing installation lands, the
Army typically seeks in-kind consideration to satisfy the fair-market
value requirement. For energy-generation facilities, this includes the
ability to prioritize power from the project to support critical
missions during grid disruption. The Army's collaboration with private
industry (both public utility companies and independent power
producers) has resulted in approximately $677 million of private-sector
investment and over $764 million of avoided operational costs for the
Army.
mitigating risk and building oconus resilience
The Army is doing comprehensive energy and water resilience
planning at installations worldwide, including in the U.S. Central
Command, U.S. European Command, and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
(USINDOPACOM) regions. These forward installations are critical to
assuring the Army's readiness and maintaining warfighting skills, with
special emphasis on the unique threat picture and host nation
requirements in each area. In USINDOPACOM, fuel logistics and
vulnerable island locations present unique energy challenges. The Army
is building energy resilience across USINDOPACOM by developing
microgrids, implementing energy and water efficiency measures, and
ensuring adequate fuel reserves to support operations during potential
disruptions.
nuclear energy
The Army continues to follow Congress's lead in exploring the
viability of nuclear energy as a stable and reliable source of energy
for our mission-critical operations. The fiscal year 2019 NDAA directed
the Department of Defense to develop a plan to deploy a small modular
advanced nuclear reactor for installation resilience, which is being
led by the Air Force. The Army continues to monitor the progress of the
resulting pilot program. Meanwhile, the Army is quickly working to
deliver on the President's directive in Executive Order 14299,
``Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactors for National Security'', to begin
operation of an advance nuclear reactor on an installation by 2028. The
Army expects to have additional details at a later date.
installation management efficiency
The Army still has a large inventory of closed installations that
are experiencing increasing costs for environmental remediation before
the land can be redeveloped. The Army continues to work to leverage
private capital to complete this work so minimal costs are paid by
taxpayers.
In fiscal year 2025, the Army completed transfer of all surplus
acres at Fort Gillem and Stratford Army Ammunition Plant. The Army also
closed Pueblo Chemical Depot and is preparing to dispose of the 7,000
acres of excess land. We also thank Congress for enacting a provision
in the fiscal year 2025 NDAA to address the outcome for the former Army
Navy Hospital in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
For our current installations, the Army continues to use Energy
Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs), Utility Energy Savings Contracts
(UESCs), and Intergovernmental Service Agreements (IGSAs) to improve
installation efficiency and lower facility operational costs across all
utilities and services. The Army is working to award nine ESPCs and
UESCs totaling $338 million in fiscal year 2025. For fiscal year 2026
and fiscal year 2027, the Army hopes to award another 22 contracts with
$570 million in private investment. Resilience enhancements remain a
focus for ESPCs and UESCs, including a planned natural gas pipeline
providing 16 megawatts of power generation at Fort Irwin and numerous
industrial equipment upgrades to improve operational efficiency at
Anniston Army Depot. The Army's 160 IGSAs include agreements for
environmental services, waste management, and dozens of other community
partnerships. Going forward, we intend to increase our use of ESPCs,
UESCs, and IGSAs to reduce the long-term costs of our installations.
historic housing
The Army thanks Congress for its assistance in streamlining the
management of our historic housing inventory, which encompasses over
30,000 homes, and ensuring compliance with the National Historic
Preservation Act (NHPA). Army installations and privatized housing
partners may now implement management actions on the inventory of
historic housing without further NHPA requirements. The Military
Housing Association recommends other services look at the Army's
successful programmatic approach to address their challenges in
managing historic homes.
A few examples of the effectiveness of the Army's programmatic
approach include $14 million in savings at Fort Leavenworth, $5 million
saved replacing historic windows at Fort Belvoir, and over $2 million
saved in roof replacements on historic homes at Fort Bliss. These
savings and those from other renovations can be applied to current and
future housing projects.
environmental compliance and remediation
The Army remains committed to addressing environmental remediation
issues and protecting the environment from unnecessary contamination.
The Army continues to look for ways to modernize environmental
compliance and looks forward to working with Congress to address the
growing costs of compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA).
The Army recognizes that exposure to certain levels of per-and
polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pose a risk to our warfighters and
surrounding communities. The Army acknowledges that the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency has established maximum contaminant
levels for PFASPFOA in drinking water and the Army will continue to
prioritize actions to address drinking water wells impacted with
impacts from its releases in a transparent and systematic manner.
The Army has been proactive in addressing PFAS releases on-and off-
installation, including the adoption of a risk-based approach to
prioritize actions at sites with higher PFAS levels first. This ``worst
first'' approach is consistent with OSD guidance. The Army follows the
Federal cleanup process to investigate and assess if remedial actions
are needed. Of the 345 installations where PFAS may have been stored,
used or released, 235 installations are moving to the next, more-
intensive level of investigation. Efforts to transition vehicles and
facilities from aqueous film-forming foam to fluorine-free alternatives
continue to be implemented across the Army to decrease PFAS exposure.
conclusion
Providing safe, reliable, and high-quality installations for
soldiers, families, civilians, and defense communities is critical to
ensuring the Army can remain adaptable to mission requirements around
the world. To maximize installation support of the Army's lethality, we
must continually evolve facility investment programs to support
efficient and modern installation management. This requires the Army to
continue investing in quality of life and the resiliency of our
installations and services.
Senator Sullivan. Thank you, Dr. Waksman. Next, Ms. Johnson
Turner.
STATEMENT OF MS. BRENDA M. JOHNSON-TURNER, PERFORMING THE
DUTIES OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY FOR ENERGY,
INSTALLATIONS AND ENVIRONMENT
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Good afternoon, Chairman Sullivan,
Ranking Member Hirono, and Members of the Subcommittee. Thank
you for the invitation to speak with you today on the
Department of Navy's Energy Installations and Environment
Portfolio.
Our marines, sailors and dedicated civilians serve with
urgency to defend, project peace through strength and when
needed defeat our enemies. This portfolio provides direct
support to the warfighters and their families and it's
foundational to all that we do. We appreciate your support for
the resources required to train like we fight and win
decisively.
Warfighting excellence starts on our installations, our
power projection platforms. The resilience of our installations
is paramount and I remain deeply committed to ensure that we
provide the infrastructure to support our sailors, marines,
civilians, and all of our critical missions.
Unfortunately, much of our aging infrastructure is not in
good condition. As an institution, we have allowed these assets
to degrade over time. The average age of our infrastructure is
over 50 years old and beyond its useful life. However, we have
expanded the planning horizons to ensure that the important
investments we make at our installations have the greatest
impact.
In a similar fashion, the Navy continues to make
significant investments in the Shipyard Infrastructure
Optimization Program to improve submarine aircraft carrier
nuclear maintenance at the Navy's four public shipyards. With
40 projects completed to date, we are already seeing the return
on investment with increased nuclear maintenance throughput so
that our aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines can get back
in the fight on time.
The housing portfolio, we know our marines and sailors are
better fighters if they know that their families are living in
safe quality housing. Our housing portfolio must meet
appropriate life health and safety requirements to provide a
positive living experience for our servicemembers and our
families.
For our barracks, the Marine Corps remains committed to The
Barracks 2030 plan. Over the past 24 months, the marines have
initiated repairs and renovations at 23 barracks. In the past 3
years, the Navy has renovated 14 barracks that improves the
quality of life for our sailors. With the planned expansion of
the public private venture projects for both the Hampton Roads
and San Diego regions, we will provide an additional 11,000
beds.
The results are very clear, expanding Public-Private
Venture (PPV) across the un account housing portfolio increases
quality of life. We continue to be thankful to Congress for the
authorities provided to get after our infrastructure
challenges. We are reviewing our critical infrastructure to
fully address the gaps in modernization and recapitalization,
and addressing the challenges and threats to infrastructure.
Our work inside the fence line is important to serving as
good defense community partners outside the fence line. We will
continue to partner with communities and utility providers to
decrease vulnerabilities. The Department of the Navy is also
examining military construction improvements and alternative
construction material to deliver resources to the warfighter
faster.
In addition, the Department continues to make progress on
completing environmental cleanups and remains focused on
chemicals of emerging concern like Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl
Substances (PFAS). All in all, these tangible improvements are
necessary to ensure the long-term strength and readiness of our
force but we have more work to do.
We appreciate Congress's continued support, and I look
forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Brenda Johnson-Turner
follows:]
Prepared Statement by Ms. Brenda Johnson-Turner
introduction
Chairman Sullivan, Ranking Member Hirono, and distinguished members
of the Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee, thank you for the
opportunity to testify on the Department of the Navy's (DON) Energy,
Installations and Environment portfolio. We continue to invest in
critical readiness enablers, which is foundational to making sure that
the DON remains the most formidable maritime force the world has ever
known--for the next 250 years and beyond.
department of navy priorities
Secretary Phelan has set forth three focus areas that will guide
the vision for the United States Navy and Marine Corps: 1-Strengthen
Shipbuilding and the Maritime Industrial Base; 2-Foster an Adaptive,
Accountable and Innovative Warfighter Culture; and 3-The Health,
Welfare and Training of Our People and Their Families. These three
priorities will steer the DON and shape the future of our fleet and
force. As we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of our
Navy and Marine Corps later this year, our focus will be on maritime
warfighting dominance far into the future.
In my capacity in Performing the Duties of Assistant Secretary of
the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment, I fully support
both the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy's guidance
by delivering critical readiness enablers by, with and through our 95
Navy and Marine Corps installations, our power projection platforms on
the shore. We long for peace, but we must prepare for war.
Critical Infrastructure
Navy and Marine Corps installations are power projection platforms
from which naval forces train, deploy, and maintain forward presence to
enable geographic Combatant Commanders to meet operational
requirements. The DON continues to review our critical infrastructure
to fully address the gaps in modernization and recapitalization.
Through the DON's Critical Infrastructure Synchronization Forum, we
continue to work through the challenges of infrastructure resilience,
and to address the threats to infrastructure in support of critical
mission.
Recapitalization of our infrastructure and demolition of excess,
failing infrastructure will ensure that our forces, systems, and
facilities can continue to operate in the future fight. The DON will
continue to address vulnerabilities, but also to restore and sustain
core utility infrastructure including water and electricity grid
protection from cyber threats.
Military Construction
The Secretary of Defense has issued a clear directive to focus on
eliminating waste and duplication to ensure the Department can focus on
its core mission of defending the Nation. To improve the readiness and
lethality of our Warfighters, the DON is in full support of a Deputy
Secretary of Defense directed effort to conduct a 60-day review of the
Department's Military Construction (MILCON) and Facility, Sustainment,
Restoration and Modernization (FSRM) programs.
We will continue to invest in new platforms, technologies and
infrastructure that will add capability for our forces and address
maintenance requirements in order to meet readiness requirements.
Examples of military construction projects that are building a more
lethal force include:
Weapons Magazines at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown
Network Modernization at Pacific Missile Range Facility
in Hawai'i
Aircraft Development and Maintenance Facilities at Naval
Air Station Patuxent River
Maintenance Facility and Marine Air Group Headquarters at
Cherry Point
Aircraft Maintenance Hangar at Cherry Point
Communications Towers at Twenty-Nine Palms
We recognize that infrastructure in support of critical missions at
installations goes beyond piers, hangars, runways, training and support
facilities where our teammates work, train and live. It is also the
energy, water and utility systems that serve as the backbone of our
operations. We continue to invest in new electrical infrastructure to
increase resilience and warfighting readiness. The MILCON program also
includes projects that enable forward-deployed naval forces. One
example in Guam is the repair of the ocean facing Glass Breakwater.
This repair project will provide protection for the base piers,
anchorages and the main commercial supply port for this strategic
location in the Indo-Pacific region. In Nevada, the procurement of
additional land to support the Fallon Range Training Complex
Modernization remains a Department priority and we have acquired six
parcels to date.
We will continue to enhance the resilience of our installations by
replacing and updating inventory, utilities and facilities using every
program and tool available, but we will focus on actions that enhance
lethality and operational resilience of our marines and sailors.
Facilities Sustainment, Restoration & Modernization Investments
The Navy budget request targets key shore capability areas such as
utility systems, Unaccompanied Housing, airfield operations, waterfront
operations, depot maintenance, and ordnance facilities, as well as
continued demolition funding to address excess facility footprint. The
request also increases sustainment funding to 100 percent of the
modeled requirement for Nuclear Deterrence Facilities, infrastructure
in support of Navy C5ISR missions related to Naval Operational
Architecture, Unaccompanied Housing, and fitness centers. The Marine
Corps budget request continues efforts to eliminate poor and failing
facilities and improve Quality of Life through Force Design 2030
initiatives. We acknowledge the Congress's focus for additional
investment in our facilities by establishing minimum FSRM requirements
in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The DON intends
to focus increased investment in all sources of spending on FSRM while
simultaneously placing emphasis on the demolition of excess facilities
and ensuring MILCON requirements are clearly aligned to operational
requirements.
Navy shore infrastructure is a critical enabler for fleet
operations in support of national security.
Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program
To keep our Nuclear Fleet ready, we continue to modernize our four
public shipyards through the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization
Program (SIOP). As we acquire the nuclear submarines and aircraft
carriers we need today and invest in the development of the next
generation of platforms and capabilities for the future fight, we will
require consistent investments in the infrastructure that enables these
platforms, and we appreciate Congress' shared focus on this national
security priority.
As the Navy executes its largest-ever facility projects through
SIOP, we continue to build collaborative relationships, set more
realistic schedules, develop better forecasting tools and ensure that
resources are allocated efficiently. With a concerted team effort
between the DON and industry, we will streamline construction
timelines, improve workforce readiness and maintain the operational
superiority of our fleet.
Authorities and Acquisition
Across the DON team, we continue to prioritize increased use of our
Title 10 authorities in real eState, energy, Intergovernmental Support
Agreements and Other Transaction Authorities to solve installation
infrastructure challenges outside traditional MILCON and FSRM funding.
In the real eState portfolio, we continue to examine 10 U.S.C.
Sec. 2809 (Long-term Facilities Contracts for Certain Activities and
Services) and Sec. 2812 (Lease-Purchase of Facilities), to identify
opportunities to improve our facilities. We are working with OSD to
examine scoring requirements so that we can find projects that align to
the maximal solution needed to exercise these authorities. One
initiative currently underway combines multiple authorities for a new
75-acre aviation maintenance complex between Fleet Readiness Center
East and North Carolina Global TransPark. The initiative, an innovative
partnership, is the first of its kind within the Department of Defense.
Leaders anticipate it will offer economic growth opportunities in the
Eastern North Carolina area and save millions of taxpayer dollars that
fund military aircraft maintenance.
Good Defense Community Partners
The DON serves in defense communities in 95 locations around the
globe. We recognize the need to be good community partners and work
with both our civic and business leaders to improve the resilience of
our military installations inside and outside the fence line. These
partnerships promote the value of military installations and strengthen
communities through collaborative planning and implementation in
support of America's military. Our marines and sailors are better
warfighters when they know that their families are living in safe,
resilient communities.
Our strong Environment & Mission Readiness program supports
operational requirements and mission schedules in areas such as
critical infrastructure recapitalization, force laydown, platform home-
basing, range modernization, warfare training and weapons system
testing. The program will also continue environmental restoration on
installations, most notably the ongoing response following fuel
releases at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Hawai'i. On Per-
and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) response, as part of
comprehensive Department of Defense-wide efforts, the DON response to
address our historical releases of PFAS to the environment protects the
health and welfare of our servicemembers and civilians, their families
and the surrounding defense communities.
Indo-Pacific Region
We remain steadfast in our commitment to the government and
citizens of the territory of Guam. We face an unprecedented pace of our
mission growth on Guam. Infrastructure and facilities are required to
support the expansion of our on-island infrastructure footprint. We
greatly appreciate Congress' approval of an extension of the H2B visa
program through 2029 and look forward to working with the Office of the
Secretary Defense and the other services to further extend the visa
program to meet construction requirements. Further extension of the H2B
visa authority will ensure cost stability in construction contract bids
for critical infrastructure projects on Guam. Ensuring new
infrastructure is delivered on time and within costs will be a critical
enabler to re-reestablishing deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.
We remain committed to working with our government partners and
stakeholders in Guam, as well as our partners across the DOD, to ensure
the success of the transition of our personnel. We appreciate this
committee's support as we carry out this process in a manner that will
enhance the readiness of our forces throughout the region.
The relationship between the DON and the State of Hawai`i has been
a critical piece of U.S. military and diplomatic strategy for over 125
years. Hawai`i's strategic location in the Pacific, unique training and
port areas and support for critical defense missions make it a
cornerstone of the DON's posture in the Indo-Pacific region. In support
of this indispensable defense mission, the DON leases land, primarily
adjacent to U.S.-owned installations, that provides ideal locations for
specialized defense capabilities, multi-domain operating areas to
generate future force readiness and training ranges that our Joint
Force leverages with allies and partners. Mission ready and modernized
ranges are essential to the Department's mission to organize, train,
and equip combat ready naval forces to deter and win wars.
The DON will continue to demonstrate our unwavering commitment to
collaboration and transparency with our partners in Hawai'i, and work
closely with the Department of Defense Hawai`i Coordination Cell, to
enhance our collaboration with the people of Hawai`i to protect and
preserve the Hawaiian lands on which we operate.
Housing for our Sailors, Marines and Families
Protecting the health and safety of our sailors, marines and their
families contributes to warfighter readiness. We are focused on the
early identification and resolution of family housing issues, as well
as improving processes and oversight of our residents' experiences. The
Navy is coordinating with the Public Private Venture partner in the
Southeast region, with a keen focus on Key West, Florida, to improve
the overall condition of the homes to meet quality living standards for
our Navy families. For Unaccompanied Housing (UH), we are focusing on
facilities improvement, professional management and resident
satisfaction.
To address the UH conditions and shortages, the DON is reviewing
our inventory to inform how we optimize MILCON projects and
privatization initiatives. Both the Navy and Marine Corps utilize
models to make data informed decisions on facility investments. The
Marine Corps continues to use the Capital Planning Tool (formerly the
Readiness Maximization Tool) to leverage a tiered and targeted approach
to facility lifecycle management. This tool enabled the reduction of
footprint while prioritizing investments where they will have the most
impact.
We continue to work with sister services and the Office of the
Secretary of Defense on implementation of the NDAA and recent
Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommendations. The Navy
continues to implement the Forging Communities of Excellence initiative
which includes three distinct lines of effort on facilities
improvement, workforce development and quality of life. In addition,
the Secretary of the Navy has directed all Navy Region Commanders to
conduct a 100 percent barracks inspection to assess living conditions
for all Navy sailors worldwide. I look forward to sharing the
inspection results with you. The Marine Corps' Barracks 2030 initiative
lays out an ambitious plan to improve the Marine Corps management of
barracks, modernize the inventory and update the refresh rate of
materiel. The Marine Corps completed a 100 percent wall-to-wall
environmental, health and safety inspection of every barracks room to
establish the baseline conditions of habitability. The deficiencies
found were in line with the September 2023 GAO report and underscores
the importance of swift resolution of maintenance actions.
Military Housing Privatization Initiative Family Housing
For the Military Housing Privatization Initiative, we are
reinforcing DON oversight and exercising active leadership to ensure
that the families who live in privatized housing have the tools and
support they need. Starting with the Fiscal Year 2020 NDAA, the DON
housing team implemented many oversight and Quality of Life (QoL)
initiatives including full implementation of the Tenant Bill of Rights,
universal lease, completion of the third-party inspection of homes,
increased resident advocates and home inspectors, and other NDAA and
audit recommendations. We continue to improve on the tools to perform
better analyses of our processes, policies and the overall program to
ensure higher levels of service and satisfaction for our sailors,
marines and their families.
Government-Owned Family Housing
The DON's government-controlled inventory of over 8,500 homes is
primarily located in locations, such as Japan, Guam and Cuba, and a few
locations in the United States. The DON continues to fund the
operations, oversight and sustainment, and modernization of these homes
while focusing on the growing housing requirement in Guam. We have seen
the efforts and self-improvement techniques, which include increased
communication with the servicemembers, their families and third-party
inspectors that are utilized in privatized housing, enhance government-
owned housing oversight and servicemember engagement.
Unaccompanied Housing
UH supports Navy and Marine Corps Readiness by providing eligible
single sailors and marines with housing and related services in support
of the DON's mission and readiness. The DON is using targeted
investments and policy changes to improve the condition of inadequate
UH and identification of a sustainable, optimized UH program to ensure
safe and reliable housing for all sailors and marines. The DON's
current government-owned UH inventory consists of approximately 108,611
bedrooms in 1,343 UH buildings throughout the DON's installations. In
2024, the Navy's Restoration and Modernization investments yielded an
overall improvement of 1,011 beds, eliminating 451 inadequate beds. In
2024, the Marine Corps repaired or renovated 11 barracks that provide
housing for approximately 4,200 marines. The objective is clear: to
provide safe, healthy, and professionally managed living quarters that
allow marines to rest and recover after demanding training or
operational deployments. At the end of fiscal year 2024, 79 percent of
Navy UH and 83 percent of Marine Corps UH have a Building Condition
Index evaluated as adequate. We have utilized all tools to improve the
remainder of our inventory, to include the expansion of the QR code
maintenance reporting program to expedite maintenance actions. The Navy
and Marine Corps anticipate increased investment in the UH program.
The two pilot program projects to privatize UH have significantly
increased QoL for our sailors and marines. The first pilot project in
San Diego which consists of 2,398 beds, was privatized in 2006 and
continues to score the highest of all privatized efforts inside the
DON's privatized housing portfolio. The second privatized UH project
was established in 2007 in the Hampton Roads fleet concentration area,
consisting of 3,682 beds, and is also a QoL success. The GAO report on
Military Unaccompanied Housing noted that servicemembers living in
privatized barracks consistently stated that they were satisfied with
the condition of their housing, which led to an improvement in QoL. The
Navy is working on expansions for our two locations that utilized the
pilot authority for additional privatized UH in San Diego and Norfolk.
To further the DON's effort to address shortages of covered
military unaccompanied housing, we are actively developing a strategy
to use authorities to lease, operate, maintain, or otherwise contract
for real property. This strategy will provide installation leadership
with options to select the appropriate approach that best meets the
needs of their installation in a cost-effective and timely manner while
maintaining mission readiness.
Energy Dominance
Energy dominance is vital to the security of our Nation and
underpins the DON's ability to contribute to achieving ``Peace through
Strength'' by ensuring naval forces have assured, continuous access to
the necessary types and amounts of energy needed to maintain a global
presence, deter adversaries, respond to crises, and, if necessary,
fight and win our Nation's wars. From the installation to the
battlefield, whether for facilities, weapons systems, or warfighting
platforms, the DON Energy and Water Program supports rebuilding our
military and reestablishing deterrence by driving installation and
operational theater vulnerability assessments and capability
advancements to enhance requirements development which overmatch
evolving threats.
The DON invests in shore energy and water initiatives to ensure
that our installations remain the power projection platforms from which
we man, train and equip our sailors and marines and that installations
are resilient to a broad spectrum of threats. Using acquisition
authorities like energy savings performance contracts and power
purchase agreements allows the DON to achieve energy and water
efficiencies and create power generation and storage. Security and
resilience solutions pursued by the Navy and Marine Corps directly
support the objective of the President's Executive Order 14156,
Declaring a National Energy Emergency, directive to collaborate across
government and with industry to deliver and expedite the completion of
critical energy infrastructure and drive improvements to the DON's
aging utility systems, facilities and building control systems for
improved cybersecurity, physical hardening and reduced sustainment
costs. The DON collaborates with local communities, industry, and other
government entities to identify and implement regional resilience and
security solutions, which are tested through Black Start Exercises and
joint resilience planning efforts that look inside and outside the
fence line to inform what is needed to harden our critical
infrastructure. In addition, the DON has privatized water utilities at
Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Naval Station Mayport and began the
process to solicit privatization of the electrical system at Norfolk
Naval Shipyard. The DON recognizes and appreciates the infrastructure
sustainment, supply chain and military resilience benefits of engaging
with the utility industry to ensure consistent, reliable, high-quality
energy and water for warfighter requirements.
It is imperative to harden our defense critical utilities
infrastructure and to mitigate vulnerabilities in our facility related
control systems to prevent the weaponization of our utilities. These
efforts seek to prevent and mitigate attempts by our adversaries from
exploiting our utility and building systems, ensuring these systems are
cybersecure and available to drive toward improved mission readiness
and warfighter capability. The DON has invested in energy resilience
technologies such as cyber-secure microgrids and other technologies
that are already available in the United States., thereby reducing our
reliance on vulnerable or adversarial foreign supply chains.
The DON's ability to fight and win is dependent upon reliable
access to energy when, where, and in the quantities required.
Operational energy investments expand energy generation, storage and
use options to provide agility to the warfighter while operating in all
domains supporting the operational requirements of Contested Logistics,
Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations and Distributed Maritime
Operations. To increase warfighting capability without increasing fuel
availability demands, the DON is working with the whole of government
on safe and standard advanced batteries that cut across domains and
warfighting functions, which will enable directed energy and long-
dwell/long-duration unmanned systems, and reduce logistics demands and
weapons systems' sensing signatures.
conclusion
Thank you for your steadfast commitment to our sailors, marines,
civilians and their families and for your purposeful focus on our
upcoming budget request. I look forward to our continued partnership as
we work together to ensure the Navy and Marine Corps remain the most
formidable maritime fighting force in the world.
Senator Sullivan. Thank you, Ms. Johnson-Turner. Mr.
Saunders, you're next.
STATEMENT OF MR. MICHAEL E. SAUNDERS, ACTING ASSISTANT
SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE FOR ENERGY, INSTALLATIONS AND
ENVIRONMENT
Mr. Saunders. Chairman Sullivan, Ranking Member Hirono, and
distinguished Members of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee
on Readiness and Management Support, on behalf of the
Department of the Air Force (DAF), and the nearly 645,000
Active and Reserved component airmen and guardians, thank you
for the opportunity to testify before you today. I welcome the
occasion to discuss the Department's fiscal year 2026 budget
request for our energy installations and environment programs.
Our partnership with this Subcommittee has been
foundational to ensuring that we maximize the lethality and
warfighting capability of our 177 DAF installations across the
globe. One of our top priorities for the DAF is the quality of
life of our airmen, guardians, and their families. Therefore,
we focus our investment and innovation on our housing,
dormitories, and child development centers.
To this end, we have initiated our first ever commercial on
base apartment complex at Edwards Air Force Base and are
seeking to privatize our Continental United States (CONUS)
lodging in order to modernize and ensure robust sustainment.
We're also implementing Wi-Fi for servicemembers in our
unaccompanied housing. In addition to quality of life, the
health and safety of our servicemembers, their families and the
surrounding communities remain among our highest priorities.
As such, the DAF remains committed to fulfilling our PFAS
related cleanup responsibilities in accordance with the Federal
law, implementing the new PFAS drinking water standard and
promoting transparent collaboration and engagement with
surrounding communities. Today, the DAF is undeniably focused
on ensuring our installations are ready to support air and
space operations in an era where China is expanding,
modernizing, and diversifying its entire military.
As power projection platforms, the readiness of the
Department of the Air Force's Installations is critical to our
national security. The DAFs Installation in Infrastructure
Action plan or I2AP, is the guiding revitalization of our
installations to ensure the Air Force and Space Force can
deliver combat power with the necessary speed, range, and
intensity to deter adversaries.
The I2AP sets clear objectives, goals, and key actions to
align installations with critical mission capabilities,
optimize vital infrastructure, and maximize mission assurance.
We appreciate the Subcommittee's support for improving our
infrastructure with the National Defense Authorization Act
(NDAA) budget provision on FSRM. This will greatly improve our
facility conditions. However, we will struggle to meet this
budget requirement in full without first optimizing our
inventory. Sustaining the associated excess infrastructure
forces us to invest critical dollars in areas that do not
directly contribute to warfighting and contributes to
significant backlogs and maintenance and repair.
Therefore, we're increasing demolition and freeing up
scarce resources by pursuing several innovative approaches such
as expanding the use of enhanced use leases, strategic real
eState opportunities, and developing city base opportunities.
To that end this week, my team is in Massachusetts working with
the State, local and installation leaders to explore
opportunities at Hanscom Air Force Base.
To achieve peace through strength, we must also ensure our
installations can remain resilient through disruptions,
reducing our reliance on vulnerable energy sources and rapidly
fielding emerging technologies is essential to defending the
homeland and strengthening deterrence. The DAF continues to
pursue microgrids and utilize third party financing and
innovative partnerships to modernize and improve resiliency.
We're also steadfast in our pursuit of commercial micro
reactor technology to include a recent announcement of a notice
of intent to award a power purchase agreement at Eielson Air
Force Base in Alaska. In closing, the DAF is committed to
ensuring our installations provide the Nation with the
warfighting capability it needs to deter our adversaries and to
provide or providing high quality of life for our airmen,
guardians, and their families to ensure we maintain a lethal
and combat credible force.
Thank you for your continued support of our airmen and
guardians and I look forward to taking your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Michael E. Saunders
follows:]
Prepared Statement by Mr. Michael E. Saunders
introduction
Chairman Sullivan, Ranking Member Hirono, and distinguished Members
of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to provide you with
an update on Department of the Air Force (DAF) energy, installations,
and environment programs.
Today, our Nation finds itself in a strategic competition with our
adversary China. The People's Liberation Army is expanding,
modernizing, and diversifying its entire military--including cyber,
space, and nuclear forces--at a rapid pace to support revisionist goals
and objectives. These developments pose unique and fundamentally new
challenges for deterrence, and while conflict is certainly not
inevitable, the risk of military confrontation is increased in this
environment. This new strategic environment demands that we rebuild the
lethal and ready force to provide the warfighting capability our Nation
needs to compete and win.
To that end, the DAF's Installation Infrastructure Action Plan
(I2AP) is re-optimizing our installations to ensure the Air Force and
Space Force can deliver combat power with the necessary speed, range,
and intensity to deter adversaries and win decisively, if needed.
Throughout every stage of conflict, our installations serve as
warfighting platforms and provide the bedrock for our readiness and
lethality. They also address quality-of-life needs of our airmen and
guardians while maintaining readiness to respond swiftly to mission
needs, even in the face of attack. Indeed, the ability of our
installation to fight through these challenges and quickly recover is
critical to success. Our airmen and guardians depend on ready and
resilient infrastructure, reliable on-demand energy, and safe
environments to defend the homeland and deter our adversaries--and we
are committed to providing them with nothing less.
installation infrastructure and readiness
The DAF relies on its Military Construction (MILCON) and
Facilities, Sustainment, Restoration, and Modernization (FSRM) programs
to provide ready and resilient installations. Yet, solely relying on
direct investment at the currently budgeted levels is insufficient to
reverse the longstanding trend of deteriorating facilities and failing
infrastructure. Our installation portfolio of 177 installations, 69,000
facilities, and 183 million square yards of airfield pavement and is
not sized to optimize the vital infrastructure of the current force
structure.
Therefore, the DAF is re-optimizing its Air and Space Forces,
including installations, to match the pacing threat while focusing on
the Department of Defense's priorities to revive the warrior ethos,
rebuild the military, and reestablish deterrence. However,
approximately two decades of assuming risk in infrastructure
investment, coupled with the burden of excess infrastructure, has led
to a backlog of maintenance and repair requirements and degraded
infrastructure. The Department's I2AP works to mitigate these
challenges by setting clear objectives, goals, and key actions to align
installations with critical mission capabilities; optimize vital
infrastructure; and maximize mission assurance.
To achieve these objectives, the Department is instituting data-
driven, proactive policies and streamlining processes. Examples include
policies that centralize enterprise funding, focus on the most critical
infrastructure, and prevent expenditures on unauthorized or excess
facility spaces. The Department is also working to reduce costs to
operate and sustain infrastructure through innovative cost-sharing and
strategic Plant Replacement Value reduction initiatives. These
initiatives include the potential transfer of portions of installations
to other government or commercial entities and expanding utility
privatization where data shows it would reduce outages and improve
utility system conditions. This strategic framework will guide
investments toward modernizing mission critical infrastructure,
enhancing resiliency, and curtailing longterm operating and sustainment
costs.
Excess Infrastructure
The DAF currently carries significant excess infrastructure along
with a $49.5 billion maintenance and repair backlog that continues to
grow. Since 1990, the Department has reduced in size considerably,
including a nearly 40 percent reduction in Active Duty end strength and
a 60 percent reduction in fighter squadrons, but it has only reduced
its CONUS footprint by 15 percent. Moreover, roughly half of all
infrastructure across the DAF is currently in a moderate or high-risk
condition. While the DAF has prioritized its resources to keep critical
mission generating infrastructure (e.g., runways) in good working
order, such prioritization has come at the expense of our supporting
infrastructure. For example, over 70 percent of utility infrastructure
on DAF bases in the Indo-Pacific are in a high-risk condition. This
problem is exacerbated by the highly corrosive tropical or arctic
environments of many facility locations and by limited skilled local
labor in others. Meanwhile, our buying power has eroded, with
construction costs rising roughly 50 percent in the last 10 years and
far outpacing the annual inflation rate.
The DAF acknowledges the section 2680 in the National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2025 requirement to fund
infrastructure investment at 4 percent of plant replacement value by
fiscal year 2030. This will help us restore facility condition to
acceptable levels, but we will struggle to meet this requirement in
full without optimizing our inventory.
Despite these challenges, we are aggressively moving forward with
our I2AP, which employs innovative approaches, leverages third party
investment, and prioritizes resources to the most critical warfighting
needs while driving down the cost to deliver and operate our
installations. This includes solutions such as Enhanced Use Leases,
Strategic Real EState Opportunities, and Intergovernmental Support
Agreements (IGSAs) that enable the DAF to partner externally with
industry, communities, and other agencies for mutual benefits. These
solutions also help us identify where we can transfer portions of our
installations as a means of reducing our infrastructure sustainment
costs.
For example, 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) converted
Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts from a Fighter Wing to an
Intelligence Wing in 2008. In 2025, we are finally optimizing the base
to meet its current mission. When divestment of excess land is
complete, it will represent approximately 90 percent decrease in
acreage.
We are also increasing our annual demolition investments, targeting
the removal of excess and severely degraded infrastructure. Moreover,
the Department recently instituted a policy requiring all new
construction and actions that result in adding square footage to our
real property inventory to be offset with equivalent demolition or
disposal in order to limit footprint growth and the associated
sustainment responsibility.
Military Construction
The Department seeks to execute MILCON investment to support the
Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance priorities by focusing on
preparing our installations as warfighting platforms and deterring our
sole pacing adversary.
A significant focus of our MILCON program is to support the bed
down of new weapon systems to rebuild the military and reestablish
strategic deterrence. Programs like the Sentinel Ground Based Strategic
Deterrent and the B-21 Raider recapitalize two thirds of the Nation's
nuclear triad and ensure we maintain a credible and capable nuclear
deterrent capability. Our program also supports Combatant Commanders,
with a focus on Indo-Pacific Command, and their most critical
requirements to build a more lethal and ready force. Finally, our
program seeks to recapitalize current mission facilities that have
outlived their useful life or no longer meet mission requirements. We
are also working to enhance quality-of-life for our servicemembers and
their families with new Child Development Centers and dormitories.
Additionally, the Department seeks to leverage innovative
approaches within our MILCON program to maximize taxpayer dollars and
the Department's ability to deliver combat power. We are utilizing
Other Transactional Authority provided by Congress to pilot innovative
construction techniques and project delivery constructs. The on-going
$3 billion rebuild of Tyndall Air Force Base (AFB), Florida,
incorporates lessons learned from the storm which destroyed it and
novel approaches to installation planning and construction. This
Installation of the Future will be resilient, efficient, and innovative
and will serve as a model for future construction.
Facility Sustainment, Restoration, and Modernization
DAF analysis reveals that the current budget can sustain
approximately 65 percent of the enterprise. The balance of the
infrastructure is equivalent to approximately 19 installations, further
evidence that existing infrastructure investments are spread too thin
to effectively maintain the DAF enterprise. Maintenance and repair
funding levels have not kept pace with the rising cost of construction,
leading to compounding sustainment costs, widespread degradation, and
increases in infrastructure issues that adversely impact mission
execution. Aging facilities and antiquated control systems further
compound these threats, making installations vulnerable to adversaries
and placing mission generation at risk.
To mitigate this, the I2AP guides DAF FSRM program investment to
address the facilities and infrastructure that are most critical for
generating warfighting capability, while also improving quality-of-life
initiatives for our airmen, guardians, and their families.
Sustained progress requires a long-term vision. The minimum FSRM
funding thresholds established in the fiscal year 2025 NDAA, ramping to
4 percent of the Plant Replacement Value by fiscal year 2030, are not
merely about maintaining the status quo--they represent critical and
strategic investments for reversing years of accumulated infrastructure
degradation and reducing the substantial deferred maintenance and
repair backlog. This will help us restore facility conditions--but
these investments must be applied to an optimized portfolio to ensure
they enable our installations to remain ready, resilient, and credible
warfighting platforms that our national security demands.
Spaceport of the Future
Our Spaceport of the Future (SOTF) program is an all-encompassing
initiative where the Space Force is taking a comprehensive approach to
look at all factors contributing to range costs and launch throughput.
SOTF focuses investments into our aging launch infrastructure to ensure
the DOD's ability to provide world-class launch capability to public
and commercial partners. These investments are necessary to preserve
and advance national security interests and reestablish deterrence with
capacity to support launch and test operations on demand.
Sentinel Program
The Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), first
deployed in 1970, is the world's oldest land-based strategic missile
system and must be recapitalized to provide the Nation a safe, secure,
and reliable nuclear deterrent capability. The Sentinel program
recapitalizes 450 missile launch facilities across multiple states and
upgrades command and maintenance infrastructure to ensure operational
readiness through at least 2075. Following the Office of the Secretary
of Defense's thorough review and certification of the program, the
Sentinel program is moving ahead. The DAF is continuing requirements
definition, assessment of acquisition strategies, exploration of the
design trade space, and seeking ways to generate competition to drive
cost and schedule risk down. Notably, the program office recently
decided to minimize risk by pursuing the construction of new silos
instead of reusing the existing silos.
Installation Resilience
DAF installations, both enduring and expeditionary, are warfighting
platforms from which the DAF successfully executes its core missions.
DAF installations are the foundation of combat readiness and must be
capable of supporting the lethality and readiness of the force.
Strengthening installation resilience, reducing reliance on vulnerable
energy sources, and rapidly fielding emerging technologies are
essential to defending the homeland and sustaining deterrence.
The DAF is utilizing third-party financing and innovative
partnerships with industry that modernize our utilities and drastically
reduce system outages at our bases. We are also continuously reviewing
our utility privatization portfolio to enhance resilience across our
installations. The DAF has privatized 25 percent of our utility systems
and continues to explore the viability, costs, and benefits of
additional systems at several bases. These vital investments deliver
improved utility infrastructure, reliable systems with redundancy for
emergency preparedness, and greater installation energy resiliency.
Energy and Water Resilient Infrastructure
In line with recent Executive Orders on Unleashing American Energy
and Declaring a National Energy Emergency, the DAF is focused on
maintaining national security and military preparedness by ensuring
reliable, diversified, and affordable energy at every one of our
installations.
Our vision of ``Mission Assurance through Energy and Water
Assurance'' emphasizes sustainment of warfighting capabilities while
optimizing resource use through enhanced planning, technology, and
process improvements. We assess near and long-term energy and water
requirements based on the installation's resiliency needs, cost
considerations, and opportunities to leverage more reliable and
abundant domestic sources.
The DAF conducts Energy Resilience Readiness Exercises (ERREs),
also known as ``black start exercises,'' to help installations assess
mission readiness at degraded energy levels. During an ERRE, an
installation intentionally disconnects from commercial power for 10
hours to assess onsite backup power systems and validate (and in some
cases, identify) infrastructure and mission interdependencies. This
allows us to actively test key enabling systems under ``blue sky''
conditions to identify gaps in energy and mission capabilities.
Similarly, we are conducting the Water Resilience Readiness
Exercises (WRRE) Pilot Program, an initiative designed to help
installations assess water vulnerabilities and strengthen response
strategies. WRREs will provide critical insights to shape enterprise-
wide policies, ensuring all bases are better equipped to manage water
risks. There are currently four installations in the pilot phase of the
program, Dyess AFB in Texas, Hill AFB in Utah, and Cannon AFB and
Kirtland AFB in New Mexico. Lessons learned from these installations
will inform broader water resiliency efforts as we seek to reestablish
deterrence and defend our homeland. The DAF is also pursuing innovative
solutions to build energy-efficient and resilient systems for improved
energy security and mission assurance. We are changing the overall DAF
approach to future energy initiatives by exploring diversified energy
opportunities such as advanced nuclear, geothermal, battery energy
storage, installation microgrids, and other forms of onsite generation
that enhance energy resilience. We continue to partner with the Defense
Innovation Unit (DIU) to execute prototype agreements with non-
traditional defense contractors as we explore the potential for onsite
resilient baseload power via geothermal energy. One promising site is
Mountain Home AFB in Idaho, and the potential for a second installation
is being evaluated.
At Eielson AFB in Alaska, the DAF continues to pioneer the first
commercial application of a microreactor on DOD property, laying the
groundwork for future advanced nuclear energy projects. Technologies
such as small modular reactors and microreactors will help deliver more
reliable and resilient energy to our installations. This increased
resilience is particularly critical at strategic and austere locations
such as Eielson AFB. In addition, we are partnered with DIU on their
Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations (ANPI) project, which aims to
put a micro-reactor on an Air Force location that is still being
determined.
Community Partnerships
Community Partnerships are mission force multipliers that
promulgate resources and information, reduce costs, increase
interoperability, prepare for contingencies and disasters, and unify
the civic-base community. The Air Force Community Partnership Program
offers a framework through which installations and communities can work
together in innovative ways to tackle shared challenges through shared
solutions.
Building on the successes of IGSAs under 10 USC Sec. 2679, the DAF
implemented innovative applications of this authority to reduce overall
operating costs. For instance, Air Force Materiel Command and the
Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (AZDEMA) entered
an IGSA to meet weapon system storage requirements for both new and
existing acquisitions. This partnership leverages AZDEMA's manpower,
equipment, time, and materials, and the DAF avoids the costs to
construct, or upgrade, facilities.
Additionally, Tinker AFB in Oklahoma partnered with the Association
of Central Oklahoma Governments to enhance emergency 9-1-1 support.
Through this IGSA, Tinker AFB gains access to the existing 9-1-1 system
used throughout Central Oklahoma, avoiding the high costs associated
with updating or replacing their current system, while also ensuring
efficient response times and improved interoperability.
Finally, Andersen AFB will enter its first IGSA with the Guam
Department of Agriculture for stray animal management. This is the
first DAF IGSA in a U.S. territory and the first where services are
shared between the installation-community partners, rather than
provided or received from the community partner to the installation.
Andersen AFB provides manpower, equipment, and materials, and the
GovGuam Department of Agriculture provides shelter, animal adoption
services, neutering services, and village education events. This
partnership is estimated to save approximately 320 hours for the pest
management program by reducing the number of stray animals on the
installation. It also serves as a model for future IGSAs across a range
of DOD installation support services in Guam.
The Defense Community Infrastructure Program is a competitive grant
program designed to address deficiencies in community infrastructure
that supports military installation readiness and lethality. Vibrant
relationships between the DAF and our installation communities were
instrumental to the Department of Defense awarding approximately half
of the $100 million in grants awards in fiscal year 2024 to DAF
communities. These awards include $13 million for March Air Reserve
Base, California--Grantee: Western Municipal Water District of
Riverside; $10.7 million for Peterson SFB, Colorado--Grantee: city of
Colorado Springs; $5.3 million for United States Air Force Academy,
Colorado--Grantee: Colorado Springs Utilities; $11.6 million for Grand
Forks AFB, North Dakota--Grantee: Grand Forks County; and $8.9 million
for Rickenbacker Air National Guard, Ohio--Grantee: Columbus Regional
Airport Authority.
Mission Sustainment
The Air Force Mission Sustainment (AFMS) program applies a holistic
approach and strategy to preserve mission capabilities at installations
and ranges by identifying, assessing, and reporting risk and actions to
reduce vulnerabilities. This effort is imperative to ensure DAF
installations can generate maximum combat power and lethality without
encroachments that negatively impact training, operations and the
safety of the local population. To mitigate encroachment, the AFMS
program works with DAF, other DOD installations and Office of the
Secretary of Defense (OSD) to assess seven mission sustainment hazard
categories: airspace, land/sea, spectrum, water, energy, weather, and
natural/cultural resources.
Our primary objective is to preserve and protect military readiness
across the entire operating picture including airspace, ranges, missile
fields, and community assets that directly support missions (e.g.
community airports, small arms ranges, water/power sources, etc.). The
DAF reviews proposed projects (199' above ground level or higher) filed
with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), submitted for DOD
review pre-filing, or submitted for DOD review from other Federal
agencies.
In 2024, the AFMS program managed the review of 90,343 proposed
obstructions that were formally filed with the FAA. It also managed the
review of ?500 Informal Review obstruction evaluation projects
submitted for DOD pre-filing review from developers or other Federal
agencies. We coordinated with the Military Aviation and Installation
Assurance Siting Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse), Air Force Flight
Standards Agency, other Services, and Federal Agencies to ensure that
the proposed activities are compatible with DAF training, testing, and
operations.
Cumulative impacts of development continue to increase, causing
significant concern for military training routes, special use airspace,
radar lines of sight, and certain geographical areas. In response, the
AFMS program has formed temporary Mitigation Response Teams (MRTs) with
DOD, the Services, and project proponents to identify compatible
development solutions to projects which pose impacts to Air Force
testing, training, or operations. In 2024, the AFMS program established
77 formal MRTs, including at least one MRT for each Major Command
(MAJCOM), as well as for the North American Aerospace Defense Command,
the Air National Guard, and the Space Force. The AFMS program managed
the MRT review process, established MRTs through the Clearinghouse, and
facilitated MRT meetings with units, MAJCOMs, Headquarters Air Force,
project developers, and other stakeholders. Ultimately, the formal MRTs
and Informal Reviews established in 2024 helped to protect DAF and DOD
missions associated with hundreds of unique DOD assets, including
airspace and ranges, airfields, missile fields, and radars.
The AFMS program also leads DAF efforts in reviewing offshore
projects, including providing responses to the Clearinghouse and the
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. This on-going effort includes
continued engagement and collaboration with developers, Department of
Navy, and consultants.
housing, dormitories, and child development centers
Quality-of-life for our airmen and guardians and their families
remains a top readiness priority for the DAF. We continue to focus
investment and innovation on our housing, dormitories, and child
development centers.
Dormitories / Unaccompanied Housing
The DAF is on-track to meet the FSRM investment requirements
established by the fiscal year 2022 NDAA. This is part of the largest
dorm investment in over a decade. However, we recognize more is needed.
Further, we continue to exceed OSD performance goals for dorm
conditions since the inception of the metric in fiscal year 2013. In
fiscal year 2022 to fiscal year 2024, we funded 104 projects totaling
$570 million to repair and renovate dorms, HVACs, roofs, and other
critical facility systems. Projects are underway or being planned at 18
installations that will continue our efforts to improve quality-of-life
for our most junior airmen and guardians.
The DAF unaccompanied housing (UH) inventory includes nearly 58,000
permanent party and over 45,600 training beds. Per fiscal year 2024
NDAA requirements, interim guidance from DOD established Building
Condition Index (BCI, a 0-100 scale) as the UH Uniform Condition Index.
The DAF's overall strategy remains focused on restoring and
modernizing dorms with FSRM funds and addressing capacity shortfalls
and facility recapitalization with MILCON funds. The DAF Dormitory
Master Plan guides this effort by providing the comprehensive
forecasts, estimates, and recommendations required to strategically
execute dormitory projects when and where they are most needed. Current
assessments show 53 percent of permanent party beds are at or above the
target of 80 BCI, and 0.1 percent of beds are less than 60 BCI.
Training dorms are another key component of our military
servicemembers' growth and development. Currently, 69 percent of
training beds assess at or above the target 80 BCI and 0.1 percent are
less than 60 BCI. Notably, the DAF executed seven FSRM projects for $67
million at training dorms in fiscal year 2023 to fiscal year 2024.
Family Housing
The DAF is focused on eliminating inadequate housing from the DAF
inventory and correcting health and safety deficiencies. In addition to
enabling planning studies, designing for future construction projects,
and renovating existing DAF-owned homes, the Military Family Housing
construction program also supports restructuring Military Housing
Privatization Initiative (MHPI) projects.
The DAF's Military Family Housing construction program focuses on
planning studies and design for future construction--to include
projects at Yokota Air Base, Japan to improve homes for Senior Non-
Commissioned Officers, Company Grade Officers, and Field Grade
Officers.
Our Military Family Housing O&M funds efforts to sustain, improve,
and modernize our inventory of approximately 15,200 DAF-owned family
housing units and provides enhanced oversight of over 52,000 privatized
homes. Combined, the family housing O&M and construction programs will
ensure continued support for the housing needs of airmen, guardians,
their families and caregivers, as well as our Army, Navy, and Marine
Corps teammates living in DAF-owned and privatized family housing.
The DAF MHPI inventory contains over 52,000 privatized end State
unit homes spanning 31 projects across 63 installations. In some cases,
the financial assumptions and economics of the deals fall short of
expectations through no fault of the project owners. In these cases,
the DAF requests funding to restructure to ensure projects don't
default on loans and conditions of the homes remain acceptable.
Commercial Apartment Complex
The DAF is currently pursuing an innovative MHPI partnership with
Mayroad (the existing MHPI project owner) for a 142-unit commercial
apartment complex at Edwards AFB in California. The project broke
ground in September 2024 and serves as the DAF's first-ever commercial
apartment complex on-installation. The project is fully financed by
private investment (no upfront DAF scoring or cost) and will provide
246 beds in response to housing shortages at the remote installation.
Lodging Commercialization
Lodging operations on DAF installations are paramount to support
the mission and for the continued resiliency of airmen, guardians, and
their families. Lodging is critical not only during permanent change of
stations moves, but also for temporary duty assignments away from home
stations. Indeed, these lodging assets directly support mission
readiness and capability. Upgrading and ensuring the long-term
sustainment of lodging for airmen, guardians, and their families is a
strategic imperative for the DAF to maintain readiness and achieve
mission success.
The DAF is seeking to commercialize all the on-base lodging in the
United States, its territories, and possessions--which currently covers
58 DAF installations. The Commercial On-Base Lodging (COBL) effort
would be accomplished through the conveyance of facilities and
execution of a 50-year ground lease with no upfront cost to the DAF.
The government seeks to apply private sector expertise, resources, and
market-based incentives to improve the quality-oflife for airmen,
guardians, their families, and other authorized travelers while in a
transient status. The objective is to provide quality, on-base hotel
accommodations that meet the varying needs of a mobile military
community through improvements to the on-base lodging inventory and/or
new construction, and to appropriately maintain these facilities
throughout a long-term business relationship.
Within the DAF, the Assistant Secretariat for Energy, Installations
and Environment will serve as the office of primary responsibility for
the COBL program and has delegated execution responsibilities
associated within the program, including lease administration and
oversight, to the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center--
who has established a Program Management Office (PMO).
The process to solicit and competitively select a private sector
lease applicant and then successfully negotiate and close the lease of
installations in groups and phased over several years. DAF anticipates
releasing a request for proposal in the Summer 2025.
This COBL initiative would affect approximately 3,100 Non-
appropriated Fund DAF Lodging (DAFL) personnel, who may be eligible for
either reemployment priority, severance pay, or voluntary or
involuntary retirement benefits. Just as when the Army privatized its
lodging, the DAF expects the selected project owner will offer
positions to many current DAFL employees.
The COBL initiative is incorporating key lessons learned from
previous innovative real eState programs to ensure high performance.
Under COBL, the selected project owner would earn fees based on
Installation Commander and lodging customer feedback. Reports, approval
process, response triggers, and the incentive fee structure would be
consistent with the successful Army's Privatized Lodging program. DAF's
COBL PMO would perform frequent site visits and direct oversight of
both operations and recapitalization of the portfolio over the 50-year
lease period.
Child Development Centers (CDCs)
We continue to strive to provide a high quality-of-life for our
members and their families. At the heart of that goal is affordable,
accessible childcare for our airmen and guardians. Like our dormitory
strategy, the DAF is using a two-prong programmatic approach to improve
CDCs: targeted FSRM investment to address facility condition concerns
and MILCON projects to increase capacity and recapitalize. While no
CDCs in the DAF portfolio are failing or in poor condition, we know we
still have work to do. Generous congressional support in recent years
has enabled the DAF to initiate the design of additional CDC projects
for inclusion in future President's Budget requests.
The Child and Youth Facility Master Plan facilitates project
advocacy by identifying CDC MILCON and FSRM projects that address child
and youth facility conditions and capacity challenges. Out of the 35
MILCON projects identified, 13 have been authorized and appropriated,
adding approximately 1,800 spaces. One project was funded with O&M, 13
are in active design to add another 1,500 spaces, and 18 additional
projects are in planning to validate requirements.
environmental stewardship
Part of reestablishing the warrior ethos is an unwavering
commitment to the well-being of our servicemembers and their families.
It remains among our highest priorities to ensure the health and safety
of those who live and work on our installations and those who reside in
surrounding communities. We appreciate the support of Congress in our
efforts to address Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and make
further progress in our Environmental Restoration Program.
Our proactive PFAS strategy is yielding positive results, and we
remain dedicated to making incremental gains in addressing this complex
challenge. The DAF looks forward to continued appropriations support to
maintain our PFAS efforts. These efforts include PFAS investigation and
cleanup, on-base and off-base drinking water monitoring, Aqueous Film
Forming Foam (AFFF) replacement facility repairs, and AFFF disposal and
research and development. As of December 31, 2024, the DAF expended
$68.7 million to transition from AFFF to fluorine-free foam or water
only; 36 percent (192 of 541) facilities have completely removed and
disposed of all AFFF and 86 percent (1,008 of 1,175) of vehicles are
complete. We are currently on-track to meet the fiscal year 2020 NDAA
compliance date, with the extension Congress has enacted.
Environmental Restoration
We remain focused on being good stewards of the environment by
preventing spills and releases, while also meeting our cleanup
obligations under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Act and the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act. Investigation objectives and environmental response
actions performed under these statutes aim to reduce risk to human
health and the environment in a risk-based, prioritized manner at
approximately 15,000 restorationsites across our active and closed
installations. Much of our restoration program focuses on the DAF PFAS
response, though we continue to address legacy sites.
The DAF PFAS Strategy is built on the following objectives: (1)
Protect human health and the environment; (2) Transition from fluorine-
containing products to fluorine-free alternatives and minimize
potential PFAS release or exposure risk; (3) Fulfill cleanup
responsibilities related to PFAS releases at DAF sites; (4) Invest in
new PFAS Alternatives, and treatment and destruction technologies; (5)
Integrate PFAS mitigation into compliance programs; and (6) Engage and
collaborate with stakeholders (local communities, states, Federal
agencies, and Congress). Through the end of fiscal year 2024, the DAF
expended $2.3 billion identifying, investigating, and responding to
PFAS releases.
On April 10, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency published
Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for PFAS for public drinking water
systems, requiring sampling by 2027 and compliance with the new limits
by 2029. The DAF is actively mitigating PFAS impacts to meet the MCLs
in on-base drinking water systems under our purview, and addressing
impacts to off-base private drinking water wells linked to our
activities. In alignment with DOD policy, DAF is also incorporating the
final PFAS MCLs into our cleanup program. We continue to investigate,
cleanup, and conduct interim response actions to address our past PFAS
releases, all of which will significantly increase DAF's requirements.
As we continue this important work, the DAF is committed to open
communication with communities concerned about the potential
environmental impacts of PFAS. We actively engage with residents and
collaborate with local Restoration Advisory Boards to continually
improve and ensure our community outreach programs are transparent,
inclusive and responsive.
Environmental Quality
As trustee for more than 8.3 million acres of land, including
forests, prairies, deserts, wetlands, and coastal habitats, the DAF
understands the important role natural resources play in maintaining
our mission capability and readiness. We remain fully committed to a
comprehensive and integrated approach to conserving environmental,
natural, and cultural resources. The environmental quality program
funds mission sustainment and environmental compliance with applicable
regulations across several media areas. This includes natural and
cultural resources management, environmental planning, hazardous waste
storage and disposal, hazardous materials management, healthy air and
water quality, and completely funded Air National Guard clean-up.
Additionally, the program supports ongoing habitat and species
management for 123 threatened and endangered species found across 54
identified DAF installations. The program also provides for continued
cooperation, collaboration, and leveraging of manpower and other
resources with other Services, Federal Government agencies such as the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and applicable State fish and
game agencies.
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Sites
Our BRAC cleanup and property transfer program continues to
facilitate environmental restoration and property transfer activities
at 34 former DAF installations closed through prior BRAC law. We remain
on-track to transfer the remaining four former installations by 2031.
operational energy
The DAF remains the largest consumer of fuel in the Department of
Defense. We have implemented a full range of strategies to increase our
operational agility and mitigate our contested logistics risk in
theaters like the Pacific. An energy-optimized fleet allows the
warfighter to fly greater distances, increases loiter time for
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets, and increases
payload range. Our recent efforts resulted in a $222 million fuel cost
avoidance, with $64 million of prior year expired funds recouped and
reinvested to further enhance combat capability and mission assurance.
The Mission Execution Excellence Program (MEEP) incentivizes airmen
to optimize use of aviation fuel in preparation for future conflict in
a fuel-constrained environment such as the Indo-Pacific theater. Since
May 2022, MEEP has saved over 14 million gallons of aviation fuel,
valued at $52 million, and has expanded from four participating
squadrons to 29 total force C-17, C-5, and KC-135 units.
Improved tools and software lead to more battlefield effectiveness.
For example, training software, like Extended Reality Air to Air
Refueling (EARL) trainers, creates more effective training
opportunities for aerial refueling by providing pilots and boom
operators with a highly realistic extended reality capability across
multiple aircraft. Time spent training on EARL stations can offset time
spent in live-flight sorties, allowing for more crews to be trained in
less time, reducing stress on aircraft and schedules.
Engine optimization technologies, such as those currently deployed
by commercial airlines, reduce fuel burn and increase engine
performance, reliability, and time on wing for DAF aircraft. Efforts
include a compressor blade coating which, if implemented across the C-
17 fleet, is projected to spur an estimated $20.9 million in fuel and
maintenance savings annually (based on fiscal year 2025 fuel prices).
Additionally, engine detergent and foam washes can restore efficiency
and power while reducing fuel consumption by 0.5 to 1.15 percent. The
incorporation of a detergent additive into the Air Force's engine wash
contract has yielded significant additional benefits, including
enhanced engine performance through improved removal of carbon debris
and soot, resulting in restored engine efficiency and power output.
Drag reduction initiatives, like technologies currently used by
commercial airlines and foreign militaries, reduce fuel consumption and
improve operational range and capability of the current fleet of Air
Mobility Command aircraft. In partnership with the Air Force Research
Lab and Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, we are implementing
drag reduction technologies across our legacy aircraft, which has the
potential to decrease drag and increase fuel efficiency by 1-8 percent
for our existing fleet. In addition to increasing operational
capabilities, most initiatives have a return-on-investment of less than
3 years. For instance, the C-17 is currently undertaking a 6-month
logistics service test for 3-D printed microvanes that is projected to
provide up to 1.5 percent drag reduction and 1.5 percent fuel savings
across the 222-aircraft fleet.
Finally, we are investing in the Blended Wing Body (BWB)
demonstration aircraft to rapidly field new technology that meets the
demands of modern air operations. In 2023, the DAF partnered with DIU
to prototype an improved aircraft design that provides more aerodynamic
efficiency than today's tankers, bombers, and cargo aircraft, enabling
increased range, loiter time, and fuel offload capabilities for the
DOD. As a result of this competitive process, DAF selected JetZero to
demonstrate this new capability by 2027, which is projected to improve
aerodynamic efficiency by 30 percent. In addition, part of the
capability development strategy for this effort includes to garner
private investment and significantly augment Air Force funding. To
date, $65 million in private funding and in-kind support has been
captured, including investment from two major U.S. commercial airlines.
The project remains on schedule and recently completed a Demonstrator
Critical Design Review in May 2025.
conclusion
The DAF Energy, Installations and Environment portfolio is aligned
with the Department of Defense priorities of restoring the warrior
ethos, rebuilding the military, and reestablishing deterrence by
increasing the lethality, readiness and warfighting capability of our
installations. We remain committed to aligning installation
infrastructure to mission critical capabilities and optimizing our
footprint while ensuring our installations have the resilience
necessary to support Air and Space Force operations in a contested
environment. With the continued support of Congress, I am confident our
installations will continue to facilitate combat power projection with
enough speed and intensity to be decisive for the Joint Force while
also supporting our airmen, guardians and their families.
Thank you for the opportunity to update you on the DAF's programs
supporting energy, installations, and environment. We appreciate
Congress' continued support for our enterprise and look forward to
continuing to work closely with you.
Senator Sullivan. Thank you, Mr. Saunders.
I'll begin the questioning here, and I highlighted this and
I'd like to start with you, Secretary Marks, and maybe talk to
or mention this to each of the other witnesses. The current
projected MILCON in Guam, and I'm not saying Guam is not
strategically important. It is.
But they go up from $4.7 billion in current projects to
over 46 billion in planned future projects. Secretary, the Navy
mentioned to me after his visit, he thought the number was
north of $50 billion. I have raised this as an issue where I
just think the strategic imagination of our leadership has been
lacking whereby with our U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM)
Commanders, the current one, I have a deep respect for. The
previous one, Admiral Aquilino, I also had deep respect for.
But there's a sense that everything is defaulting to Guam,
every service. It creates, in my view, strategic
vulnerabilities. Particularly if there's a war with China. With
all of our forces on one relatively small island, this I think
creates huge vulnerabilities.
So, Secretary Marks, can you touch on that? You say you
have a holistic Guam master plan that you guys are looking at.
I'm assuming it's going to start to look at a more dispersed
force in INDOPACOM and not come to this issue of a default to
Guam, literally on everything. $50 billion in MILCON when half
the Marine Corps and the Navy are already out there, it seems
to me not very smart.
Mr. Marks. Senator, thank you for that, and I know you're a
deep student of history. You and I have spoken of that before
so I completely understand the perspective as you go there. As
I refer to that was part of when we began this understanding as
I came in to look at a holistic picture of where we're putting
things. This affects not only the Indo-Pacific but here in the
homeland as well.
As we look at our real eState as our holdings, as well as
the cost of everything that we are doing, and part of that is
working with our combatant commanders that you mentioned.
Senator Sullivan. Yes.
Mr. Marks. Not only Admiral Paparo, but also General
Guillot in terms of what is the correct force laydown, where do
those things need to be and then balancing that with the cost
that we need to get there. So we've just, at least from my
seat, begun to take a harder look at that. I understand your
concerns of that. Senator, I would love to come back to you and
discuss that further as I can get a little bit more insight.
Senator Sullivan. Good. I'm glad you're undertaking that
initiative. I appreciate that. I commend you for that. Do you
have a timeline by which you want to get that study done?
Sometimes as you know, in big bureaucracies, DOD being one,
when they want something to go away, they say, ``Hey, we're
going to study at it and we'll get back to you Senators in 3
years.'' How about giving a little timeline on that?
Mr. Marks. Yes. Senator, I've not yet sent one to my team.
They're trying to give me a better understanding. I will tell
you though that both visits to Alaska, to INDOPACOM and to U.S.
Northern Command (NORTHCOM) are all being planned right now for
me because I want to sit down with each one of them. I think
we're planning a visit with your staff in August to go out to
Alaska.
That is really the timeline I'm on. I need to be able to
sit down with each of them, have this conversation and continue
to drive that planning ahead. So, I will come back to you at
that when we work our plannings.
Senator Sullivan. Let me ask because we have other equities
in terms--I appreciate that answer. In terms of services, Mr.
Saunders, obviously the Air Force is very heavily invested in
Guam. Again, I worry about a couple of well-placed missiles in
Andersen Airfield is gone, right?
Ms. Johnson Turner, you know the marines are--I'm not sure
how public it is but--kind of resisting having 8,000 marines on
Guam, no place to train. The housing is enormously expensive to
build, just to get a couple of marine barracks up. Do either of
you have any concerns about the Air Force or the Marine Corps
Navy being over concentrated in Guam with so many forces and so
much MILCON in one place in the Indo-Pacific?
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Senator Sullivan, thank you for the
question. As you noted, Guam is a special and strategic
location and one that's vital to the National Defense Strategy.
As Mr. Marks noted, we are staying very connected with the
combatant commander on all things holistically as it relates to
force flow, force posture and appropriate operational lay down
and operational diversity.
So, sir, we will continue to strike the right balance with
our Indo-Pacific presence. Again, being very nested closely
with the combatant commanders.
Senator Sullivan. Mr. Saunders?
Mr. Saunders. Yes, sir. Thank you for the question.
Similarly, our MILCON program and our investments in general
are heavily influenced by combatant commander requirements. So,
we recognize the strategic importance of Guam but all of the
requirements within the INDOPACOM AOR and we, as I mentioned,
focus those priorities from the combatant commanders and our
component commander in our case the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF)
Commander into areas like Guam and other areas in the Indo-
Pacific.
Senator Sullivan. Thank you, and I appreciate Secretary
Mark's reference to history. When you look at our own history,
particularly in INDOPACOM, when we've over concentrated forces,
it is not always turned out so well for our country, our
readiness, our lethality, which I know you're all focused on.
Senator Hirono.
Senator Hirono. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Secretary Marks, I
know you are fully aware of the importance of the training
areas in Hawaii, particularly Pohakuloa. Dr. Waksman, you just
noted how important that training area is to our military in
the Indo-Pacific. So, I would want both of you to commit to
continuing the kind of good faith negotiations that we are
engaged in to ensure that especially Pohakuloa remains as a
necessary training area for our troops in Hawaii.
Mr. Marks. Senator, not only my commitment but I had a call
just last evening with my Hawaii Coordination Cell as we
continue to move all of the issues to forward. So, yes, ma'am.
Dr. Waksman. Yes, Senator, I echo his comments. We have a
cell as well in Hawaii who work these issues. As you know, we
can't formally negotiate until the records of decision are
published, which the Army is currently planned to do in August.
But we absolutely will commit to engaging with the local
Hawaiian population and local government and other local nurse
groups to make sure that they're all being----
Senator Hirono. Yes, as we know there are some challenges
to these negotiations, not to mention that the fact that one of
the State agencies did not to okay the Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS). So, the good thing is I believe that the
Governor is very interested in moving forward, working in good
faith with all of you.
So, recent reporting review that a billion dollars, as I
mentioned, the facility sustainment, restoration and
modernization funds will be moved from repairing and
maintaining facilities. As I noted, there are something like in
the order of over $200 billion in deferred maintenance needs.
So, this is money that's supposed to go to for barracks and
barracks repair but instead they're being diverted to
activities on the southwest border.
Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman can you explain how you
plan to ensure the soldiers are living in safe and adequate
barracks in light of this decrease in funding to the tune of
about $1 billion and possibly more? Have you determined how
this will impact the Army's maintenance backlog?
Mr. Marks. Senator, thank you for that. We of course all
remain very committed to that and to the health and well-being
of all of our servicemembers. But most of that money was
originally things that had not fully executed and we are
restoring that into the fiscal year 2026. But I'll defer to Dr.
Waksman in terms of the exact way nature in which that was
done.
Dr. Waksman. Yes. As Secretary Mark said we did not pull
any funding from any projects that were already being spent on.
It was money that had not already been assigned. You are
correct that we have a very bad backlog of maintenance that we
have to fix, and so, what we're trying to do is to try to buy
that back as best as we can in fiscal year 2026. The fiscal
year 2026 FSRM budget for the Army is going to be 25 percent
higher than it was even in fiscal year 2024, and so, my
instruction to the team has been to not forget any of these
actions that we were going to do and to make sure that
everything is getting funded that needed to get funded.
Senator Hirono. So, the fact of the matter is that, that
the DOD has decided that it is going to assist Homeland
Security in various immigration enforcement programs. Now this
is being done without reimbursement and the DOD can ill afford
for any of these moneys that should go to things like barrack's
restoration and repair, can ill afford any of this kind of
diversion.
So, we will be watching to see how you're going to make up
the difference. In fact, Dr. Waksman, over 3 weeks ago, this
Committee asked the Army for a comparison of what facility
sustainment, restoration and modernization projects were
planned for fiscal year 2025 compared to what has been executed
to date, and we have not received this information. When can we
expect this information from you?
Dr. Waksman. Senator, that's a fair question. We have just
really finalized all those numbers internally. We're getting
ready to pull that together and I make a commitment to you that
we will get that to you as soon as we have it finalized and
ready for release.
[The information referred to follows:]
Dr. Waksman.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Hirono. Okay. We're going to hold you to that time
timeline soon. Ms. Johnson-Turner, you noted that some 14 Navy
barracks have been renovated. That's good news. I visited
Arizona Hall, a Navy enlisted barracks at Joint Base Pearl
Harbor, and the facility is dated, lacks essential air
conditioning. In fact, I note that the Air Force doesn't even
let its unaccompanied airmen in places that are not air
conditioned but yet the Navy has this facility that is not air
conditioned.
That is not some kind of a luxury because it's pretty tough
to be in a place that's not air conditioned. So, I found out
that the restoration costs for these barracks is $10 million.
That seems eminently doable. So, I'd like to know from you,
what is the plan and when can I expect the renovation of
Arizona Hall to begin?
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Senator Hirono, I appreciate the
question. As noted, unaccompanied housing remains a priority
for the Department of the Navy and I appreciate your attention
to and support for the Department of the Navy. Specific to
Arizona Hall, we did have sailors that were moved out of that
facility about a year ago. We are moving forward with a
structural assessment although the building is wholly vacant,
which we expect to receive those results this summer.
Senator Hirono. So, is there $10 million being requested to
complete the renovation of Arizona Hall?
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Senator, I will have to get back to you
on the specific amount. I think part of it was--now that the
facility is vacated and there is no sailors or other
servicemembers residing, was to get the structural assessment
and determine the next step.
[The information referred to follows:]
Ms. Johnson-Turner. In fiscal year 2025, the Navy funded a
structural inspection to support a broader engineering
evaluation but has already programmed $3.8 million of fiscal
year 2025 Operation and Maintenance, Navy funding for site and
parking lot upgrades and a heating, ventilation, and air
conditioning study. Plans toward the renovation of Arizona Hall
are contingent upon the results of the inspection, which are
expected at the end of the calendar year.
Senator Hirono. You may not have the specific amount but
can you tell me if this is happening in this budget?
Ms. Johnson-Turner. I will look forward to getting back to
you Senator in short order.
Senator Hirono. Thank you.
Senator Sullivan. Thank you, Senator Hirono. Senator
Fischer.
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you all
for being here today.
As you know, FSRM funds are used by the service in order to
maintain, repair and improve existing military facilities. This
Committee has been leading the way on reforms when it comes to
the sustainment of our infrastructure.
In responding to a committee request for information, I
understand that the services as well as the Office of the
Secretary of Defense would be in favor of changing FSRM from a
1-year authorization to a 3-year authorization. First, can each
of you tell me if you support this idea, Mr. Secretary?
Mr. Marks. Senator, thank you, and as I think you and I
have spoken before, anything that increases flexibility and
allows us to program appropriately but also allows us to reduce
the overall cost as we can get after it, certainly we would
support and I would want to work with you to see how that would
become implemented.
Senator Fischer. Great. Dr. Waksman?
Dr. Waksman. Yes. I echo Secretary Marks. Any additional
flexibility is always welcome. You're right about this
challenge. It's like a credit card debt where you save a little
bit of money now and you have to pay way more later. We
understand this is a big hole that we have to dig out of and
we're looking forward to working with you on trying to solve
that problem.
Senator Fischer. Great. Ma'am?
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Senator, I absolutely concur with
Secretary Marks. Anything that enhances flexibility and our
buying power would be much appreciated. It would get us beyond
the fiscal year encroachment, as well as give us more time to
better plan.
Senator Fischer. Mr. Saunders?
Mr. Saunders. Senator, I appreciate the question. I echo
all the comments previously. It would add additional
flexibility and make us more efficient in executing the
program.
Senator Fischer. Okay. That is great. So, if you're in
support of this, why hasn't Congress seen a legislative
proposal on this topic or seen any kind of change in your
annual budget request? Who wants that one?
Mr. Marks. Senator, we'll take that one.
Senator Fischer. Okay. Great.
Mr. Marks. Work that as we move forward, certainly I think
that that is something we need to sit down and work language
with you on to ensure it's in the proper place. But I was made
aware of that just this week. So, I'll absolutely want to work
with you on that.
Senator Fischer. Thank you very much. Mr. Saunders, as you
know in March 2019, Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska
experienced a massive flood forcing displacement of 3,200
people and causing millions of dollars in damage. Six years
later, that rebuilding is still in progress but I would like to
highlight that in a testament to the resiliency and fortitude,
the airmen of Offutt Air Force Base have maintained full
mission capability throughout this entire time.
However, these same airmen are having to execute their
missions out of aging facilities that are not suited to the
task. Could you please provide an update on the Offutt Air
Force Base rebuilding effort? I would ask them that you
followup with that and make sure things stay on track. The
facilities are out of date, dangerous, not healthy and we want
to be able to provide for our people.
Mr. Saunders. Senator Fischer, thank you for that question.
We share your same interest in ensuring that we restore the
facilities to operational condition and that we provide high
quality facilities for our airmen that are working at our
critical location at Offutt. In this case throughout the fiscal
year 2019 through 2024 program we've invested about $988
million in that national disaster recovery effort so far.
It's 11 separate projects that are awarded, and as you
noted some of them are still in construction and I remain
committed as you've asked to keep a pulse on that to ensure
that we continue to execute that program.
Senator Fischer. Thank you very much. Mr. Secretary, what
steps are we taking across our installations to ensure that
that critical infrastructure and the industrial control systems
are protected at a lot of these installations? You know that we
have to make sure that they're protected, that they're hardened
just as much as we worry about the technology.
Mr. Marks. Senator, I really appreciate that question
because that is critical to everything that we do, and we have
such a dependency on our community partners in that, right, our
unified or our utility providers and how we operate with that.
In fact, I am meeting with several of them tomorrow to discuss
how we collectively can get after this problem and certainly
focus our investments on ways that make us not only resilient
from just an energy dominance, energy security and redundancy
position but also, as you mentioned, the cybersecurity that
goes along with that.
I certainly think from an efficiency perspective, our
ability to digitally monitor the work that we do is also
important to our future efforts, and we'll be prioritizing that
as we move it.
Senator Fischer. You know, as we're looking at the
coordination, not just with industry partners but across the
services as well, do you have any thoughts on how we can
improve on that?
Mr. Marks. Well, I think certainly as Dr. Waksman, all the
services do our black start exercises are beginning to reveal
to us some of those abilities of places where those
redundancies lack. That's allowing us to then focus our efforts
on first and foremost ensuring that we don't have failures such
as at Offutt, which obviously has a critical national security
mission that we want to ensure that is there, right?
So, as we do those that allows us to then begin to move out
given the resources that we have to focus on that. But we can
certainly come back and try to work with you on that.
Senator Fischer. Okay. Great. I'd be really interested in
hearing how not just how we coordinate but how we can, and once
again, make it move faster.
Mr. Marks. Yes, ma'am.
Senator Fischer. Thank you.
Senator Sullivan. Thank you Senator Fischer. Senator Kaine.
Senator Kaine. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to our
witnesses. I want to ask about Unmanned Aircraft Systems
(UASs). We certainly are seeing in real time the threat they
pose in combat and the new iterations of them on the
battlefield. But they also affect security of DOD
installations. We've had incursions at Langley. There have been
other bases in the country that have seen these.
Talk a little bit about what each of the service branches
are doing. You know the Army is playing kind of a facilitator
role. NORTHCOM is playing a key role. But what are you doing
with respect to installations both at home and are
installations abroad to be more really kind of on the leading
edge of the best practices for UAS incursions?
Mr. Marks. Senator, I appreciate that question very much,
especially given my last role in which that was a singular
focus that I was working there in Florida. I would say writ
large, and I will allow my partners here to also add. One of
the critical pieces of this that I believe we're focused on is
not only inside the fence line but also outside the fence line.
So, if I wait until that threat is at the fence line, it's
much too late. We saw what happened in Spider Web, we can see
the real threat that can happen. So one of the initiatives that
we are moving forward in without our installations is to work
on the community ability to integrate these working on the
jurisdictions and the authorities that go with that.
I will defer again to my partners here in terms of
technologies that we're applying to those solutions but that's
one of the key efforts that my office is going to focus on.
Dr. Waksman. Thanks, Senator. It is a great question. As
you know, counter UAS is a big part of what the Army's doing
now, and it's a financial question, right? Can we shoot down
stuff cheaper than what they're shooting at us? But I think
there's two important parts to it that the Army's focusing on
in addition to just the technology.
One is the energy piece. If you're going to have all these
radar systems, microwave systems, et cetera. How do you ensure
that you have reliable energy for that? But also, it's a policy
piece. There are policy and legal challenges with doing counter
UAS, particularly domestically. The Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) tends to frown on us shooting things down
out of the sky, and so working that problem, I think it's a
concern that we're going to want to work with you and the rest
of Congress on going forward.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Senator Kaine, thank you for the
question as it does have the attention of the Department of the
Navy. We are looking at the systems that we have in place at
many of our critical and mission critical installations as well
as the research and development.
As we know, technology is constantly increasing. I just led
a critical infrastructure form within the Department of the
Navy where we are looking holistically across Marine Corps and
Navy equities to get a whole love done, if you will, approach
to get after this. We're also looking at the authorities that
we have in place and where we may have potential gaps.
Then you've heard the Marine Corps talk about sort of their
3D printing that they've been able to do at Quantico to really
continue to push focus and attention to moving forward with
drones.
Senator Kaine. Saunders?
Mr. Saunders. Senator, thank you for the question. I'd
start by reiterating for the Department of the Air Force as
well as the other services that our installations are power
projection platforms and they operate in increasingly contested
environment, including a contested environment in the homeland
as you noted with incursions at Langley and other locations.
So, the Department is obviously heavily invested in working
and partnering with the joint counter small UAS office, the
assistant services and looking at all options both kinetic and
non-kinetic solutions and ensuring that we develop solutions
that are nested in a broader airbase defense and airbase air
and ballistic missile defense framework. That's headed through
our Air Force side--on the Air Force side through the A3 but it
includes stakeholders across the Department of the Air Force.
Senator Kaine. If I could just say to my Senate colleagues
here, the Langley incursions were maybe 18 or 19 months ago.
We've been together in sort of the Sensitive Compartmented
Information Facility (SCIF) where we've tried to get
information about; do we know the origin, no, even though it
was 19 nights in a row. It wasn't just like one night. We still
haven't really been given very good information about it.
Maybe it's hard to come upon that information now. But the
same issues when we asked 19 months ago. Well, the FAA doesn't
like us shooting stuff down outside of base, of course they
don't. The local government, I got this Mayor of Hampton, he
doesn't want that. But those answers, 19 months ago, I got
them. But it's been 19 months and I'm still worried that
everyone recognizes as a challenge but I'm not really sure
we've got the protocols that we should have by now.
I'm going to add to it. I was at one of our major defense
contractors in Virginia. I don't need to name them but they
said they have drone incursions around their perimeter a lot.
People trying to see what's going on. What do you do? We call
the service branch that we're contracting with and we let them
know. They say, ``Thanks, we're glad you let us know.''
But there's not that much done beyond a phone call and an,
``Okay, thanks for letting us know.'' So, I am nervous about
this. That there are a lot of stakeholders. It's FAA, it's
local government, it's Federal law enforcement trying to do the
investigation to determine who's responsible. You have to
separate the innocent hobbyist from the potential bad
malefactor or foreign actor who's coming after you.
But I just worry that we're not yet coming up with the
protocols we need. That's something that I'm sure we'll talk
about as we're doing the markup in the NDA. One other question
I wanted to ask about housing. There's a Government
Accountability Office (GAO) report, 2023, poor living
conditions undermine quality of life and readiness.
That is now about 2 years old, highlighted number of poor
living conditions that we're familiar with but the report made
31 recommendations. I wonder what's our status in terms of
implementing or how many have been implemented, how many are in
implementation? Can you talk a little bit about that Secretary
Mark?
Mr. Marks. Yes. Absolutely Senator, thank you for that, and
over half of those have already been implemented. There's
another three that we're attempting to close out right now.
Those are going through their process but I expect those to be
moved shortly, and then each of our partners has a game plan in
which we meet regularly to get those to closure. So, I think
we're on a good pace to get those there through our housing
offices.
Senator Kaine. If I did that question for the record, I
think it might be helpful for not just this Subcommittee, but
all Committee Members to kind of get the 31, these have been
done. Here are the three that we think we're closing in on.
Here are the ones we're still working on.
So, I'll probably ask that question for the record because
I think everybody's probably going to be interested in that
answer.
Mr. Marks. Understood. Thank you, sir.
[The information referred to follows:]
Mr. Marks. The GAO has closed 15 recommendations under
their Military Barracks report after reviewing the
documentation provided by the Department. Of the remaining 16
recommendations, the Department has provided documentation to
the GAO for consideration of closure of five more
recommendations and of the final 11 recommendations, all except
one have current estimated completion dates in calendar year
2026.
Senator Kaine. Okay. Thank you.
Senator Sullivan. Great, and Senator Kaine, yesterday a
number of us introduced the Golden Dome Act, which is all about
missile defense, which has a significant UAS component. It's
got a UAS component that deals with FAA, DOD, and the Services,
to try to get to exactly what you are talking about. I think
it's a really important issue and I think our services also
have concerns that nobody has the authority to actually shoot
down a drone if it were doing nefarious activity right now. So,
I agree with you.
I think it's something we're going to certainly want to
take up in the NDAA markup.
Senator Kaine. Great.
Senator Sullivan. Thank you. Well, we're going to go to
second round of questions here and I'll begin with you
Secretary Marks. One of the issues, you're probably seeing it,
I'm sure all our witnesses have seen it. In terms of MILCON,
one of the challenges we have is the oversaturation of
burdensome regulations, many of which come from National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), where it takes years and years
and even beyond a decade to get through NEPA reforms or NEPA
reviews.
Then the inevitable litigation that comes with them to do
anything on basis. So, Mr. Secretary, I'm sure you saw the very
important Supreme Court case ruling on the Eagle County case,
where the court found that agencies will get significant
deference on NEPA reviews and importantly clarifies that
agencies don't have to do reviews and shouldn't do reviews for
impacts outside the project's immediate jurisdiction.
So, have you started to incorporate that into your DOD NEPA
analysis and importantly, like for example on Guam I know that
the Department of Interior was doing a huge NEPA review on some
of the base housing related to Guam, incorporating that with
the other agencies that might be doing NEPA analysis on
military basis to more quickly streamline MILCON projects,
which often can take a decade or more because of NEPA red tape?
Mr. Marks. Senator, absolutely, and in fact, since I've
been in the seat, that's been a high priority to try to get
after that, working with our partners in ways in which we can
accelerate that by, while still acknowledging our legal policy
responsibilities, of course. One of those of course is, the
team has looked at opportunities there.
Where can we use Categorical Exclusion (CATEX), where can
we use other abilities to move that forward, shrink those
timelines again while still meeting those. I'll defer to my
partners if they have recent examples but we hope to bring that
forward very soon. I agree with you, I've experienced that
personally where the standard answer to any environmental
answer is, ``Well, that'll be 2 years from now before I come
back to you with an answer.'' That to me, is an unacceptable
answer, so.
Senator Sullivan. Yes. Not acceptable. It's a dangerous
world out there and we can't----
Mr. Marks. It is. Absolutely, sir.
Senator Sullivan. We wouldn't be saying that during World
War II or any other times, we need to up the tempo. Let me turn
to the very important issue. A number of you have talked about
the issue of energy. One element, and you don't want to repeat
rumors, but one of the things that I've heard rumors on, again,
in the Indo-Pacific region is the lack of energy storage as a
detriment to prosecuting warfighting plans in the Indo-Pacific,
particularly even exacerbated more because of the closure at
the Red Hill Fuel facility in Hawaii.
So, is that something that you're hearing about from the
combatant commanders? In one of the areas that you and I talked
about during your confirmation process, Secretary Marks, was
the former base at Adak, which in addition to having two 8,000
foot runways, a sub base, has one of the largest and still
operational fuel depots in the world, 22 million gallons of
fuel can be stored there.
But what are our challenges with regard to fuel a
warfighting capability that we need in INDOPACOM, particularly
given the Red Hill Fuel Facility shut down and I believe Adak
offers a really important element for INDOPACOM fuel logistics.
A lot of people don't know. If you look at a map, Adak is over
a thousand miles west of Hawaii, and it's in the AOR, very far
out in the AOR.
Mr. Marks. Senator, I appreciate that. I've been tracking
both Admiral Paparo's and General Guillot's comments to you
about those issues. We are looking at the global force posture.
I know my Navy Partners made a visit to Adak to begin to do an
assessment on that, and certainly we're looking at that global
force posture. Anything that increases distance slows us down
and our ability to support the warfighter is certainly a
concern.
We'll continue to work with combatant commanders and my
service partners to see what we need to do as the next steps.
Senator Sullivan. But are you hearing from the combatant
commanders that they're worried about fuel supplies in any kind
of contingency? I'm not just saying it's Red Hill, I'm just
saying in general, it's a big Pacific Ocean out there and our
warfighters need fuel. I'm hearing that.
Mr. Marks. Senator, and I don't doubt it, and that's why,
as I mentioned earlier in my comments, that I've reached out to
the combatant commanders to sit down as quickly as possible, as
well as very quickly sitting down with my partners at the
Defense Logistics Agency to try to get a better grasp on that
situation for you. So, I'll come back to you but I will defer
to my partners here, my colleagues if they have a greater
influence.
Senator Sullivan. Well, just with regard to Adak, the
INDOPACOM Commander and the NORTHCOM Commander testified in the
full committee that we need to reopen that base. I got a
commitment recently from the Navy, Ms. Johnson-Turner to come
brief me again on this. This was in a call with the Secretary
of the Navy (SECNAV). Nobody's done it. That was about 3 or 4
weeks ago. So, I'm still waiting. I've been waiting a long
time. Getting impatient on that.
But I'd like to get your commitment to get what was already
a commitment to come brief me on their latest visit, whether
it's dealing with fuel, runways, sub bases. It's a very
strategic location. Two combatant commanders have already said
we need to reopen it, and I just haven't gotten anything from
the Navy yet. Can I get your commitment to get the Navy at a
senior level in my office soon as they've already committed to
me to brief me on this?
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Senator Sullivan, the Arctic is
definitely a strategic and important location. I will followup
within internal to the Department of the Navy so we can circle
back with you.
Senator Sullivan. Good. Thank you. Senator Hirono.
Senator Hirono. Any questions about reopening Red Hill is
going to require a lot of thought because these were massive--
it was a massive facility.
Senator Sullivan. Just for the record, I didn't say
anything about reopening Red Hill.
Senator Hirono. Well, that's what it sounded like to me.
Senator Sullivan. No, I'm not saying that at all.
Senator Hirono. Good.
Senator Sullivan. I'm saying the Navy needs to use Adak as
a replacement to Red Hill not. I know how sensitive Red Hill
is. That's the last I would not her. That's your area.
Senator Hirono. That's the last stop. Encroach. Thank you
very much.
Senator Sullivan. Nothing about----
Senator Hirono. I'm all for being open minded about what we
need to do to make sure that our readiness posture remains
strong. However, if Red Hill was a facility that mainly stored
aviation fuel. So, the Air Force has something to say about
that. In the meantime, though, the presence really is not so
much the Air Force in Hawaii but it's the Navy and the fuel
there was not for Navy.
Okay. I'm going to ask some really easy questions so that
we can move on. In previous NDAAs, we have extended the H-2B
visas for military construction related to Guam and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Secretary
Marks, would you support another extension of H-2B visas for
military construction on Guam and the CNMI?
Mr. Marks. Senator Hirono, I absolutely would look for an
extension that would help with costs, with manpower and
continue to move our projects along so they don't incur any
additional costs.
Senator Hirono. So, the answer is yes?
Mr. Marks. Yes.
Senator Hirono. Okay. I did mention in my opening that I
wanted each of you to discuss very briefly but specifically
some ideas to improve the military construction process. I
suppose part of it is somehow hastening the NEPA review
process. But do you have any specific ideas on what we can do
to hasten military construction?
Mr. Marks. We do, Senator, and we've looked right now at
ideas such as accelerated design built. So, bringing in the
team earlier. Bundling projects so that we can accelerate
those, right? One large project moving through quickly if we
can do that. But I would also look at things that--I've asked
our team to investigate, such as the use of artificial
intelligence solutions to move the projects along more quickly.
We certainly want to look at industry standards, and so,
I've asked our team to begin to look at the unified facilities
criteria, the UFCs. Basically, in a broad sense, anything that
would restrict us from moving forward that is contrary to
either industry standards or contrary to law. We need to
identify those and try to remove the restrictions that allow us
to get things done quickly to the proper standards.
Senator Hirono. So, the things like design build, are you
implementing that kind of a process to speed up the building
process?
Mr. Marks. That is absolutely something we want to move
forward as quickly as possible.
Senator Hirono. So, if you have specific examples of that
is working, please come back with them.
Mr. Marks. I will come back to you with one. Yes, ma'am.
[The information referred to follows:]
Mr. Marks. The authority discussed during the hearing was
accelerated design-build, which was formerly authorized under
10 U.S.C. Sec. 3241 but expired in 2008. The Department looks
forward to working with this committee to review options to
accelerate military construction timelines and reduce costs, to
potentially renewing this authority.
Senator Hirono. Is the Secretary speaking for the rest of
you? Do the rest of you have other ideas on what we can do to
speed up the process?
Dr. Waksman. Yes, I think what you're referring to is the
design build process, which has been demonstrated by other
agencies to work faster. But there's also the progressive
design build process, which we'd like to explore. That is not
something that we currently have authority to do but that's
really the best practices in the private sector. We've had to
work with Congress to see if that authority can be extended.
Senator Hirono. Anything to add?
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Senator Hirono, I concur with Secretary
Marks and Dr. Waksman. The other thing that I would say is we
have really benefited from the authority that Congress provided
to us for the OTA pilot. We've learned a lot of lessons, tried
to move out with industrialized construction if you will, to
get us as close as we can to a progressive design build. But
being able to further leverage OTA authority and military
construction would be of great benefit.
Mr. Saunders. Yes. Senator Hirono, you asked if the
Assistant Secretary spoke for all the Services. I think in this
case there is a joint working group with the Services led by
the Office of the Secretary of Defense. So, yes, that does
provide all of the same responses, and the only thing I was
going to add was to echo the comment of the OTAs which is a
relatively recent authority and that does help.
Senator Hirono. Thank you. I did mention in my opening that
I have concerns about our ability, that the Department's
ability to withstand weather events and to protect our
infrastructure. I'm assuming that you're going to proceed with
some of those kinds of considerations. I did want to get to one
thing that's come up recently. That is just this afternoon, it
was reported that the Navy and the Air Force will create two
additional national defense areas.
NDAs attached to Joint Base San Antonio and Texas and
Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona. For Mr. Saunders, a
Joint Based San Antonio is 150 miles from the border inside a
city of 1.5 million people. How do you justify creating a
national defense area so far from the border and inside a major
city?
Mr. Saunders. Yes, Senator Hirono, thank you for that
question, and it also provides me the opportunity maybe to
provide a little bit more clarity to what we're actually doing.
The Air Force is pursuing an NDA, but it's along the Rio Grande
from Roma, Texas to the Gulf of America. It's roughly 260 or
270 miles long. It'll encompass the river bank to the high
watermark. The Joint Base San Antonio reference that you
mentioned, is the administrative organization that will oversee
and adopt that real property on the Department of the Air Force
on real property records.
Senator Hirono. Secretary Marks, you know that there are
concerns about the continuing creation because this is like No.
4 of these creation of these national defense areas and it
enables the military to get around Posse Comitatus. So,
Secretary Marks, are there any plans or discussions to
establish similar national defense areas in other U.S. cities?
Mr. Marks. Senator, there's always planning going on in
terms of what we need to do to assist with what the President
has asked us to do. However, at this time, those two are the
one that I'm tracking.
Senator Hirono. So, there is already a diversion of 4,000
National Guards people and it's 700 or so Active Duty military
in L.A., and there is a concern about what they're doing in
these cities. This is all under the control of the President,
thanks to a court decision. But there is a question as to what
these troops can do in these areas, even if they're called up
in L.A., because there is this issue of Posse Comitatus. So,
there are these concerns about the diversion of our troops.
So, as we create these areas, how many troops are going to
be there monitoring or whatever they're going to be doing in
these additional NDAs that has to do with border issues?
Mr. Marks. Senator, our troops are there in a title 10
status. That means they're in a Federal status. They are there
to assist not violate Posse Comitatus. As we look at those,
they are there simply in a--temporarily protect our U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and other
Federal personnel there within the Federal confines of the real
property that they are on. So, it's not an intent to skirt
Posse Comitatus simply to exercise the title 10 work that
they're doing there.
Senator Hirono. So, my question is, Mr. Chairman, if you
don't mind, how many troops will be for the Air Force and for
the Navy will be assigned to monitor or patrol these additional
NDAs? That's what I want to know.
Mr. Marks. Senator, I don't have that exactly unless my
colleagues have the exact numbers. We'll take that for the
record, if we may, ma'am, and I'll get back to you.
[The information referred to follows:]
Mr. Marks. I defer to the Department of the Navy and the
Department of the Air Force for this data.
Senator Hirono. Do you have a response?
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Senator, I do not know the exact number
either. So, as Secretary Marks denoted, we would have to get
back to you.
Mr. Saunders. Yes, similarly, ma'am, we would work with the
Combatant Command NORTHCOM in this case. They would identify
the requirements which would answer the question of the number,
and so, we'd be able to get back with you after coordinating
with them.
Senator Hirono. I would like that information provided to
this Committee.
Senator Hirono. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Sullivan. Senator Kaine.
Senator Kaine. Just one last question, and this is to
Secretary Marks. There's an office within the Pentagon, the
Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC). That has
been very helpful in Virginia and I suspect in other states
too. You know as our Hampton Roads, I'll use that as an
example, 12, 13 cities and counties on different sides of the
water but all really unified in their support for the many
military missions in the area.
That office has been really great in terms of working in
coordination when the community is trying to figure out what to
do on infrastructure, road building or bridge construction
obviously. We like to work in tandem, not just with a single
base but with all the military installations where people are
going to be driving to and from every day. that office has
proven really valuable. The office has had a budget over the
years where they've been able to help fund local, you know, it
might be a part of a transportation study.
Senator Durbin and I wrote a letter to Secretary Hegseth
about this in March, just saying, ``Hey, this is a good office
as you're getting started, pay attention to this. It can really
be used to leverage good relationships with local
communities.'' I would just like, you know, your commitment
that you see the value of this office and anything you can do
to enhance its effectiveness will be good for the military
mission.
It'll be good outside the gate in terms of the community
base relationships.
Mr. Marks. Senator, thank you for that question. First,
thank you that you've seen the incredible value of OLDCC. As a
former installation person, I use them extensively, and so, I
was very excited that they are part of the portfolio that I get
to lead. You absolutely have my commitment, Senator, that we'll
continue to push that forward.
I think I often say I get better than a three to one return
on investment when I use the OLDCC money, especially as it
works within our community. So, thank you for your support and
you have my commitment.
Senator Sullivan. Thank you, Senator Kaine. I want to talk
a little bit more on the, you know, Mr. Secretary, I mentioned
the dispersal of forces in the Indo-Pacific that just made
strategic sense but there's also a operational need. I have a
chart I'm trying to get here but I've shown it to many of you.
I've brought it to many hearings and it's all the activity
we're getting in the North Pacific, in the Arctic with regard
to Russian and Chinese incursions into our airspace.
Our airspace in Alaska and our exclusive economic zone
(EEZ) into our waters. In the last 3 years, we've had a whole
host of Russian Bear Bomber missions and Chinese naval task
forces. In an unprecedented manner, joint Russian and Chinese
strategic bomber task forces and naval task forces. So, the
need for infrastructure from which to project American power in
this part of the world, refuel, intercept these incursions is
really, really important.
So, can I talk to you about that just briefly? Secretary
Marks, as you're looking at the lay down, you need dispersion
because you don't want to get attacked but you also need
dispersion and force projection capability. Because this is the
homeland, right? This is the northern border and they are very
active up there.
Then Mr. Saunders, the INDOPACOM Commander, and
particularly the NORTHCOM Commander, have talked about the need
for additional airspace logistics but also runway space on the
Aleutian Islands and Adak, in Western Alaska, Galena,
Deadhorse, you know, northern part of Alaska. Because when
these brave airmen and women do their intercept missions, if
it's February over the Arctic Ocean and you're flying an F-16
and you lose an engine, you better want to have infrastructure
capability for an search and rescue (SAR) mission.
So, I'd like to get your views on that. Hopefully you've
listened to what the NORTHCOM Commander has said with regard to
forward infrastructure basing for aircraft and Navy ships to
project American power in a part of the world that's getting
very, very busy. We are on the front lines in Alaska with great
power competition and it's a regular occurrence. That's our
border. Nothing more important than that.
Mr. Marks. Senator, I appreciate that and the level of
detail as you have laid out. In fact, as I mentioned to you in
my hearing as goes Alaska defense, so it goes homeland defense,
right?
Senator Sullivan. Yes.
Mr. Sullivan. So, I agree with you there, Senator. The
development of the National Defense Strategy that we're working
on, we owe that to the Secretary here by August, focuses on
Arctic maritime strategy, Arctic strategy. I would also echo
General Guillot's comments which he as well stated that when
you're at those long distances, having the ability to launch
SAR, as you mentioned is of critical importance.
What I would want to continue to do Senator, is one,
acknowledge you have the threat, I think assessment exactly
correct. I think from there is working through the process as
we do both the National Defense Strategy, the protection of
that and how that works to protect U.S. interests up there is
of vital importance. We'll continue to focus on that as we move
forward. But I'll defer to my colleague on that.
Senator Sullivan. Great. Mr. Saunders, you probably heard
General Guillot talking about air station capability at Adak,
right? There's two 8,000-foot runways there right now with fuel
as I mentioned. In Galena, which as you know, that's western
Alaska. It used to be a--or interior kind of western Alaska, it
used to be an air base.
King Salmon, that's another area that used to be an Air
Force Air Base, Deadhorse, which is the most northern part of
Alaska where there's a civilian airport there. But the ability
to launch SAR rescue missions there is really, really
important. I have the chart here. I'll show it real quick. As
you're answering I'll just put it up there.
It gives you a sense, right? We're very busy up there. It
oftentimes doesn't make the lower 48 news but I'll tell you, it
makes the news in Alaska, and it should, right?
When you have Russian and Chinese joint strategic Bear
Bomber task forces with armed MiGs coming into our Air Defense
Identification Zone (ADIZ), we need to protect ourselves and
protect our airmen. If you looked at any of those installation
upgrades, we already have them in all those areas I mentioned.
Runways, former bases that we could use for more infrastructure
and power projection to address this.
Here's just the number, and the green is joint OPs, Russian
Chinese operations. Either joint strategic bomber task forces
or joint naval task forces. We even got a balloon task force
when the Chinese sent their spy balloons over Alaska, which our
Air Force did a great job of shooting down. So, do you have an
update on that?
Mr. Saunders. Yes. Senator Sullivan, thank you for that.
You know, what's not lost on me is our interim National Defense
Strategy has us focused on INDOPACOM but first defending the
Homeland, which basically addresses both of these issues as
you're talking about the Alaska region and the Arctic.
Senator Sullivan. Well, this is Homeland?
Mr. Saunders. Exactly.
Senator Sullivan. INDOPACOM because it's North Pacific and
Arctic, right? I mean, it's all three. You know, I was meeting
with the incoming Supreme Allied Commander, he had his
confirmation hearing yesterday. You look at Alaska, the other
thing that's really important but also challenging. Mr.
Secretary, that's why you're so important. You have the seams
of all these different combatant commands, right? You have
NORTHCOM, you have U.S. European Command (EUCOM), Russia, you
have INDOPACOM and you have U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM)
because of all our missile defenses in Alaska.
There's three, four critical combatant commands right there
in that part of the world, and that's why our adversaries are
all over it coming to our territory. So, I'm sorry, I
interrupted. But do you have a--do you want to unpack that a
little bit more?
Mr. Saunders. No, it is really just reiterating your point
that our focus is on the INDOPACOM and defending the homeland
and these other areas. As I mentioned in the earlier
discussion, we also prioritize our combatant commander
requirements. So, as those combatant commanders identify
requirements and increase their priority within those
requirements, that influences our priorities for both MILCON
and FSRM investments.
That would be no different in these areas that you
described. The only other piece I would add with respect to the
Air Force and in this region especially, our agile combat
employment concept allows us to be able to work not only from
fixed installations but from other installations. That would
help address a lot of the areas that you're working at, even if
it's having access to Deadhorse. It doesn't necessarily mean
it's a permanent installation. But it means that we can station
aircraft perhaps on the civilian airfield as it is today to be
able to provide the support that we need in certain times.
Senator Sullivan. Well, I appreciate you saying the
emphasis on the combatant commanders because again, just to
reiterate, the INDOPACOM Commander and the NORTHCOM Commander
in full committee hearings have said, ``We need to reopen Adak
right there.'' That's a thousand miles west of Hawaii. That is
real strategic terrain. That's the gateway to the Arctic.
That is on China and Russia's flank. When I've talked about
reopening Adak, the Chinese Communist Party goes nuts. They
hate it, which to me is a good thing, right? Then you have all
the different NORTHCOM Commander requests. That's Deadhorse in
the Arctic area, Galena, King Salmon, all out here. But these
are critical areas that the NORTHCOM and INDOPACOM Commander
have both said that they need. So, we'll want to work with you,
Mr. Secretary, and your counterparts here on making those a
reality.
Let me turn to the topic of energy. Mr. Secretary, you've
already talked about the importance of energy dominance, energy
resilience. I think some of the other witnesses have talked
about that. As you are aware because you and I talked about it
during your confirmation process, the President himself, the
Commander in Chief has really highlighted the Alaska LNG
[Liquid Natural Gas] project.
The reason that's so important--you might want to put that
Alaska map up again. The reason that is so important for our
country, it has huge potential both for energy security for
America, reducing the trade deficit. The estimates of this
large-scale LNG project are about $10 billion annual trade
deficit reduction if we are sending LNG to our allies in Japan
and Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, India. But very
importantly for your position and all of your positions is
energy resilience for our bases.
So, right now, that pipeline, the natural gas is up here,
we're looking at--they're building a big pipeline that would
parallel the Trans Alaska pipeline and an LNG export facility
here on the Kenai Peninsula. So, Mr. Secretary as you and I
have talked about, do you believe a pipeline like that, which
will go right past critical bases at Fort Wainwright, at
Eielson, at Joint-Base Elemendorf-Richardson) JBER, that's a
hundred years supply of clean burning Alaska Natural Gas, which
are bases Alaska need.
Could our bases benefit from that kind of abundant, very
reliable and resilient supply of energy for our military bases
for both regular use and use during time of war?
Mr. Marks. Senator, absolutely, and we've been watching
with great interest where this goes, certainly diversity of
energy sources is critically important as we've discussed. We
would continue to be very interested to see as this moves
forward, how that could be integrated into our facilities.
Senator Sullivan. Great, and then the second component of
this, as I've already mentioned, the President, you may have
seen highlighted this project in his State of the Union
address. He highlighted this project in a meeting with the
Japanese Prime Minister. He highlighted this project in a
recent phone call with the previous President of Korea, the
interim President there.
This also has the potential to really help our allies in
Asia secure American LNG and get off Russian LNG, Russian gas,
Qataris gas, which we're seeing over the last couple of weeks
is very strategically vulnerable. Do you see it playing an
important role in that regard as well?
Mr. Marks. Well, certainly Senator. I think economic
security is national security. So, our ability to have that,
again, that diversity and the sourcing and knowing where that
is, is certainly very important to it. Again, we would love to
see this continue to move forward.
Senator Sullivan. Good. Let me just ask one final question.
You know, I had a 2-hour meeting with the Deputy Secretary of
Defense just a couple of weeks ago, primarily on the Golden
Dome, where we're working together with the Administration of
the Department of Defense. But I've talked to Secretary
Hegseth, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and others about this
energy project. There's a potential for the Department of
Defense to be a purchaser of the gas and can help with regard
to the pipeline.
Can I just get your commitment, as you and I have talked
about during your confirmation process to work with us on that,
both the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary have said that this
is something they want to work with us on and more importantly,
the President has made this a top priority of his
Administration?
Mr. Marks. Senator, yes. We absolutely want to work on this
with you.
Senator Sullivan. Great. Let me turn to another form of
energy. Mr. Saunders, can you give me an update on where we are
on the Eielson? You mentioned it in your opening testimony on
your Eielson a modular nuclear power project and what the
potential is for that, not just at Eielson but maybe throughout
interior Alaska as a further potential?
Mr. Saunders. Yes, Senator. Thank you for that question.
So, we're very proud to have recently announced our notice of
intent to award a micro nuclear reactor power purchase
agreement for Eielson. It'll be a five-megawatt solution.
Working with Okta, is the agency that will ultimately be the
awardee that, as I mentioned, had a public announcement, I
think it was last week, if not, the week before.
We're on target to finalize that agreement in the 2027
timeframe. I'd be remiss though if I didn't acknowledge that
that would be the first of an effort that the DAF is looking
at. The DAF is committed to micro reactor technology throughout
its portfolio as well as all kinds of energy sources. As the
Assistant Secretary mentioned, we want to diversify and reduce
our dependence on particularly contested energy sources. This
is one step in that direction and we're proud to have announced
that notice of intent to award.
Senator Sullivan. Good. Thank you. Let me continue on with
you, Mr. Saunders. I have been working for years now to get
four KC-135s to Eielson to support our aerial refueling
mission. As you know, we have over 100 fifth-generation
fighters in Alaska, in addition to an F-16 intercept squadron
up there that does a lot of these Russian intercepts.
The tankers are absolutely fundamental to doing this real-
world mission on a very regular basis. Not to mention all the
great training that we conduct at Red Flag at least three or
four times a year. Former Secretary of the Air Force, Kendall,
ordered the active association on the four KC-135s to happen.
We've had one of these KC-135s move to Eielson. Our new
Secretary of the Air Force has committed to me in public
hearing that we're going to continue with doing that. We have
this issue of the housing market in Alaska. We want these to be
accompanied tours with the 400 plus new airmen that'll be
coming with these KC-135s.
Do you have an update on what we can be doing collectively
with regard to housing in the Eielson, Fairbanks, North Pole,
interior Alaska area? There's some questions that the data on
the housing is a little stale, some questions that we need more
housing, some questions that we might need base housing. But we
want to make this happen.
We want to make these deployments really great experiences
for our airmen, but we also want to get these KC-135s here
soon. It's mission critical for the Air Force, for that
intercept mission. As you know, as all of you know, any
contingency in the Indo-Pacific, everybody's going to be flying
over Alaska because of how strategic we are on the Great Circle
route. Do you have an update on that Mr. Saunders?
Mr. Saunders. Yes. Thank you, Senator. Let me start by
reiterating Secretary Meink's commitment to relocate the four
KC-135s to Eielson. As you've noted, AMC [Air Mobility Command]
has already transferred one, and then the additional three
aircraft will be reassigned from the Pacific Air Force's
Command, PACAF, by the end of fiscal year 2026.
Senator Sullivan. Is that within a year from now?
Mr. Saunders. Roughly a year and a quarter.
Senator Sullivan. Okay. We want to shorten that timeline.
I've only been waiting on this for 10 years.
Mr. Saunders. Yes, sir. Right now the current estimate is
the end of fiscal year 2026. You alluded to the housing and as
you know, my office worked with your staff during a recent site
activation visit to enable these four aircrafts plus up.
Senator Sullivan. We appreciated that very much.
Mr. Saunders. During that time, we acknowledged that the
local community is addressing the housing issue and
requirement. We made sure that the data is refreshed now that
it, you know, there still is a concurrent travel restriction.
However, we do allow families to relocate to Eielson.
What the current restriction does is it in essence requires
the member to either secure housing before they depart and
their family would depart with them at the same time when they
arrive in Alaska. Or it would wait till they arrive in Alaska
and secure the housing before the family relocates to minimize
disruptions to the families.
Senator Sullivan. What's the best way to get that
concurrent restriction lifted? Because what we want is the
airmen to come, accompany tours, bring their spouse, bring
their kids. It helps the community. It makes for a better
deployment. Three years as opposed to 1 year. Do you have any
recommendations for us? We want to work with you on this.
Mr. Saunders. I agree with you wholeheartedly as a former
military member and a military dependent. I grew up in a
military family, traveling with your family is obviously what
we want to do. In this case the PACAF Commander has the travel
restriction and they keep pulse on the requirement, and so, I
need to defer to the PACAF Commander as to when that
requirement would change. But they are certainly keeping pulse
to ensure that that the housing is there to support the family.
Senator Sullivan. That restriction is based on what the
PACAF Commander sees as the limited housing stock?
Mr. Saunders. It sees in the need to find housing and
secure housing before the family relocates. Now I should
reiterate, that doesn't mean that we don't allow families to
Eielson. They certainly do. It is in a company tour. So,
members do get to bring their family. They just need to show
that they have secured housing before the family actually
relocates.
Senator Sullivan. Okay. Good. Let me ask one final
question. You've been great witnesses today. It's a very, very
informative hearing. I mentioned and each of you mentioned but
I just want to triple check it. I was pleased to see that each
of you actually mentioned significant funding for kind of the
barrack upgrade issues, right? You might remember a couple of
years ago, this became a giant issue that went to the Secretary
of Defense (SECDEF) level and the Secretary and Chief of the
Staffs of the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy because the
enlisted housing, it was revealed was very substandard and
really not worthy of the men and women who sacrificed for their
country to serve in our military.
So, I just want a quick gut check with each of you on where
you think our housing is, particularly for enlisted members of
the military. You have put in each of you, in your budget
requests, significant upgrades to that. Is there more you need
to get to a level that we want to make sure, ``Hey, if you
raise your right hand to join the Marine Corps or the Navy or
the Air Force or the Army, you're not going to be living in a
dumpy place on base that's got mice and rats and mold.
We're going to give you a good place to live so you can be
ready to serve your country when you're called.'' Are we
feeling good about that Mr. Secretary? I'd like to go to each
of the service representatives.
Mr. Marks. Senator, certainly, and I think you're seeing
across the board investments of over 30 percent as we continue
to commit. Also, what I appreciate and thank you for your
support in terms of the latitude of things like leasing and
other options that we can get after. So, we're getting after
the problem. Certainly, we need to keep the pressure on.
Senator Sullivan. By the way, we want to give you that
authority to be creative. It's not always a cookie cutter
approach in different communities. It can be a creative mix of
different things living out in town. Not everybody lives on
base but we need to make sure they're getting those good
housing. Dr. Waksman.
Dr. Waksman. No problem.
Senator Sullivan. I noticed you're a PhD nuclear physicist,
so you know, that's impressive. That's why I wanted to call you
doctor.
Dr. Waksman. It's not as complex as barracks, sir. So, we
have an index that we've been using to look at barracks
quality, BCI, and so, the scary number is a score of 70. If
barracks is below 70, it's considered poor or failing. The most
recent time the Army looked at this, 14 percent of our barracks
are below that metric. So, it's totally unacceptable. We have a
plan in our budget. I know we haven't released the flight deck
but we have a plan to get everything above 70 before 2030.
Then, we're working with the Office of the Secretary of Defense
(OSD) on a plan to actually--beyond that to even get the scores
of 80 for all----
Senator Sullivan. Did you put in a significant budget
request, do you believe in this year's budget on this topic? I
forgot what yours was but it sounded like it was in a couple of
billions of dollars.
Dr. Waksman. Yes, sir. We believe that the budget for
fiscal year 2026 gets us on that glide path to 2030.
Senator Sullivan. Okay. Great. Our next witness.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Senator, thank you for the question.
Yes, unaccompanied housing remains a priority within the
Department of the Navy. Our secretary, just as it relates to
the Navy acts for 100 percent inspection. The Marine Corps did
this in 2024. We are continuing to stay focused on that on the
Navy side.
We are looking at improving overall quality of life with
our Forging Communities of Excellence Plan. On the Marine Corps
side, we have Barracks 2030 that gets after. Putting more focus
on renovating and rightsizing the portfolio as far as updating
our furnishings on a more frequent basis as well as civilian
managers.
So, all in all, lots of investment. We are definitely in
the dawn looking at all of the solutions, whether it's PPV
leasing or other avenues to get us to get the quality of
housing that our sailors and our marines deserve.
Senator Sullivan. Good answer. Mr. Saunders, you can wrap
it up.
Mr. Saunders. Yes, the Department of the Air Force also
certainly has a high standard for our unaccompanied housing as
well as our members with families in either in off base housing
to provide them support or in our privatized housing or our
military family housing or government owned housing, I should
say. With respect to the unaccompanied housing, we're investing
heavily there. In this current Future Years Defense Program
(FYDP) period, it's about a threefold investment compared to
the previous FYDP. So roughly $1.1 billion invested or from the
period of 2022 to 2026 which like I said, is about three times
higher than the previous 5-year plan.
We have a dorm master plan that guides our investments.
Similarly, we track on building condition index and we work on
the worst case first. We've got investments funded both this
year, the next fiscal year, and then, obviously, planned
throughout the FYDP.
If there were additional directed funding available to us,
we certainly would apply that to our master plan to reduce the
timeline in addressing all those requirements.
Senator Sullivan. Great. Well, I'm glad to see all the
Services are focused on this important priority. It's a
priority of mine. It's a priority of the Senate Armed Services
Committee. Well, with that, I appreciate the witnesses'
excellent job during this hearing.
If there's additional questions for the record, we will
submit those within the next 4 days, and we respectfully ask
you to try to get those returned to this Subcommittee within
the next 2 weeks.
With that, thanks again. This hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 4:11 p.m., the Committee adjourned.]
[Questions for the record with answers supplied follow:]
Questions Submitted by Senator Dan Sullivan
alaska
1. Senator Sullivan. Secretary Marks, Moose Creek, a thermal
hazardous waste remediation facility near Fairbanks, has historically
played a critical role in treating per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances
(PFAS)-contaminated soil in Alaska--particularly from military bases
like Eielson. Given Alaska's size and remoteness, thermal treatment is
one of the only viable options for PFAS disposal. However, due to the
current moratorium on PFAS incineration, Moose Creek is unable to
process the Department of Defense (DOD)-contaminated soil, despite
continuing to treat PFAS waste from other agencies. Recent studies
indicate that modern thermal remediation can safely and effectively
destroy PFAS compounds at levels exceeding 99.99999 percent. Is the
Department actively working with the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) to reevaluate the moratorium and develop a science-based path
forward that would allow facilities like Moose Creek to resume this
essential work--and prevent the continued buildup of PFAS-contaminated
soil?
Secretary Marks. The Republic Services Moose Creek Facility is a
thermal desorption facility, permitted under an Alaska Title V Air
permit, to treat non-hazardous contaminants, such as petroleum and PFAS
impacted soils. The Department of Air Force in consultation with my
office, determined that installations may use existing State-permitted
thermal desorption units, such as the one in Moose Creek because the
DOW's [Department of War] July 14, 2023 ``Guidance on Incineration of
Materials Containing Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances'' does not
apply to thermal desorption facilities. PFAS-impacted soils from Air
Force installations have been sent to Moose Creek for treatment,
typically by an Air Force contractor that has selected Moose Creek as
its vendor.
My office is currently updating our PFAS destruction and disposal
guidance to include new scientific information, including from the
EPA's April 2024 guidance update: ``Interim Guidance on the Destruction
and Disposal of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and
Materials Containing Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances-
Version 2.'' Updates to our guidance will continue to focus on use of
technologies at facilities with EPA or State regulator-approved
environmental permits, where applicable, or destruction technologies
with environmental regulatory approval where a permit is not required.
2. Senator Sullivan. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Mr. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, the Department of Defense consistently
requests less for facility sustainment funding, which provides for
regular installation maintenance activities, than recommended by its
own Facility Sustainment Model, with a 2022 Government Accountability
Office (GAO) report and recent budget requests showing that the
Department of Defense typically requests about 80 percent of the
model's recommendations for sustainment budget in recent years. Simply
put, this model is flawed, which is why Congress acted in passing the
Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) requiring
each of the services to attain 4 percent of plant replacement value by
2030. What percentage of plant replacement value are you programmed for
in fiscal year 2026, and do I have your commitment to follow the law as
it stands today to meet the first goal of 1.75 percent in 2027 leading
up to the 4 percent in 2030?
Secretary Marks. Thank you for your continued support of our
facility sustainment efforts. We are fully committed to meeting our
requirements, but we cannot speak to future funding requests beyond
those in the fiscal year 2026 President's Budget. To ensure we are
executing requirements appropriately, I have directed my staff to
thoroughly evaluate the impact of our existing investments and develop
a comprehensive, data-driven strategic plan. This plan will guide our
efforts to maximize the effectiveness of our facility investments and
sustain our mission readiness. We will continue to work closely with
Congress, the GAO, and all other stakeholders to ensure transparency
and accountability. We understand the crucial link between well-
maintained facilities and the ability of our personnel to execute their
mission.
Dr. Waksman. The Army is committed to working with Congress to
increase its investments in facilities and make progress toward meeting
the requirements from the Fiscal Year 2025 NDAA. We continue to explore
alternatives, such as demolition where appropriate, to reduce the
overall plant-replacement value of Army inventory and to reduce ongoing
sustainment costs.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. The DON plans to reach approximately 1 percent
of PRV in fiscal year 206 (President's Budget 2026) FSRM. The Navy
remains committed to this effort and is actively working with the
Office of the Secretary of War (OSW) to develop a comprehensive,
holistic approach across all Military Departments (MILDEPs) to achieve
the congressional goal of 4 percent PRV by 2030.
Mr. Saunders. The DAF fiscal year 2026 FSRM program targets a 1.37
percent PRV investment. The DAF is currently working on the fiscal year
2027 President's Budget Request and is aware of the fiscal year 2027
1.75 percent PRV investment floor as directed in the fiscal year 2025
NDAA. The final FSRM investment level as a percentage of PRV will
depend on OSD guidance as the budget request is finalized.
housing
3. Senator Sullivan. Secretary Marks, I know that there are
versions of the tenant bill of rights for military members in place,
but I'm concerned that we may need to review whether privatized housing
companies are abiding by them. In Alaska, my staff have heard stories
in which privatized housing contractors that the Department of Defense
is working with were allegedly requiring military spouses to sign non-
disclosure agreements before making repairs to mold-ridden homes. Will
you work with my team and this committee to ensure that we are
pinpointing these problem locales and firms and then find solutions to
this issue so we can ensure to hold companies accountable?
Secretary Marks. Accountability by both Military Housing
Privatization Initiative (MHPI) project owners and government staff at
all levels is key to ensuring servicemembers and military families
reside in clean, comfortable, and safe housing at each installation.
Part of the accountability checks within my organization include
monthly and quarterly meetings with the Military Departments on their
MHPI projects, particularly those with pinpointed problems. I am
committed to working closely with you and the committee staff to remain
diligent in our oversight of the Department's privatized housing
projects.
4. Senator Sullivan. Secretary Marks, does the military have real-
time data systems for tracking these emergent issues in real time? If
so, do you think we need to better update them to track these housing
issues?
Secretary Marks. The Department does have data systems for tracking
housing issues such as work orders in real time. What is needed, and
where I intend for improvements to be made, is the aggregation of data
and sharing that data with echelons above the installation level to
identify trends and make informed portfolio-level decisions as needed.
indopacom
5. Senator Sullivan. Secretary Marks, I am concerned that DOD is
lacking strategic creativity with our posture in Indo-Pacific Command
(INDOPACOM) and becoming over concentrated in its current and future
military construction (MILCON) planned for the Island of Guam. DOD
needs to spread out in the Pacific, and I think it has an opportunity
to do so in locations that the U.S. formerly operated throughout the
20th century. This includes former bases in the Aleutians and Galena
Air Force Station. These bases could be used to counter Russian and
Chinese adversary incursions in our Air Defense Identification Zone
(ADIZ) and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Do you agree that DOD
installations in the Pacific that we abandoned might be useful for
strategic dispersal of forces in the Pacific and do you think we are
moving fast enough toward that goal to counter China in 2027?
Secretary Marks. The Department is focused on reinforcing
deterrence by denial in the Indo-Pacific and defending the Homeland.
The United States requires a combat-credible forward presence in the
Indo-Pacific region to deter aggression and build warfighting advantage
with our allies and partners. I agree that strategic dispersal across
the Pacific is essential, and we must avoid overconcentration in any
one area. Locations such as Galena and the Aleutians offer geographic
advantages and historical precedent and may warrant further assessment
as part of a broader posture strategy. While some infrastructure may
still be viable, any future use would require careful evaluation of
operational value, cost, and sustainability. We are actively exploring
agile basing and accelerating MILCON planning to meet the 2027
challenge posed by China. Your continued advocacy for Alaska's
strategic relevance is appreciated, and we look forward to working
together on these important issues.
6. Senator Sullivan. Secretary Marks, do you think that we are
potentially risking the resilience of our base facility and energy
infrastructure on Guam by continuing to build so heavily on the island?
Secretary Marks. While we acknowledge the potential risks of
concentrating military assets in Guam, the strategic buildup is crucial
for national security in the Indo-Pacific. We are actively mitigating
these risks by hardening infrastructure, diversifying assets, and
investing in energy resilience through microgrids and renewable
sources. Our efforts also include collaborating with local authorities
to modernize the island's civilian infrastructure, which benefits both
military readiness and the local community. Ultimately, our goal is to
ensure that Guam remains a resilient and effective forward operating
base, capable of supporting U.S. operations for decades to come, while
also being a good partner to the people of Guam.
7. Senator Sullivan. Secretary Marks, do you think that after the
loss of the Red Hill fuel facility, DOD needs to expand its bulk fuel
capacity in the Pacific to include hardened sites with large capacity?
Do you think former facilities such as Adak Naval Air Station, a
location that can hold over 20 million gallons of fuel capacity, could
help cover gaps in bulk fuel needs for the Navy and expand the Navy's
reach into the Bering Sea and Arctic?
Secretary Marks. In alignment with the Secretary's priorities for
deterring aggression in the Indo-Pacific, the Department will continue
to pursue the most operationally effective means of ensuring bulk fuel
to Joint forces that may be deployed in contested environments.
__________
Questions Submitted by Senator Tommy Tuberville
Recently, my team has met with multiple military families,
including a family in my home State of Alabama, that have experienced
severe housing issue due to environmental concerns, particularly mold.
All these incidents have occurred in military family housing, and we
have talked to a family from every service dealing with this issue. It
is reprehensible to ask our servicemembers to be willing to risk their
lives in defense of this Nation while allowing their families to live
in such poor conditions.
8. Senator Tuberville. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, how is your organization currently addressing
environmental issues, such as mold, in military family housing?
Secretary Marks. My organization continues to work on a Department-
wide policy that addresses environmental health and safety (EHS) in
housing. This policy will include specific information on efforts to
control mold and moisture in all types of Department housing, such as
steps to protect the servicemembers and their families and the tracking
of EHS hazards to monitor for repeated instances. It's a critical,
missing component to ensuring clean, comfortable, and safe housing for
our servicemembers.
Dr. Waksman. The Army is committed to providing soldiers, families,
and civilians safe, clean, and healthy facilities, including homes for
those who choose to live on Army installations. The Army provides
resources and policy to facilitate reporting which quickly helps to
assess housing concerns. The Army takes its obligation seriously to
care for the health and welfare of all tenants and residents.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. The Department of the Navy's (DON's) Military
Housing Offices (MHOs) have implemented a variety of processes and
procedures to ensure awareness of all potential health and safety risks
to residents to include mold. Awareness of environmental, health, and
safety (EHS) issues can come through various avenues, which may include
review of privatized partners (PPV) company work order systems, direct
tenant contact, site assessments, PPV company or Property Manager (PM),
social media, and others. EHS issues are addressed applying the
property managers' environmental health and safety standards for
managing mold consistent with the agreements in place, in coordination
with the tenant and the MHOs. Additionally, the Department of War
military housing privatization initiative Tenant Bill of Rights was
established to ensure oversight of privatized housing programs
including providing safe and suitable housing for Service Members and
their families which outlines many rights the tenants have in these
scenarios including formal dispute resolution.
Mr. Saunders. DAF takes all reports of mold seriously. To support
servicemembers, DAF has implemented the following initiatives to ensure
environmental issues within military family housing are properly
identified and addressed: Defense Housing Feedback System (DHFS), 1-800
Call Center, Dispute Resolution Process, Annual Work Order Audit
Review, and Monthly MHO Health and Life Safety Reporting. DAF MHOs are
empowered to work with the installation's Bio-Environmental office to
investigate any reported cases of mold and ensure such cases are
remediated in accordance with EPA standards and procedures.
Additionally, all DAF inspectors attend a certified home inspection
course that covers the identification of mold and conditions that can
result in mold growth. Homes with mold growth or conditions conducive
to mold growth are not permitted to be rented until the condition is
remediated.
9. Senator Tuberville. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, in the past 3 years, how many instances of
mold exposure requiring medical treatment have you encountered across
all your installations?
Secretary Marks. My organization has been made aware of instances
of mold in Department housing but is not aware of any exposures
requiring medical treatment. The critical policy being prepared for my
signature on environmental health and safety in housing will require
tracking of mold in a centralized housing management system for all
levels of the military to access, from the installation to the Chief
Housing Officer.
Dr. Waksman. According to military electronic health records, from
January 1, 2023 to August 19, 2025, there were 642 recorded medical
encounters (not individual patients) with ICD-10 code Z77.120
(``Contact with and (suspected) exposure to mold (toxic)''), indicating
a self-reported history of mold exposure without symptoms and/or
indicating environmental evaluation confirmed mold presence. In 2023,
there were 211 encounters, 276 in 2024, and 155 in 2025 (through August
19, 2025). It is crucial to note the presence of this code only
reflects a reported history of exposure and does not necessarily
indicate medical care sought or received due to the exposure. The
Defense Health Agency provides these encounter data on self-reported
potential exposure as the best available estimate of mold exposure
among all Active Duty servicemembers and their dependents. However,
military health data systems are unable to pinpoint information
regarding the timing, location, or on-post vs. off-post residence of
the patient at the time of the reported exposure.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. In situations on DON installations where
individuals may require medical treatment, these individuals are
referred to the Defense Health Agency who tracks this number of
instances.
Mr. Saunders. Due to HIPAA, DAF does not have the total instances
of mold exposure requiring medical treatment, as medical information is
protected and not shared with DAF housing personnel. However, DAF
investigates every reported case of mold and ensures issues are
remediated in accordance with EPA standards and procedures.
10. Senator Tuberville. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, has Congress provided you the adequate
resources to respond to this issue and to mitigate future events? If
not, what would you recommend Congress do through legislation such as
the National Defense Authorization Act to give you the tools required
to fight this pervasive problem?
Secretary Marks. We sincerely appreciate the steps taken by
Congress in the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act as
it relates to mold and moisture control issues in housing. I commit my
organization to developing and implementing uniform guidelines for the
remediation of mold in military housing and execution of the pilot
program for emerging technologies for moisture control and mitigation.
The report my organization submits to the congressional defense
committees on the results of the pilot program will include our
assessment of additional needs to fight this pervasive problem.
Dr. Waksman. With Congress's support, the Army has taken meaningful
steps in recent years to improve oversight and funding for military
housing--to include addressing concerns about mold in military housing.
Initiatives under various National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAAs),
such as increased inspections and tenant rights provisions, have helped
us make progress. However, challenges remain. The fiscal year 2026
President's Budget Request made historic increases in funding for
housing focused on mitigation of these issues. The Army continues to
focus on the quality of life, to allow our soldiers to focus on the
warrior ethos and building peace through strength.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. The DON believes that Congress has provided
adequate resources for addressing environmental issues, such as mold,
in our military family housing. With the funds provided, the DON
finished completed third party inspections for its PPV and government
owned housing inventory and additional training for our staff. Through
congressional efforts, the DON is well postured to mitigate future
events.
Mr. Saunders. DAF has the tools it needs for this matter and does
not recommend additional legislation to address mold processes.
11. Senator Tuberville. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, before you come back before this panel next
year, will you make every effort to travel to installations and meet
with families affected by this issue?
Secretary Marks. As the Department's Chief Housing Officer, site
visits to installations to meet with servicemembers and families and
see all types of the Department's housing are a priority. I fully
commit to continuing those visits throughout the next year.
Dr. Waksman. I will make every effort to visit our soldiers and
their families to gain the benefit of their input as we work to improve
housing and other quality-of-life issues.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Yes, I will continue to travel to installations
where I know housing challenges exist. I make a point to visit housing
whenever I am traveling and engage at the local level as I fully
support the importance housing has to the mission.
Mr. Saunders. Yes. During each of my installation visits I
prioritize meeting with members and families residing in our on base
housing portfolio as well as those that reside off the installation to
ensure I hear first-hand the perspectives affecting our airmen,
guardians and their families. In addition, our DAF housing
professionals in San Antonio visit each MHPI installation in-person
annually, where they meet with residents, resident councils, and
resident advocates to discuss issues and address concerns.
12. Senator Tuberville. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, will you commit to meeting on a regular basis
with other members of this panel to discuss these issues and look at
this issue through the lens of the joint force and not just as an issue
that affects a singular service?
Secretary Marks. Yes, I commit to meeting with members of this
panel on a recurring basis to discuss housing issues and joint
solutions to identified problems and challenges.
Dr. Waksman. I will absolutely commit to meeting regularly with
other members of this panel to discuss these issues and look at
military housing quality through the lens of the joint force and not
just as an issue that affects a single service.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Yes, I commit to continuing to meet with other
members of this panel to discuss these issues and appreciate the
opportunity to hear additional perspectives with the goal of improving
quality of life for servicemembers and their families.
Mr. Saunders. Yes, currently the Services meet monthly to share
lessons learned as a joint force.
__________
Questions Submitted by Senator Mazie K. Hirono
installation resilience
13. Senator Hirono. Secretary Marks, the DOD has made important
strides to improve installation resilience with investments in on-base
generation, storage, and microgrids that provide backup power to
critical missions. However, these on-base resilience efforts are
necessary but not sufficient to protect installations from grid
outages. Most troops and DOD civilians live in the community, including
those that perform critical missions. On-base backup power doesn't help
these people get to the base when there is a blackout in the community.
More importantly, we need these people to be the best versions of
themselves when they perform mission critical work, and that can be
difficult when they're worried about their families who may not have
access to essential services like banks, grocery stores, and schools.
What is the Department doing to work with utilities and grid operators
to help invest in a more resilient and reliable civilian electric grid
that will support our defense communities?
Secretary Marks. The Department recognizes the critical importance
of a resilient and reliable civilian electric grid to support its
installations and surrounding communities. A robust grid ensures
mission readiness, protects critical infrastructure, and safeguards
personnel. To that end, the DOW is actively engaging with utilities and
grid operators through various initiatives and programs, as well as
working with the Department of Energy to ensure DOW's national security
and energy needs are met. Specifically, DOW:
Conducts joint vulnerability assessments to identify
weaknesses in the grid and develop mitigation strategies. For example,
the DOW participates in the biennial GridEx exercises with utilities
and grid operators run by the North American Electric Reliability
Corporation (NERC) to identify potential impacts and mitigation
opportunities from simulated disruptions impacting both military
installations and the commercial grid.
Promotes the development of microgrids and distributed
generation resources on and around military installations to provide
backup power during grid outages and increase energy independence in
compliance with 10 U.S.C. Sec. 2920.
Supports the deployment of energy storage technologies to
improve grid stability and resilience by helping to balance supply and
demand, reduce peak loads, and provide backup power during outages. DOW
installations collaborate with local utilities to integrate these
resources into the grid in a way that enhances overall grid resilience.
Participates in demand response programs at certain
installations that allow utilities to reduce electricity consumption
during peak periods to reduce strain on the grid and improve overall
reliability.
Invests in research and development of new technologies
and strategies to improve grid resilience and reliability. This
includes areas such as advanced sensors, smart grid technologies, and
grid modeling. The DOW partners with universities, national
laboratories, and industry to develop and deploy these technologies.
Supports communities in working closely with utilities to
address resiliency issues through studies to identify vulnerabilities
and through competitive investments in infrastructure construction via
grants through the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation.
Establishes partnerships and agreements with utilities
and grid operators to formalize collaboration and ensure effective
communication. These agreements outline the roles and responsibilities
of each party and establish mechanisms for information sharing and
joint planning.
Requires each installation to create an Installation
Master Plan in compliance with 10 U.S.C. Sec. 2864. This plan
documents community infrastructure and resources located outside the
installation (such as energy infrastructure) that are necessary to
maintain mission capability or that impact the resilience of the
military installation. The plan also requires installations to identify
agreements in effect with utilities and other public or private
entities for maintaining installation resilience or resilience of the
community infrastructure and resources.
14. Senator Hirono. Secretary Marks, what can Congress do to
support the Department's efforts to be more proactive in working with
utilities and grid operators to invest in a more reliable electric
grid?
Secretary Marks. Congress plays a vital role in helping the
Department strengthen collaboration with utilities and grid operators.
A reliable civilian grid is critical for mission assurance,
installation resilience, and the well-being of military families. The
Department appreciates Congress's continued support for the Energy
Resilience and Conservation Investment Program (ERCIP), which enables
installations to deploy microgrids, distributed generation, and
advanced energy storage that improve both on-base resilience and the
stability of surrounding grids. Additionally, the Department
appreciates congressional support for interagency collaboration with
DOE, national laboratories, and State and local utilities to ensure we
can jointly assess vulnerabilities, develop advanced grid solutions,
and integrate resilience improvements into broader infrastructure
planning. Continued support through these programs allows DOW to
strengthen grid reliability in ways that safeguard critical missions
and protect national security. Finally, the Department appreciates
continued support for the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation
grants, which enables our ability to provide technical and financial
support and resources to State and local governments to assist efforts
to work with utilities to harden electricity infrastructure.
dod workforce challenges
15. Senator Hirono. Secretary Marks, the DOD has experienced
workforce challenges over the last several months and your office
hasn't been spared, whether it's the hiring freeze or threats of a
reduction in force that have had civilians retiring earlier than
planned. The work goes on and there is no shortage of demands on
Energy, Installations, and Environment (EI&E), particularly when it
comes to the department's mission to ensure access to reliable energy
for the warfighter. The Department of Energy (DOE) and its national
labs have incredible expertise and capabilities, including programs
aimed at delivering technical assistance that can help military
installations and defense communities address their needs for energy
efficiency, reliability, and resilience. How are you working with DOE
and its national labs to leverage these technical assistance programs
to expand the capacity of your office to drive energy resilience
outcomes for military installations and defense communities?
Secretary Marks. The Department recognizes that partnerships with
other Federal agencies expand energy resilience for our military
installations and defense communities. My office is working closely
with DOE's Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response
(CESER) office on the implementation of Executive Orders aimed at
improving grid security and resilience. We are also actively partnering
with DOE's Office of Electricity, which incorporated the former Grid
Deployment Office (GDO), to develop a Memorandum of Understanding to
strengthen collaboration on energy resilience efforts and provide
technical assistance to installations and defense communities.
Additionally, we integrate efforts with DOE offices such as the Office
of International Affairs (IA) and the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) to
address pressing energy challenges. Furthermore, my office engages
directly with various national labs to address numerous issues,
leveraging the capabilities found throughout the lab system. These
partnerships ensure access to cutting-edge expertise and innovative
solutions essential to maintaining military operational readiness.
16. Senator Hirono. Secretary Marks, how are you communicating with
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the White House to
protect these DOE and national lab technical assistance programs from
budget cuts?
Secretary Marks. The Department recognizes the significant value
that DOE and its national laboratories bring to advancing energy
resilience and security for our military installations. My office
remains committed to collaborating with interagency partners to ensure
we leverage resources effectively to meet national security and energy
resilience goals. We are in regular communication with the White House
and OMB regarding the importance of these Federal partnerships.
advanced nuclear reactor technologies for national security
17. Senator Hirono. Secretary Marks, the President signed an
Executive Order recently on ``Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor
Technologies for National Security,'' which builds on an initiative the
last administration started to explore using this technology for
installation resilience. However, there's some confusion though about
what DOD is focused on. On the one hand, the Army and the Air Force are
working with the Defense Innovation Unit on acquiring reactors for
installation energy resilience. On the other hand, the administration
and DOD seem to still be focused on the idea of a mobile microreactor
that would be deployed overseas. Congress funded this work early on
with Project Pele, and it had some success with building strong ties
between DOD, DOE and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. But the
technology appears to have gone as far as it can for now because of
challenges with shielding the reactor which limits its mobility and
power output. And we haven't even addressed the challenges with
securing permission to fly a reactor over another country's airspace.
Can you tell us what DOD's plans are for advanced reactors?
Secretary Marks. Advanced nuclear technologies are critical to
installation resilience and high-demand missions. We are pursuing
technology investigations into small modular and microreactors to
deliver reliable baseload power, strengthen microgrids, and reduce grid
vulnerability. The Department is aligning oversight and working with
DOE, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Services to address
regulatory and contracting challenges through the OSD Nuclear Energy
Working Group and the Army as the Department's Executive Agent (EA) to
implement first-of-its-kind advanced nuclear initiatives. These
initiatives include microreactor pilots, prototype projects, and
innovative contracting approaches designed to deliver secure, scalable,
and resilient power for critical installations. By integrating these
technologies, the Department is enhancing mission assurance, reducing
vulnerabilities, and positioning the United States as a leader in
advanced nuclear energy.
18. Senator Hirono. Secretary Marks, what is the Office of the
Secretary of Defense (OSD)'s role since the president's executive order
(EO) made the Army the executive agent for these efforts?
Secretary Marks. In accordance with DOW Directive 5101.01, OSD
serves as the Principal Staff Assistant (PSA) to oversee the
designation of the EA, assign roles and responsibilities, and provide
recommendations to the Department on any modifications to EA
assignments that may be warranted over time. Therefore, OSD is actively
coordinating the designation of the Army as the Executive Agent (EA)
for Advanced Nuclear Power, as directed by the President's EO. This
includes defining the roles and responsibilities of the EA to ensure
the effective advancement of current and future efforts in deploying
advanced nuclear energy technologies Additionally, OSD is formalizing
the OSD Nuclear Energy Working Group as the primary coordination body
for the deployment of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology. This working
group will play a critical role in facilitating partnerships across the
Services and their Components with the Department of Energy (DOE), the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and private sector industry
partners. These partnerships are essential to ensuring the successful
deployment of advanced nuclear technologies that enhance energy
resilience, operational readiness, and national security while ensuring
a collective message is being shared back to external stakeholders in a
thoughtful and streamlined manner.
19. Senator Hirono. Secretary Marks, is DOD still planning to
develop a mobile microreactor?
Secretary Marks. Yes, the Department continues to pursue mobile and
transportable microreactors through several ongoing initiatives. These
efforts include the Strategic Capabilities Office-led Project Pele, a
transportable 1-5 MWe microreactor prototype for rapid deployment; the
Versatile Autonomous Kilowatt-class Reactor Experiment (VALKRE), an
Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund (OECIF)-funded 40-60kWe
nuclear reactor that is deployable and readily relocatable; and the
USNORTHCOM and Air Force-sponsored Antara R1 kilowatt-class special
purpose reactor, which would enable 100-300kWe energy for remote,
austere, and resilient missions.
20. Senator Hirono. Secretary Marks, if so, doesn't it make more
sense to focus funding solely on installation reactors rather than
spreading limited resources across several programs at the risk of not
finishing either?
Secretary Marks. The Department's need for power is likely to
increase as new capabilities such as directed energy, high power
sensors, artificial intelligence, and battery-powered and hybrid
systems come online. In addition, the Joint Force continues to operate
in remote and/or contested environments that place assured energy
supplies at risk. As the President's Executive Order 14299 makes clear,
there is a need for fielding advanced reactors of multiple, disparate
typologies, and we are confident the Department can support such
initiatives for both operational energy and installation energy
applications.
installation disaster resilience
21. Senator Hirono. Secretary Marks, the DOD estimates that extreme
weather has cost the department tens of billions of dollars in damage
and recovery costs and compromises mission execution. In particular,
natural disasters--such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and
wildfires--pose a risk to military installations which include
capabilities and assets that provide critical support for DOD's mission
readiness. What is DOD's approach to proactively mitigating weather and
climate related risks to installations such as storms and other extreme
weather events?
Secretary Marks. The Department recognizes that extreme weather
adversely affects military readiness and lethality, standing in the way
of the Department's mission to achieve peace through strength. The
ideal extreme weather risk reduction strategy varies depending on
installation-specific factors including extreme weather exposure,
location, mission-specific functions, operational needs, other
compounding environmental conditions, and existing mitigation measures.
DOW recognizes that accurate, comprehensive, and validated data on
extreme weather exposure, impacts, and risks to mission are essential
for reducing vulnerabilities at the installation level. To support
this, the Department provides technical guidance, directives, and
tools, and has implemented the following initiatives:
Expansion of reporting on extreme weather to
comprehensively characterize environmental risks,
Review and enhance standards and guidance where
appropriate, by integrating resilience best practices and robust risk
reduction requirements, and
Providing extreme weather exposure assessment
capabilities through the DOW Extreme Conditions Assessment Tool (DECAT)
and other resilience tools to help installations target where deeper
analysis is needed to understand primary risks to mission and prepare
appropriate risk reduction strategies.
22. Senator Hirono. Secretary Marks, in the wake of a natural
disaster impacting an installation, what factors do you consider when
directing the base to either rebuild back to prior capabilities versus
pursuing more significant resilience improvements as part of the
recovery?
Secretary Marks. When a natural disaster strikes an installation,
our decision to rebuild is guided by a mission-first, risk-based
analysis. Instead of simply restoring prior capabilities, we prioritize
building back stronger by incorporating resilience improvements. We
conduct a thorough cost-benefit analysis, weighing the initial
investment in upgrades against the long-term costs of future damage and
mission disruption. By prioritizing critical infrastructure and
prudently planning for disruptions, we ensure that our recovery efforts
not only restore capabilities but also significantly enhance the
installation's ability to withstand future extreme weather events.
army energy and water regulations
23. Senator Hirono. Dr. Waksman, currently, Army energy and water
policy is buried within a 500-page document known as Army Regulation
420-1, ``Army Facilities Management.'' It covers every complex topic
that you might encounter at an installation--from housing and emergency
services to mineral exploration and extraction. It has not been updated
since 2012. In lieu of a comprehensive update to this regulation, the
Army has relied on issuing policy memoranda that have resulted in a
patchwork of redundant, ambiguous, and often conflicting energy and
water requirements that cause confusion with headquarters and
installation staff. There is considerable uncertainty about what the
Army's goals are and how to leverage existing Federal and industry
capabilities to deliver outcomes that will benefit the warfighter. Last
year, the Army started to rewrite that 500-page document and break it
into a dozen standalone regulations to simplify the content for
headquarters and installation staff and help senior leaders with
resourcing decisions. The plan was to include a separate regulation for
energy and water, but the Army canceled that plan in February. When
does the Army expect to restart its plan to write a separate energy and
water regulation to ensure there are clear and enduring program
objectives that drive the Army's use of energy and water management to
strengthen the warfighting mission?
Dr. Waksman. The Army initiated a project to divide Army Regulation
420-1 into a series of standalone regulations, including a dedicated
regulation for energy and water management. The Army is finalizing a
draft of the energy and water management regulation. The regulation
will incorporate new Federal and Department of Defense guidance,
including requirements set by the Army Transformation Initiative. We
recognize the urgency of providing clear and enduring program
objectives. We are committed to delivering an Army regulation that is
both practical and effective at achieving energy and water resilience
that benefits the warfighter.
24. Senator Hirono. Dr. Waksman, what are the risks if the Army
fails to move forward with a comprehensive policy update and continues
the same patchwork approach with using memoranda to shape energy and
water management?
Dr. Waksman. The Army is finalizing its comprehensive policy
update. The Army's regulation for energy and water management will
clarify policy and guidance, reduce ambiguity, and focus on a resilient
energy and water future that directly supports the warfighter. Beyond
this regulation, the Army has already instituted several key mechanisms
to ensure consistent energy and water management practices across the
Department. These mechanisms include weekly energy portfolio meetings;
a central repository for policy, training, and engagement; and a
rigorous review process that ensures Army requirements are including
all contracts.
military construction improvements
25. Senator Hirono. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, a long-standing concern of this committee is
the need for DOD and the Services to execute military construction
projects with much greater speed, cost savings, and efficiency. What
specific ideas do you have to improve the military construction
process?
Secretary Marks. I strongly agree that the Department needs to
deliver infrastructure faster and more cost-effectively to support the
warfighter. I appreciate the committee's support of creative execution
strategies, such as accelerated design-build, the use of other
transactions for infrastructure projects, and the bundling of multiple
projects into single acquisitions to achieve economies of scale.
Further, the Department is actively reviewing and revising policies to
ensure clarity for our industry partners regarding decisionmaking
responsibilities, enabling faster and more efficient project decisions.
We are also leveraging artificial intelligence to streamline our
facility criteria program, significantly reducing the volume of content
that both government personnel and industry must review while ensuring
compliance with industry standards. In addition, we are modernizing our
business systems by adopting industry-standard platforms to the maximum
extent, which will enhance efficiency and interoperability. Finally, in
collaboration with my colleagues in the military departments, we will
closely examine the findings of the upcoming study required by Section
2877 of the fiscal year 2025 NDAA to assess construction programming
and execution within the Department. Based on the report
recommendations, we will take bold actions to ensure that the DOW is
organized as efficiently as possible to execute military construction.
Dr. Waksman. The Army thanks the Committee for its interest in
continuing to develop opportunities to refine and improve military
construction management and methods. The Army is developing pilot
projects for innovative technologies and construction techniques as
well as expedited acquisition. With the success of the Fort Bliss 3D-
printed-barracks project, the Army is working toward using 3D printing
for projects that require repetitive construction of the same or
similar facility. The Army is also coordinating with Defense Innovation
Unit (DIU) and other MILDEPs to standardize facility designs and
streamline acquisition. We are exploring design/construction approaches
such as Design Build to Budget, Progressive Design Build, and
Integrative Design and Construction, as well as modular and tilt-up
construction methods.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. The Department of the Navy (DON) is actively
tackling the critical need for improved speed, cost savings, and
efficiency in military construction through a comprehensive campaign
plan. Key initiatives include using a Minimum Viable Project (MVP)
approach to right-size projects, adopting faster, alternative
construction methods like tension fabric structures and offsite
construction, and leveraging innovative contracting tools to navigate
market volatility, expand our contractor base, and promote competitive
bidding.
Mr. Saunders. OSD and the DAF have been working options for MILCON
reform both internally and externally. For internal options, USD(A&S)
is relooking at standardized designs, Unified Facility Criteria (UFC)
requirements, engaging industry, and working to streamline DOD policy,
processes, and requirements for MILCON cost, execution, and lifecycle
sustainment. Externally, OSD and the DAF continue to explore potential
future Legislative Proposals on topics such as alternative delivery
methods, Progressive Design-Build, lump sum appropriation, advanced
authorization with multi-year contracting authority, expanded Other
Transactional Authority (OTA), multi-year O&M appropriations, repair by
replacement authority, and an increased Unspecified Minor Construction
limit to $50 million.
energy demand reduction
26. Senator Hirono. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, the DOD's investments in operational energy
programs reduce the logistics demands on the military and increase
combat capability. Meanwhile, installation initiatives like the
Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration program and Sentinel
Landscapes prevent encroachment on training areas which enhances
readiness and conserves the land. Please identify which energy demand
reduction and other installation focused programs are most important to
your Service?
Secretary Marks. The Department prioritizes energy solutions that
enhance warfighter capabilities, improve energy resilience, and reduce
the logistical burden of moving, storing, and distributing energy on
the battlefield. These energy innovations are critical to extending
operational reach and advancing next-generation warfighting
capabilities to defend the homeland and deter aggression in the Indo-
Pacific.
To complement investments by the Military Departments, Department-
wide programs of record like the OASW(EI&E)-led Operational Energy
Capability Improvement Fund and the Operational Energy Prototyping Fund
accelerate the delivery of Joint power and energy solutions across all
domains. We have seen success in microgrids, energy storage, power and
energy for autonomous systems, space operations and refueling, and
foundational capabilities crucial for initiatives like Golden Dome. Our
approach focuses on both near-term solutions to enable upgrades to
current platforms as well as longer-term improvements in the design of
our future systems and the integration of new technologies.
Dr. Waksman. The Army is committed to ensuring continuous mission
performance by actively leveraging all available programs and
authorities. We recognize Army installations are critical for
warfighting, including production facilities, training centers,
mobilization hubs, and power-projection platforms. Consequently, we are
singularly focused on enhancing our ability to operate in contested
spaces and enable our installations to function as islands should major
attacks (physical or cyber) or natural disasters compromise commercial
energy and water providers.
In line with this commitment, we are prioritizing programs that
help us reduce overall energy demand, modernize our distribution
infrastructure, increase onsite power production capacity, and limit
encroachment. These efforts will ensure our ability to sustain, deploy,
fight, and win our Nation's wars.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. The Department of the Navy's energy and
installation initiatives are force multipliers which directly
strengthen deterrence, combat power, and readiness. Reducing energy
demand at our installations and across the force create enhanced
operational endurance to improve the warfighter's ability to operate
with greater agility, resilience, and lethality in contested
environments. Savings generated by optimized energy use are used to
make investments in modernizing defense infrastructure and aligning
with long-term national security priorities.
Our key initiatives essential for DON to execute energy dominance:
These programs demonstrate how the DON is aligning energy security
and installation resilience to strengthen deterrence, enhance
lethality, and ensure our sailors and marines can train, fight, and win
in any environment.
Mr. Saunders. DAF has implemented a full range of strategies to
reduce energy demand, increase our operational agility, and mitigate
our contested logistics risk in theaters like the Pacific. These
include modernizing our legacy mobility aircraft fleet with drag
reduction technology like those currently used by commercial airlines,
advanced engine sustainment practices that reduce aircraft downtime and
increase engine performance, and software tools that decrease mission
planning time and improve mission execution that lead to more effective
use of our forces.
DAF is also focused on providing secure, resilient installation
energy and water systems to advance mission assurance and enable
installations to deliver combat power in contested environments. DAF's
approach to addressing energy requirements and energy management
includes identifying enabling system vulnerabilities, improving
resilience planning, and ensuring resilience results, using tools
including Energy Resilience Readiness Exercises (ERREs), Water
Resilience Readiness Exercises (WRREs), Installation Energy Plans
(IEPs), and Resilient Solution Reports (RSRs). DAF is piloting
innovative technologies, such as nuclear microreactors and geothermal
energy generation, for continuous, reliable, and secure power, while
proactively planning and testing for potential disruptions to ensure
stable access to essential power necessary to deliver national security
missions.
27. Senator Hirono. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, why are these programs so important to the
joint force?
Secretary Marks. Defending the homeland and deterring aggression
require Joint forces that are interoperable and capable of operating in
contested environments. The adaptations, technologies, and new designs
being developed by the Department and our industry partners are
essential to greater reach, increased combat effectiveness, and
enhanced survivability. These innovations will enhance interoperability
and optimize training, while also reducing the risk of storing and
distributing energy over long-distances against capable adversaries.
Dr. Waksman. These programs are essential to the Joint Force, as
each Service brings unique capabilities and areas of responsibility.
While the Army's traditional mission of mobilizing, fighting, and
occupying and holding land remains largely unchanged, its operational
scope now includes capabilities such as Joint Command and Control, Area
Air Defense, Mid-Range Hypersonic strike weapons, and Cyber Attack
capabilities, some of which are used from within our fence line.
Additionally, other Defense Agencies often operate on Army
installations, providing critical intelligence and geospatial imagery
services to the Joint Force. Therefore, Army installations must be able
to provide uninterrupted energy and water to ensure mission continuity
in support of our Nation's military operations, as required by our
President.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. The DON sees each program as essential to the
Joint Force. These efforts directly reduce logistics burdens, ensure
installation operations in contested environments, and protect the
training space needed for joint readiness. Through reducing energy
demand to enhance warfighter operational endurance, the DON shrinks the
resupply kill-chain and decreases the risks to distribution platforms
within contested environments. Energy Resilience and Conservation
Investment Program (ERCIP) investments in microgrids, onsite power
generation, and water security projects are critical to ensure our
installations can generate combat power, even if civilian
infrastructure fails. By leveraging all tools and authorities, such as
ERCIP, ESPCs and UESCs, we maximize resources toward improving
warfighter lethality in alignment with the Secretary of the Navy's
priorities. These programs act as force multipliers by strengthening
deterrence, ensuring resilience, and enabling the Joint Force to fight
and win in contested environments.
Mr. Saunders. The new strategic environment of modern air combat
demands that we rebuild the lethal and ready force we need to compete
and win. The DAF remains the largest consumer of fuel in the Department
of Defense. These new technologies provide an opportunity for the DAF
to reduce risk and increase mission effectiveness. An energy optimized
fleet allows the warfighter to fly greater distances, increases loiter
time for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets, and
increases payload and/or range. It is critical that we continue to
invest in this capability to maintain an operational advantage.
Amidst greater reliance on increasingly interconnected
capabilities, more prevalent asymmetric threats, and unprecedented
changes to the natural operating environment, DAF is pursuing greater
mission assurance through more resilient energy systems to achieve the
vision of ``Mission Assurance through Energy and Water Assurance.'' The
DAF utilizes industry partnerships and innovative technologies to
streamline the deployment of domestic energy sources to provide secure,
reliable, and affordable power on our installations. For utility
infrastructure specifically, DAF seeks to improve robustness,
adaptability, and response to disruptions.
__________
Questions Submitted by Senator Tim Kaine
housing
28. Senator Kaine. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, a GAO report entitled ``Poor Living
Conditions Undermine Quality of Life and Readiness'' was released in
September 2023 and highlighted the poor living conditions some
servicemembers have endured. These living conditions pose severe health
and safety risks for U.S. personnel, and obvious implications for the
readiness of the force. Of the 31 recommendations GAO made, which have
you already acted upon and how?
Secretary Marks. The GAO has closed 15 recommendations under their
Military Barracks report after reviewing the documentation provided by
the Department. Policies and published updated surveys were provided as
documentation to support closure by GAO for the majority of these 15
recommendations. We continue to work diligently to close the remaining
recommendations.
Dr. Waksman. The Army continues to implement the GAO
recommendations directed at the Army. Recently the Army closed
recommendation #16 to develop and implement a method to ensure Army
visibility of all barracks' MILCON requirements, regardless of those
requirements' inclusion in the Facilities Investment Plan (FIP). The
Army Reserve and National Guard are required to include all barracks
requirements in their component FIPs, and the active Army component
codified prioritization of barracks requirements in 2024.
The Army also closed recommendation #26 regarding managers of
unaccompanied housing. The Army has determined inherent duties for
military personnel versus civilian managers, created position
descriptions, issued new policy, developed training plans, and
incorporated roles and responsibilities into the new regulation.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. The DON is actively working through the ten
recommendations directed at the Navy and Marine Corps. All ten have
been acted upon with three being fully implemented and closed out by
GAO. The three closed out include service visibility into military
construction requirements at installation level for both the Navy and
Marine Corps and barracks policy for civilian managers for the Navy.
Other recommendations are very close to completion. Additionally, the
DON has collaborated with OSD on many of the items and recommendations
directed at OSD. The DON has updated or is in process of updating our
policies and standards which has driven funding decisions and
prioritization in response to the GAO report.
Mr. Saunders. DAF is committed to correcting the situations
identified by the GAO in permanent party dorms and providing safe and
adequate living conditions. We are aggressively working on the five (5)
recommendations directed at DAF, two (2) requiring OSD actions. In
April 2025, GAO approved closure of the recommendation requiring DAF
analysis on the lowest reasonable rank threshold for unaccompanied
servicemembers required to live in military barracks. We issued DAF
policy guidance to the field that incorporated OSD revised privacy and
configuration assignment standards as well as incorporating the updates
in the DAFI 32-6000 (rewrite in staffing).
29. Senator Kaine. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, for the recommendations you have yet to
enact, can you please provide a plan as to when and how you will
implement each GAO recommendation?
Secretary Marks. Of the remaining 16 recommendations, the
Department has provided documentation to the GAO for consideration of
closure of five more recommendations. Of the final 11 recommendations,
all except one have current estimated completion dates in calendar year
2026. The final recommendation on development of a method to track and
report complete Operations and Maintenance, Military Construction and
Military Personnel funding costs for barracks has an estimated
completion date in June 2027. The Department is currently planning to
use new or updated policies and guidance to close the remaining
recommendations.
Dr. Waksman. The Army continues to followup with GAO on
implementation of the remaining open recommendations. Notably, the Army
recently reviewed its Unaccompanied housing (UH) assignment policy,
addressing recommendation #21. The Army determined soldiers in the pay
grade of E1-E5 (CONUS) and soldiers in the pay grade of E1-E6 (OCONUS)
will continue to be required to reside in Permanent Party (PP) UH,
except for soldiers in the pay grade of E-6 assigned to Europe-based
units. The Army will reevaluate this policy as needed, based on changes
to force structure and resourcing. The Army will revise its Housing
Management Regulation, AR 210-28, to state soldiers in the pay grade of
E-6 permanently assigned to Europe-based units cannot be required to
reside in PP UH.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. The DON expects to fully implement the
remaining seven GAO recommendations by December 31, 2025. Five are
anticipated to be finished by September 30th with the issuance of
updated policy or results of ongoing analysis, inclusive of: (2)
Barracks Assignment Standards for health and safety standards for both
Navy and USMC, (1) for Navy review on lowest rank threshold for
assignment to Barracks , (1) Navy assignment standards for privacy and
configuration and (1) USMC Barracks Manager Policy.
The remaining recommendations address Marine Corps assignment
standards and the lowest rank threshold for assignments.
Mr. Saunders. We are aggressively addressing the remaining three
(3) recommendations directed at DAF by the end of 2025.
__________
Questions Submitted by Senator Elizabeth Warren
health and readiness
30. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, was DOD, or any of the individual services,
consulted by, or does it have plans to provide consultation to, the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the plan to modify or
reverse the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s
recommendations to fluoridate drinking water? Please provide any
written materials provided as part of that consultation.
Secretary Marks. The Department was not consulted and does not plan
to provide consultation to HHS at this time on any plan by HHS to
modify or reverse the CDC's recommendations to fluoridate drinking
water.
Dr. Waksman. The Army has not participated in any formal or
informal discussion or conversation with HHS (including CDC) regarding
changes to recommendations for fluoride in drinking water.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. No, the Department of the Navy (DON) was not
consulted and does not plan to provide consultation to HHS at this time
on a plan to modify or reverse the CDC's recommendations to fluoridate
drinking water. Any future input would be coordinated through the
Department of War.
Mr. Saunders. No, the Department of Defense (DoD) has not been
consulted. DOD will await the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) review of scientific information on the potential health risks of
fluoride in drinking water announced on April 7, 2025 as well as any
new recommendations on fluoride that may be provided by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Community Preventive
Services Task Force prior to providing any consultation to HHS.
31. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, was DOD, or any of the individual services,
consulted, or does the DOD, or any individual services, have plans to
provide comments or information to HHS on the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) plan to pull fluoride supplements from the market?
Please provide any written materials provided as part of that
consultation.
Secretary Marks. The Department was not consulted and does not plan
to provide comments or information at this time to HHS on this issue.
Dr. Waksman. The Army has not participated in any formal or
informal discussion or conversation with HHS (including FDA) regarding
changes to recommendations for fluoride in drinking water.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. No, the DON was not consulted and does not plan
to provide comments or information at this time to HHS on a plan to
pull fluoride supplements from the market. Any future input would be
coordinated through the Department of War.
Mr. Saunders. No, the Department was not consulted and does not
plan to provide comments.
32. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, please provide a list of military
installations within your jurisdiction in and out of compliance with
the 2013 order to fluoridate water on military installations.
Secretary Marks. The Office of the Secretary of War does not have
direct jurisdiction of any military installations and defers to the
Military Departments to provide this data.
Dr. Waksman. Army-owned/-operated community water systems, serving
more than 3,300 persons, either add or have naturally occurring
fluoride in their drinking water.? None of the systems exceed EPA's
maximum contaminant level of 4 ppm for fluoride.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. There are 13 Navy installations in compliance
and 4 that are not in compliance with the 2013 Department of War (DOW)
order to fluoridate drinking water at installations that own or operate
a potable water treatment facility serving 3,300 or more people:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
There are 2 Marine Corps installations in compliance and 8 that are
not in compliance with the 2013 DOW order to fluoridate drinking water
at installations that own or operate a potable water treatment facility
serving 3,300 or more people.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
The Navy and the Marine Corps are working on a plan to bring the 12
installations not in compliance with fluoridated drinking water levels
in compliance with DOW's 2013 Order.
Mr. Saunders. Please find below a list of DAF installation
compliance statuses with the 2013 DOD Policy related to fluoridation.
The list was provided in response to a 22 May 25 congressional inquiry
issued to the Secretary of Defense relating to emergent State
regulation prohibiting the addition of fluoride to drinking water and
potential impacts to military readiness. One area of inquiry focused on
installation compliance with existing DOD policies for optimization of
fluoride concentrations in DOD-owned drinking water systems.
Installations w/ at least one DOD-owned water system servicing
>3,300 persons Is the Installation in Compliance with DOD Policy
Requirement for Fluoridation?
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
red hill contamination
33. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Ms. Johnson-Turner, please
provide a list of the components of the JP-5 jet fuel that contaminated
the drinking water at Joint Base Pearl-Harbor Hickam in 2021.
Secretary Marks. Chemical and physical information on JP-5 and JP-8
jet fuels can be found at the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website:
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/Tox Profiles/tp121-c4.pdf.
Under the 2015 Administrative Order on Consent (AOC), the Navy also
prepared a document summarizing the fuel additives used in each of the
fuel types at Red Hill which is available at: https://www.epa.gov/
sites/default/files/2016-07/docu ments/
red_hill_navy_fuel_additives_list.pdf.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Chemical and physical information on JP-5 and
JP-8 jet fuels can be found at the Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
website: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp121-c4.pdf. Enclosure
1 contains an extract from that document on the chemical and physical
information regarding JP-5. Under the 2015 Administrative Order on
Consent (AOC), the Navy also prepared a document summarizing the fuel
additives used in each of the fuel types at Red Hill and it too is
available at https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-07/documents/
red_hill_navy_fuel_ad ditives_list.pdf and provided at Enclosure 2.
34. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Ms. Johnson-Turner, for how
long were residents at Joint Base Pearl-Harbor Hickam exposed to this
contaminated water? Please provide any related documentation detailing
the means and extent of exposure, the exposure period and how this
exposure period was determined.
Secretary Marks. The Navy was designated as the lead for assessing
and addressing releases from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility
and, in that role, conducted extensive drinking water sampling
throughout the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) drinking water
system under Long Term Monitoring (2022-2024) and Extended Drinking
Water Monitoring (2024-2025) plans.
Information of the public exposure is available in the Navy Marine
Corps Public Health document: https://cnrh.cnic.navy.mil/Portals/79/
CNRH/Documents/red_ hill/Medical%20Reports/
Red%20Hill%20Pre%20IDWST%20Exposure%20Tech%20M
emo_June_23.pdf'ver=thH6TShA0Jw2ciZ4f_PXgw%3d%3d.
Additional information on JBPHH drinking water is available at the
Safe Waters website: https://jbphh-safewaters.org/public/framework/
bannerhtml.aspx'idhtml=1
0737&banner=jbphh_home.png&title=JBPHH%20Drinking%20Water%20Monitoring
&idMenu=88797&ddlDSN=SYSTM&DSN=SYSTM.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Information of the public exposure is available
in the Navy Marine Corps Public Health document: https://
cnrh.cnic.navy.mil/Portals/79/CNRH/Documents/red_hill/
Medical%20Reports/Red%20Hill%20Pre%20IDWST%2
0Exposure%20Tech%20Memo_June_23.pdf'ver=thH6TShA0Jw2ciZ4f_ PXgw%3d%3d.
A pdf version of the report is located in Enclosure 3, and assesses
usability of pre-flushing drinking water data for evaluating human
exposure to JP-5 fuel per the November 2021 release. This data is of
insufficient quality and highly uncertain for such an assessment.
The Navy conducted extensive drinking water sampling throughout the
Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) drinking water system under Long
Term Monitoring (2022-2024) and Extended Drinking Water Monitoring
plans (2024-2025). The results affirmed the recovery of the drinking
water system. A final report on these efforts has been submitted to EPA
and DOH for review and approval.
Additional information on JBPHH drinking water is available at the
Safe waters website: https://jbphh-safewaters.org/public/framework/
bannerhtml.aspx'idhtml=
10737&banner=jbphh_home.png&title=JBPHH%20Drinking%20Water%20Monitorin
g&idMenu=88797&ddlDSN=SYSTM&DSN=SYSTM
barracks conditions
35. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Ms. Johnson-Turner, and Mr.
Saunders, according to news reports, sailors and marines were ordered
to be moved out of Anderson Air Force Base's Palau Hall barracks after
Secretary Phelan was ``appalled'' by the conditions. Have all the
servicemembers in these barracks been moved out?
Secretary Marks. It is my understanding that all servicemembers
have been successfully relocated.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Yes, all servicemembers have been successfully
relocated from the Palau Hall barracks at Andersen Air Force Base. The
finished evacuation and relocation of all affected personnel was
executed swiftly to ensure their immediate safety and well-being.
Mr. Saunders. As of 27 May 25, all 48 sailors and 25 marines have
been relocated out of the Air Force barracks. The rooms SECNAV visited
are no longer occupied by Dep of Navy personnel; however, there are 66
airmen and 1 soldier still residing there. The building will be
completely vacated by 1 October 25 to accommodate a previously approved
renovation project of the Palau Hall barracks
36. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Ms. Johnson-Turner, and Mr.
Saunders, what were the specific concerns about conditions at the Palau
Hall barracks?
Secretary Marks. The specific concerns related to environmental
health and safety hazards in the barracks as observed by Secretary
Phelan. These hazards included mold, exposed electrical wiring and
plumbing issues.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. The noted conditions were linked to life,
health and safety concerns in multiple barracks at Andersen including
Palau Hall. The concerns were tied to mold, exposed electrical, and
plumbing issues. For more information on the barracks and facilities at
Andersen recommend coordinating with United States Air Force (USAF) who
have control and operational responsibility for Andersen.
Mr. Saunders. The Palau Hall barracks was built in 1954; due to
underfunded maintenance over time and the impacts of storm events like
Typhoon Mawar, the building's components have degraded below condition
standards. Specific concerns include exterior mold/mildew, painted-over
interior mold/mildew, unserviceable medicine cabinets, scaled concrete
exteriors, exposed wiring and severe hard water scaling on toilets and
faucets. To address the concerns, Andersen recently awarded two repair
projects totaling $70 million in the final quarter of fiscal year 2025
to renovate Palau Hall and the Rota Hall dormitory via MAWAR
supplemental funding.
37. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Ms. Johnson-Turner, and Mr.
Saunders, who or what entities were responsible for these appalling
conditions at the Palau Hall barracks?
Secretary Marks. To the extent that the entire Department bears
some responsibility for the conditions Secretary Phelan found, that is
one of the primary reasons that Secretary Hegseth established a
Barracks Task Force to address unaccompanied housing concerns
throughout the Department.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. These facilities are under United States Air
Force (USAF) control and operational responsibility. We defer to the
USAF for detailed responses regarding their facility management and
operations.
Mr. Saunders. The DAF has the responsibility to ensure a healthy
and safe living environment is provided to servicemembers residing in
unaccompanied housing. For the Palau Hall barracks, the primary driver
for the degradation was years of underfunded sustainment combined with
accelerated degradation resulting from Typhoon Mawar in 2023. Between
2009 and 2022, support and maintenance of these barracks was the
responsibility of the Navy under Joint Region Marianas (JRM). In 2022,
the Navy transferred funding/responsibility to the Air Force (AF) via a
JRM Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). Since that time, the Palau Hall
Barracks roof was replaced and projects have been developed to repair
and renovate the barracks, along with several other barracks in Guam.
38. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Ms. Johnson-Turner, and Mr.
Saunders, how were these individuals or entities held responsible for
these appalling conditions at the Palau Hall barracks?
Secretary Marks. I am not aware of any individual or single entity
bearing direct responsibility for what Secretary Phelan found during
the visit.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. These facilities are under United States Air
Force (USAF) control and operational responsibility. We defer to the
USAF for detailed responses regarding their facility management,
operations and accountability.
Mr. Saunders. The poor conditions of the Palau Hall Barracks were a
function of the age of the building, the years of underfunding (both by
the Navy and the Air Force), and the highly corrosive environment in
Guam. However, on 29 Jul 25, the Air Force awarded the Palau Dorm
Repair Project with construction expected to commence 1 October 25.
This project fully repairs the Palau Hall barracks, including
renovation of interiors (floors, walls, ceiling, finishes, full
restroom renovations), updating code for Energy and Life Safety, and
exterior renovations resulting from 2023 Typhoon Mawar storm damage.
Walkway slabs and spandrel beams will be repaired, and the project will
also completely update the HVAC and plumbing systems.
39. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Ms. Johnson-Turner, and Mr.
Saunders, have servicemembers in other barracks on Anderson Air Force
Base been moved out? If so, which barracks?
Secretary Marks. As a result of Secretary Phelan's findings and the
Barracks Task Force directive, inspections were completed across the
portfolio by Department of the Navy and the Department of the Air
Force, and the Department of the Army's will be completed shortly.
Inspections ensure all servicemembers in the barracks are residing in
clean, comfortable, and safe spaces. If they are not, any issues
identified during the inspection are addressed or the servicemember is
moved to a space that meets the inspection standard.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Yes, all sailors and marines that were in any
barracks including Palau Hall, located on Andersen that had these life
health or safety concerns were relocated. These facilities are under
United States Air Force (USAF) control and operational responsibility.
We defer to the USAF for detailed responses regarding their facility
management and operations.
Mr. Saunders. No other servicemembers at Andersen have been
relocated due to poor dorm conditions.
40. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Ms. Johnson-Turner, and Mr.
Saunders, if servicemembers in other barracks on Anderson Air Force
Base were moved out, what conditions prompted these moves and which
barracks were they moved out of?
Secretary Marks. As a result of Secretary Phelan's findings and the
Barracks Task Force directive, inspections were completed across the
portfolio by Department of the Navy and the Department of the Air
Force, and the Department of the Army's will be completed shortly.
Inspections ensure all servicemembers in the barracks are residing in
clean, comfortable, and safe spaces. If they are not, any issues
identified during the inspection are addressed or the servicemember is
moved to a space that meets the inspection standard.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Conditions linked to life, health and safety
concerns specific to mold and exposed electrical and plumbing issues in
multiple barracks at Andersen prompted the DON to move sailors and
marines out of these facilities. For more information on the Barracks
and facilities at Andersen recommend coordinating with United States
Air Force (USAF) who have control and operational responsibility for
Andersen. We defer to the USAF for detailed responses regarding their
facility management and operations.
Mr. Saunders. No other servicemembers at Andersen were relocated
due to poor dorm conditions.
41. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Ms. Johnson-Turner, has the
Navy completed the Navy-wide inspection of all unaccompanied housing
following the subpar conditions found at Anderson Air Force Base?
Secretary Marks. Yes, the Department of the Navy has inspected 100
percent of their barracks.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Yes, we have completed the Navy-wide inspection
of all unaccompanied housing. This comprehensive enterprise-wide
assessment involved deploying specialized inspection teams trained in
building condition assessments, safety protocols, and habitability
standards. Regional commands conducted systematic evaluations using
standardized criteria to ensure consistency across all facilities. The
inspection process included detailed structural assessments,
environmental health evaluations, and quality of life assessments. We
coordinated with facility engineers, public works departments, and
medical personnel to provide thorough evaluations and immediate action
plans were developed for any deficiencies identified. All facilities
housing sailors and/or marines, regardless of service area of
responsibility, were included in the inspections assessment.
42. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Ms. Johnson-Turner, when
does the Navy expect to complete a Navy-wide inspection of all
unaccompanied housing, if it has not already done so?
Secretary Marks. The Department of the Navy has completely
inspected their barracks.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. The Navy-wide inspection is complete. This
extensive undertaking spanned several months and involved coordinating
with multiple stakeholders across the global Navy enterprise. Teams
conducted detailed assessments of facilities, evaluating everything
from structural integrity to basic habitability standards.
Marine Corps completed its wall-to-wall inspections for Marine
Corps barracks in March 2024. This effort was integral to the
development of the Commandant's ``Barracks 2030'' initiative.
43. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, have any servicemembers been removed from
other unaccompanied housing due to poor housing conditions since the
order that sailors and marines be removed from the Palau Hall barracks?
Secretary Marks. As a result of Secretary Phelan's findings and the
Barracks Task Force directive, inspections of all barracks were
completed by Department of the Navy and the Department of the Air
Force, and the Department of the Army's will be completed shortly.
Inspections ensure all servicemembers in the barracks are residing in
clean, comfortable, and safe spaces. If they are not, the issues
identified during the inspection are addressed or the servicemember is
moved to a space that meets the inspection standard. Some
servicemembers have been moved because of these inspection results.
Dr. Waksman. Yes, the Army moves soldiers out of barracks when
conditions require displacement. Displacements occur for a variety of
reasons, including to facilitate work order completion, barracks
modernization that requires temporary closure, or demolition of
uninhabitable barracks to facilitate construction of new barracks.
Garrison and unit leaders work together to ensure displacements sustain
unit cohesion and access to installation services, such as dining and
gym facilities. The Army is committed to providing safe, high-quality
housing for our unaccompanied soldiers, and has invested at least $1
billion per year in barracks improvements in recent years toward
improving the barracks inventory.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Yes, following the comprehensive Navy-wide
inspection initiated after the Palau Hall findings, additional
facilities have been identified requiring immediate action and
servicemember relocation. The results of the Naval Station Rota Spain
inspection directed the closure of Camp Mitchell buildings 1778 and
1779, necessitating the consolidation of 20 sailors into the other Camp
Mitchell buildings (1774-1777).
NAS Oceana Dam Neck Annex building 550 was identified among the
facilities requiring offline status. 178 servicemembers have been
relocated.
In sum, these relocations from both facilities required the
coordinated movement of servicemembers to ensure their safety and well-
being while maintaining operational readiness.
Marine Corps has removed marines from barracks that are in failing
facility condition. The Marine Corps is planning movement of marines
from barracks that are rated less than fair condition into other
facilities as a part of the facility modernization line of effort for
``Barracks 2030''.
Mr. Saunders. No other servicemembers at Andersen have been
relocated due to poor dorm conditions. Portfolio-wide, VADM Gray
(Commander CNIC) inspected Furnari Hall on JB Anacostia-Bolling
(Anacostia side of the installation) and due to the status of the dorm,
he directed sailors who are part of the Navy's Ceremonial Guard to
vacate by the end of June 2025. There have been significant issues with
the HVAC system and interior flooding. A project to repair the HVAC
system is nearing completion; a dorm renovation is planned for fiscal
year 2028.
44. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, has any other unaccompanied housing been
found to have poor conditions so far? If so, please specify which
barracks were found to have poor conditions and why these conditions
were subpar.
Secretary Marks. The Department is aware of barracks spaces that
are not clean, comfortable, and safe. Through the Barracks Task Force
established by Secretary Hegseth and the funding already received
through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Department is aggressively
pursuing rapid improvements to its barracks and is developing a longer-
term plan to ensure all barracks buildings are maintained at the
improved level.
Dr. Waksman. Please refer to the Army's fiscal year 2024 NDAA,
Section 2839, Report to Congress. As documented in that report, the
Army estimates approximately $4 billion is required to bring the Army's
current unaccompanied housing inventory to a minimum quality standard.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Yes, the comprehensive Navy-wide inspection
identified multiple facilities requiring immediate attention and
corrective action beyond the initial Palau Hall relocation at Andersen
Air Force Base.
Naval Station Rota Spain--Camp Mitchell:
The most significant findings occurred at Naval Station Rota Spain,
where we directed the immediate closure of Camp Mitchell buildings 1778
and 1779 due to substandard living conditions. These facilities were
among the 11 buildings (1.2 percent of all inspected facilities)
assessed as inadequate and requiring immediate mitigation measures. The
conditions in these buildings fell below acceptable habitability
standards, necessitating the consolidation of 20 sailors into the other
Camp Mitchell buildings (1774-1777) to ensure their safety and well-
being.
We implemented a comprehensive in-depth remediation plan that
included securing a specialized cleaning contract, deploying a Public
Works tiger team of experienced personnel, and organizing sailor-
powered working parties to systematically address the significant
issues identified during the detailed inspection process. This
coordinated multi-phase effort was successfully completed on 13 June
2025, demonstrating our commitment to rapid response and thorough
resolution.
As a result of the assessment, NAS Oceana Dam Neck Annex building
550 was identified among the facilities requiring offline status due to
substandard conditions that did not meet our established habitability
standards. 178 servicemembers were relocated.
Comprehensive Assessment Results:
In sum, critical facilities at Rota and Oceana Dam Neck Annex
required the coordinated relocation of approximately 200 sailors to
suitable alternative accommodations. The subpar conditions varied by
facility but generally included issues related to structural
maintenance, environmental health standards, and basic habitability
requirements that fell below the Navy's established criteria for safe,
secure housing.
Systematic Enterprise-Wide Findings:
Our comprehensive inspection of 951 facilities across 119 military
installations revealed that while most facilities met or exceeded
standards, we identified specific areas requiring immediate attention.
Of the 336 buildings assessed as ``yellow'' or acceptable, 70 have
Building Condition Index (BCI) scores in the red category (ranging from
0-69), indicating they require prioritized investment and maintenance
attention to prevent deterioration to inadequate status.
This proactive identification and immediate remediation of
substandard conditions demonstrates the Navy's unwavering commitment to
maintaining the highest standards for servicemember living conditions
and our systematic approach to ensuring no one resides in facilities
that do not meet our established safety and habitability requirements.
The majority of Marine Corps barracks (547 out of 658) are rated as
good and fair condition. The Marine Corps currently has 109 barracks
with a facility condition rating score of less than 80 which we have
deemed as poor condition. Out of these 109 barracks, 69 are currently
occupied. Three barracks that are rated as failing condition do not
have any marines living in them. Marine Corps leadership will direct
that marines move out of poor barracks and maximize occupancy of our
best barracks where possible. ``Barracks 2030'' is the long-term
solution to improve facilities condition for each of the Marine Corps'
barracks, ensuring that marines have good living conditions.
Mr. Saunders. Since the news reports about Palau Hall, there has
been one other DAF dormitory that has been found with significant
issues. VADM Gray (Commander CNIC) inspected Furnari Hall on JB
Anacostia-Bolling (Anacostia side of the installation) and due to the
status of the dorm, he directed sailors who are part of the Navy's
Ceremonial Guard to vacate by the end of June 2025. Furnari Hall has
had significant issues with the HVAC system and interior flooding. A
project to repair the HVAC system is nearing completion; a dorm
renovation is planned for fiscal year 2028.
45. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, if any other unaccompanied housing has been
found to have poor conditions, who or what entities were responsible
for these poor conditions?
Secretary Marks. I am not aware of any individual or single entity
bearing responsibility for the poor barracks conditions. However, as
the Department's Chief Housing Officer and chair of the Barracks Task
Force recently established by Secretary Hegseth, I will ensure the
Department fulfills its responsibilities to set and maintain the
appropriate standards for barracks.
Dr. Waksman. There is no one individual or entity responsible for
barracks conditions. Limited funding and capacity over the last several
decades have resulted in deferred maintenance. But we are correcting
course. The Army committed to funding sustainment of permanent-party
barracks at 100 percent to ensure the good and fair quality barracks
remain in that condition. The Army's annual report to Congress includes
a 5-year plan to remedy inadequate conditions, and we will update that
plan annually to ensure we are prioritizing our highest-need barracks.
Safeguarding restoration and modernization funding from use for other
missions is also critical to ensuring the Army can consistently address
unaccompanied housing issues.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. In many cases, the facilities identified with
concerns were previously slated for decommissioning or long-term
renovations. However, evolving mission requirements and unexpected
occupancy demands necessitated continued use of these buildings.
Responsibility for conditions is shared across multiple echelons,
including installation leadership, housing management, and base
operations support. While accountability is critical, our focus has
remained on immediate remediation and long-term investment to modernize
the housing portfolio. We've reinforced leadership expectations and
institutional responsibility, while also increasing oversight
mechanisms to prevent recurrence. Fundamentally, ensuring quality
housing is a shared duty that spans facilities, resource sponsors, and
tenant commands alike.
Mr. Saunders. For decades, investment in the unaccompanied housing
(UH) enterprise has faced the same funding challenges as the rest of
the infrastructure portfolio when it comes to necessary FSRM and MILCON
funding to support sustainment, modernization, and recapitalization.
The DAF's recent decision to ramp up spending on UH is a vital first
step in correcting this challenge for UH, but addressing the full scope
of the portfolio will take many years and continued funding support.
The DAF is committed to taking care of airmen and guardians living in
permanent party dormitories. Commanders and enlisted leaders are
heavily involved to ensure junior enlisted reside in safe, adequate,
and well-maintained facilities.
46. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Ms. Johnson-Turner, if any
other unaccompanied housing has been found to have poor conditions, how
did you hold accountable the individuals or entities responsible for
these poor conditions?
Secretary Marks. While I am not aware of a single individual or
entity who is solely responsible for barracks reaching these
conditions, as the Department's Chief Housing Officer and chair of the
Barracks Task Force recently established by Secretary Hegseth, I will
ensure the Department fulfills its responsibilities to set and maintain
the appropriate standards for barracks. Additionally, the Military
Departments have established procedures to appropriately address poor
barracks conditions.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Across the enterprise, installation commanders,
housing program managers, and supporting chains of command are engaged
in rigorous performance monitoring. When deficiencies have been
identified, leadership has initiated targeted reviews, realigned
resources, and implemented process changes to reinforce responsibility.
Ultimately, our response has been multifaceted, focused on both people
and processes, to cultivate a culture of care and responsibility
consistent with the spirit of the UH Tenant Bill of Rights.
47. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Secretary Johnson-Turner,
please provide the results of Navy-wide inspection.
Secretary Marks. I defer to the Department of the Navy to provide
the requested results.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. The Navy has completed a comprehensive,
enterprise-wide inspection of all unaccompanied housing facilities
following the substandard conditions discovered at Anderson Air Force
Base.
Region Commander (REGCOM) leadership conducted systematic
inspections of every facility in their respective areas of
responsibility housing single sailors. The comprehensive assessment
encompassed 951 facilities across 119 military installations throughout
the entire Navy enterprise, spanning multiple geographic regions and
operational commands. This coordinated effort involved deploying
specialized inspection teams trained in building condition assessments,
safety protocols, and habitability standards to ensure consistent
evaluation criteria across all locations.
The results demonstrate that most Navy unaccompanied housing meets
or exceeds acceptable standards:
577 buildings (60.7 percent) were assessed to be
``green'' or good condition: These facilities demonstrate superior
condition, maintenance, and habitability standards that exceed baseline
requirements.
336 buildings (35.3 percent) were assessed to be
``yellow'' or acceptable condition: These facilities meet acceptable
standards with minor maintenance or improvement needs.
11 buildings (1.2 percent) were assessed to be ``red'' or
inadequate: These facilities require immediate mitigation measures and
corrective action.
26 buildings (2.7 percent) were already offline before
assessment: 15 due to planned renovation projects and 11 due to various
issues discovered before the directed inspections.
1 building is still under construction.
Of the 11 buildings assessed as scanty, one included the Air Force
building at Andersen AFB that initiated this comprehensive review and
was immediately vacated. Three of these 11 facilities--specifically
Rota buildings 1778 & 1779 and NAS Oceana building 550--were identified
to be taken offline within 30 days, requiring the coordinated
relocation of 198 sailors to suitable alternative accommodations.
Of the 951 facilities assessed, 122 are managed and operated by
services outside of the Navy, but where sailors reside.
48. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Ms. Johnson-Turner, and Mr.
Saunders, please provide copies of any other inspections or
investigations into the conditions of barracks at Anderson Air Force
Base, Naval Base Guam, or Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz within the past 5
years.
Secretary Marks. I defer to the Military Departments to provide the
requested results.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. A comprehensive Department of the Navy-wide
Unaccompanied Housing (UH) Assessment was conducted within the past
year and focused on Quality of Life for sailors and marines. Enclosure
4 part of the assessment represents the results with respect to
barracks conditions at Naval Base Guam (NBG), and Marine Corps Base
Camp Blaz (MCBCB).
Numerous projects are ongoing and planned for repairs, painting,
and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning upgrades at NBG. MCBCB
UH facilities are new or under construction, with marines only recently
occupying these facilities.
Barracks at Andersen Air Force Base are under United States Air
Force (USAF) control and operational responsibility. The USAF can
provide information regarding their facility management and operations.
Mr. Saunders. DAF is anticipating results from a service-wide dorm
inspection soon. In the meantime, we have reached out to the Base to
request historical data from previous years. We will provide an updated
answer when reports are available.
49. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, has the DOD, and your respective services,
done any review of whether the Tenant Bill of Rights is sufficient to
support the needs of servicemembers and their families? If so, please
provide the results of this analysis.
Secretary Marks. My office has not analyzed the adequacy of the
Tenant Bill of Rights.
Dr. Waksman. Yes, the Army has reviewed the Tenant Bill of Rights
and believes it is sufficient.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. The Department of the Navy routinely reviews
implementation of the Tenant Bill of Rights to ensure it remains
responsive to the evolving needs of sailors and marines. Internal
reviews include feedback from residents, housing office personnel,
tenant advocates, and command leadership. One important tool in this
effort is the annual Tenant Satisfaction Survey, which provides
valuable insight into resident experiences and informs the Navy's and
Marine Corps' ongoing improvement initiatives. These reviews reaffirmed
that the Tenant Bill of Rights serves as a robust and comprehensive
framework, ensuring tenants are aware of their rights, including access
to safe and sanitary living quarters, responsive maintenance services,
and freedom from reprisal or interference. It also validated those
mechanisms such as dispute resolution support, inspection rights, and
accountability provisions are implemented and constantly reviewed.
Consequently, the assessment concluded that the existing Tenant Bill of
Rights effectively supports the welfare of servicemembers and their
families and provides a solid foundation for resident advocacy.
Mr. Saunders. The Tenant Bill of Rights helped standardize and
codify what servicemembers can expect when living in privatized
housing. In addition, adoption of the Tenant Bill of Rights directly
enabled the establishment of important resident initiatives, such as
the Universal Lease and the Formal Dispute Resolution process.
50. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, does the DOD, and your respective services,
believe the Tenant Bill of Rights should be expanded to better support
the needs of servicemembers and their families? How so?
Secretary Marks. My office does not have recommended changes to
expand the Tenant Bill of Rights currently.
Dr. Waksman. The Army believes the current Tenant Bill of Rights as
written is sufficient to support the needs of servicemembers and their
families.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. The Department of the Navy believes that the
current Tenant Bill of Rights provides comprehensive protection and
clearly defined expectations for both residents and housing staff. This
reflects a thoughtful balance of rights and responsibilities,
empowering tenants to report issues, participate in inspections, and
holds all parties accountable. The document has been instrumental in
fostering transparency, improving communication, and reinforcing
standards. As conditions evolve and feedback is gathered, the Navy and
Marine Corps remain open to adjustments, however based on current
assessments, there is no immediate need for expansion. The existing
framework remains a cornerstone in our commitment to uphold quality of
life for all residents.
Mr. Saunders. No, at this time DAF does not believe that the Tenant
Bill of Rights needs to be expanded.
51. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, please provide an estimate on the total time
and costs associated with the long-term needs for barracks improvement
projects across the DOD, and your respective services.
Secretary Marks. I defer to the Military Departments to answer as
each has their own total time and cost estimates for addressing
Unaccompanied Housing (UH) improvements.
Dr. Waksman. The Army plans to invest an average of $2.8 billion
annually from fiscal year 2026 to 2030 in unaccompanied housing through
a combination of new military construction, restoration, and
modernization, and sustainment funding across all three components.
This includes funding sustainment of permanent-party barracks at 100
percent of the modeled requirements. The Army believes this level of
funding will achieve a Building Condition Index score of 70 or greater
for all barracks by fiscal year 2030.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. The Navy conducted a full assessment this year
and are taking corrective measures to address any findings of subpar
condition. After the comprehensive inspection of facilities, the Navy
has implemented a multi-phased approach to address both immediate
safety concerns and long-term infrastructure improvements. Included in
this approach, the Navy is looking at expanding its current privatized
UH locations with additional phases while moving toward privatized UH
in other locations. The Marine Corps continues to move forward with the
Commandant's ``Barracks 2030'' initiative which targets Barracks
improvements completion by 2037 by modernizing infrastructure to ensure
safe and livable facilities, professionalizing management through
civilian housing staff and centralized systems, and enhancing quality
of life with upgraded furnishings, amenities, and responsive
maintenance support.
Mr. Saunders. For DAF to meet the Air Force Goal of 80 percent of
the permanent party dorms with Building Condition Index (BCI) score of
greater than 80, the following investment level is required:
FSRM O&M funding averaging $461 million/year ($5.1
billion total) to improve the current inventory building condition and
MILCON investment averaging $322 million/year ($3.2
billion total) to mitigate the current permanent party deficit and
provide 100 percent capacity of the requirement
The timeframe to reach this goal is 10-11 years
52. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, has the Facilities Sustainment, Restoration,
and Modernization (FSRM) program been adequately funded over the past
10 years to conduct necessary repairs and restorations of the military
barracks?
Secretary Marks. I defer to the Military Departments for specifics
on how FSRM funding was allocated for barracks projects over the past
decade. However, the Department appreciates the inclusion of
significant funding in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to address UH
priorities and we are committed to UH improvements.
Dr. Waksman. Over the past 10 years the Army has taken risk to fund
higher priority FSRM needs. Recognizing the need to address barracks,
in its fiscal year 2025 budget request and every fiscal year since, the
Army has prioritized funding for barracks related FSRM at 100 percent
of the requirement. This has greatly assisted the Army's efforts to
slow barracks degradation.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. Over the past 10 years, we have accepted risk
in the FSRM program to support mission requirements within our top line
budget resulting in the Navy having a $35 billion deferred maintenance
backlog and the Marine Corps having a $25 billion maintenance backlog.
Of that backlog, $1.9 billion is associated with Unaccompanied Housing
(UH). However, with recent efforts and policy focusing on UH
sustainment, 79 percent of Navy and 96 percent of Marine Corps barracks
are currently in good condition. The DON remains committed to improving
quality of life for our warfighters and the appropriate maintenance of
our barracks.
Mr. Saunders. For fiscal year 2011 through fiscal year 2021, the
annual FSRM investment in unaccompanied housing averaged $59 million
per year. Beginning in fiscal year 2022 through fiscal year 2025, the
average investment rose to $270 million/year, across 137 projects.
Despite the increase in investment, the average UH Building Condition
Index (BCI) decreased from 81.8 to 77.5. The current UH Portfolio PRV
is approximately $30 billion, therefore the recent average investment
of $270 million per year falls considerably below the 4 percent of PRV
annual investment recommended by industry to properly sustain
facilities and infrastructure. The insufficient investment history for
UH over the last 15 years worsened the overall condition of the
portfolio and generated a deferred maintenance and repair (DM&R) cost
of approximately $5 billion according to recent real property records.
53. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, please explain how the DOD
fiscal year 2026 budget proposal funds the FSRM program.
Secretary Marks. The Department's fiscal year 2026 budget proposal,
submitted well prior to the Secretary's barracks initiative, funds
barracks at the historic rate of 85 percent of the Facilities
Sustainment Model. However, the Barracks Task Force established by the
Secretary of War in October 2025 is focused on the efficient and
accelerate spending of fiscal year 2026 base and reconciliation
resources to more rapidly improve barracks to ensure they are clean,
comfortable, and safe. Additionally, the Department is focused in the
midterm on continuing to correct long standing deficiencies in the
barracks inventory and at a sufficient level of investment to ensure
that the facilities are maintained in good condition. Congress has
given the Department an array of investment tools and authorities it
can leverage such as Other Transaction Authority, Intergovernmental
Support Agreements, and leases to provide clean, comfortable, and safe
barracks to servicemembers.
54. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, how does the DOD intend to
fund the long-term needs of the FSRM program to address the poor health
and safety conditions in the barracks?
Secretary Marks. Through the Barracks Task Force, the Department is
developing a long-term plan based on the needs of the servicemembers
and the promise of ensuring access to clean, comfortable, and safe
barracks spaces.
55. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, the Government
Accountability Office reported extensive deficiencies in Army barracks.
According to press reports the Army plans to shift $1 billion Congress
appropriated to repair these barracks and make sure servicemembers can
focus on the mission to enhance border security. What is the Army's
plan to address, fund, and fix these deficiencies?
Secretary Marks. I defer to the Department of the Army to provide
the specific plan.
Dr. Waksman. The Army needed to balance the operational
requirements in fiscal year 2025 with $1 billion from the FSRM account
to provide resources for higher-priority Department of Defense
missions. The President's fiscal year 26 budget makes significant
investments to replenish that funding with over $8.5 billion in FSRM,
an increase of approximately 23 percent from fiscal year 2024.
The Army continues to assess its required barracks infrastructure
as detailed in the Army's annual report to Congress on the Condition of
Covered Military Unaccompanied Housing and ``Get Well Plan.'' Currently
the Army simply does not have the resources or capacity to immediately
fix every barracks deficiency. Many of these large-scale projects
require coordination and extensive planning to minimize potential
errors and delays.
In this year's budget, the Army funds barracks sustainment at 100
percent to maintain quality of existing barracks and prioritize
deficiencies by ``worst first'', to bring those barracks with the most
critical needs up to standards as soon as possible. Timely enactment of
this budget will help to minimize project delays.
56. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, according to
press reports, the Army has already announced that it is phasing out
barracks maintenance at Fort Cavazos. How will this decision impact
health and readiness at this base?
Secretary Marks. Our understanding is that the decision by the Army
related to reducing manpower and did not stop maintenance on barracks
at Fort Hood.
Dr. Waksman. The Army is evaluating all NDAA requirements and
internal Army processes to ensure any staffing changes do not adversely
impact health and readiness. The Army continues to evaluate all
authorities available to address barracks maintenance, including
leveraging public-private partnerships and intergovernmental support
agreements. Leveraging novel solutions will help the Army address
current facility maintenance needs while reducing costs.
57. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, what is the
Army's plan to address ``persistent air conditioning failures and
stifling heat'' at Fort Cavazos if barracks maintenance is being phased
out?
Secretary Marks. Our understanding is that barracks maintenance at
Fort Hood remains a priority and that as part of the effort of the
Barracks Task Force, the Army has prioritized improvement of barracks
conditions there.
Dr. Waksman. Staff reductions at Fort Hood does not change the
Department of Public Works' process for handling life, health, and
safety, as well as emergency maintenance needs, as priority-1
requirements. HVAC issues fall under both categories. Routine
maintenance may be delayed. The Army is evaluating staffing changes
across the facilities portfolio to mitigate impacts to soldiers in
barracks.
58. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, what is the
Army's plan to address its $20 billion backlog of deferred maintenance
and repairs for Army barracks?
Secretary Marks. I defer to the Department of the Army to provide
the specific plan.
Dr. Waksman. The Army's plan to address the $20 billion backlog of
deferred maintenance and repairs for barracks includes the ``Get Well
Plan'' submitted to Congress as part of the required fiscal year 2024
NDAA, Section 2839, Report on the Condition of Covered Military
Unaccompanied Housing. The Army addresses the most critical repair
needs first.
59. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, is the Army
planning to or considering hiring additional contractor support to
address deferred maintenance and repairs for Army barracks? If yes,
please provide any available cost estimates.
Secretary Marks. I defer to the Department of the Army to provide
the specific plan.
Dr. Waksman. The Army is considering all options to cost-
effectively address deferred maintenance and repairs for Army barracks.
Once internal staffing changes are complete and we evaluate where the
greatest need is, the Army will conduct cost analyses for any
additional contractor support.
60. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, how large will
the Army's deferred maintenance and repairs backlog be in a year if
funding to address this backlog is reduced by $1 billion?
Secretary Marks. I defer to the Department of the Army to provide
this data.
Dr. Waksman. The Army estimates the total deferred backlog for all
facility types to be $144 billion. The Army updates its estimate
annually based on the amount of facility investments, the current cost
of construction, and any unforeseen accelerated or decelerated
degradation of facilities. An increase or decrease in one specific year
does not directly affect the deferred-maintenance backlog.
The low recapitalization rates and insufficient facility
sustainment funding over the last several decades have significantly
increased this backlog. The Army plans to invest the additional funding
provided by the recently enacted reconciliation bill, as well as the
significant investments proposed in the President's 2026 budget
request, to minimize the amount of deferred maintenance.
Additionally, the Army continues to evaluate our current facility
inventory to identify opportunities to optimize our current footprint
and reduce excess infrastructure.
61. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, how large will
the Army's deferred maintenance and repairs backlog be in a year if
funding to address this backlog is reduced by $2 billion?
Secretary Marks. I defer to the Department of the Army to provide
this data.
Dr. Waksman. The Army estimates the total deferred backlog for all
facility types to be $144 billion. The Army updates its estimate
annually based on the amount of facility investments, the current cost
of construction, and any unforeseen accelerated or decelerated
degradation of facilities. An increase or decrease in one specific year
does not directly affect the deferred maintenance backlog.
privatized military housing
62. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, how do you plan to strengthen
oversight of DOD's privatized housing program?
Secretary Marks. I take my role as the Department's Chief Housing
Officer seriously and as part of that, I have met with several of the
project owners in my office or at their privatized housing projects to
express to them my priorities for privatized housing. All
servicemembers and their families should reside in clean, comfortable,
and safe housing. In addition to the long-term sustainment of
privatized housing, I advised the project owners that I expect them to
adhere to their preventative maintenance plans. Further, I have asked
my team and the Military Departments to consider delegating additional
privatized housing decisionmaking to the installation commanders as
those officers are most able to ensure habitable homes for our
servicemembers.
63. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, how will you evaluate the
success of enforcement of the Military Housing Privatization Initiative
Tenant Bill of Rights?
Secretary Marks. While my organization has not specifically
evaluated the efficacy of the Tenant Bill of Rights, my office engages
in monthly and quarterly meetings with the Military Departments on
their privatized housing projects and issues or concerns at any of
their projects. My office also works with the Department's Inspector
General and the Under Secretary of War for Personnel & Readiness, among
other stakeholders, to gather information directly from residents on
their overall experience, including any concerns they have, and to
address each raised issue. The Tenant Bill of Rights is one of many
topics that residents have brought up and we take their concerns about
it seriously.
64. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, last year the DOD launched the
DOD Housing Feedback System to enhance transparency and accountability
in DOD privatized military housing. Will you commit to educating
servicemembers and spreading awareness about the DOD Housing Feedback
system?
Secretary Marks. I do commit to more education for servicemembers
and their families on the DOW Housing Feedback System.
65. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, according to the Department's
Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) data collection contractor,
artificial intelligence-driven price-setting software is now used
extensively throughout the property management industry. How will the
DOD mitigate fraud, waste, and abuse and ensure that landlords aren't
using algorithmic pricing software to hike rents for servicemembers and
in turn, overcharge the Federal Government for rent?
Secretary Marks. The scope of the BAH program is to set rates based
on the price of market-rate rental housing in the private sector.
Recognizing that market rents may be higher than they would be
otherwise due to local property managers using pricing software does
not change the fact that those are the market prices that
servicemembers (and civilians) must pay if they want to live off base.
These are also the prices the Department captures in the BAH data
collection process and uses to set BAH rates, ensuring that military
families have access to suitable, adequate, and available housing.
66. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, do you think that a shortage
of off-base housing affects military readiness and personnel? If so,
how?
Secretary Marks. Access to clean, comfortable, and safe housing on
and around our installations is a quality-of-life issue and does affect
the readiness of Military personnel.
67. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, the Defense Community
Infrastructure Program (DCIP) helps States and local governments
improve ``deficiencies in community infrastructures supportive of a
military installation.'' Do you think that a proposal to expand DCIP to
prioritize projects that will increase housing supply for families who
can't live on base will help lower housing costs for servicemembers and
in turn, the cost on the Federal Government?
Secretary Marks. The DCIP is a useful tool for the Department to
address some of its facility and infrastructure issues. I commit my
organization to further exploring appropriate opportunities to further
leverage this authority.
68. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, the
privatization of military housing has led to poor military housing
conditions and contractors with fifty-year contracts that are difficult
to hold accountable. Does the Army intend to privatize its barracks?
Secretary Marks. The Department acknowledges that additional
privatization is a tool that can be utilized to ensure clean,
comfortable, and safe spaces for unaccompanied servicemembers. The
Military Departments are currently considering all options, including
privatization, to ensure access to habitable housing.
Dr. Waksman. The Army is evaluating how to leverage existing
leasing authorities to more quickly and cost-effectively build, repair,
and maintain barracks. The Army is coordinating with OSD and OMB to
pursue collaboration with Congress to adjust Federal guidelines,
enabling the Army to more easily pursue innovative barracks management
options that ensure stronger accountability.
69. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, please provide
any analysis that the Army has conducted as it evaluates whether to
privatize its barracks.
Secretary Marks. I defer to the Department of the Army to provide
any analysis that has been conducted.
Dr. Waksman. The Army is conducting a pilot initiative at Fort
Irwin, commonly referred to as the ``Irwin Apartments.'' The Michaels
Organization submitted an unsolicited proposal for privatized UH
apartments, for junior enlisted personnel, within their existing
privatized housing leasehold. My team vetted the proposal and received
buy-in from Army Senior Leaders to pursue the pilot.
The Army determined the privatized housing model was more cost
effective over the lifecycle of the project, compared to government-
owned-and-operated barracks. The Army estimates the Michaels
Organization will be able to finance the construction for the housing
project and operate the housing from BAH revenue. The privatized
unaccompanied housing project at Fort Irwin is unique because of the
types of non-deployable units stationed there and limited housing
options in the area.
70. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, did poor
conditions in the barracks contribute to the decision to initiate the
privatized barracks program at Fort Irwin, California?
Secretary Marks. In accordance with 10 USC Sec. 2837, the Military
Departments conduct Housing Requirements and Market Analyses (HRMA) not
less frequently than once every 5 years. The HRMA assesses the Military
Department housing requirements against current and future housing
inventory in that military housing area. It is our understanding that
the HRMA results were the primary impetus for the Army pursuing
additional privatization at Fort Irwin.
Dr. Waksman. No. The need for the Irwin Apartments came from the
need to house junior enlisted personnel in a remote and isolated
location. The 2020 Housing Requirements and Market Analysis
substantiated an unaccompanied housing requirement for 1,327 bed
spaces. Fort Irwin proposes to retain 783 of its existing barracks
spaces, to repurpose 668 Q3-rated spaces, and demolish 60 other
inadequate spaces, resulting in a remaining need for 544 bed spaces.
The Irwin Apartments lifecylce cost analysis determined the privatized
model was cost effective for meeting this need.
71. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, how long is
the contract with the Michaels Organization in relation to the
privatized barracks pilot program at Fort Irwin?
Secretary Marks. The term of the ground lease runs through February
2079.
Dr. Waksman. The transaction involving the Michaels Organization
does not involve a traditional contract; it is structured as a public-
private partnership between the Army and the Michaels Organization. To
finance the new construction of the apartments, the Michaels
Organization required an extension to its current ground lease. The
Army provided a 25-year ground-lease extension.
72. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, what
contractual provisions are in place with the Michaels Organization to
hold the company accountable in the event of inadequate conditions at
the privativzed barracks at Fort Irwin?
Secretary Marks. The ground lease includes all directed National
Defense Authorization Act and Executive Order language as well as Army-
driven Davis-Bacon Act guidance and improved oversight requirements.
These ground lease provisions provide clear consequences when the
lessee does not comply with required provisions. The Tenant Bill of
Rights and the Military Housing Privatization Initiative Tenant
Responsibilities are also incorporated into each tenant's lease for a
housing unit. In addition, the Army Incentive Performance Management
Plan will be used to award incentive fees for meeting required
performance metrics. Failure to meet the required metrics will result
in forfeiture of property management incentive fees. The Army reserves
the right, as the lessor, to pursue remedies expressly available to the
United States under the Ground Lease and other applicable legal
agreements, including the Property Management Agreement and the
Operating Agreement.
Dr. Waksman. With the 25-year extension, the ground lease includes
additional oversight clauses the Army now inserts into all ground
leases, including language reinforcing a requirement that the provider
properly maintain the housing and the language outlining consequences
for non-compliance.
73. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, does the
contract with the Michaels Organization for the pilot program at Fort
Irwin require that the private housing company comply with the ``Tenant
Bill of Rights?''
Secretary Marks. Yes, the ground lease includes all directed
National Defense Authorization Act and Executive Order language as well
as Army-driven Davis-Bacon Act guidance and improved oversight
requirements. These ground lease provisions provide clear consequences
when the lessee does not comply with required provisions. The Tenant
Bill of Rights and the Military Housing Privatization Initiative Tenant
Responsibilities are also incorporated into each tenant's lease for a
housing unit.
Dr. Waksman. Yes, as part of this partnership with the Army, the
Michaels Organization is required to comply with the Tenant Bill of
Rights, as with all its other DOD housing.
74. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, what other
private entities are involved in building, operating, and maintaining
the privatized barracks at Fort Irwin?
Secretary Marks. The Michaels Organization serves as the owner and
developer while an affiliated entity will serve as the contracted
property manager for the project. As owner, Michaels is the entity
responsible for management and oversight of daily operations and
maintenance. Michaels has contracted with Clark Building Group
Construction Company LLC, as General Contractor, for construction of
the improvements.
Dr. Waksman. The Michaels Organization will build, operate, and
maintain the Irwin Apartments.
75. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, will soldiers'
participation in the Fort Irwin pilot program be voluntary?
Secretary Marks. Yes. The Army will not assign soldiers to units
within the development, nor will occupancy guarantees be provided for
with this project. In accordance with Army policy, government-owned
assets will be at 95 percent occupancy before Certificates of Non-
Availability (CNAs) are issued. soldiers who receive CNAs will have the
option to live in the development or find adequate housing off-base.
Dr. Waksman. Yes, soldiers' residence at Irwin Apartments will be
voluntary. They will have the option to use their BAH elsewhere, but
with the planned amenities and convenience of Irwin Apartments--as well
as the limited housing options around Fort Irwin--we anticipate many
soldiers will opt to reside there.
76. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, will
commanders have legal authority to conduct health and welfare
inspections of the privatized barracks on Fort Irwin?
Secretary Marks. Yes. Unit leadership access to the complex is laid
out in the ground lease and a Memorandum of Agreement or similar
document will be executed with Army leadership prior to occupancy.
Dr. Waksman. Commands can coordinate through the privatized
provider to gain access to the apartments for health and welfare
checks.
77. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, if commanders
conduct health and welfare inspections of the privatized barracks on
Fort Irwin, will you provide copies of these inspection results to all
members of the Senate Armed Services Committee?
Secretary Marks. I defer to the Department of the Army to answer.
Dr. Waksman. The Army intends to report all inspection results that
are required by law or otherwise requested by the Committee.
78. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, does DOD intend to expand
privatization of barracks to all military services?
Secretary Marks. The Department acknowledges that privatization is
a tool that can be utilized to ensure clean, comfortable, and safe
spaces for unaccompanied servicemembers. However, the Department does
not have any pending proposals from the Military Departments to expand
UH privatization beyond the current projects.
79. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, how would the privatization of
the barracks impact future DOD budget requirements for BAH via military
personnel accounts?
Secretary Marks. Under the current MHPI model, the housing
allowance would be the primary source of revenue for future MHPI
projects. New MHPI projects, if using the current MHPI model, would
increase costs to the military personnel budgets, but these increases
are likely to be offset in each military service budget by decreases in
the annual operations and maintenance accounts that would otherwise
fund UH sustainment.
My organization is looking at all potential financial models for
future housing privatization, including those that move away from the
current model of full reliance on the housing allowance as the primary
source of revenue for the private owner.
80. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, does the plan to privatize the
barracks include DOD requesting authorization for unaccompanied, junior
enlisted servicemembers to receive BAH?
Secretary Marks. Under the current MHPI model, the housing
allowance would be the primary source of revenue for future MHPI
projects.
81. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, if existing barracks buildings on military
installations go unused as a result of privatization, what is the plan
for these facilities?
Secretary Marks. Each Military Department will consider the best
course of action depending on the mission requirements of the
installation. However, the Department will ensure that the real
property footprint is optimally used and that it isn't funding the
sustainment of excess, unused infrastructure that it can convert to
another use or demolish.
Dr. Waksman. The project has a waterfall tenant clause that would
allow certain tiers of residents to lease vacant units when the overall
project occupancy drops below 95 percent for a period greater than 60
consecutive calendar days and the gains/losses are not projected to
exceed 95 percent.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. The DON carefully reviews which installations
and barracks facilities to privatize, as privatization is not always
possible. Typically, the DON maintains some barracks as government
owned at military installations to allow for flexibility of force flow
especially where ship movements can occur frequently at our privatized
locations. As part of the Navy's ``Forging Communities of Excellence''
program the Navy is committed to facilities improvement and
optimization throughout its inventory including identifying locations
for right sizing.
Mr. Saunders. DAF continues to evaluate the feasibility of dorm
privatization but is not currently pursuing any active privatization
efforts for barracks facilities. If DAF initiates dorm privatization in
the future that results in unused barracks, a plan will be developed
for those unused facilities.
82. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks, Dr. Waksman, Ms. Johnson-
Turner, and Mr. Saunders, has the DOD, or any of the individual
services, conducted location-specific assessments of available private
sector housing near military installations and considered whether that
housing is sufficient to meet the military's current or future housing
needs? If so, please share detailed findings.
Secretary Marks. In accordance with 10 USC Sec. 2837, the Military
Departments conduct HRMAs not less frequently than once every 5 years.
The HRMA assesses the Military Department housing requirements against
current and future housing inventory in that military housing area. The
Military Departments can share HRMA findings for their installations
upon request.
Dr. Waksman. The DOD uses the Housing Requirements Market Analysis,
a structured analytical process to assess both the suitability and
availability of the private-sector rental housing market, using assumed
specific standards for affordability, location, features, and physical
condition to satisfy the housing requirements of the total military
population. It is conducted no less often than every 5 years.
Ms. Johnson-Turner. The DON routinely performs Housing Requirements
and Market Analysis (HRMAs) of all its primary installations. These
HRMAs help inform decisions about the size and scope of the inventory
at each installation by measuring the adequate housing within an
acceptable commuting distance and military demand. Additionally, the
Military Housing Offices are engaged with the local communities and
able to provide assistance to servicemembers on housing options in the
community including adequacy and availability of homes.
Mr. Saunders. The Air Force conducts Housing Requirements and
Market Analysis (HRMA) every 4 years for OCONUS and every 5 years for
CONUS installations. DAF HRMAs establish rank/bedroom requirements and
assess whether the community can provide suitable housing. Commanders
use the HRMA results to engage community leaders regarding installation
housing needs and garner support to address private sector housing
shortfalls. The HRMA is conducted in accordance with DODM 4165.63, AFI
32-6000, fiscal year 2023 NDAA Section 2811, and the USAF HRMA Guidance
Manual. The latest results are shown in the table below:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ongoing HRMAs: An HRMA contract has been awarded for the following
installations: Alconbury/Molesworth, Barksdale, Dyess, Fairford, Grand
Forks, JB Andrews, JB Charleston, JB Anacostia-Bolling, JBSA--Ft Sam
Houston, JBSA--Lackland, JBSA--Randolph, Lakenheath/Mildenhall, Little
Rock, Maxwell and McConnell.
Future HRMAs: An HRMA will be contracted in fiscal year 2026 or
fiscal year 2027 for the following installations: Dyess, Altus, Arnold,
Buckley, Cavalier, Columbus, Croughton, Davis-Montha, Edwards,
Goodfellow, Hill, Keesler, Minot, Misawa, Mountain Home, Offutt, Osan,
Peterson, Robins, Schriever, Scott, Sheppard, Tinker, Vance, Whiteman,
Wright-Patterson and Yokota.
confederate installations
83. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, are you aware
of whether community leaders were consulted before renaming Fort Moore,
Fort Liberty, Fort Johnson, Fort Cavazos, Fort Eisenhower, Fort
Novosel, Fort Walker, and Fort Gregg-Adams? If so, what feedback was
provided?
Secretary Marks. To my knowledge, any discussions or community
engagement regarding the renaming of these installations would have
been handled by Secretary Hegseth's staff or the Department of the
Army.
Dr. Waksman. To my knowledge, community engagement regarding the
renaming of these installations occurred following the renaming
announcement.
84. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, are you aware
if the family of Lt. Gen. Hal Moore of the Army, a Vietnam War hero,
and his wife, Julie Compton Moore, were consulted before Fort Moore was
renamed? If so, what feedback was provided?
Secretary Marks. To my knowledge, any discussions or community
engagement regarding the renaming of Fort Moore would have been handled
by Secretary Hegseth's staff or the Department of the Army.
Dr. Waksman. To my knowledge, the Moore Family was notified of the
redesignation shortly before it was publicly announced. My
understanding is that they expressed disappointment.
85. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Dr. Waksman, how much will
it cost the Army to rename each of these installations? Please, provide
a breakdown by location.
Secretary Marks. My office is not directly involved in this effort
and as such, I would defer to Dr. Waksman on any associated costs.
Dr. Waksman. My office was not directly involved in this effort.
hanscom air base
86. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Mr. Saunders, Massachusetts
and the Air Force are eager to partner on a mission that would help the
Air Force reduce costs and divest unneeded property, while creating
economic development opportunities for the State, a mission the Air
Force has called a ``Strategic Real EState Opportunity.'' Do you commit
to being fully transparent with the Commonwealth and MassDevelopment as
these discussions move forward?
Secretary Marks. The Department intends to work transparently with
the Department of the Air Force and other stakeholders in Massachusetts
as future real eState opportunities at Hanscom Air Force Base are
considered.
Mr. Saunders. The DAF kicked off the Strategic Real EState
Opportunity (SREO) at Hanscom AFB in June. DAF has already met with
MassDevelopment and members of the Commonwealth team on DAF's intent
for the SREO effort, and we intend to continue to work transparently as
these discussions move forward.
87. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Mr. Saunders, do you commit
to working with Massachusetts to ensure the process is collaborative?
Secretary Marks. The Department intends to continue to work
transparently with the Department of the Air Force and other
stakeholders in Massachusetts as future real eState opportunities at
Hanscom Air Force Base are considered.
Mr. Saunders. DAF has already met with members of MassDevelopment
and members of the Commonwealth team in the lead up to kicking off the
SREO effort and during the SREO working group sessions; DAF commits to
continue to work collaboratively as we continue the SREO effort.
88. Senator Warren. Secretary Marks and Mr. Saunders, do you commit
to retaining the current personnel footprint at Hanscom AFB as part of
this effort?
Secretary Marks. Consideration by the Department and the Air Force
of future real eState opportunities at Hanscom Air Force Base is in the
earliest stages. The goal is to reduce costs and divest property excess
to military needs, but it is premature to assume the exact impacts at
this time, including those related to personnel.
Mr. Saunders. DAF is at the very earliest stages of initiating the
SREO effort at Hanscom. The intent is to work with MassDevelopment and
members of the Commonwealth to explore options that will help DAF
reduce costs and divest unneeded property. It is unknown whether the
team would jointly recommend moving forward with an option that could
impact the personnel footprint at Hanscom AFB; however, DAF does not
anticipate any impacts on the mission footprint at Hanscom as part of
the SREO initiative.
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