WEBVTT

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In today's hearing , we will examine

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opportunities for the use of innovative

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technologies in military construction .

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First , I want to take a moment to

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welcome new sub subcommittee members .

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For the majority , I'd like to welcome

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Representative Alford from Minnesota .

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Missouri , I'm sorry . Who will be

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serving as vice chair and

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Representative Lalota from New York .

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Joining the subcommittee for the

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minority . From my great state of Texas

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is uh Ms . Escobar . Welcome

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And , uh , from California ,

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Representative Levin . This

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subcommittee serves the people who

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serve our nation and provides vital

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investments for the members of our

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armed services , their families , and

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veterans . We have a long history of

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bipartisanship on this subcommittee ,

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and I'm committed to maintaining that

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tradition in this Congress . I urge

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all of my members . This subcommittee

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To keep this in mind today and in all

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committee hearings in the future .

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We're here today to examine the

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potential use of innovative

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technologies for military construction .

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While current military construction

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possesses and produces . High

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quality infrastructure . The

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construction timelines for projects may

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be lengthy and may , and

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many believe that the DOD pays too much

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for what it buys . One study found that

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military construction cost premium was

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as much as 35% for some types

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of , of facility .

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Given today's physical challenges , we

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must find efficiencies that reduce

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construction timelines and costs . If

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we harness the power of new

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technologies such as 3 3D printing ,

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We can deliver high quality

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infrastructure for war war fighters and

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their families and be better stewards

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of Texas , of taxpayers'

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money . Joining us today is

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I 4 distinguished witnesses , Mr .

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Dave Mara , director of military

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programs for the US Army Corps of

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Engineers . Mr . Keith Keith

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Hamilton , Chief Engineer , Naval

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Facilities and Engineering command .

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Mr . Thomas Healy . Chief executive

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Officer for Allon Incorporated ,

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and Mr . Brent Richardson , principal

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research scientist of Energy and

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Infrastructure Environment for CNA .

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As a reminder to members , today's

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panel is here to discuss a

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verging . And emerging construction

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methods . Their facilities

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feasibility . Cost effectiveness and

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durability . Ask you to refrain

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from discussions not germane to the

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reasons we're here . And now I'd like

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to recognize Ms . Wasserman Schultz for

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her opening remarks . Pardon my voice ,

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to be going south to Texas .

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Uh , I thank the gentlemen for yielding .

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Thank you , Judge Carter . Uh , welcome

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to our , uh , subcommittee's new

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members and to our witnesses . I look

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forward to another year of working

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together to invest in quality services

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and benefits for our veterans , ensure

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our military readiness , and improve

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the quality of life for our service

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members and their families , and I

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appreciate the interest my friend Judge

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Carter has in this important topic ,

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and I look forward to a productive

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conversation about the ways in which

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this subcommittee can help bring

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innovation into military construction .

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Before I address this hot topic ,

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however , I want to take us back to the

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last fiscal year's hearings where I ,

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along with other Democratic members of

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this subcommittee , shared our concerns

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with reported proposals for 22% cuts to

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funding levels . At that time there was

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a bipartisan consensus that cuts to the

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vital programs funded in this

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subcommittee should not happen . Yet

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now a couple of months into the Trump

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administration , we are seeing cuts

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under a different name , implementing

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the illegal playbook of Project 2025

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under the guise of quote waste , fraud

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and abuse . The administration is

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planning to cut 80,000 VA jobs and it's

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canceling nearly 600 contracts

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endangering veterans' access to timely

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and sufficient care and benefits .

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Beyond the VA , the administration is

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firing veterans in numerous agencies

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across the country and cutting other

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programs that veterans rely on like

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SNAP and Medicaid . I refuse to let

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veterans and the direct services we

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provide to them be defined as

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government waste . That is utterly

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appalling and a complete betrayal of

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the men and women who have put their

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lives on the line in service to our

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country . Veterans and people who care

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for them are not government waste .

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These cuts and firings are causing

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immediate impacts on veterans like Ben ,

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who was recently interviewed by the

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publication Task and Purpose . Ben is a

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disabled veteran who had a positive job

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performance review while working at the

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Department of Agriculture , where he

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helped other veterans with grants to

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fix health and safety hazards in their

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homes . Yet Ben was inexplicably fired

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in the careless , cruel approach

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President Trump and Elon Musk have

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taken to cut jobs across the federal

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government . Meanwhile ,

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internationally , our allies are left

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scrambling as Secretary Hegseth focuses

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attention on Fox News' culture war

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priorities rather than deterring Russia

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and our competitors abroad . The

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Secretary spent his first days banning

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books in DOD schools , restoring base

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names that honor Confederate soldiers ,

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and banning qualified individuals who

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are serving honorably from serving in

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our military just because of their

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gender identity . If the goal here

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today is to promote innovative forms of

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military construction . And improve the

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readiness of our armed forces . I would

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argue that indiscriminately firing 5400

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DOD employees is the wrong move .

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Improving our military installations

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resiliency against extreme weather

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should be a priority , not firing

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generals for political grievances .

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Investing in construction methods that

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could speed the delivery of housing for

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our service members should be a

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priority , not spending nearly $50,000

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of taxpayers' money to paint the

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secretary's government furnished house

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and pretending it's an emergency .

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Reducing the cost of our military

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construction projects should be a

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priority , not threatening tariffs on

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our allies , which we know will only

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cause steel and timber prices to

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skyrocket . I'm hopeful that we will

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have a fruitful conversation on the

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ways we can reduce barriers to

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alternative construction methods and

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drive innovation in military

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construction . The length and expense

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of the military construction process ,

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as my friend Judge Carter mentioned ,

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is a challenge , and it impacts the

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number of projects which can be funded

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in any given year . This problem only

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grows more acute as the services are

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increasingly building in expensive

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remote areas like Guam . I hope the

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ideas we discussed here today can be a

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part of the solution to these

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increasing costs and to the costs over

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the full life cycle of our military

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facilities . Moreover , we know the

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devastating impact natural disasters

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had on military bases in recent years

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from hurricane damage in my home state

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at Tyndall Air Force Base and MacDill

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Air Force Base after Helene and Milton

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to the devastation on Guam from Typhoon

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Maar . We cannot bury our heads in the

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sand and ignore the climate threat to

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our military installations as well .

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Investments in resiliency now will save

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us billions of dollars in recovery

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later on . Some alternative building

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materials like mass timber represent a

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possible solution to making

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installations more resilient to extreme

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weather events while also reducing the

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service's carbon footprint and

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contribution to the climate change

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problem . When it comes to mass timber

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products , details matter . For mass

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timber to truly be a part of a climate

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solution , it must be sourced in a

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sustainable way . When this does occur ,

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mass timber products provide a benefit

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of carbon storage , as well as reduced

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carbon emissions compared to

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traditional materials like concrete and

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steel . But I have concerns with how

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this administration has already been

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stewarding our land and resources ,

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recklessly clear cutting . Cutting down

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old growth trees or ignoring the

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Endangered Species Act and other

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environmental laws is short-sighted and

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dangerous and will not advance our

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goals that we have here in this

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committee . I'd like to thank the four

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witnesses for being here today and for

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their expert testimony , and I yield

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back .

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OK , we now turn to our witnesses for

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today . Uh , without objection , your

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entire , uh , written testimony we will ,

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will be included in the record . I will

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now recognize each of you for an

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opening statement , and we will then

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proceed with questions . Mr . Morrow .

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Chairman Carter , ranking member

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Wasserman Schultz , and distinguished

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members of the subcommittee , thank you

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for this opportunity to discuss the US

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Army Corps of Engineers' efforts to

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research and utilize innovative

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technologies , techniques and materials

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in military construction projects .

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Over the last 2.5 centuries , US Army

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engineers have evolved to provide

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engineering expertise to the Army and

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to respond to the nation's toughest

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engineering challenges . The USACE

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mission includes civil works , military

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programs , research and development ,

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and disaster response . Today I want to

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focus on our military programs and

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research and development missions . We

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support our combatant commanders in 110

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countries around the globe through

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military and international services

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programs . We support 3 million active

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duty military , veterans , civilians ,

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and their families . UAE relies heavily

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on the private industry to deliver

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innovative technologies and techniques

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in military construction . The unified

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facilities criteria or UFC are

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developed through a tri-service

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coordination that sets basic technical

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requirements that must be followed to

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deliver a code compliant complete and

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usable military facility . Any

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innovative design solution that meets

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the UFC and mission requirements is

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acceptable , and UACE encourages design

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and construction solutions from our

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industry partners that meet these

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requirements . Our research and

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development mission vested in our

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engineering research and development

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center ERIC is to discover , develop ,

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and deliver trusted engineering and

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scientific solutions for the war

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fighter and the nation . ERI provides

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engineering technology , leadership

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necessary for force protection , force

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projection , sustainment , and civil

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works missions . The UAE organizational

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structure supports delivery and

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innovation through 44 districts that

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execute construction projects for the

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local regions . UAE has regular

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engagements with the other military

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services which fosters innovation

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through information sharing and common

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training opportunities . This allows

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UAE to benefit from the experience of a

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diverse project execution , and

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leverage those lessons in military

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construction . So one technology that

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can be used for expeditionaryonus or

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Milon applications is additive

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construction or construction 3D

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printing . Additive construction has

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potential to reduce costs , manpower ,

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logistics , and time while opening the

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door for improved and new applications

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such as uh unconventional

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countermeasures . Erdic has taken a

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leading role in acceleration of

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technology transition with the private

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sector . This includes development of

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UFC language to allow additive

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construction in 80% of the United

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States and in regions where seismic

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activity is not an issue . This is

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still a developing technology . Pilot

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projects at locations such as Fort

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Bliss , Camp McGregor , and Tyndall Air

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Force Base have led to increased

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confidence in additive construction and

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military structures . To expand this

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technology for higher risk areas , a

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consolidated testing effort needs to be

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completed . Erdic is currently

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conducting research and field

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demonstration projects on innovative

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cement solutions utilizing

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non-traditional chemistries .

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Advantages of these products can

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include rapid set hardening times ,

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supply chain advantages , and activated

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chemical solutions for protection

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against specific threats . Synthetic

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polymer materials called geosynthetics

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are being designed and manufactured to

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solve civil engineering problems ,

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including separation , filtration ,

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drainage , reinforcement , and

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containment . UAE has supported testing

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and evaluation of mass timber materials .

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We recently designed the Army's first

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barracks made primarily with mass

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timber structural elements and are

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soliciting interest in construction of

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a project at Mountain Home Air Force

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Base calling for the incorporations of

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mass timber design . Utilizing mass

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timber in these projects may reduce

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construction timelines . Fiber

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reinforced polymer composites are under

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investigation to meet military interest

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and corrosion resistance , low

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maintenance critical infrastructure .

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In an increasingly complex global

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security environment , our commitment

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to innovation in military construction

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is not just about building structures ,

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it's about building the resilience and

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readiness our forces need to prevail by

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working with industry to leverage these

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advancements , we can deliver more

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durable , sustainable and cost

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effective infrastructure for our

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military , ensuring taxpayer dollars

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are used efficiently while equipping

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our troops with the best facilities in

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the world . Thank you for your time

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today and I look forward to your

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questions . Thank you .

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Now , I'll turn to Mr . Hamilton .

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Thank you Chairman Carter , ranking

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member Wasserman Schultz ,

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distinguished members of the committee .

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Thank you for the opportunity to

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testify on how Naval Facilities

14:18.579 --> 14:20.301
Engineering Command or NAAC is

14:20.301 --> 14:22.246
leveraging innovative construction

14:22.246 --> 14:24.468
techniques and technologies in military

14:24.468 --> 14:26.950
construction . NAAC has a worldwide

14:27.229 --> 14:29.007
team of dedicated engineers and

14:29.007 --> 14:30.785
architects , planners , project

14:30.785 --> 14:32.896
managers , contracting officers , and

14:32.896 --> 14:34.729
other professionals who design ,

14:34.729 --> 14:36.700
maintain , acquire , and construct

14:36.700 --> 14:38.989
facilities and infrastructure to

14:38.989 --> 14:41.045
support our war fighters at home and

14:41.045 --> 14:42.849
abroad . We are continuously

14:42.849 --> 14:45.071
collaborating with industry to identify

14:45.071 --> 14:46.929
and implement new innovative

14:46.929 --> 14:49.760
infrastructure solutions and to apply

14:49.760 --> 14:51.927
industry best practices that help make

14:51.927 --> 14:53.816
our US war fighters more lethal ,

14:53.849 --> 14:56.049
adaptable , both effective and

14:56.049 --> 14:58.880
resilient . NAAC is actively testing

14:58.880 --> 15:01.102
and employing innovative technologies ,

15:01.102 --> 15:03.158
materials and methods for design and

15:03.158 --> 15:05.380
construction today , and we are leaning

15:05.380 --> 15:07.547
forward to increase collaboration with

15:07.547 --> 15:09.324
industry , academia , and other

15:09.324 --> 15:11.324
government partners to identify and

15:11.324 --> 15:13.380
leverage future opportunities . I'll

15:13.380 --> 15:15.436
provide a few examples . we realized

15:15.436 --> 15:17.491
that we must think , act and operate

15:17.491 --> 15:19.602
differently in order to meet the many

15:19.602 --> 15:21.602
time critical fleet of Marine Corps

15:21.602 --> 15:23.769
missions and requirements that we face

15:23.769 --> 15:25.991
today . This includes the employment of

15:25.991 --> 15:28.158
new and innovative solutions to reduce

15:28.158 --> 15:30.102
the cost and increase the speed of

15:30.102 --> 15:32.047
infrastructure project delivery to

15:32.047 --> 15:33.991
address this issue head on , we've

15:33.991 --> 15:35.658
developed an acceleration and

15:35.658 --> 15:37.824
affordability campaign plan . And as a

15:37.824 --> 15:39.936
part of implementing that plan and in

15:39.936 --> 15:39.780
coordination with our Navy

15:39.780 --> 15:42.330
installations command , we've issued

15:42.330 --> 15:44.552
guidance that at the start of every new

15:44.552 --> 15:47.059
military construction project , NAFA's

15:47.059 --> 15:49.226
planners and engineers are required to

15:49.226 --> 15:51.281
evaluate whether the project can use

15:51.281 --> 15:53.299
alternative construction methods to

15:53.299 --> 15:55.219
meet the war war fighting mission

15:55.219 --> 15:57.386
requirements while driving lower costs

15:57.386 --> 15:59.608
and accelerating the project delivery .

16:00.080 --> 16:01.802
For many of our projects under

16:01.802 --> 16:03.858
construction today , NAFAC uses some

16:03.858 --> 16:05.969
form of industrialized or modularized

16:05.969 --> 16:08.239
construction , uh , to prefabricate

16:08.239 --> 16:10.520
facility components at off-site uh

16:10.520 --> 16:12.840
private fabrication yards . We see

16:12.840 --> 16:15.119
tremendous benefits in this , uh ,

16:15.130 --> 16:17.789
technique and the , and we see it as an

16:17.789 --> 16:19.900
opportunity to employ this approach .

16:20.000 --> 16:23.015
We're working to expand its use . And

16:23.015 --> 16:24.904
to be able to leverage it for far

16:24.904 --> 16:27.205
greater economies of scale we think

16:27.205 --> 16:29.205
this scale can be achieved by using

16:29.205 --> 16:30.983
industrialized construction for

16:30.983 --> 16:32.872
facilities where we have standard

16:32.872 --> 16:35.335
designs and uh repeatable modules that

16:35.335 --> 16:37.224
can be grouped in programming and

16:37.224 --> 16:39.224
acquisition then constructed at the

16:39.224 --> 16:41.815
offsite fabrication plants and brought

16:41.815 --> 16:44.094
to the project site for final assembly .

16:44.599 --> 16:46.377
In fact , we're using the other

16:46.377 --> 16:48.488
transactional authority that Congress

16:48.488 --> 16:51.900
provided in 10 USC Section 4022 to

16:51.900 --> 16:54.067
pilot development of an industrialized

16:54.067 --> 16:56.500
construction project that will build a

16:56.500 --> 16:58.444
child development center in Little

16:58.444 --> 17:00.389
Creek , Virginia . We then hope to

17:00.389 --> 17:02.700
scale that , uh , pilot approach to a

17:02.700 --> 17:04.700
number of child development centers

17:04.700 --> 17:06.367
that'll be constructed in the

17:06.367 --> 17:08.478
mid-Atlantic and Southwest regions in

17:08.478 --> 17:11.129
the next few years . NAAC is closely

17:11.129 --> 17:13.240
following and is keenly interested in

17:13.240 --> 17:15.518
applying additive construction methods ,

17:15.518 --> 17:17.568
our 3D printing . Uh , we've seen

17:17.568 --> 17:19.679
tremendous advances in the technology

17:19.679 --> 17:21.512
and we see continually improving

17:21.512 --> 17:23.290
capabilities and costs that are

17:23.290 --> 17:25.457
achieved through these methods . NAFAC

17:25.457 --> 17:27.457
is also piloting the use of new and

17:27.457 --> 17:29.624
improved materials for use in military

17:29.624 --> 17:31.290
construction projects . We're

17:31.290 --> 17:33.401
constructing a Navy Child Development

17:33.401 --> 17:35.401
Center in Hampton Rhodes , Virginia

17:35.401 --> 17:37.512
that uses cross laminated timber . At

17:37.512 --> 17:39.624
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point

17:39.624 --> 17:41.346
we're piloting the use of high

17:41.346 --> 17:43.346
performance concrete in a major new

17:43.346 --> 17:45.401
F-35 hanger and aircraft sustainment

17:45.401 --> 17:47.624
center . NAFEC is working to expand our

17:47.624 --> 17:49.846
use of various types of composite fiber

17:49.846 --> 17:52.012
reinforced polymers , particularly for

17:52.012 --> 17:54.235
retrofitting and strengthening existing

17:54.235 --> 17:56.068
structures . NAFEC is working to

17:56.068 --> 17:58.012
identify and develop near-term and

17:58.012 --> 18:00.124
long-term applications exploiting the

18:00.124 --> 18:02.401
power of artificial intelligence or AI .

18:02.670 --> 18:04.670
We are partnering with the National

18:04.670 --> 18:06.559
Renewable Energy Lab and National

18:06.559 --> 18:08.503
Institutes of Building Sciences to

18:08.503 --> 18:10.448
identify use cases where AI can be

18:10.448 --> 18:12.670
employed in the planning , design , and

18:12.670 --> 18:14.781
construction to increase efficiency ,

18:14.781 --> 18:16.892
reduce costs , and accelerate project

18:16.892 --> 18:18.670
delivery . We're also exploring

18:18.670 --> 18:20.892
potential efficiency tools with several

18:20.892 --> 18:22.948
leading AI companies including early

18:22.948 --> 18:24.892
capabilities and generative AI for

18:24.892 --> 18:27.160
planning and design . Finally , in

18:27.569 --> 18:30.010
addition to using the section 4022

18:30.010 --> 18:32.232
other transactional authority which has

18:32.232 --> 18:34.449
shown real value in identifying and

18:34.449 --> 18:37.449
leveraging industry innovation , NAFAC

18:37.449 --> 18:39.599
is exploring the use of alternative

18:39.599 --> 18:41.655
delivery methods such as progressive

18:41.655 --> 18:44.609
design build , lean design build , and

18:44.609 --> 18:47.020
construction manager at risk . These

18:47.020 --> 18:48.853
approaches are being used in the

18:48.853 --> 18:51.131
private sector to encourage innovation ,

18:51.131 --> 18:53.131
speed project delivery , and reduce

18:53.131 --> 18:55.131
cost . However , we're finding that

18:55.131 --> 18:57.131
this that there may be statutory or

18:57.131 --> 18:59.500
regulatory changes that are needed for

18:59.500 --> 19:01.722
us to fully leverage these approaches .

19:02.380 --> 19:04.213
Thank you for the opportunity to

19:04.213 --> 19:06.380
testify today . I'm proud to be a part

19:06.380 --> 19:08.436
of an organization that continuously

19:08.436 --> 19:10.269
pushes engineering boundaries to

19:10.269 --> 19:12.380
provide affordable infrastructure for

19:12.380 --> 19:14.213
the DOD that helps to ensure the

19:14.213 --> 19:16.324
lethality , resiliency , safety , and

19:16.324 --> 19:18.213
war fighting effectiveness of our

19:18.213 --> 19:20.213
military forces . I look forward to

19:20.213 --> 19:21.213
your questions .

19:24.099 --> 19:26.219
Thank you , Mr . Healy .

19:28.079 --> 19:29.912
Chairman Carter , ranking member

19:29.912 --> 19:32.023
Wasserman Schultz , and distinguished

19:32.023 --> 19:34.246
members of the subcommittee , thank you

19:34.246 --> 19:36.412
for having me here today . I'd like to

19:36.412 --> 19:38.635
start off with a question . What if our

19:38.635 --> 19:40.579
military could produce electricity

19:40.579 --> 19:42.357
through a mobile generator that

19:42.357 --> 19:44.468
provided better electricity than even

19:44.468 --> 19:46.829
the US grid ? Well , I'm here today to

19:46.829 --> 19:48.989
introduce a new superior power

19:48.989 --> 19:50.933
generation technology , one that's

19:50.933 --> 19:53.459
reliable , efficient , fuel flexible ,

19:53.670 --> 19:56.800
and mobile . I founded Highon out of my

19:56.800 --> 19:59.022
dorm room at Carnegie Mellon , and it's

19:59.022 --> 20:01.040
been an American startup story . We

20:01.040 --> 20:03.262
took the company public on the New York

20:03.262 --> 20:05.373
Stock Exchange in 2020 . We've raised

20:05.373 --> 20:07.540
over $700 million of capital and we've

20:07.540 --> 20:10.719
begun delivering ourarno modular power

20:10.719 --> 20:12.760
plant , which we believe will

20:12.760 --> 20:15.599
fundamentally change how electricity is

20:15.599 --> 20:19.180
produced . If there are 3 key things to

20:19.180 --> 20:21.347
remember about what we're doing . It's

20:21.347 --> 20:23.569
first , that it's one solution that can

20:23.569 --> 20:25.458
be used across all applications .

20:25.859 --> 20:28.290
Second is it offers fuel flexibility ,

20:28.420 --> 20:30.979
reliability , and the performance the

20:30.979 --> 20:34.089
military needs . And the third is it's

20:34.089 --> 20:36.130
manufactured through 3D printing ,

20:36.369 --> 20:38.689
which enables us to make it here in the

20:38.689 --> 20:41.479
US . So let's go back to that first

20:41.479 --> 20:43.680
point , about one solution across all

20:43.680 --> 20:47.109
applications . What if military vessels ,

20:47.239 --> 20:49.670
autonomous vessels , what if bases ?

20:49.829 --> 20:52.229
What if vehicles , uh , could all use

20:52.229 --> 20:54.500
the same power generation solution ,

20:54.609 --> 20:57.000
leveraging the same parts and the same

20:57.000 --> 21:00.729
service across all applications . The

21:00.729 --> 21:02.618
carno generator is designed to be

21:02.618 --> 21:05.170
scalable as well , starting with a 200

21:05.170 --> 21:07.170
kilowatt base unit that then can be

21:07.170 --> 21:08.890
stacked together to deliver

21:08.890 --> 21:11.569
multi-megawatts for military bases .

21:11.770 --> 21:13.881
That base unit , just for reference ,

21:13.881 --> 21:16.048
is about the size of a bed of a pickup

21:16.048 --> 21:18.048
truck , so it's extremely compact .

21:19.000 --> 21:20.889
This vision is already becoming a

21:20.889 --> 21:23.040
reality . We actually just delivered

21:23.040 --> 21:25.040
our first unit to the navy , and

21:25.040 --> 21:27.096
they're gonna not only be testing it

21:27.096 --> 21:29.151
for autonomous vessels , but they're

21:29.151 --> 21:30.929
also going to be testing it for

21:30.929 --> 21:33.800
stationary applications . The second

21:33.800 --> 21:36.599
point I made was why carno . So this is

21:36.599 --> 21:38.680
a fuel agnostic solution . It can

21:38.680 --> 21:40.750
operate on over 20 different fuels ,

21:40.760 --> 21:42.593
including diesel , natural gas ,

21:42.593 --> 21:45.520
propane , JPA . So imagine if our

21:45.520 --> 21:47.576
troops are deployed somewhere in the

21:47.576 --> 21:49.798
world where it's kind of unsure of what

21:49.798 --> 21:51.853
fuel they're gonna have available to

21:51.853 --> 21:54.020
them , and it's unsure if that fuel is

21:54.020 --> 21:55.964
even contaminated . Our technology

21:55.964 --> 21:58.076
eliminates those concerns because now

21:58.076 --> 22:00.242
the system , you start feeding it fuel

22:00.369 --> 22:02.202
and it will sense what fuel it's

22:02.202 --> 22:04.290
receiving , adjust accordingly and

22:04.290 --> 22:07.630
deliver electricity . Now

22:07.630 --> 22:09.709
reliability is also key . So the

22:09.709 --> 22:11.876
system's designed with only one moving

22:11.876 --> 22:14.189
part and even that part glides on gas

22:14.189 --> 22:16.411
bearings . It's it's similar to like an

22:16.411 --> 22:18.522
air hockey table . So that eliminates

22:18.522 --> 22:20.245
the need for oils , eliminates

22:20.245 --> 22:22.522
maintenance or substantial maintenance ,

22:22.522 --> 22:24.633
and eliminates lubricants . So as you

22:24.633 --> 22:26.633
think about like autonomous vessels

22:26.633 --> 22:28.689
where there isn't anyone on board to

22:28.689 --> 22:30.467
actually maintain the engines ,

22:30.569 --> 22:33.930
reliability is critical . Additionally ,

22:34.079 --> 22:36.579
we want to look at efficiency . So the

22:36.579 --> 22:38.690
carno generator , when you compare it

22:38.690 --> 22:41.439
to the grid , the grid is about 36%

22:41.439 --> 22:43.272
efficient . So , you know , your

22:43.272 --> 22:45.106
standard wall outlet . The carno

22:45.106 --> 22:46.995
generator will be able to deliver

22:46.995 --> 22:49.780
efficiencies up to 50% . That means

22:49.780 --> 22:51.891
we're gonna use less fuel to make the

22:51.891 --> 22:54.170
same amount of power . Now it does all

22:54.170 --> 22:56.959
these things , while also having a very

22:56.959 --> 22:59.250
low noise profile . It's similar noise

22:59.250 --> 23:01.361
level , it's like an air conditioning

23:01.361 --> 23:03.250
unit , and it also has a low heat

23:03.250 --> 23:05.306
profile , meaning the system is less

23:05.306 --> 23:07.949
detectable . Any one of these

23:07.949 --> 23:10.116
advantages alone could convince you to

23:10.116 --> 23:12.282
move away from diesel generators , but

23:12.282 --> 23:14.282
we've been able to package all this

23:14.282 --> 23:16.616
into one solution , our carno generator .

23:18.520 --> 23:20.742
So the question comes up of like , well

23:20.742 --> 23:23.670
why hasn't this been done before ? And

23:23.910 --> 23:26.077
that brings me to my third key point ,

23:26.150 --> 23:28.829
which is 3D printing . So , if you go

23:28.829 --> 23:31.390
back 200 years ago , there were steam

23:31.390 --> 23:33.501
engines , there were diesel engines .

23:33.501 --> 23:35.779
There was this thing called a Sterling .

23:36.229 --> 23:38.449
Engineers always knew that sterling's

23:38.449 --> 23:40.671
could be or would be the most efficient

23:40.671 --> 23:42.671
way of making power , but you could

23:42.671 --> 23:44.949
never manufacture a Sterling . Fast

23:44.949 --> 23:46.790
forward to today , thanks to

23:46.790 --> 23:48.949
advancements in 3D printing , we're

23:48.949 --> 23:51.060
able to make parts like this one here

23:51.229 --> 23:53.949
that are extremely complex , allow us

23:53.949 --> 23:56.390
to unlock efficiencies that now make

23:56.390 --> 23:58.630
Sterling's a reality , or as we like to

23:58.630 --> 24:01.540
call it , the carno generator . So I

24:01.540 --> 24:03.707
think this is gonna be passed around .

24:05.280 --> 24:07.447
So I want to be transparent with where

24:07.447 --> 24:09.613
we are in this process . As I shared ,

24:09.613 --> 24:11.836
we just delivered our first unit to the

24:11.836 --> 24:14.002
Navy , and we have other early adopter

24:14.002 --> 24:15.947
customer units planned through the

24:15.947 --> 24:18.002
middle of this year . We believe the

24:18.002 --> 24:17.630
system will deliver everything I've

24:17.630 --> 24:19.829
shared today , but we are still in the

24:19.829 --> 24:21.829
final stages of development . We're

24:21.829 --> 24:23.885
testing the system and continuing to

24:23.885 --> 24:26.140
refine it . So as we go forward , we'd

24:26.140 --> 24:28.339
like to expand our relationship with

24:28.339 --> 24:30.459
the military , especially as we start

24:30.459 --> 24:32.459
scaling . We've already set up

24:32.459 --> 24:35.089
manufacturing both near Austin , Texas ,

24:35.229 --> 24:38.890
as well as in Cincinnati , Ohio . Yeah ,

24:38.979 --> 24:42.380
Austin . And uh and so that is going to

24:42.380 --> 24:44.213
ensure that this is domestically

24:44.213 --> 24:46.550
produced . Chairman Carter , ranking

24:46.550 --> 24:48.272
member Wasserman Schultz , and

24:48.272 --> 24:50.550
distinguished members of the committee .

24:50.550 --> 24:52.717
Our military has been known for having

24:52.717 --> 24:54.772
the best technology , and we need to

24:54.772 --> 24:56.900
make sure that remains true for power

24:56.900 --> 25:00.060
generation as well . With Eon's Karno

25:00.060 --> 25:02.339
Power plant , we're delivering the

25:02.339 --> 25:04.450
three key things that are important .

25:04.450 --> 25:06.395
It's one solution that can be used

25:06.395 --> 25:08.395
across all applications . It offers

25:08.395 --> 25:10.699
fuel flexibility and reliability , as

25:10.699 --> 25:13.619
well as it's made here in the US thanks

25:13.619 --> 25:15.569
to 3D printing . Thank you .

25:19.630 --> 25:21.297
Thank you , Mr . Richardson .

25:23.469 --> 25:25.302
Chairman Carter , ranking member

25:25.302 --> 25:27.191
Wasserman Schultz , distinguished

25:27.191 --> 25:29.247
members of the committee , thank you

25:29.247 --> 25:31.136
for the opportunity to testify on

25:31.136 --> 25:32.969
innovative military construction

25:32.969 --> 25:34.858
techniques . CNA Center for Naval

25:34.858 --> 25:36.858
Analysis provides our sailors , our

25:36.858 --> 25:38.802
marines , and the broader national

25:38.802 --> 25:40.691
security community with objective

25:40.691 --> 25:42.858
analytics to improve the lethality and

25:42.858 --> 25:45.025
effectiveness of the joint force . Our

25:45.025 --> 25:47.247
sole mission is to support the decision

25:47.247 --> 25:49.247
making of military leadership . The

25:49.247 --> 25:51.469
study we conducted for Deputy Assistant

25:51.469 --> 25:54.040
Secretary of Defense for Infrastructure

25:54.040 --> 25:56.550
modernization and resilience included

25:56.760 --> 25:58.859
the identification of barriers to

25:58.859 --> 26:01.000
innovative construction techniques in

26:01.000 --> 26:03.609
Milan . This study was important

26:03.609 --> 26:05.498
because the results showed that a

26:05.498 --> 26:07.720
forcing function to use such techniques

26:07.720 --> 26:10.189
should be developed . There are several

26:10.189 --> 26:12.359
options to bridge the gap between

26:12.359 --> 26:14.359
industry and DOD efforts to adopt

26:14.359 --> 26:16.415
innovative construction techniques .

26:16.415 --> 26:18.959
First , a DOD technology roadmap for

26:18.959 --> 26:21.560
Milon would provide necessary guidance

26:21.560 --> 26:24.359
for both DOD and service component labs

26:24.359 --> 26:26.026
to make informed and targeted

26:26.026 --> 26:28.689
investments toward innovation . Such a

26:28.689 --> 26:30.467
road map would establish during

26:30.467 --> 26:33.010
enduring capability needs and measured

26:33.010 --> 26:35.260
focused areas for identified milk

26:35.260 --> 26:38.569
milkon outcomes . One specific use case ,

26:38.609 --> 26:40.849
for example , is to leverage artificial

26:40.849 --> 26:43.089
intelligence technology to provide a

26:43.089 --> 26:45.680
scalable , faster , and reliable aid

26:45.680 --> 26:47.989
for design and construction management

26:47.989 --> 26:51.130
efforts . A published Milon technology

26:51.130 --> 26:54.209
roadmap would also provide a demand to

26:54.209 --> 26:56.770
uh demand signal to industry to drive

26:56.770 --> 26:58.826
development of specific technologies

26:59.130 --> 27:01.241
potentially leading to private sector

27:01.241 --> 27:03.619
investment . This could also foster the

27:03.619 --> 27:05.599
subsequent development of industry

27:05.599 --> 27:08.199
standards and best practices , thereby

27:08.420 --> 27:10.309
advancing the further adoption of

27:10.309 --> 27:13.060
innovative techniques . A second

27:13.060 --> 27:14.893
recommendation is to adhere to a

27:14.893 --> 27:17.130
collaborative front-loaded design

27:17.130 --> 27:18.910
process . This would entail the

27:18.910 --> 27:21.021
inclusion of construction contractors

27:21.021 --> 27:23.189
early in the design process for the

27:23.189 --> 27:25.430
purposes of leveraging additional

27:25.430 --> 27:27.541
innovative construction knowledge and

27:27.541 --> 27:29.597
experience that is newly emerging in

27:29.597 --> 27:31.729
the private sector . Industry

27:31.729 --> 27:33.770
experience shared by a construction

27:33.770 --> 27:35.992
contractor during the design phase of a

27:35.992 --> 27:38.103
project can provide valuable benefits

27:38.103 --> 27:39.992
to the government , including the

27:39.992 --> 27:42.159
identification of regionally available

27:42.159 --> 27:44.214
innovative , innovative techniques ,

27:44.214 --> 27:46.103
technologies , and the supporting

27:46.103 --> 27:48.390
workforce . Construction contractors

27:48.390 --> 27:51.189
with regionally specific expertise can

27:51.189 --> 27:53.040
also serve as a resource in the

27:53.040 --> 27:54.596
identification of potential

27:54.596 --> 27:56.707
construction challenges in the design

27:56.707 --> 27:58.707
phase . This allows the designer of

27:58.707 --> 28:01.020
record to minimize construction risks

28:01.170 --> 28:03.059
and facilitate the most efficient

28:03.059 --> 28:05.949
construction means and methods . NAFAC

28:05.949 --> 28:08.005
Naval Facilities Engineering Systems

28:08.005 --> 28:10.390
Command has undergone such efforts and

28:10.390 --> 28:12.500
recently published a guide for early

28:12.500 --> 28:14.556
contractor involvement in the design

28:14.556 --> 28:16.890
phase of MilLCO projects . Lastly ,

28:17.219 --> 28:19.441
while our analysis highlighted existing

28:19.441 --> 28:21.441
DOD efforts toward the inclusion of

28:21.441 --> 28:23.552
innovative technologies in Milon such

28:23.552 --> 28:25.497
as additive manufacturing and mass

28:25.497 --> 28:28.109
timber , without a technology roadmap

28:28.500 --> 28:30.859
in place and industry engaged in the

28:30.859 --> 28:33.069
design phase , DOD investment in such

28:33.069 --> 28:35.069
technologies is not prioritized and

28:35.069 --> 28:36.791
private sector interest is not

28:36.791 --> 28:38.513
encouraged . Thank you for the

28:38.513 --> 28:40.513
opportunity to speak today . I look

28:40.513 --> 28:42.069
forward to your questions .

28:44.930 --> 28:48.599
Well thank you very much . And

28:48.599 --> 28:50.321
I'll start out with the army .

28:54.150 --> 28:58.000
Mr . Morrow These new technologies

28:58.449 --> 29:00.849
like 3D printing and additive

29:00.849 --> 29:04.800
manufacturing hold a promise . Where's

29:04.800 --> 29:08.640
the core stand on the the actual use of

29:08.640 --> 29:11.469
these . And what research do you have

29:11.750 --> 29:15.270
on their reliability and strength in

29:15.270 --> 29:17.270
both cold and hot weather ?

29:20.319 --> 29:22.430
Thank you , thank you , Congressman ,

29:22.430 --> 29:25.819
for that question . So currently the ,

29:25.900 --> 29:29.630
the UFCs allow additive construction or

29:29.630 --> 29:31.709
3D printed construction in seismic

29:31.709 --> 29:34.790
zones A and in seismic zones B with a

29:34.790 --> 29:36.846
shake table test to demonstrate that

29:36.846 --> 29:38.957
the means and methods for that , um ,

29:38.957 --> 29:42.660
are , are structurally sound . So in

29:42.660 --> 29:45.130
those areas we're completely supportive

29:45.130 --> 29:48.859
um to go into higher seismic zone areas

29:48.859 --> 29:50.900
or multi-story buildings I think

29:50.900 --> 29:54.459
additional testing is required . So our

29:54.459 --> 29:56.500
EI , our research and development

29:56.500 --> 29:58.500
center , you know , they're working

29:58.500 --> 30:00.500
closely with industry . They , they

30:00.500 --> 30:03.170
have continuing efforts to demonstrate

30:03.170 --> 30:05.530
that material and advance that material

30:05.819 --> 30:08.300
but for routine military construction .

30:08.760 --> 30:11.079
If , uh , for example , a design build

30:11.079 --> 30:13.880
RFP is for a single story building in

30:13.880 --> 30:16.119
seismic zone A or seismic zone B ,

30:16.319 --> 30:18.430
there's nothing that would preclude

30:18.430 --> 30:20.719
industry from proposing on that . So

30:20.719 --> 30:23.719
recently , the Navy and the Corps

30:23.719 --> 30:25.830
developed some joint training for our

30:25.830 --> 30:28.108
project managers , our technical staff ,

30:28.108 --> 30:30.108
and our acquisition teams . Part of

30:30.108 --> 30:32.040
that training was innovative

30:32.040 --> 30:34.040
construction methods and innovative

30:34.040 --> 30:37.119
construction material . So we want to ,

30:37.150 --> 30:39.317
you know , continue that education and

30:39.317 --> 30:41.589
ensure that out in the field where the

30:41.589 --> 30:43.989
real work is done , you know , our team

30:43.989 --> 30:47.109
members are cognizant of new emerging

30:47.109 --> 30:49.276
technology and when they're evaluating

30:49.276 --> 30:51.387
proposals and planning projects , you

30:51.387 --> 30:53.498
know , they're keeping those those in

30:53.498 --> 30:57.140
mind as well thank you . Uh anyone else

30:57.140 --> 31:00.199
wanna comment on . I know we're all

31:00.199 --> 31:02.160
talking about seismic , that's

31:02.160 --> 31:05.650
important . But what about the , the

31:05.650 --> 31:09.400
various heat levels that we would know ,

31:09.569 --> 31:11.770
would it be what you're making be

31:11.770 --> 31:15.750
viable in Alaska ? Or in the Arctic

31:16.280 --> 31:19.579
as well as Where I live in Texas ,

31:20.130 --> 31:22.463
where it's hot . That's a good question .

31:22.463 --> 31:24.689
I like , as you've talked about what

31:24.689 --> 31:26.689
you're doing , are you looking into

31:26.689 --> 31:28.800
those things ? Because I think that's

31:28.800 --> 31:32.170
very important . I can maybe share a

31:32.170 --> 31:34.281
little bit about that . So just going

31:34.281 --> 31:36.170
back to your last question of the

31:36.170 --> 31:38.770
reliability of 3D printing . So that

31:38.770 --> 31:41.250
part I shared was made through 3D metal

31:41.250 --> 31:43.449
additive . Chances are if you flew to

31:43.449 --> 31:46.650
DC , greater than 50% chance the plane

31:46.650 --> 31:48.890
you were flying on was powered off of

31:48.890 --> 31:50.946
additive parts . So this has already

31:50.946 --> 31:53.057
been approved by the FAA . It's being

31:53.057 --> 31:55.223
used regularly , so additive is real ,

31:55.223 --> 31:57.334
it's happening , it's being leveraged

31:57.334 --> 31:59.279
today . In terms of the ability to

31:59.279 --> 32:01.279
operate in different environments ,

32:01.279 --> 32:03.390
that that part that got passed around

32:03.390 --> 32:05.612
is made out of cobalt chromium , one of

32:05.612 --> 32:07.612
the most resistant metals , uh , to

32:07.612 --> 32:09.779
heat and , uh , and cold as well . And

32:09.779 --> 32:12.001
so our system is designed to be able to

32:12.001 --> 32:14.168
operate in the extreme cold like -4 DC

32:14.168 --> 32:16.849
as well as north north of 4 DC , right ?

32:16.969 --> 32:19.136
So that means it can go to Alaska , it

32:19.136 --> 32:21.290
can go to Texas , and actually one of

32:21.290 --> 32:23.457
the unique things is it actually likes

32:23.457 --> 32:25.623
the cold , it actually performs better

32:25.623 --> 32:27.679
in the cold , uh , so we're actually

32:27.679 --> 32:29.734
looking forward to a Navy deployment

32:29.734 --> 32:31.846
that is going to be going to Alaska .

32:31.846 --> 32:35.719
Any others want to call . OK .

32:39.569 --> 32:42.790
Now if you wanna come in ? Thank thank

32:42.790 --> 32:44.901
you , Chairman Carter . I just add to

32:44.901 --> 32:47.012
the comments that gentlemen have made

32:47.012 --> 32:48.790
that I think first the additive

32:48.790 --> 32:50.957
manufacturing is very highly developed

32:50.957 --> 32:52.568
and we use it extensively to

32:52.568 --> 32:54.401
manufacture parts . We use it to

32:54.401 --> 32:56.457
manufacture parts that are no longer

32:56.457 --> 32:58.346
obtainable , uh , in the , in the

32:58.346 --> 32:59.957
market . We use it for troop

32:59.957 --> 33:02.068
deployments where we can do things in

33:02.068 --> 33:04.290
an expeditionary environment . added to

33:04.290 --> 33:06.234
construction is a . Very promising

33:06.234 --> 33:09.145
technology and has developed um very

33:09.145 --> 33:11.145
substantially over the last several

33:11.145 --> 33:13.089
years and I think to your question

33:13.089 --> 33:15.145
about how is it how is it applied in

33:15.145 --> 33:17.423
different temperature zones I think we ,

33:17.423 --> 33:19.589
we know more about its application and

33:19.589 --> 33:21.423
warm temperature zones . I think

33:21.423 --> 33:23.534
temperature is certainly dependent on

33:23.534 --> 33:25.589
the types of mixtures that are being

33:25.589 --> 33:27.812
used for the additive construction that

33:27.812 --> 33:29.978
has to be carefully . Centered and and

33:29.978 --> 33:32.089
maintained we we have less experience

33:32.089 --> 33:34.312
with it in cold weather environments uh

33:34.312 --> 33:35.867
but I think all of those uh

33:35.867 --> 33:37.812
environments are important for the

33:37.812 --> 33:39.923
future development we we believe this

33:39.923 --> 33:41.978
is a technology that will have great

33:41.978 --> 33:44.145
use as as we go forward and especially

33:44.145 --> 33:46.089
as we begin to address some of the

33:46.089 --> 33:48.201
seismic issues that would allow us to

33:48.201 --> 33:50.541
apply it in the Indo-Pacific uh regions .

33:51.670 --> 33:53.837
Thank you for bringing that up because

33:53.837 --> 33:55.948
it's one of the questions I wanted to

33:55.948 --> 33:58.349
ask . I visited the Indo Pacific and so

33:58.349 --> 34:00.670
is my colleague , and they've got a lot

34:00.670 --> 34:04.670
of issues over there . Uh , and if

34:04.670 --> 34:07.589
one of it is that sea climate , it's

34:07.589 --> 34:10.189
very hard on buildings .

34:11.419 --> 34:13.370
Do you have any , are you building

34:13.370 --> 34:17.100
anything in that area or you know how

34:17.100 --> 34:20.419
it's affected by the ocean and the

34:20.979 --> 34:23.729
constant humidity and all the things

34:24.020 --> 34:26.290
they have at quadulating , let's say .

34:27.418 --> 34:30.329
Yes , yes , sir , thank you for that

34:30.329 --> 34:32.708
question . We , we , uh , as you know ,

34:32.809 --> 34:35.368
have a great deal of work across the

34:35.368 --> 34:37.559
entirety of the Indo-Pacific Theater

34:37.769 --> 34:39.769
and in Guam , as you mentioned , we

34:39.769 --> 34:41.928
have a very large , uh , construction

34:41.928 --> 34:43.428
program . We have a lot of

34:43.428 --> 34:45.650
infrastructure that is aged and damaged

34:45.650 --> 34:47.706
that we are working to repair and to

34:47.706 --> 34:50.948
hard . uh , and we're using um a wide

34:50.948 --> 34:53.229
variety of techniques and approaches to

34:53.229 --> 34:55.428
do that . We have to be very sensitive

34:55.428 --> 34:58.029
to not just seismicity in the area . We

34:58.029 --> 35:00.309
have to be of course very mindful of

35:00.309 --> 35:03.468
the typhoon , uh , conditions that

35:03.468 --> 35:05.589
facilities have to endure in those

35:05.589 --> 35:07.928
locations . We have to , as you pointed

35:07.928 --> 35:10.129
out . Understand the impact of the of

35:10.129 --> 35:12.073
the saltwater conditions and other

35:12.073 --> 35:14.185
things that they're exposed to and so

35:14.185 --> 35:16.969
that limits some types of materials we

35:16.969 --> 35:20.010
find that some steel materials uh if

35:20.010 --> 35:22.121
they're going to be used in that area

35:22.121 --> 35:24.066
have to be , uh , specially , uh ,

35:24.066 --> 35:26.288
prepared for that kind of environment ,

35:26.419 --> 35:28.641
um , if they're not and we've certainly

35:28.641 --> 35:32.129
had um steel components that that have

35:32.129 --> 35:34.018
deteriorated very quickly in that

35:34.018 --> 35:36.185
environment we're beginning to look at

35:36.185 --> 35:39.709
the use of various um . Uh , reinforced

35:39.709 --> 35:42.080
fiber reinforced polymers that can be

35:42.080 --> 35:44.024
used in that kind of environment .

35:44.024 --> 35:46.136
There are some promising developments

35:46.136 --> 35:48.679
including panelized construction that

35:48.679 --> 35:50.919
is very resilient in those kinds of

35:50.919 --> 35:53.350
environments and it's also very strong ,

35:53.600 --> 35:55.800
has the ability to put fibers that

35:55.800 --> 35:59.080
provide different um capabilities

35:59.080 --> 36:01.679
within that particular panel that is

36:01.679 --> 36:03.790
developed so that it might provide RF

36:03.790 --> 36:05.846
shielding for for skiffs or it might

36:05.846 --> 36:08.939
provide um . Uh , armor or explosive

36:08.939 --> 36:11.179
resistance for different types of

36:11.179 --> 36:13.629
applications so we find that to be uh ,

36:13.770 --> 36:16.270
a very valuable technique there and the ,

36:16.280 --> 36:18.502
the other thing that I would mention is

36:18.502 --> 36:20.280
that we're looking very hard at

36:20.280 --> 36:20.260
industrialized construction , the

36:20.260 --> 36:23.580
ability to prefabricate components in

36:23.580 --> 36:25.669
the United States and have those

36:25.669 --> 36:28.379
shipped , uh to those uh regions in the

36:28.379 --> 36:30.490
Indo Pacific theater for installation

36:30.490 --> 36:32.601
on the project sites and we find both

36:32.601 --> 36:35.379
cost and and timing , uh , benefits of

36:35.379 --> 36:39.300
that application . On the

36:39.300 --> 36:42.659
concrete . Uh , that , that they make .

36:43.429 --> 36:46.610
With the with the 3D printing . Do you

36:46.610 --> 36:48.729
have the , the , if you're doing that

36:48.729 --> 36:51.689
over there and on the islands , you got

36:51.689 --> 36:53.850
lots of sand , but do you have any

36:53.850 --> 36:57.250
gravel or any other source to make that ?

36:58.070 --> 37:01.129
Concrete viable , or will it have to be

37:01.129 --> 37:03.185
shipped in there ? Yes sir , we've ,

37:03.239 --> 37:05.295
we've done testing with the additive

37:05.295 --> 37:07.800
construction working with both ERSI and

37:07.800 --> 37:10.360
with the NAFAx Engineering

37:10.360 --> 37:12.527
Expeditionary Warfare Center to see if

37:12.527 --> 37:14.879
we could use native materials . Uh , we

37:14.879 --> 37:16.935
did a pilot project in Guam where we

37:16.935 --> 37:18.935
used all native materials to do the

37:18.935 --> 37:21.239
additive construction , and it was very

37:21.239 --> 37:23.517
successful . We did blast testing with ,

37:23.517 --> 37:26.030
with those facilities , um , which were ,

37:26.080 --> 37:28.399
were very successful tests . We , we

37:28.399 --> 37:31.254
saw it stood up very well we . Also ,

37:31.395 --> 37:34.235
um , worked with saltwater concrete so

37:34.235 --> 37:37.165
that for expeditionary use , not for

37:37.165 --> 37:39.332
long term permanent facilities but for

37:39.332 --> 37:41.594
expeditionary use our troops can go in

37:41.885 --> 37:44.524
and use salt water rather than fresh

37:44.524 --> 37:46.691
water uh that would have to be brought

37:46.691 --> 37:49.604
in or purified on site uh to make the

37:49.604 --> 37:51.925
concrete and we found very similar

37:51.925 --> 37:54.147
characteristics in in terms of strength

37:54.245 --> 37:56.844
and uh durability , uh , for , for a

37:56.844 --> 37:59.177
short term one or two year construction .

37:59.409 --> 38:01.187
Uh , that we might expect in an

38:01.187 --> 38:03.409
expeditionary contingency environment .

38:04.280 --> 38:06.336
Thank you , Ms . Wasserman Schultz .

38:06.729 --> 38:09.139
Thank you , Mr . Chairman . I , I've

38:09.139 --> 38:11.379
been the ranking member or the chair of

38:11.379 --> 38:14.010
the subcommittee , uh , since 2014 ,

38:14.419 --> 38:17.209
and , uh , most of that time I was

38:17.209 --> 38:19.979
serving alongside Judge Carter . Um , I

38:19.979 --> 38:21.939
think if he and I had a nickel for

38:21.939 --> 38:24.949
every reprogramming that we have signed

38:24.949 --> 38:27.780
in our roles , uh , due to increased

38:27.780 --> 38:29.860
construction costs , increased labor

38:29.860 --> 38:31.916
costs that were unanticipated by the

38:31.916 --> 38:35.639
military , um , we could retire . And

38:35.639 --> 38:38.199
uh and President Trump has announced a

38:38.199 --> 38:41.760
25% import tax on steel and aluminum in

38:41.760 --> 38:43.959
addition to a broad range of other

38:43.959 --> 38:46.181
tariffs against countries like Canada ,

38:46.181 --> 38:49.320
Mexico , and China during this hearing .

38:50.149 --> 38:53.379
He announced an additional 25%

38:53.750 --> 38:56.669
tariff on aluminum and steel against

38:56.669 --> 39:00.010
Canada . Um , these countries are

39:00.010 --> 39:03.050
retaliating . They are levying tariffs ,

39:03.189 --> 39:06.629
um , in response and boycotts . Um ,

39:06.770 --> 39:08.603
among the wide range of negative

39:08.603 --> 39:10.770
inflationary effects these unnecessary

39:10.770 --> 39:12.714
actions will have on our economy ,

39:12.714 --> 39:15.459
they'll undoubtedly lead to Our needing

39:15.459 --> 39:18.209
to sign more reprogramming requests due

39:18.209 --> 39:20.265
to increase unanticipated costs . So

39:20.265 --> 39:22.431
I'd like to hear from each of you what

39:22.431 --> 39:24.653
impact do you expect to see on material

39:24.653 --> 39:26.765
and construction costs as a result of

39:26.765 --> 39:28.987
the newly announced tariffs on products

39:28.987 --> 39:31.219
like steel , aluminum , um , including

39:31.219 --> 39:34.100
the potential impacts on labor costs ,

39:34.139 --> 39:36.520
uh , which American companies rely upon .

39:39.260 --> 39:41.610
Mr . Morrow , you can start . Thank you ,

39:41.620 --> 39:43.787
Congresswoman . Um , I think the , the

39:43.787 --> 39:46.100
first point I'd like to make is we've

39:46.100 --> 39:48.739
put a tremendous amount of emphasis on

39:48.739 --> 39:51.500
our project planning process and

39:51.500 --> 39:53.620
reducing the risk and getting all of

39:53.620 --> 39:56.010
the information possible for the site

39:56.780 --> 39:59.250
exactly to minimize any future

39:59.250 --> 40:02.090
reprogramming so . Uh , many of the

40:02.090 --> 40:04.820
efforts to do , uh , advance a project

40:04.820 --> 40:07.449
to a 35% design , get a better cost

40:07.449 --> 40:10.370
estimate , etc . is already starting to

40:10.370 --> 40:13.530
pay dividends , so hopefully we'll have

40:13.530 --> 40:15.570
fewer reprogrammings based on

40:15.570 --> 40:18.969
unanticipated costs . Um , I think it's

40:18.969 --> 40:21.820
really too early to tell . Um , how the

40:21.820 --> 40:24.659
market is going to respond to , to many

40:24.659 --> 40:27.419
changes and you know , one of the

40:27.419 --> 40:30.260
shortcomings of cost engineering is we

40:30.260 --> 40:32.719
have lots of historical data , but ,

40:32.820 --> 40:34.931
you know , we can't , you know , look

40:34.931 --> 40:37.350
precisely into the future . So our cost

40:37.350 --> 40:39.239
engineers , you know , follow the

40:39.239 --> 40:41.017
markets very carefully , try to

40:41.017 --> 40:43.550
incorporate all of the risk informed

40:43.550 --> 40:45.469
decision making they can into

40:45.469 --> 40:47.709
developing those estimates , uh , but I

40:47.709 --> 40:49.820
think it's really too early to tell .

40:49.969 --> 40:52.025
Um , are , are you really telling me

40:52.025 --> 40:55.169
that . An unanticipated 50% tariff on

40:55.169 --> 40:57.969
aluminum and steel is not going to

40:57.969 --> 41:00.629
you're not sure whether that would

41:01.090 --> 41:03.330
cause unanticipated increase in costs

41:03.330 --> 41:05.608
to military construction projects . It ,

41:05.608 --> 41:07.889
it depends , of course , project by

41:07.889 --> 41:10.111
project where , you know , obviously we

41:10.111 --> 41:12.278
follow the Buy America Act and most of

41:12.278 --> 41:14.445
our material comes from this country .

41:14.445 --> 41:16.278
We're talking about , uh , other

41:16.278 --> 41:18.222
technologies like mass timber that

41:18.222 --> 41:20.000
could replace steel or concrete

41:20.000 --> 41:23.570
structures , um . Every project is

41:23.570 --> 41:26.409
individual and I think the most

41:26.409 --> 41:28.576
important thing we can do is to try to

41:28.576 --> 41:30.798
get the number right in the first place

41:30.798 --> 41:33.419
so that that everybody has decision

41:33.419 --> 41:35.530
space to make the . Unfortunately all

41:35.530 --> 41:38.179
of what you're saying um is is true and

41:38.179 --> 41:41.659
yet we still regularly have to are are

41:41.659 --> 41:43.939
presented with reprogrammings that are

41:43.939 --> 41:45.939
the result of unanticipated cost so

41:45.939 --> 41:47.995
that so the system you're describing

41:47.995 --> 41:50.050
isn't working , um , isn't improving

41:50.050 --> 41:52.520
and so no . Isn't working , isn't

41:52.520 --> 41:54.631
improving , and it's just hard for me

41:54.631 --> 41:56.899
to believe that you're , um , I , I

41:56.899 --> 41:59.010
know you're being truthful , but it's

41:59.010 --> 42:01.889
hard for me to um buy that , uh ,

42:02.199 --> 42:05.000
you're not sure whether 50% tariffs on

42:05.000 --> 42:07.169
aluminum steel are not gonna result in

42:07.169 --> 42:09.239
increased costs , Mr . Hamilton .

42:10.939 --> 42:12.949
Thank you , Ranking member Wessman

42:12.949 --> 42:15.260
Schultz for the question . I think the ,

42:15.679 --> 42:17.846
you know , I certainly acknowledge the

42:17.846 --> 42:19.846
challenge that you highlighted with

42:19.846 --> 42:21.735
cost estimating and especially in

42:21.735 --> 42:24.389
dynamic , uh , changing times in the

42:24.389 --> 42:26.729
markets . We've done a number of things

42:26.729 --> 42:29.729
to uh try to address those challenges

42:29.729 --> 42:32.570
as Mr . Morrow identified we've put a

42:32.570 --> 42:34.810
focus on better understanding market

42:34.810 --> 42:37.032
conditions and being able to to predict

42:37.032 --> 42:39.254
them and incorporate them into our cost

42:39.254 --> 42:41.421
estimating processes . We have a chief

42:41.421 --> 42:43.310
economist that tracks all those

42:43.310 --> 42:45.477
economic trends and . Builds them into

42:45.477 --> 42:47.699
our building cost indexes that we apply

42:47.699 --> 42:50.284
to our projects we've uh advanced our

42:50.284 --> 42:52.173
development of cost schedule risk

42:52.173 --> 42:54.445
analysis uh are working to mature

42:54.445 --> 42:56.612
designs . I think the innovations that

42:56.612 --> 42:58.995
we're talking about today in terms of

42:59.004 --> 43:01.324
materials and alternative construction

43:01.324 --> 43:03.546
methods is something that helps us deal

43:03.546 --> 43:06.199
with some of the . Uh , specific market

43:06.199 --> 43:08.310
turns whether it might be concrete or

43:08.310 --> 43:10.350
it might be steel or various

43:10.350 --> 43:13.239
construction materials that uh have

43:13.239 --> 43:16.030
perturbations and in cost we now have

43:16.030 --> 43:18.360
more alternatives to be able to use

43:18.360 --> 43:20.471
cross laminated timbers or to be able

43:20.471 --> 43:23.560
to use uh tension fabric structures or

43:23.560 --> 43:25.725
printed uh . Concrete materials and

43:25.725 --> 43:27.695
other things that help us avoid .

43:28.004 --> 43:30.004
There's only 2 pilot projects for

43:30.004 --> 43:32.594
service on materials like that , so

43:32.844 --> 43:35.066
there's certainly not widespread use of

43:35.066 --> 43:37.011
those alternative materials and so

43:37.011 --> 43:38.900
we're talking about the immediate

43:38.900 --> 43:42.445
impact of a 50% tariff tariff on the

43:42.445 --> 43:44.667
materials that we are currently using .

43:46.239 --> 43:49.189
So , but you're describing certainly in

43:49.189 --> 43:51.245
the long term when we move away from

43:51.245 --> 43:53.389
these kinds of materials , but it ,

43:53.409 --> 43:56.189
it's hard to wrap my mind around the

43:56.189 --> 43:58.830
idea that I , I realize it's no one

43:58.830 --> 44:01.229
wants to say what it is . The real

44:01.229 --> 44:03.340
answer is because we all know what it

44:03.340 --> 44:05.507
is , um , it's , it's pretty obvious ,

44:05.669 --> 44:09.550
um , Mr . Richardson . Thank you ,

44:09.570 --> 44:11.403
Wasserman Schultz , uh , for the

44:11.403 --> 44:13.737
question . I was prepared to talk about ,

44:13.810 --> 44:16.032
uh , barriers , potential barriers to ,

44:16.032 --> 44:17.754
um , including more innovative

44:17.754 --> 44:19.810
construction techniques and military

44:19.810 --> 44:22.409
construction . Uh , I would . So we

44:22.409 --> 44:25.050
didn't examine specific technologies so

44:25.050 --> 44:27.272
I would say that this , this includes ,

44:27.272 --> 44:29.449
uh , these increased tariffs could uh

44:29.449 --> 44:31.227
potentially force us to be more

44:31.227 --> 44:33.770
innovative and , and , uh , employing

44:33.770 --> 44:35.881
construction methods that could be uh

44:35.881 --> 44:38.103
used in the United States , which would

44:38.103 --> 44:40.214
result in job losses because if we're

44:40.214 --> 44:42.381
shifting away from the industries that

44:42.381 --> 44:44.603
we typically use materials from because

44:44.603 --> 44:46.659
they're too expensive then obviously

44:46.659 --> 44:48.603
people will lose their jobs . Mr .

44:48.603 --> 44:48.050
Chairman , I have just one other

44:48.050 --> 44:51.389
question , um . From my home state of

44:51.389 --> 44:54.659
Florida to the far shores of Guam , our

44:54.659 --> 44:56.770
military installations face a greater

44:56.770 --> 44:58.826
threat than ever before from extreme

44:58.826 --> 45:00.770
weather events that are impacted ,

45:00.770 --> 45:02.770
driven by climate change . Military

45:02.770 --> 45:04.881
construction obviously we've realized

45:04.881 --> 45:07.048
has to take into account the danger of

45:07.048 --> 45:09.326
wildfires , hurricanes , severe storms ,

45:09.326 --> 45:11.409
more depending on the location of

45:11.409 --> 45:13.631
projects . Uh , we have to increase our

45:13.631 --> 45:15.800
investments in resiliency now because

45:15.800 --> 45:18.889
even if building resiliency into these

45:18.889 --> 45:20.833
projects is costly , we know doing

45:20.833 --> 45:23.000
nothing results in far greater cost to

45:23.000 --> 45:24.667
rebuild damaged and destroyed

45:24.667 --> 45:26.778
infrastructure . So Mr . Hamilton and

45:26.778 --> 45:28.889
Mr . Morrow , um , what steps are you

45:28.889 --> 45:30.833
taking to ensure that all military

45:30.833 --> 45:32.667
construction projects prioritize

45:32.667 --> 45:34.722
resiliency and how might alternative

45:34.722 --> 45:36.945
materials like the ones mentioned today

45:36.945 --> 45:39.167
play a role in improving the resiliency

45:39.167 --> 45:41.409
of our infrastructure ? Thank you

45:41.409 --> 45:43.576
ranking member Wassman Schultz for the

45:43.576 --> 45:45.687
question . I think there are are many

45:45.687 --> 45:47.798
things we can do and and are doing to

45:47.798 --> 45:49.909
address this . I think it , it starts

45:49.909 --> 45:52.131
with , uh , understanding where we need

45:52.131 --> 45:54.353
to have different kinds of materials to

45:54.353 --> 45:57.409
withstand the kinds of um environments

45:57.409 --> 45:59.520
that we are witnessing today and some

45:59.520 --> 46:01.576
of the materials we're talking about

46:01.576 --> 46:03.798
today are specifically designed to deal

46:03.798 --> 46:05.965
with those uh harsh environments we're

46:05.965 --> 46:08.439
making sure that we . Um , are focused

46:08.439 --> 46:10.383
on updating our unified facilities

46:10.383 --> 46:12.679
criteria and guide specifications that

46:12.679 --> 46:15.080
incorporate those kinds of materials

46:15.080 --> 46:17.024
into the projects that we design .

46:17.024 --> 46:19.247
We're making sure that we , uh , harden

46:19.247 --> 46:21.639
areas , for example , as we , uh , try

46:21.639 --> 46:24.020
to recover from the Typhoon Ma War in

46:24.080 --> 46:26.590
in Guam to harden the utility systems

46:26.760 --> 46:29.189
to make them more resilient , uh , more ,

46:29.280 --> 46:31.679
uh , able to withstand the kinds of

46:31.679 --> 46:33.568
weather impacts that we have been

46:33.568 --> 46:35.623
experiencing . And uh make sure that

46:35.623 --> 46:37.790
we're prepared , we have redundancy in

46:37.790 --> 46:39.846
our , in our systems uh where that's

46:39.846 --> 46:41.679
necessary to be able to continue

46:41.679 --> 46:43.679
military operations in the , in the

46:43.679 --> 46:45.790
face of those kinds of events . Thank

46:45.790 --> 46:49.520
you . Just Congresswoman , 22 points .

46:49.639 --> 46:51.861
One , I , I would use Tyndall Air Force

46:51.861 --> 46:53.861
Base as an example . Obviously that

46:53.861 --> 46:56.083
installation was devastated following a

46:56.083 --> 46:58.306
hurricane many years ago . There's been

46:58.306 --> 47:00.306
a tremendous amount of construction

47:00.306 --> 47:02.760
there , and that those new facilities

47:02.760 --> 47:04.919
have fared very well in subsequent

47:04.919 --> 47:07.030
storms . So I do think we're learning

47:07.030 --> 47:09.363
lessons and we're continually improving .

47:09.363 --> 47:11.308
Another strength that the Corps of

47:11.308 --> 47:13.141
Engineers has is our civil works

47:13.141 --> 47:15.141
mission , so we do a lot of coastal

47:15.141 --> 47:17.308
storm damage reduction projects , um ,

47:17.370 --> 47:20.320
other projects of that nature . So when

47:20.320 --> 47:22.431
there are are coastal installations ,

47:22.530 --> 47:25.129
we've got that , uh , technology and

47:25.129 --> 47:27.290
that , uh , you know , subject matter

47:27.290 --> 47:30.169
expert base to , to lean on and if it's

47:30.169 --> 47:32.225
a , a navy or an Air Force project ,

47:32.290 --> 47:34.457
you know , we work collaboratively all

47:34.457 --> 47:36.568
the time . To make sure we're putting

47:36.568 --> 47:38.915
the right professionals to to address

47:38.915 --> 47:41.193
those types of issues . Thank you . Uh ,

47:41.193 --> 47:43.359
thank you , Mr . Chairman . I , I know

47:43.359 --> 47:45.471
you and I have seen the impact of the

47:45.471 --> 47:47.637
saltwater erosion , um , and intrusion

47:47.637 --> 47:50.965
in the Pacific and in Florida . We have

47:50.965 --> 47:53.243
McDill and Tyndall that are , you know ,

47:53.243 --> 47:55.354
right on the , right on the water and

47:55.354 --> 47:58.094
are regularly exposed to the risks . So

47:58.094 --> 48:00.205
we need to make sure we're continuing

48:00.205 --> 48:02.261
to focus on resiliency . Thank you .

48:06.350 --> 48:08.461
Thank you , Mr . Chairman , and thank

48:08.461 --> 48:10.683
you to all of our witnesses today , and

48:10.683 --> 48:12.889
I'll ask you that . Give me a little

48:12.889 --> 48:16.889
grace on my voice as well . But um I ,

48:16.969 --> 48:18.969
I wanna go back to the supply chain

48:18.969 --> 48:21.247
issue for , for a moment because I , I ,

48:21.247 --> 48:24.159
I think it's very important uh Not just

48:24.159 --> 48:26.760
in light of tariffs , but uh after

48:26.760 --> 48:30.080
COVID-19 , we saw how fragile all of

48:30.080 --> 48:33.479
our uh supply chains are .

48:33.840 --> 48:36.399
And one of the things that we have done ,

48:36.600 --> 48:38.378
uh , I'd like to ask you , Mr .

48:38.378 --> 48:40.600
Hambleton . Uh , one of the things that

48:40.600 --> 48:44.320
we've done in HUD . Is on some

48:44.320 --> 48:46.919
programming . Uh , we have allowed them

48:46.919 --> 48:50.100
a two-year . Um , appropriation .

48:51.000 --> 48:54.719
And that . The response has been

48:54.969 --> 48:58.570
very positive . Um , can you

48:58.739 --> 49:02.149
talk about how to , to , well , a

49:02.149 --> 49:04.419
couple of things . How would that help

49:04.419 --> 49:07.860
with your , your supply chain

49:07.860 --> 49:11.050
issues with , uh , cross laminate

49:11.050 --> 49:14.699
timber , for example . Uh , I know they

49:14.699 --> 49:17.520
did a project up in uh . Joint base ,

49:17.610 --> 49:21.120
um . Uh , Lewis Mc McCord ,

49:21.610 --> 49:24.570
um , I think Mr . Richardson talked

49:24.570 --> 49:27.729
about that . Um , can you talk a little

49:27.729 --> 49:31.300
bit about What that might mean

49:31.300 --> 49:34.530
to cost and uh

49:35.159 --> 49:37.739
development . Yes sir , thank thank you

49:37.739 --> 49:39.795
Congressman Ruther for the , for the

49:39.795 --> 49:42.770
question . We , we do struggle uh today

49:43.020 --> 49:45.500
as our construction projects are more

49:45.500 --> 49:47.939
and more costly , especially with our

49:47.939 --> 49:50.161
ONM appropriations , which are one year

49:50.161 --> 49:52.939
appropriations . Today the the average

49:52.939 --> 49:56.590
cost of our large um . ONM funded

49:56.590 --> 49:58.750
projects are larger than the military

49:58.750 --> 50:01.149
construction projects we funded not

50:01.149 --> 50:04.159
that many years ago and so as we as we

50:04.159 --> 50:06.159
look at those projects we also find

50:06.159 --> 50:08.381
that both for military construction and

50:08.381 --> 50:11.709
ONM funded projects we have many um

50:12.399 --> 50:14.840
specific components and equipment

50:14.840 --> 50:17.520
sometimes materials that are long leads

50:17.520 --> 50:21.324
sometimes uh a year . 15 , 23 years

50:21.324 --> 50:23.524
for substations and electrical switch

50:23.524 --> 50:25.746
gear and other things so the ability to

50:26.004 --> 50:28.324
have that equipment purchased in

50:28.324 --> 50:30.546
advance so that it's available when the

50:30.546 --> 50:32.768
construction project needs it is really

50:32.768 --> 50:34.824
important to allow the project to be

50:34.824 --> 50:36.713
able to finish , uh , in a timely

50:36.713 --> 50:38.824
manner . The length of appropriations

50:38.824 --> 50:41.360
is challenging because as you execute a

50:41.360 --> 50:45.020
very large OM funded appropriation uh

50:45.020 --> 50:48.320
appropriated project with uh with uh

50:48.320 --> 50:51.389
the expiration of the funds you're both

50:51.389 --> 50:54.070
squeezing it on the front end and often

50:54.070 --> 50:56.189
challenged to have a large number of

50:56.189 --> 50:58.669
those projects all going out to

50:58.669 --> 51:00.830
competition at the same time in the

51:00.830 --> 51:03.163
latter part of the fiscal year and then .

51:03.163 --> 51:04.830
You're executing it after the

51:04.830 --> 51:06.604
appropriation has expired , so

51:06.604 --> 51:08.885
especially on those repair projects you

51:08.885 --> 51:11.245
encounter unforeseen conditions and

51:11.245 --> 51:13.445
those conditions there's no longer a

51:13.445 --> 51:15.485
current appropriation to fund those

51:15.485 --> 51:17.965
changes . So you have to reach back to

51:17.965 --> 51:20.764
previous appropriations often delay in

51:20.764 --> 51:22.685
the project , raising the cost of

51:22.685 --> 51:25.334
delivery . So multi-year ONMM approach

51:25.334 --> 51:27.784
appropriations would be very helpful to

51:27.784 --> 51:31.149
alleviate that issue . It , it's worked

51:31.149 --> 51:33.093
very well on HUD , Mr . Chairman .

51:33.093 --> 51:35.316
That's something we may want to look at

51:35.316 --> 51:37.538
also . Mr . Healy , I , I , I am really

51:37.538 --> 51:39.860
thank you , Mr . Hall . I , I am really

51:39.860 --> 51:43.659
um intrigued by your , uh , development .

51:44.260 --> 51:46.149
Uh , one of the things that I'm .

51:47.129 --> 51:49.439
Really concerned about , uh , for

51:49.750 --> 51:52.409
America's defense is , you know , these

51:52.409 --> 51:56.209
electromagnetic pulses . And , uh , is

51:56.209 --> 52:00.199
your generator protected from those ,

52:00.370 --> 52:04.280
uh , EMPs ? What can it be ?

52:04.989 --> 52:07.100
Yeah , thank you , Congressman . Uh ,

52:07.100 --> 52:09.750
today it is not protected from EMP

52:09.750 --> 52:12.379
attacks , but what I will share is

52:12.379 --> 52:14.546
through our journey we've been working

52:14.546 --> 52:16.268
with the Navy and the Navy has

52:16.268 --> 52:18.268
continued to give us military specs

52:18.268 --> 52:20.268
that we need to be able to meet and

52:20.268 --> 52:22.212
then our engineering team goes and

52:22.212 --> 52:24.435
achieves those a perfect . Example is ,

52:24.435 --> 52:26.435
uh , Navy is going to run on diesel

52:26.435 --> 52:28.657
fuel . They wanted to be able to run on

52:28.657 --> 52:30.768
up to 20% contaminated with saltwater

52:30.768 --> 52:32.712
diesel fuel . So then we go and we

52:32.712 --> 52:34.768
engineer the system to be able to do

52:34.768 --> 52:36.935
that . Uh , so that's something if you

52:36.935 --> 52:36.735
know , the military is interested in ,

52:36.774 --> 52:39.280
we'd be happy to explore . That , that

52:39.280 --> 52:41.790
is , uh , pretty amazing , actually .

52:42.239 --> 52:44.610
Um , I'd , I'd like to ask , uh , Mr .

52:44.629 --> 52:48.239
Morrow , the , uh , in the

52:48.239 --> 52:51.919
2025 in the AA we allowed , uh ,

52:52.000 --> 52:55.879
I forget the section , uh , Let's see .

52:56.570 --> 52:59.649
We , we allow you to now use O&M

53:00.209 --> 53:03.250
instead of Milon for uh budgeting for

53:03.250 --> 53:06.979
some of the Uh Beach , uh ,

53:07.060 --> 53:09.820
beach erosion , other , uh , types of

53:09.820 --> 53:12.840
erosion in our military facilities like ,

53:13.260 --> 53:14.969
um , Blunt Island .

53:16.709 --> 53:19.959
Um Command in , in

53:19.959 --> 53:21.959
Jacksonville , where we've got some

53:21.959 --> 53:25.290
erosion on the island and um . is ,

53:25.909 --> 53:29.820
is the Navy planning on using

53:29.820 --> 53:32.659
that moving forward , or are we ?

53:33.870 --> 53:36.649
Is that all you need to to start using

53:36.649 --> 53:39.709
O1M ? So anytime we have more

53:39.709 --> 53:42.070
flexibility on the types of projects we

53:42.070 --> 53:44.870
can fund whether Milon or ONM it it

53:44.870 --> 53:46.830
makes us more responsive and more

53:46.830 --> 53:49.219
flexible . I , I'm not familiar if we

53:49.219 --> 53:51.790
have , so when the Corps executes ONM

53:51.790 --> 53:53.846
whether on behalf of the army or the

53:53.846 --> 53:55.989
navy , they do it on a reimbursable

53:55.989 --> 53:58.389
basis and our organization is funded by

53:58.389 --> 54:00.750
those projects . So we've , we've had a

54:00.750 --> 54:03.550
number of recent changes to the ONM

54:03.550 --> 54:05.717
rules that have all been very , very ,

54:05.717 --> 54:08.189
uh , helpful . So the most recent is in

54:08.189 --> 54:10.580
barracks , so we can now repair a

54:10.580 --> 54:12.691
barracks , um , through a replacement

54:12.691 --> 54:14.858
of a new facility . That's a , a pilot

54:14.858 --> 54:17.229
initiative that OK , Mr . Mara , I , I

54:17.229 --> 54:19.451
hate to cut you off , but I see my time

54:19.451 --> 54:21.618
has expired , uh , but I will , I will

54:21.618 --> 54:24.300
tell you I found it it's section 2847 .

54:24.949 --> 54:28.729
Uh , so if , if we could look at moving

54:28.729 --> 54:30.896
those projects forward , especially at

54:30.896 --> 54:33.118
Blunt Island Command , thank you . I'll

54:33.118 --> 54:34.118
yield back .

54:39.159 --> 54:42.909
I love you , man , I'm losing my

54:42.909 --> 54:46.719
voice , Mr . Bishop . Thank you very

54:46.719 --> 54:49.159
much , uh , Mr . Chairman , and let me

54:49.159 --> 54:51.649
thank the witnesses for their , uh ,

54:51.659 --> 54:54.679
the testimony this morning . Uh , let

54:54.679 --> 54:58.629
me start with , uh , Mr . Morrow . Uh ,

54:58.719 --> 55:02.199
as you know , Georgia is , has the

55:02.199 --> 55:04.919
largest stand of property on timberland

55:04.919 --> 55:07.229
in the nation . And we're proud of our

55:07.229 --> 55:09.451
efforts to be good stewards of the land

55:09.451 --> 55:11.989
and produce environmentally friendly

55:11.989 --> 55:14.830
materials that directly contribute to

55:14.830 --> 55:17.479
sequestering greenhouse gasses . Uh ,

55:17.520 --> 55:20.360
and the advent of mass timber , the

55:20.360 --> 55:22.416
building material made from multiple

55:22.416 --> 55:24.638
layers of wood that you've described is

55:24.638 --> 55:27.419
amazing . Uh , it's an innovation ,

55:27.629 --> 55:29.740
high quality , low cost , efficient ,

55:29.790 --> 55:31.957
uh , environmentally friendly building

55:31.957 --> 55:35.560
construction . Uh , you're now able to

55:35.560 --> 55:38.120
build much larger and taller structures

55:38.120 --> 55:41.919
with this engineered wood . In 2023 ,

55:41.959 --> 55:44.840
the core announced a new policy of

55:44.840 --> 55:47.000
considering at least one option where

55:47.000 --> 55:49.222
mass timber is a substantial structural

55:49.222 --> 55:51.959
component . We're comparing structural

55:51.959 --> 55:54.040
systems during the early design of

55:54.040 --> 55:56.580
vertical construction projects . Can

55:56.580 --> 56:00.219
you give an update Of the new policy

56:00.219 --> 56:02.330
and if you've seen an increase in the

56:02.330 --> 56:05.580
usage of mass timber in construction

56:05.580 --> 56:08.379
projects , and do you have any

56:08.379 --> 56:11.219
suggestions on how we can reduce the

56:11.219 --> 56:13.929
remaining barriers to the adoption of

56:13.929 --> 56:16.179
mass timber in military construction

56:16.179 --> 56:19.649
projects ? Yeah , thank you ,

56:19.659 --> 56:22.010
Congressman . So , so , quick update ,

56:22.090 --> 56:25.280
we are , we are at a 100% designed for

56:25.280 --> 56:27.969
a mass timber barracks at Joint Base

56:27.969 --> 56:31.489
Lewis-McChord and so that's an FY25

56:31.489 --> 56:34.449
MILCO project . So if we have an

56:34.449 --> 56:36.790
appropriations bill to execute that

56:36.790 --> 56:38.846
work , you know , we're poised to do

56:38.846 --> 56:40.830
that right now . Um , but you're

56:40.830 --> 56:43.510
absolutely right , um , over the last

56:43.510 --> 56:46.580
few years , there is much more , uh ,

56:46.590 --> 56:49.469
code compliant mass timber , cross

56:49.469 --> 56:53.429
laminated timber , uh , capability . So ,

56:53.580 --> 56:57.179
so we are encouraging all of our cons

56:57.179 --> 56:59.669
our designers and on our design build

56:59.669 --> 57:02.350
construction contractors to bring to

57:02.350 --> 57:04.780
the table , you know , any innovative

57:04.780 --> 57:06.891
technology that's both code compliant

57:06.891 --> 57:09.179
and and meets the mission . And so as

57:09.179 --> 57:12.219
commodity prices change as you know ,

57:12.510 --> 57:15.030
uh , the economic circumstances on the

57:15.030 --> 57:17.320
ground change , you know , that's when

57:17.320 --> 57:19.376
industry we wanna give them the most

57:19.376 --> 57:22.189
flexibility to bring the best ideas to

57:22.189 --> 57:24.250
the table , you know , to safely ,

57:24.790 --> 57:27.012
safely deliver quality projects on time

57:27.012 --> 57:29.429
and on budget , so we , we really rely

57:29.429 --> 57:31.540
on our industry partners , you know ,

57:31.669 --> 57:34.709
to be as innovative as possible . Uh ,

57:34.870 --> 57:36.759
you mentioned , uh , if we get an

57:36.759 --> 57:39.110
appropriations bill , uh , with the

57:39.110 --> 57:40.943
majority pushing for a full year

57:40.943 --> 57:43.709
continuing resolution , uh , I'm very

57:43.709 --> 57:45.765
concerned that the lack of certainty

57:45.765 --> 57:47.542
and direction from Congress may

57:47.542 --> 57:50.389
severely hamper our armed services . So

57:50.389 --> 57:53.429
I'd like to hear from you how this

57:53.429 --> 57:55.429
would affect MLCO projects that are

57:55.429 --> 57:58.590
currently in projects in progress or or

57:58.590 --> 58:00.949
those that are rejected for 2025

58:00.949 --> 58:03.729
completion . Uh , what a fool you CR

58:03.729 --> 58:05.840
delay future projects . So , we have

58:05.840 --> 58:08.409
two in Georgia for FY 29 . Will those

58:08.409 --> 58:12.010
be pushed back ? So if we weren't

58:12.010 --> 58:14.121
allowed new starts , my understanding

58:14.121 --> 58:16.343
is the current bill under consideration

58:16.343 --> 58:18.288
does allow new starts for military

58:18.288 --> 58:20.454
construction , but until it's passed ,

58:20.454 --> 58:24.280
we , we won't know . OK , one of

58:24.280 --> 58:27.280
the follow up , um . The

58:27.280 --> 58:31.209
NDAA for FY19 required the

58:31.209 --> 58:32.876
Department of Defense to stop

58:32.876 --> 58:35.919
purchasing uh PFAST by October of

58:35.919 --> 58:39.719
2023 and stop using them completely by

58:39.719 --> 58:43.429
October of 25 . Uh , what advancements ,

58:43.439 --> 58:46.479
uh , has the core of engineers made in

58:46.479 --> 58:49.080
this area as the deadline is quickly

58:49.080 --> 58:51.729
approaching ? Uh what testing is being

58:51.729 --> 58:53.673
completed on new materials , so we

58:53.673 --> 58:55.507
won't find ourselves in the same

58:55.507 --> 58:57.618
situation just down the road battling

58:57.618 --> 59:01.379
hazardous materials . Yes , so ,

59:01.540 --> 59:03.540
so we've been prohibited from using

59:03.540 --> 59:05.810
PFAST or PFAST containing materials

59:05.810 --> 59:08.850
primarily in AFLF or aqueous

59:08.850 --> 59:12.600
firefighting foam , um , since 2016 .

59:13.209 --> 59:15.449
However , our legacy systems , we need

59:15.449 --> 59:17.729
to decommission them , upgrade them to

59:17.729 --> 59:20.062
new systems , and , and we've been , uh ,

59:20.129 --> 59:22.351
you know , we're on a path to do that .

59:22.379 --> 59:25.739
Um , the final set of contracts to

59:25.739 --> 59:28.139
execute all of that recommissioning and

59:28.139 --> 59:31.979
upgrading those AFLF systems , um , are

59:31.979 --> 59:34.149
ready for contract award this year .

59:34.340 --> 59:36.780
Current price tag , uh , our estimate

59:36.780 --> 59:40.030
is about $56 million . Um , it's not

59:40.030 --> 59:42.030
yet been funded , but we're , we're

59:42.030 --> 59:44.197
ready to execute as soon as funding is

59:44.197 --> 59:46.419
made available . Again , you know , the

59:46.419 --> 59:48.308
core executes these projects on a

59:48.308 --> 59:50.780
reimbursable basis for the installation

59:50.780 --> 59:54.570
management command . Thank you , um Mr .

59:54.610 --> 59:56.969
Hamilton , uh , can you tell us what

59:56.969 --> 59:59.080
you've been seeing with regard to the

59:59.080 --> 01:00:01.191
use of uh mass timber with the navy ?

01:00:02.149 --> 01:00:04.316
Yes sir , thank you for the question .

01:00:04.316 --> 01:00:06.482
We , we also are doing a pilot project

01:00:06.482 --> 01:00:09.209
with uh cross laminated timbers . Ours

01:00:09.209 --> 01:00:11.265
is a child development center in the

01:00:11.265 --> 01:00:13.459
Hampton Roads , Virginia area . Uh ,

01:00:13.500 --> 01:00:15.722
that project is in design and will soon

01:00:15.722 --> 01:00:17.944
transition to construction . We found a

01:00:17.944 --> 01:00:20.290
lot of advantages to the , to the cross

01:00:20.290 --> 01:00:22.419
laminated timber . It's lighter than

01:00:22.419 --> 01:00:25.649
steel or concrete . It has resiliency

01:00:25.649 --> 01:00:28.419
features . It , uh , is actually very

01:00:28.699 --> 01:00:30.699
compared to other wood components ,

01:00:30.699 --> 01:00:33.379
very , um , good in fire , uh , and

01:00:33.379 --> 01:00:36.093
even . Blast resistance , um , but one

01:00:36.093 --> 01:00:38.260
of the big advantages we found with it

01:00:38.260 --> 01:00:41.863
is it can be manufactured in a in a

01:00:41.863 --> 01:00:44.653
um manufacturing environment which is

01:00:44.653 --> 01:00:46.943
very precise cut with uh digital

01:00:46.943 --> 01:00:49.762
equipment and brought to the site , uh ,

01:00:49.772 --> 01:00:52.333
in very precise component shapes and

01:00:52.333 --> 01:00:54.726
sizes and installed there . Often

01:00:54.726 --> 01:00:57.835
saving uh time of infield construction ,

01:00:58.125 --> 01:01:00.706
so we see this as a as an opportunity

01:01:00.706 --> 01:01:03.055
for uh future use in a number of

01:01:03.055 --> 01:01:05.516
different ways and as you mentioned now

01:01:05.605 --> 01:01:09.035
uh now uh uh available to be used for

01:01:09.035 --> 01:01:12.595
uh higher taller buildings uh than than

01:01:12.595 --> 01:01:14.651
we had , uh , approved it for in the

01:01:14.651 --> 01:01:16.840
past . Well , thank , thank you very

01:01:16.840 --> 01:01:18.939
much . I think my time has expired .

01:01:21.310 --> 01:01:23.532
Thank you , Mr . Chairman and thank you

01:01:23.532 --> 01:01:25.754
to the witnesses for being here with us

01:01:25.754 --> 01:01:27.866
this morning . Let me first start out

01:01:27.866 --> 01:01:29.977
by saying that I'm proud to represent

01:01:29.977 --> 01:01:32.199
the Oklahoma City metro area , which is

01:01:32.199 --> 01:01:34.199
home to Tinker Air Force Base , and

01:01:34.199 --> 01:01:36.366
Tinker has made use of some innovative

01:01:36.366 --> 01:01:38.532
technologies like augmented reality to

01:01:38.532 --> 01:01:40.588
smartly design military construction

01:01:40.588 --> 01:01:42.699
projects like the Bomber Agile common

01:01:42.699 --> 01:01:44.754
hangar . Augmented rally has allowed

01:01:44.754 --> 01:01:46.866
Tinker to identify some unforeseen um

01:01:46.866 --> 01:01:48.921
site conditions well ahead of time ,

01:01:49.129 --> 01:01:50.851
which will reduce the cost and

01:01:50.851 --> 01:01:52.796
streamline project timelines . And

01:01:52.796 --> 01:01:54.851
additionally , Tinker's bummer agile

01:01:54.851 --> 01:01:56.907
hanger has the potential of reducing

01:01:56.907 --> 01:01:58.740
costs from not having to rebuild

01:01:58.740 --> 01:02:00.962
facilities and projects as often . Uh ,

01:02:00.962 --> 01:02:02.962
thereby increasing the life span of

01:02:02.962 --> 01:02:05.018
these , uh , facilities . So I think

01:02:05.018 --> 01:02:07.240
that these innovative technologies have

01:02:07.240 --> 01:02:09.462
some incredible use , and I'm glad that

01:02:09.462 --> 01:02:11.629
to hear today that we're using some of

01:02:11.629 --> 01:02:11.429
them . One of the questions I have ,

01:02:11.439 --> 01:02:13.550
and it's probably more for Mr . Healy

01:02:13.550 --> 01:02:15.772
and Mr . Richardson , is , can you talk

01:02:15.772 --> 01:02:17.939
a little bit about the challenges that

01:02:17.939 --> 01:02:20.217
you face with actually uh getting into ,

01:02:20.217 --> 01:02:23.219
uh , you know , the DOD and utilizing

01:02:23.219 --> 01:02:25.709
these new innovative technologies . The

01:02:25.709 --> 01:02:28.429
process for engagement , um , is it

01:02:28.429 --> 01:02:30.800
challenging for you all to actually Uh ,

01:02:30.840 --> 01:02:32.951
enter the marketplace to be able to ,

01:02:32.951 --> 01:02:34.229
to sell your product .

01:02:36.850 --> 01:02:39.072
We were fortunate that our relationship

01:02:39.072 --> 01:02:41.239
with the Navy actually began when this

01:02:41.239 --> 01:02:43.072
technology was still within GE .

01:02:43.072 --> 01:02:45.294
Obviously GE has a massive relationship

01:02:45.294 --> 01:02:47.183
with the military , and then that

01:02:47.183 --> 01:02:49.128
contract moved over and then we've

01:02:49.128 --> 01:02:51.183
subsequently been able to , uh , win

01:02:51.183 --> 01:02:53.128
additional contracts with the Navy

01:02:53.128 --> 01:02:55.072
going forward . What we found , if

01:02:55.072 --> 01:02:57.183
we're doing it the organic path , the

01:02:57.183 --> 01:02:59.350
SBIR is the best place to start , uh ,

01:02:59.350 --> 01:03:01.572
but I , I do agree with your comment of

01:03:01.572 --> 01:03:03.350
as a startup company , it's not

01:03:03.350 --> 01:03:05.183
necessarily easy to navigate the

01:03:05.183 --> 01:03:07.719
military . Mr . Richson , would you

01:03:07.719 --> 01:03:10.729
like to add anything there ? So , uh ,

01:03:10.739 --> 01:03:12.572
the study we did for , uh , DASD

01:03:12.572 --> 01:03:14.949
examining , uh , barriers to , uh , the

01:03:14.949 --> 01:03:17.005
inclusion of innovative construction

01:03:17.005 --> 01:03:19.510
techniques and MLCO , uh , showed that

01:03:19.510 --> 01:03:21.621
perhaps , uh , the establishment of ,

01:03:21.621 --> 01:03:24.219
of goals and , and metrics could , uh ,

01:03:24.250 --> 01:03:26.669
uh , facilitate the use of more of

01:03:26.669 --> 01:03:28.780
these , of these materials , uh , for

01:03:28.780 --> 01:03:31.620
example , like identifying . Uh , a ,

01:03:31.629 --> 01:03:34.270
um , a specific technology and setting

01:03:34.270 --> 01:03:36.381
what and establishing what percentage

01:03:36.381 --> 01:03:38.350
of , uh , milk on projects would

01:03:38.350 --> 01:03:40.870
include said technology would be a way

01:03:40.870 --> 01:03:43.379
to overcome that barrier . Perfect .

01:03:43.540 --> 01:03:46.879
Thank you . Um , Shifting to Mr .

01:03:46.929 --> 01:03:48.873
Morrow and Mr . Hamilton , in your

01:03:48.873 --> 01:03:51.040
experience , have you seen regulations

01:03:51.040 --> 01:03:52.985
with green initiatives on military

01:03:52.985 --> 01:03:55.330
bases , uh , to include mandating

01:03:55.330 --> 01:03:57.552
certain environmental standards , drive

01:03:57.552 --> 01:04:01.489
up the cost of MOLCO projects ? So that ,

01:04:01.530 --> 01:04:03.641
uh , it was referenced earlier , uh ,

01:04:03.641 --> 01:04:06.969
Milon cost premium study . So when we

01:04:06.969 --> 01:04:09.209
evaluate the cost of Milon , we kind of

01:04:09.209 --> 01:04:11.530
sort them into these are legal reasons

01:04:11.530 --> 01:04:13.697
why military construction is sometimes

01:04:13.697 --> 01:04:15.752
more important expensive . These are

01:04:15.752 --> 01:04:17.863
regular . Regulatory issues and these

01:04:17.863 --> 01:04:20.854
are policy issues . And oftentimes with

01:04:20.854 --> 01:04:23.245
respect to those environmental issues ,

01:04:23.254 --> 01:04:25.294
it's the first cost versus the life

01:04:25.294 --> 01:04:27.614
cycle cost you , you know , and that

01:04:27.614 --> 01:04:30.215
analysis . So it certainly can drive

01:04:30.215 --> 01:04:33.495
first costs up , um , hopefully drive

01:04:33.495 --> 01:04:36.620
life cycle costs down . But , um , but

01:04:36.620 --> 01:04:39.939
that those policy issues definitely are

01:04:39.939 --> 01:04:41.883
a contributor to that . There's no

01:04:41.883 --> 01:04:43.995
guarantee that those life cycle costs

01:04:43.995 --> 01:04:45.883
will go down . This is sort of an

01:04:45.883 --> 01:04:48.300
assumption or a conjecture based on

01:04:48.300 --> 01:04:50.467
information you have today , correct ?

01:04:50.467 --> 01:04:52.578
And and any of those policies , there

01:04:52.578 --> 01:04:54.820
is a waiver process and many of them

01:04:54.820 --> 01:04:57.098
are changing right now , but , but yes .

01:04:57.699 --> 01:05:00.270
Mr . Hamilton , would you like to ? Um ,

01:05:00.300 --> 01:05:02.467
I agree with what Mr . Morrow said . I

01:05:02.467 --> 01:05:04.689
think that , uh , we often , as we look

01:05:04.689 --> 01:05:07.149
at the use of our facilities , the ,

01:05:07.159 --> 01:05:09.679
the length and the variety of missions

01:05:09.679 --> 01:05:12.229
that have given military facility will ,

01:05:12.479 --> 01:05:15.479
um . Experience over the life of the

01:05:15.479 --> 01:05:17.590
facility are very different than what

01:05:17.590 --> 01:05:19.812
is experienced in private sector and so

01:05:19.812 --> 01:05:22.090
the life cycle cost becomes really much

01:05:22.090 --> 01:05:23.923
more important than the than the

01:05:23.923 --> 01:05:25.820
initial cost and sometimes those

01:05:25.820 --> 01:05:27.931
investments that are driving costs up

01:05:27.931 --> 01:05:30.042
and many of them do have statutory or

01:05:30.042 --> 01:05:32.570
policy drivers but many of them do have

01:05:32.570 --> 01:05:34.570
reasons that pay . Of over the life

01:05:34.570 --> 01:05:36.792
cycle of that facility and so we try to

01:05:36.792 --> 01:05:38.524
look at those uh two different

01:05:38.524 --> 01:05:40.802
components and balance , uh , you know ,

01:05:40.802 --> 01:05:42.913
the needs of the military for a given

01:05:42.913 --> 01:05:45.024
project . Would it be more helpful if

01:05:45.024 --> 01:05:47.246
you had flexibility there to make those

01:05:47.246 --> 01:05:49.135
decisions without the mandates or

01:05:49.135 --> 01:05:51.246
policy directives that are included ?

01:05:51.246 --> 01:05:53.413
Yes , ma'am , flexibility is is always

01:05:53.413 --> 01:05:56.820
valuable . Thank you , um . Lastly , Mr .

01:05:56.860 --> 01:05:58.916
Hamilton , in your opening remarks ,

01:05:58.916 --> 01:06:00.527
you mentioned some statutory

01:06:00.527 --> 01:06:02.693
requirements that do need to change to

01:06:02.693 --> 01:06:04.749
allow more flexibility in the use of

01:06:04.749 --> 01:06:06.860
OTAs . Can you talk a little bit more

01:06:06.860 --> 01:06:09.082
about that ? Uh , yes , Congresswoman ,

01:06:09.082 --> 01:06:08.929
thanks for the question . I , I think

01:06:08.929 --> 01:06:10.929
this is an area that we're , we are

01:06:10.929 --> 01:06:13.540
really looking hard at because as Mr .

01:06:13.550 --> 01:06:15.570
Morrow said we rely on industry to

01:06:15.570 --> 01:06:18.129
bring innovative , um , techniques ,

01:06:18.149 --> 01:06:20.929
constructions , materials to our , our

01:06:20.929 --> 01:06:24.889
projects as you highlight um industry

01:06:24.889 --> 01:06:27.250
members are often hesitant to do that

01:06:27.250 --> 01:06:29.250
because there's risk and proposes .

01:06:29.250 --> 01:06:31.500
those new technologies , uh , there's

01:06:31.500 --> 01:06:33.722
risk in not being selected we're trying

01:06:33.722 --> 01:06:36.350
to make our um request for proposals

01:06:36.350 --> 01:06:38.489
have selection criteria that favor

01:06:38.739 --> 01:06:40.939
innovative solutions that drive down

01:06:40.939 --> 01:06:43.659
costs and speed delivery uh but there's

01:06:43.659 --> 01:06:45.659
still a familiarity because usually

01:06:45.659 --> 01:06:47.881
that that partner is coming in not as a

01:06:47.881 --> 01:06:50.103
general contractor they're coming in as

01:06:50.103 --> 01:06:52.870
a subcontractor or a vendor . And so

01:06:52.870 --> 01:06:55.092
they have to form that relationship and

01:06:55.092 --> 01:06:57.270
the and the general contractor has to

01:06:57.270 --> 01:06:59.429
be familiar with that technology and

01:06:59.429 --> 01:07:01.596
feel comfortable in overseeing that in

01:07:01.596 --> 01:07:03.651
the project that they're responsible

01:07:03.651 --> 01:07:06.270
for and that sometimes takes time and

01:07:06.270 --> 01:07:08.270
so I think things that partner that

01:07:08.270 --> 01:07:10.709
relationship um help facilitate uh

01:07:10.709 --> 01:07:12.750
innovation . The other , the other

01:07:12.750 --> 01:07:14.917
point that I think is really important

01:07:14.917 --> 01:07:17.028
that I would make is that our current

01:07:17.028 --> 01:07:20.199
um . Contracting requirements , some

01:07:20.199 --> 01:07:23.879
statutory , some regulatory make it

01:07:23.879 --> 01:07:25.601
very difficult for us to bring

01:07:25.601 --> 01:07:28.310
constructors in early to partner with

01:07:28.310 --> 01:07:30.520
designers to walk through those means

01:07:30.520 --> 01:07:33.199
and methods and alternatives and go

01:07:33.199 --> 01:07:35.600
through the the use cases that might

01:07:35.600 --> 01:07:38.360
drive down cost and speed and so

01:07:38.360 --> 01:07:40.527
additional flexibilities that allow us

01:07:40.527 --> 01:07:42.860
to award a a construction type contract .

01:07:43.169 --> 01:07:45.336
Uh , partnered with the designer early

01:07:45.336 --> 01:07:47.280
in the process would be helpful to

01:07:47.280 --> 01:07:49.336
bring innovation to projects . Thank

01:07:49.336 --> 01:07:51.280
you and Mr . Chairman , I think it

01:07:51.280 --> 01:07:53.280
would be great for Mr . Hamilton to

01:07:53.280 --> 01:07:55.336
maybe give , give us some additional

01:07:55.336 --> 01:07:55.320
examples of how that could be utilized

01:07:55.320 --> 01:07:57.376
and what policy directives we may be

01:07:57.376 --> 01:07:59.969
able to um implement to help uh achieve

01:07:59.969 --> 01:08:02.136
those long term goals . So with that ,

01:08:02.136 --> 01:08:03.580
Mr . Chairman , I yield .

01:08:07.830 --> 01:08:09.830
Thank you so much , Mr . Chairman .

01:08:09.830 --> 01:08:12.669
Madam ranking member . I am thrilled to

01:08:12.669 --> 01:08:14.989
be on the Appropriations Committee and

01:08:14.989 --> 01:08:17.229
on this subcommittee , uh , to our

01:08:17.229 --> 01:08:19.340
witnesses , thank you all so much for

01:08:19.340 --> 01:08:21.562
sharing all of this great information .

01:08:21.759 --> 01:08:25.080
With us . I get to represent Fort Bliss .

01:08:25.160 --> 01:08:28.839
Uh , it is a premier installation and

01:08:28.839 --> 01:08:32.589
the 3D barracks that uh were

01:08:32.589 --> 01:08:35.439
printed on Fort Bliss are really

01:08:35.439 --> 01:08:39.270
exceptional and uh was proud to be on

01:08:39.270 --> 01:08:42.160
site for different components of the

01:08:42.160 --> 01:08:44.909
project . And I'd like to invite any of

01:08:44.909 --> 01:08:47.076
my fellow committee members who'd like

01:08:47.076 --> 01:08:49.298
to come and see them to join me at Fort

01:08:49.298 --> 01:08:51.588
Bliss so you can take a look firsthand

01:08:51.588 --> 01:08:55.238
at the quality of the work we are all

01:08:55.238 --> 01:08:58.278
wanting to find as much efficiency and

01:08:58.278 --> 01:09:01.559
savings as possible . I've been so

01:09:01.559 --> 01:09:03.559
alarmed and concerned about the way

01:09:03.559 --> 01:09:06.600
that it's being done right now by . Um ,

01:09:06.709 --> 01:09:10.279
the president and , uh , his buddy Elon

01:09:10.279 --> 01:09:14.209
Musk with the mass firings of watchdogs

01:09:14.209 --> 01:09:17.879
and uh people with key

01:09:17.879 --> 01:09:20.750
important experience . Uh , I , I think

01:09:20.750 --> 01:09:22.917
that costs us money in the long term .

01:09:22.917 --> 01:09:25.990
It doesn't save us money . But the

01:09:25.990 --> 01:09:27.768
conversations happening in this

01:09:27.768 --> 01:09:29.712
committee right now are what could

01:09:29.779 --> 01:09:32.910
actually save us money if we take the

01:09:32.910 --> 01:09:34.966
information that we learned here and

01:09:34.966 --> 01:09:38.600
actually put it into action and We

01:09:38.600 --> 01:09:41.839
have uh data from our district from

01:09:41.839 --> 01:09:44.839
Fort Bliss about the Milon projects

01:09:44.839 --> 01:09:47.560
there , uh , and they are one example

01:09:47.560 --> 01:09:50.240
of where this subcommittee really could

01:09:50.240 --> 01:09:53.709
find some key savings . Many of the ,

01:09:53.720 --> 01:09:56.359
the military construction projects and

01:09:56.359 --> 01:09:59.720
this is true across the country . End

01:09:59.720 --> 01:10:02.520
up costing anywhere in El Paso our data

01:10:02.520 --> 01:10:05.919
shows from 68% more than what's

01:10:05.919 --> 01:10:09.750
happening locally to 500 times more

01:10:10.080 --> 01:10:12.247
uh than what is happening locally when

01:10:12.247 --> 01:10:14.799
we compare housing built at our local

01:10:14.799 --> 01:10:17.430
university , same square footage , um ,

01:10:17.439 --> 01:10:19.550
you know , kind of same parameters to

01:10:19.550 --> 01:10:22.319
barracks construction , the cost .

01:10:22.545 --> 01:10:25.386
Differential is shocking , so there are

01:10:25.386 --> 01:10:28.346
huge opportunities for us to change

01:10:28.346 --> 01:10:30.513
things up and , and you all have given

01:10:30.513 --> 01:10:32.945
us some good examples um I think among

01:10:32.945 --> 01:10:36.226
those uh opportunities we can require

01:10:36.226 --> 01:10:38.985
comparative market analysis for all

01:10:38.985 --> 01:10:41.945
facilities improvement plan projects we

01:10:41.945 --> 01:10:44.145
could empower a privatized housing

01:10:44.145 --> 01:10:46.034
partner to build barracks . As an

01:10:46.034 --> 01:10:48.642
example , we could establish major

01:10:48.642 --> 01:10:51.412
construction intergovernmental service

01:10:51.412 --> 01:10:53.731
agreements with local governments as an

01:10:53.731 --> 01:10:57.611
example , but 3D printing is

01:10:57.611 --> 01:11:01.162
uh another critical example . So Mr .

01:11:01.171 --> 01:11:03.651
Morrow , um , would love to dive in a

01:11:03.651 --> 01:11:07.321
little bit on this with you . What are ,

01:11:07.651 --> 01:11:10.770
um . What kind , or actually , you know

01:11:10.770 --> 01:11:12.770
what ? I'm gonna skip to the second

01:11:12.770 --> 01:11:14.810
question um that I was planning on

01:11:14.810 --> 01:11:18.169
asking you , but what latitude do you

01:11:18.169 --> 01:11:21.310
think installation commanders need in

01:11:21.310 --> 01:11:25.229
order to utilize more 3D 3D

01:11:25.229 --> 01:11:27.930
printing for things like barracks or

01:11:27.930 --> 01:11:30.709
for Other construction projects . When

01:11:30.709 --> 01:11:32.987
I was on site after the ribbon cutting ,

01:11:32.987 --> 01:11:35.589
I asked the folks there same question .

01:11:36.299 --> 01:11:38.521
What , what were the impediments ? What

01:11:38.521 --> 01:11:40.520
were , what are the areas of

01:11:40.520 --> 01:11:42.687
opportunity where we can expedite this

01:11:42.687 --> 01:11:44.798
more ? What do we need to do in order

01:11:44.798 --> 01:11:46.720
to make more projects like this

01:11:46.720 --> 01:11:49.370
successful and possible ? Thank you

01:11:49.370 --> 01:11:51.703
Congresswoman . That's a great question .

01:11:51.703 --> 01:11:53.870
So our installation commanders and our

01:11:53.870 --> 01:11:55.729
garrisons are the requirements

01:11:55.729 --> 01:11:57.919
generators for all of the MILCO

01:11:57.919 --> 01:11:59.975
projects that eventually come to the

01:11:59.975 --> 01:12:02.370
corps of Engineers or to NAFAC um for

01:12:02.370 --> 01:12:05.049
execution . So it , it really starts

01:12:05.049 --> 01:12:07.450
with , you know , what are their , uh ,

01:12:07.459 --> 01:12:10.109
requirements on site and if they can

01:12:10.109 --> 01:12:13.049
shape those to be conducive for

01:12:13.049 --> 01:12:15.729
innovative technologies , uh , so a lot

01:12:15.729 --> 01:12:17.618
of it has to do with . You know ,

01:12:17.618 --> 01:12:19.673
multi-story construction is gonna be

01:12:19.673 --> 01:12:21.840
more problematic , you know , the mass

01:12:21.840 --> 01:12:24.062
timber has its limitations on how large

01:12:24.062 --> 01:12:26.229
a building , but , but there's nothing

01:12:26.229 --> 01:12:28.285
that prevents them from , you know ,

01:12:28.285 --> 01:12:30.118
creating a campus environment or

01:12:30.118 --> 01:12:32.285
something slightly different . So , so

01:12:32.285 --> 01:12:34.459
again . You know what we encourage

01:12:34.459 --> 01:12:38.370
people to do is be as you know as

01:12:38.540 --> 01:12:41.310
uh performance oriented and developing

01:12:41.310 --> 01:12:44.410
those requirements as possible and not

01:12:44.410 --> 01:12:47.180
as prescriptive and when you do that

01:12:47.180 --> 01:12:50.740
then it opens up opportunities for new

01:12:50.740 --> 01:12:53.419
ideas , innovative technology , etc .

01:12:53.859 --> 01:12:56.081
and , and I did just recently meet with

01:12:56.081 --> 01:12:58.137
our construction field . Team out of

01:12:58.137 --> 01:13:00.325
the Fort Worth district tremendous uh

01:13:00.325 --> 01:13:03.674
set of uh exemplary professionals . So

01:13:03.674 --> 01:13:05.841
thank you for those kind words . Thank

01:13:05.841 --> 01:13:08.007
you . I'm out of time , but I think it

01:13:08.007 --> 01:13:10.007
would be important at some point to

01:13:10.007 --> 01:13:11.896
hear from all of you what are the

01:13:11.896 --> 01:13:15.194
barriers to making sure we move on this

01:13:15.194 --> 01:13:17.234
opportunity quickly so that we can

01:13:17.234 --> 01:13:19.345
focus on eliminating those barriers ,

01:13:19.435 --> 01:13:21.046
Mr . Chairman , I you back .

01:13:27.330 --> 01:13:29.330
Thank you Mr . Chairman . Thank you

01:13:29.330 --> 01:13:31.441
gentlemen for being here with us this

01:13:31.441 --> 01:13:33.608
morning . Very fascinating topic to me

01:13:33.608 --> 01:13:35.663
and , and there's also some transfer

01:13:35.663 --> 01:13:34.979
over with the cores to the Energy and

01:13:34.979 --> 01:13:37.312
Water subcommittee . I sit on . uh , Mr .

01:13:37.312 --> 01:13:39.379
Hamilton , uh , Mrs . B , uh , stole

01:13:39.379 --> 01:13:41.212
the question I was gonna ask you

01:13:41.212 --> 01:13:43.268
because I , I know in your testimony

01:13:43.268 --> 01:13:43.259
you talked about statutory changes

01:13:43.259 --> 01:13:45.481
needed . I'd love to follow up with you

01:13:45.481 --> 01:13:47.703
further on some of those , but , um , I

01:13:47.703 --> 01:13:49.703
know Mr . Marr looked like you were

01:13:49.703 --> 01:13:51.926
chomping at the bit to hop in there too

01:13:51.926 --> 01:13:51.220
from the course's perspective . What

01:13:51.220 --> 01:13:53.442
are some statutory changes we can do to

01:13:53.442 --> 01:13:56.560
assist you with this process ? So Mr .

01:13:56.569 --> 01:13:58.580
Hamilton referred to getting

01:13:58.580 --> 01:14:00.970
construction contractors involved early

01:14:00.970 --> 01:14:03.609
in the process and , and we can do that

01:14:03.609 --> 01:14:06.120
within federal acquisition regulations ,

01:14:06.160 --> 01:14:09.089
but sometimes we have to really contort

01:14:09.089 --> 01:14:11.256
ourselves to to make that . So we have

01:14:11.256 --> 01:14:13.370
ECI contracts and what we refer to as

01:14:13.370 --> 01:14:15.609
IDAC , um , contracts , integrated

01:14:15.609 --> 01:14:18.209
design and construction contracts , but

01:14:18.209 --> 01:14:20.799
it , it does require a lot of extra

01:14:20.799 --> 01:14:24.089
contract administration and extra hoops

01:14:24.089 --> 01:14:26.390
to jump through . So other

01:14:26.390 --> 01:14:28.501
transactional authorities , we have a

01:14:28.501 --> 01:14:30.790
Milon construction pilot for all the

01:14:30.790 --> 01:14:33.390
services for OTAs . Again , it goes

01:14:33.390 --> 01:14:35.189
back to that comment , the more

01:14:35.189 --> 01:14:37.910
flexibility we have , just like when we

01:14:37.910 --> 01:14:40.132
don't , if we tell a contractor exactly

01:14:40.132 --> 01:14:42.299
what we want , we're gonna get what we

01:14:42.299 --> 01:14:44.410
ask for . If we tell them . The , the

01:14:44.410 --> 01:14:46.521
requirements that we need then we get

01:14:46.521 --> 01:14:48.632
those new ideas . The same is true on

01:14:48.632 --> 01:14:50.854
the acquisition side for NAAC and UAE ,

01:14:50.854 --> 01:14:52.966
you know , the more decision space we

01:14:52.966 --> 01:14:55.200
have and flexibility , the more

01:14:55.200 --> 01:14:57.799
innovative we can be in , in bringing

01:14:57.799 --> 01:15:00.229
those to bear , uh , so I would say .

01:15:01.200 --> 01:15:03.040
Right now we can't really do

01:15:03.040 --> 01:15:05.262
progressive design bid build , which is

01:15:05.262 --> 01:15:07.430
a common delivery method in industry

01:15:07.759 --> 01:15:09.759
within the constraints that we have

01:15:09.759 --> 01:15:11.981
other than through an OTA so that would

01:15:11.981 --> 01:15:14.879
be an example . OK , I look forward to

01:15:14.879 --> 01:15:16.768
following up with both of you and

01:15:16.768 --> 01:15:18.657
working with staff . So if we can

01:15:18.657 --> 01:15:18.640
there's specific things we can do to

01:15:18.640 --> 01:15:20.751
assist in that process and we need to

01:15:20.751 --> 01:15:22.930
do it , um . Let's see , Mr .

01:15:22.939 --> 01:15:24.828
Richardson , you talked about DOD

01:15:24.828 --> 01:15:27.359
needing a roadmap , um , can you talk a

01:15:27.359 --> 01:15:29.581
little bit more about that ? What , how

01:15:29.581 --> 01:15:31.637
can we assist in that and what would

01:15:31.637 --> 01:15:33.692
that look like ? OK . Uh thank you ,

01:15:33.692 --> 01:15:35.803
Congressman , for the question . So ,

01:15:35.803 --> 01:15:37.859
uh , the road map that , that , uh ,

01:15:37.970 --> 01:15:40.026
that we envisioned , uh , would look

01:15:40.026 --> 01:15:42.137
like the National Defense Science and

01:15:42.137 --> 01:15:45.459
Technology strategy , um . So that that

01:15:45.459 --> 01:15:47.299
strategy identifies uh critical

01:15:47.299 --> 01:15:49.355
technologies for national , national

01:15:49.355 --> 01:15:52.910
defense , so . And uh commercial

01:15:52.910 --> 01:15:54.743
actually leads , uh , commercial

01:15:54.743 --> 01:15:56.410
industry leads the way in the

01:15:56.410 --> 01:15:56.290
development of those of those

01:15:56.290 --> 01:15:59.089
technologies . Those technologies are

01:15:59.089 --> 01:16:01.850
um are shared and that's the strategy

01:16:01.850 --> 01:16:04.017
is , is , uh , you can look it up on ,

01:16:04.017 --> 01:16:06.490
on the internet and um .

01:16:07.779 --> 01:16:09.835
Because those are are are shared and

01:16:09.835 --> 01:16:12.100
available , we see , uh , academia , we

01:16:12.100 --> 01:16:14.267
see the Department of Defense , and we

01:16:14.267 --> 01:16:16.649
see industry innovative in that space

01:16:16.979 --> 01:16:19.035
so something similar to that but for

01:16:19.035 --> 01:16:20.868
MilLCO , which would include the

01:16:20.868 --> 01:16:22.868
identification of technologies that

01:16:22.868 --> 01:16:24.979
would be critical to improving MilLCO

01:16:24.979 --> 01:16:26.923
performance . Uh , would be what I

01:16:26.923 --> 01:16:28.979
recommend . OK , great , and we look

01:16:28.979 --> 01:16:30.701
forward to working with you on

01:16:30.701 --> 01:16:30.609
something like that as well , Mr .

01:16:30.640 --> 01:16:32.973
Healy , thank you for your presentation .

01:16:32.973 --> 01:16:34.973
I was not familiar with , with what

01:16:34.973 --> 01:16:36.973
you're doing and , uh , I'd love to

01:16:36.973 --> 01:16:36.759
learn more . I'd love to get a deeper

01:16:36.759 --> 01:16:38.648
dive on it . Sounds like you've ,

01:16:38.648 --> 01:16:40.759
you've figured out the better and the

01:16:40.759 --> 01:16:43.037
faster at scale . Will this be cheaper ?

01:16:43.037 --> 01:16:45.092
Seems like it would be just with all

01:16:45.092 --> 01:16:47.203
the problems it solves . So we expect

01:16:47.203 --> 01:16:49.315
that upfront cost will be more than a

01:16:49.315 --> 01:16:51.315
conventional diesel generator , but

01:16:51.315 --> 01:16:53.315
then it really comes down to what's

01:16:53.315 --> 01:16:53.120
your ROI , what's your payback , and

01:16:53.120 --> 01:16:55.959
there's 3 or 2 key advantages that

01:16:55.959 --> 01:16:57.737
we're offering . So one is that

01:16:57.737 --> 01:16:59.626
improved efficiency , which means

01:16:59.626 --> 01:17:01.848
you're just gonna use less fuel , which

01:17:01.848 --> 01:17:04.015
is the majority of cost of operating a

01:17:04.015 --> 01:17:06.348
generator is the fuel that goes into it .

01:17:06.348 --> 01:17:08.181
And then the second is the lower

01:17:08.181 --> 01:17:10.181
maintenance . So we're finding that

01:17:10.181 --> 01:17:12.403
depends on the industry , uh , actually

01:17:12.403 --> 01:17:14.570
in military applications where fuel is

01:17:14.570 --> 01:17:16.792
very expensive in some instances . It's

01:17:16.792 --> 01:17:18.903
gonna mean you're gonna have a faster

01:17:18.903 --> 01:17:20.959
payback , but in normal industries ,

01:17:20.959 --> 01:17:23.070
we're seeing it's in a few years that

01:17:23.070 --> 01:17:25.015
you actually break over and it's a

01:17:25.015 --> 01:17:27.237
positive return on your investment . Do

01:17:27.237 --> 01:17:29.459
you feel that government contracting is

01:17:29.459 --> 01:17:31.403
set up to allow for the long range

01:17:31.403 --> 01:17:33.570
horizon view or is it just enough cost

01:17:33.570 --> 01:17:35.792
whoever's cheapest to produce gets it ?

01:17:35.792 --> 01:17:35.759
I mean , do you , do you feel that we

01:17:35.759 --> 01:17:39.120
factor ROI into to as we evaluate

01:17:39.120 --> 01:17:41.560
different options ? I'm probably not

01:17:41.560 --> 01:17:43.727
the best commented on it at this stage

01:17:43.727 --> 01:17:45.949
just because of where we are , where we

01:17:45.949 --> 01:17:47.338
just have moved into the

01:17:47.338 --> 01:17:49.616
commercialization phase of things . Uh ,

01:17:49.616 --> 01:17:51.393
up to now it's been more of the

01:17:51.393 --> 01:17:53.727
development phase working with the navy ,

01:17:53.727 --> 01:17:55.671
but one thing to share is additive

01:17:55.671 --> 01:17:57.838
manufacturing 3D printing , it's new ,

01:17:57.838 --> 01:18:00.004
right ? And so if , if the military is

01:18:00.004 --> 01:18:02.227
going to demand volume of these type of

01:18:02.227 --> 01:18:04.282
solutions , that means the suppliers

01:18:04.282 --> 01:18:06.560
need to go out and procure 3D printers ,

01:18:06.560 --> 01:18:08.560
set those up , and that process can

01:18:08.560 --> 01:18:10.671
take over a year to do . And so any ,

01:18:10.720 --> 01:18:13.270
uh , vision or any kind of visibility

01:18:13.270 --> 01:18:15.919
into the horizon of demand and volumes

01:18:15.919 --> 01:18:18.310
is extremely helpful because . This

01:18:18.310 --> 01:18:20.830
isn't just hire contractors to go build

01:18:20.830 --> 01:18:22.997
it . This is go buy new machines , new

01:18:22.997 --> 01:18:24.830
equipment that will be better at

01:18:24.830 --> 01:18:27.470
manufacturing . Carno likes cold , so

01:18:27.470 --> 01:18:30.160
how about the moon or Mars ? Yeah , so

01:18:30.160 --> 01:18:32.327
outer space is something that's on the

01:18:32.327 --> 01:18:34.549
theoretical . We think it can be done ,

01:18:34.549 --> 01:18:36.604
but , uh , time will tell . We gotta

01:18:36.604 --> 01:18:38.549
get things deployed here in the US

01:18:38.549 --> 01:18:40.827
first . Roger , thanks , Mr . Chairman .

01:18:40.827 --> 01:18:43.620
I'll go back . Thank you , Mr .

01:18:43.729 --> 01:18:45.618
Chairman . Uh , I am , uh , truly

01:18:45.618 --> 01:18:47.840
honored and excited to be , uh , on the

01:18:47.840 --> 01:18:50.007
subcommittee , and , uh , I have the ,

01:18:50.007 --> 01:18:52.180
uh , great honor and responsibility to

01:18:52.180 --> 01:18:54.013
represent Marine Corps Base Camp

01:18:54.013 --> 01:18:55.791
Pendleton in beautiful Southern

01:18:55.791 --> 01:18:57.736
California . Uh , just a couple of

01:18:57.736 --> 01:18:59.569
weeks ago , I toured some of our

01:18:59.569 --> 01:19:02.049
barracks and they need help . So I'm

01:19:02.049 --> 01:19:04.216
very excited to be on the subcommittee

01:19:04.216 --> 01:19:06.271
in part , uh , to see what we can do

01:19:06.271 --> 01:19:08.330
about the barracks , uh , they're on

01:19:08.330 --> 01:19:10.810
base . We've got about 125 of them .

01:19:11.189 --> 01:19:13.022
And about half either need to be

01:19:13.022 --> 01:19:15.120
completely torn down or thoroughly

01:19:15.120 --> 01:19:18.169
rehabilitated . Uh , the Marines , uh ,

01:19:18.279 --> 01:19:21.040
that , uh , run the base , they talk

01:19:21.040 --> 01:19:22.929
about the barracks as operational

01:19:22.929 --> 01:19:25.439
necessity . No longer do they use the

01:19:25.439 --> 01:19:27.661
term quality of life , it's operational

01:19:27.661 --> 01:19:29.919
necessity . It's about readiness , and

01:19:29.919 --> 01:19:32.120
a lot of these um junior enlisted

01:19:32.120 --> 01:19:34.689
marines and sailors are living . In

01:19:34.689 --> 01:19:36.745
subpar conditions . You've got , you

01:19:36.745 --> 01:19:38.856
know , HVAC systems that don't work .

01:19:38.856 --> 01:19:40.800
You've got mold , you know , I , I

01:19:40.800 --> 01:19:43.022
toured one , building where Marines had

01:19:43.022 --> 01:19:45.133
been living as recently as just a few

01:19:45.133 --> 01:19:47.189
months before , and , uh , it , it's

01:19:47.189 --> 01:19:49.356
just unacceptable that , that we would

01:19:49.356 --> 01:19:51.522
continue , uh , to , to , uh , to have

01:19:51.522 --> 01:19:53.745
barracks in that shape . Towards that ,

01:19:53.745 --> 01:19:55.800
and I'm very interested in , uh , in

01:19:55.800 --> 01:19:57.800
getting this fixed , and if , if 3D

01:19:57.800 --> 01:20:00.022
printing provides a way to do it , um .

01:20:00.040 --> 01:20:03.439
Maybe faster and cheaper , that's of

01:20:03.439 --> 01:20:05.580
interest to me . Um , but I wanted to

01:20:05.580 --> 01:20:07.747
ask , um , and maybe Mr . Richardson ,

01:20:07.747 --> 01:20:09.913
I'll start with you cause you had some

01:20:09.913 --> 01:20:13.069
of this in your testimony . Um , Camp

01:20:13.069 --> 01:20:15.459
Pendleton , we've got multi-level

01:20:15.459 --> 01:20:17.570
barracks , you know , bigger , bigger

01:20:17.570 --> 01:20:19.626
buildings . I was talking to my , my

01:20:19.626 --> 01:20:21.459
colleague and friend , um , Ms .

01:20:21.459 --> 01:20:23.681
Escobar about the Fort Bliss barracks .

01:20:23.819 --> 01:20:26.169
Has there been any testing of larger ,

01:20:26.390 --> 01:20:28.612
uh , barracks , larger facilities ? Can

01:20:28.612 --> 01:20:30.501
you tell me anything about higher

01:20:30.501 --> 01:20:32.970
initial costs , size constraints ?

01:20:32.979 --> 01:20:34.979
Obviously , in California , we have

01:20:34.979 --> 01:20:37.035
these things called earthquakes that

01:20:37.035 --> 01:20:39.368
we're always concerned about , and then ,

01:20:39.368 --> 01:20:41.090
uh , maybe whatever additional

01:20:41.090 --> 01:20:43.257
regulatory approval would be needed to

01:20:43.257 --> 01:20:45.479
do something like that . Uh , thank you

01:20:45.479 --> 01:20:45.069
for the question , uh , Congressman .

01:20:45.229 --> 01:20:47.562
Uh , we did not , uh , it's part of the ,

01:20:47.562 --> 01:20:49.729
the study I , I've mentioned , examine

01:20:49.729 --> 01:20:51.896
any specific technologies , but what I

01:20:51.896 --> 01:20:54.007
can tell you , and I know , uh , Mr .

01:20:54.007 --> 01:20:56.285
Hamilton or Mr . Morrow can comment on ,

01:20:56.285 --> 01:20:58.396
uh , if you're talking about building

01:20:58.396 --> 01:21:00.451
multi-story facilities , uh , you're

01:21:00.451 --> 01:21:02.451
gonna be limited to what innovative

01:21:02.451 --> 01:21:04.673
techniques and materials that you can ,

01:21:04.673 --> 01:21:04.390
you can use . Uh , for example , I

01:21:04.390 --> 01:21:06.223
believe the concrete printing is

01:21:06.223 --> 01:21:08.334
limited to 11 story , one story right

01:21:08.334 --> 01:21:10.549
now , however , a lamented , uh , uh ,

01:21:10.560 --> 01:21:12.990
timber is , is not . Anybody else want

01:21:12.990 --> 01:21:15.101
to comment on this ? Thank you . Uh ,

01:21:15.620 --> 01:21:17.676
uh , I would just say that the , the

01:21:17.676 --> 01:21:19.810
current requirement is single story ,

01:21:20.149 --> 01:21:23.069
uh , seismic zones A and B , so

01:21:23.069 --> 01:21:25.013
potentially problematic , but more

01:21:25.013 --> 01:21:27.910
testing could result in increased

01:21:27.910 --> 01:21:31.029
seismic uh zone areas or multi-story

01:21:31.029 --> 01:21:32.810
building . And for the Corps of

01:21:32.810 --> 01:21:34.921
Engineers that testing is done out of

01:21:34.921 --> 01:21:36.921
our construction lab in Champaign ,

01:21:36.921 --> 01:21:39.549
Illinois and I those people are amazing

01:21:39.549 --> 01:21:41.850
and I would invite anyone on the

01:21:41.850 --> 01:21:43.961
subcommittee who would like a tour or

01:21:43.961 --> 01:21:46.183
to visit the facility . They would love

01:21:46.183 --> 01:21:48.406
to have you . And can you reinforce the

01:21:48.406 --> 01:21:50.517
3D printed concrete with steel as you

01:21:50.517 --> 01:21:52.461
would in a normal building ? It is

01:21:52.461 --> 01:21:54.517
reinforced with steel . And what are

01:21:54.517 --> 01:21:56.739
the , so the constraints on multi-story

01:21:56.739 --> 01:21:58.961
or what ? The lack of testing , lack of

01:21:58.961 --> 01:22:01.183
testing . But that's going on right now

01:22:01.183 --> 01:22:04.339
in Champaign . That's the , that's the

01:22:04.339 --> 01:22:07.100
source where the Corps of Engineers

01:22:07.100 --> 01:22:09.100
does all its construction testing .

01:22:09.390 --> 01:22:11.660
However , um , you know , unless we

01:22:11.660 --> 01:22:14.169
have funding and a requirement , you

01:22:14.169 --> 01:22:16.391
know , so they're working with industry

01:22:16.391 --> 01:22:18.558
every day , but , um , we have to have

01:22:18.558 --> 01:22:20.502
a requirement to work against . Go

01:22:20.502 --> 01:22:20.479
ahead . I know you're eager to get it .

01:22:20.600 --> 01:22:22.822
I was just gonna say , sir , that I , I

01:22:22.822 --> 01:22:24.767
think today the , the gantry crane

01:22:24.767 --> 01:22:26.878
printers are generally limited to one

01:22:26.878 --> 01:22:29.419
story , but there's a new printer

01:22:29.419 --> 01:22:31.252
technology that's in that's been

01:22:31.252 --> 01:22:33.363
developed and is in testing right now

01:22:33.363 --> 01:22:35.530
that's more of a uh and a single arm .

01:22:35.530 --> 01:22:38.250
That can print up to 27 ft tall and so

01:22:38.250 --> 01:22:40.209
that will allow us to get up to a

01:22:40.209 --> 01:22:42.265
second story will allow you to print

01:22:42.265 --> 01:22:44.487
roofs . They're testing that technology

01:22:44.487 --> 01:22:46.598
today , and I think as that gets gets

01:22:46.598 --> 01:22:48.820
tested and , and we have uh analysis of

01:22:48.820 --> 01:22:51.450
this of the seismic , um , resiliency

01:22:51.450 --> 01:22:53.672
of it , that's a , that's a new that'll

01:22:53.672 --> 01:22:56.160
open up new doors to to much bigger use .

01:22:56.410 --> 01:22:58.632
The folks there on base tell me that if

01:22:58.632 --> 01:23:02.419
they were to redo . The roughly half of

01:23:02.419 --> 01:23:04.586
the buildings we're talking about well

01:23:04.586 --> 01:23:06.697
over a billion dollars . The Barracks

01:23:06.697 --> 01:23:08.863
2030 initiative says everything has to

01:23:08.863 --> 01:23:12.450
be redone by 2043 . Any thought on um

01:23:12.450 --> 01:23:15.180
the initial startup cost for , for the

01:23:15.180 --> 01:23:17.291
3D printing alternative and then also

01:23:17.459 --> 01:23:19.681
when you think it might be commercially

01:23:19.681 --> 01:23:21.848
available ? I , if I could , sir , I ,

01:23:21.848 --> 01:23:23.848
I think I'm very familiar with Camp

01:23:23.848 --> 01:23:25.792
Pendleton . I rebuilt a lot of the

01:23:25.792 --> 01:23:27.681
barracks there , sort of the last

01:23:27.681 --> 01:23:29.459
generation you get it built the

01:23:29.459 --> 01:23:31.570
hospital there , so I appreciate your

01:23:31.570 --> 01:23:33.681
comment . with that . Um , I think in

01:23:33.681 --> 01:23:35.126
addition to 3D printing ,

01:23:35.126 --> 01:23:37.450
industrialized construction is . Very

01:23:37.450 --> 01:23:39.228
well suited to the Marine Corps

01:23:39.228 --> 01:23:41.450
barracks program it's an opportunity to

01:23:41.450 --> 01:23:44.160
have standard designs to build modules

01:23:44.450 --> 01:23:47.729
that you can have fabricated in a uh

01:23:47.729 --> 01:23:49.729
manufacturing environment where you

01:23:49.729 --> 01:23:51.840
have the workforce , you have all the

01:23:51.840 --> 01:23:53.951
industrialized computerized machinery

01:23:54.049 --> 01:23:56.382
and you send those modules out to be in .

01:23:56.382 --> 01:23:58.160
Stalled on the site , a general

01:23:58.160 --> 01:24:00.327
contractor puts in the site work , the

01:24:00.327 --> 01:24:02.160
slabs , and really assembles the

01:24:02.160 --> 01:24:04.327
modules , and I think when you look at

01:24:04.327 --> 01:24:06.438
the long duration barracks program at

01:24:06.438 --> 01:24:08.327
the Marine Corps is talking about

01:24:08.327 --> 01:24:08.160
really recapitalizing their entire

01:24:08.160 --> 01:24:10.890
barracks infrastructure that's ideally

01:24:10.890 --> 01:24:13.339
suited for that kind of uh event .

01:24:13.569 --> 01:24:15.847
There are things we need to do to help .

01:24:16.200 --> 01:24:18.879
That industrialized manufacturing or

01:24:18.879 --> 01:24:20.990
construction capability in the United

01:24:20.990 --> 01:24:23.101
States take off and , and take hold .

01:24:23.101 --> 01:24:25.268
So we're out of time . I don't want to

01:24:25.268 --> 01:24:27.490
run long on my very first hearing , but

01:24:27.490 --> 01:24:29.657
I look forward to further conversation

01:24:29.657 --> 01:24:29.410
with you . We'll take that back and

01:24:29.410 --> 01:24:30.410
I'll yield back .

01:24:34.919 --> 01:24:37.030
Thank you , Chairman . Um , I have to

01:24:37.030 --> 01:24:39.252
admit I come to this first hearing with

01:24:39.252 --> 01:24:41.363
a little bit of bias on this military

01:24:41.363 --> 01:24:43.586
construction and VA subcommittee . Uh ,

01:24:43.586 --> 01:24:45.808
my bias is informed by my years I spent

01:24:45.808 --> 01:24:47.752
in the Navy . Uh I deployed to the

01:24:47.752 --> 01:24:50.080
Western Pacific in 0103 and 005 , and

01:24:50.399 --> 01:24:52.510
just a few months ago , I was able to

01:24:52.510 --> 01:24:54.788
visit some of the bases 20 years later ,

01:24:54.788 --> 01:24:56.843
uh , that I was deployed to and uh .

01:24:57.370 --> 01:24:59.314
Was left with a little less energy

01:24:59.314 --> 01:25:01.537
seeing some of the infrastructure there

01:25:01.537 --> 01:25:03.648
had been left abandoned , dilapidated

01:25:03.648 --> 01:25:06.209
and and is in dire need of our support

01:25:06.209 --> 01:25:08.431
here and I appreciate the witnesses and

01:25:08.431 --> 01:25:10.598
your expertise and your experience and

01:25:10.598 --> 01:25:12.569
helping to inform us here on the

01:25:12.569 --> 01:25:14.770
subcommittee panel on how we in

01:25:14.770 --> 01:25:16.714
Congress and our services can do a

01:25:16.714 --> 01:25:19.048
better job , uh , raising our standards .

01:25:19.120 --> 01:25:21.529
Um , some of the uh facilities uh I

01:25:21.529 --> 01:25:23.500
visited have those dilapidated

01:25:23.500 --> 01:25:25.833
structures , specifically in Japan , uh ,

01:25:25.833 --> 01:25:27.722
a number of them . Uh , and those

01:25:27.722 --> 01:25:29.722
dilapidated structures detract from

01:25:29.722 --> 01:25:31.667
their operational value , uh , and

01:25:31.667 --> 01:25:34.000
they're outright dangerous and unusable .

01:25:34.040 --> 01:25:36.151
Uh , rightfully so , the Indo-Pacific

01:25:36.151 --> 01:25:38.109
Command is a large focus of our

01:25:38.109 --> 01:25:40.165
Department of Defense . Uh , they're

01:25:40.165 --> 01:25:42.387
anticipating and deterring threats from

01:25:42.387 --> 01:25:45.810
the CCP , Russia , and North Korea . Um ,

01:25:45.970 --> 01:25:47.748
Mr . Hamilton , uh , given your

01:25:47.748 --> 01:25:49.692
expertise as one of the Navy's top

01:25:49.692 --> 01:25:51.803
engineers , uh , how can our military

01:25:51.803 --> 01:25:54.209
with Congress's support and the Navy

01:25:54.209 --> 01:25:56.890
specifically , be more agile in terms

01:25:56.890 --> 01:25:58.946
of acquisition and adoption of novel

01:25:58.946 --> 01:26:01.149
construction technologies , especially

01:26:01.149 --> 01:26:03.149
in that very important Indo-Pacific

01:26:03.149 --> 01:26:05.649
Command . Congressman , thanks very

01:26:05.649 --> 01:26:08.720
much for the question . I , I also , um ,

01:26:08.770 --> 01:26:11.120
was stationed in in Korea and in Guam

01:26:11.120 --> 01:26:13.231
and deployed into the Pacific Theater

01:26:13.250 --> 01:26:15.306
and so I'm very uh familiar with the

01:26:15.306 --> 01:26:17.569
challenges that they face there . I do

01:26:17.569 --> 01:26:20.100
think that that we need to have a a

01:26:20.100 --> 01:26:23.500
long term capital plan to to modernize

01:26:23.500 --> 01:26:25.660
those facilities as you said many of

01:26:25.660 --> 01:26:27.716
them are are far beyond their useful

01:26:27.716 --> 01:26:29.660
life and we need to be providing

01:26:29.660 --> 01:26:32.259
facilities that um that can replace

01:26:32.259 --> 01:26:34.700
those and take the modern weapons

01:26:34.700 --> 01:26:37.100
systems , the modern missions that are

01:26:37.339 --> 01:26:39.339
uh expected to be deployed in those

01:26:39.339 --> 01:26:42.459
areas . I think contractually , uh , I

01:26:42.459 --> 01:26:44.403
do believe that the industrialized

01:26:44.403 --> 01:26:46.570
construction technique that I . Talked

01:26:46.570 --> 01:26:48.737
about earlier is one that that is very

01:26:48.737 --> 01:26:50.903
applicable to overseas , especially in

01:26:50.903 --> 01:26:53.430
the Indo Pacific theater where we could

01:26:53.430 --> 01:26:56.319
uh fabricate many of the components or

01:26:56.319 --> 01:26:58.319
modules in the states and have them

01:26:58.319 --> 01:27:00.430
shipped for installation . I think it

01:27:00.430 --> 01:27:02.430
gives us the the ability to be very

01:27:02.430 --> 01:27:04.541
agile so that those can be configured

01:27:04.541 --> 01:27:06.541
in different ways to meet different

01:27:06.541 --> 01:27:08.708
missions and we can be very responsive

01:27:08.708 --> 01:27:10.819
to the military commander's needs and

01:27:10.819 --> 01:27:13.041
where the priorities are as they change

01:27:13.041 --> 01:27:15.263
over time . Thank you , sir . Uh , Mr .

01:27:15.263 --> 01:27:17.430
Richardson , I , um , we were chatting

01:27:17.430 --> 01:27:19.597
before you graduated 3 years after the

01:27:19.597 --> 01:27:21.763
best Naval Academy class that has ever

01:27:21.763 --> 01:27:23.986
been . Appreciate that and your service

01:27:23.986 --> 01:27:26.152
in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps . Can

01:27:26.152 --> 01:27:28.319
you add some perspectives to how the ,

01:27:28.319 --> 01:27:30.041
the Navy , uh , the military ,

01:27:30.041 --> 01:27:32.263
specifically with Congress' support can

01:27:32.263 --> 01:27:34.430
help improve more uh get more projects

01:27:34.430 --> 01:27:36.486
done on time , uh , within the right

01:27:36.486 --> 01:27:39.629
quality and the right cost . Uh , thank

01:27:39.629 --> 01:27:41.740
you for that question and a comment ,

01:27:41.790 --> 01:27:45.709
uh , Mr . Congressman , um . So

01:27:45.709 --> 01:27:48.470
yeah , there are uh certainly um

01:27:48.470 --> 01:27:51.240
innovative uh technologies that that

01:27:51.240 --> 01:27:54.299
could improve performance . um I wish

01:27:54.299 --> 01:27:56.899
uh I was able to explore more of these

01:27:56.899 --> 01:27:59.379
uh technologies in our study , but , um ,

01:27:59.430 --> 01:28:01.263
going back to some of my earlier

01:28:01.263 --> 01:28:03.041
comments , um , establishing or

01:28:03.041 --> 01:28:05.208
identifying some of those technologies

01:28:05.208 --> 01:28:07.049
that could could assist . And uh

01:28:07.049 --> 01:28:09.529
perhaps better uh um construct uh

01:28:09.529 --> 01:28:11.751
construction performance would be would

01:28:11.751 --> 01:28:13.918
be of value . Thanks and Mr . Morrow ,

01:28:13.918 --> 01:28:15.918
I only have about a minute left but

01:28:15.918 --> 01:28:17.751
with my remaining time , similar

01:28:17.751 --> 01:28:19.807
question where can Congress help our

01:28:19.807 --> 01:28:21.585
services knock down some of the

01:28:21.585 --> 01:28:23.529
bureaucratic red tape or otherwise

01:28:23.529 --> 01:28:25.640
expedite the military construction as

01:28:25.640 --> 01:28:27.807
it relates to delivering projects that

01:28:27.807 --> 01:28:30.029
are at the right cost at the right time

01:28:30.029 --> 01:28:32.251
and the right quality , sir . Thank you

01:28:32.251 --> 01:28:34.473
for that question . So what we're doing

01:28:34.473 --> 01:28:36.810
right now is trying to identify what

01:28:36.810 --> 01:28:38.930
why MilLCO costs more than private

01:28:38.930 --> 01:28:42.930
sector and and really produce as

01:28:42.930 --> 01:28:45.089
factual a document as possible . Here

01:28:45.089 --> 01:28:48.390
are the laws that impact our costs , um ,

01:28:48.450 --> 01:28:50.506
here are the regulations that impact

01:28:50.506 --> 01:28:52.506
our costs and here are the policies

01:28:52.506 --> 01:28:54.506
that impact our costs so that those

01:28:54.506 --> 01:28:56.672
policies can be changed if , if uh the

01:28:56.672 --> 01:28:58.894
new administration chooses . Um , those

01:28:58.894 --> 01:29:00.950
regulations can be addressed through

01:29:00.950 --> 01:29:03.283
rulemaking or those laws can be changed .

01:29:03.283 --> 01:29:06.129
So I think my personal position is I'm

01:29:06.129 --> 01:29:08.240
agnostic on those things , you know ,

01:29:08.240 --> 01:29:10.209
we're here to serve , um , and to

01:29:10.209 --> 01:29:12.839
support the administration and the

01:29:12.839 --> 01:29:15.061
Congress , but , but we want to present

01:29:15.061 --> 01:29:17.319
you the facts so that you know , um ,

01:29:17.490 --> 01:29:19.450
why that MOLC on premium exists .

01:29:20.790 --> 01:29:22.901
Thanks so much , sir . I appreciate ,

01:29:22.901 --> 01:29:24.901
uh , gentlemen , your expertise and

01:29:24.901 --> 01:29:24.549
your participation today's hearing

01:29:24.549 --> 01:29:25.549
Chairman Aybeck .

01:29:29.979 --> 01:29:31.923
Uh , thank you , Mr . Chairman and

01:29:31.923 --> 01:29:34.090
gentlemen , thank you , uh , for being

01:29:34.090 --> 01:29:36.146
here , uh , today . Uh , Mr . Mara ,

01:29:36.146 --> 01:29:38.529
you mentioned in your written testimony ,

01:29:38.640 --> 01:29:40.807
uh , you talk about the important role

01:29:40.807 --> 01:29:43.529
that Erdic plays . Um , uh , I'm from

01:29:43.529 --> 01:29:46.160
Mississippi and so I have been , I had

01:29:46.160 --> 01:29:48.160
the opportunity to , uh , visit the

01:29:48.160 --> 01:29:50.271
facility there in Vicksburg , uh , to

01:29:50.271 --> 01:29:52.399
see , uh , the great work , uh , that

01:29:52.399 --> 01:29:56.379
they do , um , and so my question to

01:29:56.379 --> 01:30:00.370
you is as . A body how

01:30:00.370 --> 01:30:03.479
can Congress how can this committee

01:30:03.479 --> 01:30:06.450
specifically , uh , what can we do to

01:30:06.450 --> 01:30:08.561
support Edict's mission , uh , and to

01:30:08.561 --> 01:30:10.672
make sure that you have the resources

01:30:10.672 --> 01:30:12.970
that you need to , as you say in your

01:30:12.970 --> 01:30:15.569
statement to see that we continue to

01:30:15.569 --> 01:30:18.000
discover , develop and deliver trusted

01:30:18.000 --> 01:30:20.890
engineering and scientific solutions to

01:30:20.890 --> 01:30:24.259
the war fighter in the nation . Thank

01:30:24.259 --> 01:30:26.819
you for that . So Erdic is an amazing

01:30:26.819 --> 01:30:29.720
organization across the globe , but

01:30:29.720 --> 01:30:32.029
they serve many , many stakeholders and

01:30:32.029 --> 01:30:33.973
customers and like the rest of the

01:30:33.973 --> 01:30:37.370
corps of engineers , primarily operate

01:30:37.370 --> 01:30:39.180
on a reimbursable basis . So

01:30:39.819 --> 01:30:41.930
essentially everything that the corps

01:30:41.930 --> 01:30:44.100
does is based in law . So if there's a

01:30:44.100 --> 01:30:46.470
requirement and somebody goes to erdict

01:30:46.470 --> 01:30:48.669
to execute that requirement . They ,

01:30:48.759 --> 01:30:50.926
they get super excited to do that . So

01:30:50.926 --> 01:30:52.926
working with industry , some of the

01:30:52.926 --> 01:30:55.037
pilots , you know , whether it's mass

01:30:55.037 --> 01:30:57.459
timber or additive construction . You

01:30:57.459 --> 01:30:59.490
know , they , they all , you know ,

01:30:59.660 --> 01:31:03.430
come to erdic through some legislative

01:31:03.430 --> 01:31:06.490
authority and appropriation , and

01:31:06.490 --> 01:31:08.601
there's no better place in my opinion

01:31:08.601 --> 01:31:11.450
for that work to be done , but we ,

01:31:11.459 --> 01:31:13.515
they do need that specific authority

01:31:13.515 --> 01:31:15.848
and appropriation for any of their work .

01:31:15.848 --> 01:31:18.740
Thank you . Uh , Mr . Hamilton , um ,

01:31:20.100 --> 01:31:22.799
one . Ask you one or two things real

01:31:22.799 --> 01:31:25.060
quickly . Uh , you stay in your opening

01:31:25.060 --> 01:31:27.350
statement , uh , you kind of echo , uh ,

01:31:27.359 --> 01:31:30.850
some of the . Uh , remarks , uh , of Mr .

01:31:30.959 --> 01:31:33.126
Morrow , you say that the primary role

01:31:33.126 --> 01:31:35.237
is to support our war fighters , uh ,

01:31:35.237 --> 01:31:38.080
home and abroad , uh , to make US war

01:31:38.080 --> 01:31:40.247
fighters more lethal , adaptable , and

01:31:40.247 --> 01:31:42.524
resilient . Uh , first , thank you for ,

01:31:42.524 --> 01:31:44.580
uh , both of you for refocusing that

01:31:44.580 --> 01:31:46.524
mission , uh , to making sure that

01:31:46.524 --> 01:31:48.636
we're putting the emphasis on the war

01:31:48.636 --> 01:31:50.747
fighter and that we're providing them

01:31:50.747 --> 01:31:52.913
what they need to . Um , place when we

01:31:52.913 --> 01:31:55.136
place them in harm's way that they have

01:31:55.136 --> 01:31:57.191
what they need to be able to perform

01:31:57.191 --> 01:31:59.358
that mission , uh , and to , uh , come

01:31:59.358 --> 01:32:01.691
home , uh , to their family safely , uh ,

01:32:01.691 --> 01:32:03.580
and then you talk about different

01:32:03.580 --> 01:32:05.413
initiatives , uh , some that are

01:32:05.413 --> 01:32:07.636
current , some that are evolving , uh ,

01:32:07.636 --> 01:32:09.636
prefabrication being one , additive

01:32:09.636 --> 01:32:11.191
construction , uh , modular

01:32:11.191 --> 01:32:13.358
construction , uh all things , uh , in

01:32:13.358 --> 01:32:15.413
which , uh , we currently are either

01:32:15.413 --> 01:32:17.636
operating or , uh , intend to operate ,

01:32:17.636 --> 01:32:19.691
uh , in the , the near future . Um ,

01:32:19.691 --> 01:32:21.580
one of the facilities that , uh ,

01:32:21.580 --> 01:32:23.636
served in my facility is , uh , uh ,

01:32:23.636 --> 01:32:25.802
Meridian Naval Air Station . Uh , they

01:32:25.802 --> 01:32:27.802
are home of the training , uh , Air

01:32:27.802 --> 01:32:30.779
Wing One . many of our naval aviators ,

01:32:30.850 --> 01:32:33.128
uh , began their initial training , uh ,

01:32:33.128 --> 01:32:35.239
there in Meridian before going on for

01:32:35.239 --> 01:32:37.461
more specialized training . Uh , one of

01:32:37.461 --> 01:32:39.572
the projects there that we're working

01:32:39.572 --> 01:32:41.517
toward is one of the hangars there

01:32:41.517 --> 01:32:43.683
hanger two , needs a new roof facility

01:32:43.683 --> 01:32:45.628
because of age , because of , uh ,

01:32:45.628 --> 01:32:47.850
sometimes some of the inclement weather

01:32:47.850 --> 01:32:50.017
that comes through , uh , particularly

01:32:50.017 --> 01:32:51.906
in the spring and fall , known as

01:32:51.906 --> 01:32:54.128
tornadoes and wind gusts , um . Uh , we

01:32:54.128 --> 01:32:56.294
used to think that Hurricane Alley was

01:32:56.294 --> 01:32:56.140
there in the west . I believe now it's

01:32:56.140 --> 01:32:58.540
shifted to coming through the southeast

01:32:58.540 --> 01:33:01.649
and so , uh , often see those types of ,

01:33:01.660 --> 01:33:04.419
um , weather conditions , uh , really

01:33:04.419 --> 01:33:06.660
exacerbate , uh , the , the condition

01:33:06.660 --> 01:33:08.771
of some of the , uh , the buildings ,

01:33:08.771 --> 01:33:11.100
uh , there , uh , and so as we look at

01:33:11.100 --> 01:33:13.419
these innovations , uh , we know some

01:33:13.419 --> 01:33:15.419
of these innovations are probably

01:33:15.419 --> 01:33:17.819
better used for new construction . Uh ,

01:33:17.899 --> 01:33:20.310
and others , uh , for things such as ,

01:33:20.500 --> 01:33:22.939
uh , renovations to hanger to or

01:33:22.939 --> 01:33:25.609
renovations to other buildings kind of

01:33:25.609 --> 01:33:28.620
talk me through , uh , how this , these

01:33:28.620 --> 01:33:31.020
innovations , uh , can be used both

01:33:31.020 --> 01:33:33.459
again for the new construction but also

01:33:33.459 --> 01:33:35.419
as we're looking at repairing and

01:33:35.419 --> 01:33:38.220
renovating existing buildings on

01:33:38.220 --> 01:33:41.600
military facilities . Thank you

01:33:41.600 --> 01:33:43.822
Congressman guest . I , I think we have

01:33:43.822 --> 01:33:45.600
a real challenge across all the

01:33:45.600 --> 01:33:48.189
military services but certainly from my ,

01:33:48.640 --> 01:33:50.751
um , place in the Navy and the Marine

01:33:50.751 --> 01:33:52.640
Corps with aging infrastructure ,

01:33:52.640 --> 01:33:54.879
obsolete infrastructure , more repairs

01:33:54.879 --> 01:33:57.046
than we can afford to make in the time

01:33:57.046 --> 01:33:59.046
frame they need to be made . And so

01:33:59.046 --> 01:34:00.935
there's always a challenge for us

01:34:00.935 --> 01:34:03.157
prioritize and and I would say as we've

01:34:03.157 --> 01:34:06.609
uh faced some , some very costly things

01:34:06.609 --> 01:34:09.589
like the Mawa uh , you know , typhoon

01:34:09.589 --> 01:34:11.645
in Guam where we've had to make some

01:34:11.645 --> 01:34:13.367
emergency repairs to the glass

01:34:13.367 --> 01:34:15.478
breakwater and other things that draw

01:34:15.478 --> 01:34:17.729
away from planned , uh , renovations

01:34:17.729 --> 01:34:20.129
and , and modernizations , uh , like

01:34:20.129 --> 01:34:22.462
the , the hangar roof that you spoke to .

01:34:22.810 --> 01:34:24.921
I do think there are opportunities as

01:34:24.921 --> 01:34:26.890
we go forward to to build more

01:34:26.890 --> 01:34:30.419
resilient facilities and , and more um

01:34:30.890 --> 01:34:33.049
facilities that will will last longer

01:34:33.049 --> 01:34:35.129
because our facilities we may build

01:34:35.129 --> 01:34:37.240
them for 50 years we tend to use them

01:34:37.240 --> 01:34:39.370
for 80 or 100 years and so we had to

01:34:39.370 --> 01:34:41.592
take that into account and I think that

01:34:41.592 --> 01:34:43.426
gets back to the life cycle cost

01:34:43.426 --> 01:34:45.203
analysis that when we invest in

01:34:45.203 --> 01:34:47.259
certainly something like a roof , we

01:34:47.259 --> 01:34:49.314
want a roof that's gonna last a long

01:34:49.314 --> 01:34:49.089
time because it's probably gonna be in

01:34:49.089 --> 01:34:52.080
place for a very long time . Um , but I ,

01:34:52.200 --> 01:34:54.256
I think that we have to work through

01:34:54.256 --> 01:34:56.533
that in the , you know , both the , uh ,

01:34:56.533 --> 01:34:58.644
repair of existing facilities and new

01:34:58.644 --> 01:35:00.867
construction , and they are related but

01:35:00.867 --> 01:35:03.089
they are , are different . I do believe

01:35:03.089 --> 01:35:05.256
we have more opportunity to apply some

01:35:05.256 --> 01:35:07.120
of these new technologies in new

01:35:07.120 --> 01:35:09.287
facilities because it's very difficult

01:35:09.287 --> 01:35:12.000
sometimes to incorporate or blend these

01:35:12.000 --> 01:35:14.167
technologies with some of the existing

01:35:14.167 --> 01:35:16.389
facilities , uh , but we do have . Uh ,

01:35:16.389 --> 01:35:18.709
polymers and fibers that we are

01:35:18.709 --> 01:35:20.859
developing that allow us to reinforce

01:35:20.859 --> 01:35:23.100
and strengthen existing materials like

01:35:23.100 --> 01:35:26.109
roof trusses or uh other materials that

01:35:26.109 --> 01:35:28.109
you might , uh , find in existing

01:35:28.109 --> 01:35:30.276
facilities that allow us to extend the

01:35:30.276 --> 01:35:32.331
life of them and that's another area

01:35:32.331 --> 01:35:34.109
where I think we have , we have

01:35:34.109 --> 01:35:35.942
benefits to do things faster and

01:35:35.942 --> 01:35:38.053
cheaper with some of the technologies

01:35:38.053 --> 01:35:40.109
that are being developed . Thank you

01:35:40.109 --> 01:35:39.509
very much , uh , with that , Mr .

01:35:39.629 --> 01:35:43.359
Chairman , I yie back . Uh thank you ,

01:35:43.370 --> 01:35:45.500
Mr . guest . And I want to thank the

01:35:45.500 --> 01:35:48.310
panel for being here today . I have a

01:35:48.310 --> 01:35:51.189
real interest in this . I apologize for

01:35:51.189 --> 01:35:53.890
my voice . It'll get better tomorrow ,

01:35:53.950 --> 01:35:57.069
I hope . We look forward to working

01:35:57.069 --> 01:35:59.529
with you . I wanna come visit your lab .

01:36:00.470 --> 01:36:04.209
Um , Smart things ,

01:36:04.580 --> 01:36:08.379
new things . They were good . They are

01:36:08.379 --> 01:36:11.419
mobile , are fantastic , and we gotta

01:36:11.419 --> 01:36:14.060
make it work . Uh , the islands are

01:36:14.060 --> 01:36:17.700
gonna be a challenge for the Navy and

01:36:17.700 --> 01:36:21.620
the army , and some others . Guam is a

01:36:21.620 --> 01:36:24.490
typical example . Labor issues .

01:36:25.379 --> 01:36:27.435
Cost overruns , all these things are

01:36:27.435 --> 01:36:29.419
going on in Guam , um .

01:36:31.370 --> 01:36:34.870
We gotta get that straight . So

01:36:35.750 --> 01:36:37.972
I'm hoping to take this panel over to ,

01:36:38.129 --> 01:36:41.450
to for a visit to the islands again .

01:36:42.319 --> 01:36:45.490
And yeah . Keep that on our

01:36:45.490 --> 01:36:48.490
forefront because it's real issues .

01:36:49.339 --> 01:36:51.770
Thank you all for being here . I

01:36:51.770 --> 01:36:53.881
appreciate every one of you . Got one

01:36:53.881 --> 01:36:55.881
question for you . If we were using

01:36:55.881 --> 01:36:58.103
your generators when the power went out

01:36:58.103 --> 01:37:00.103
in Texas , would they have worked ?

01:37:01.160 --> 01:37:03.104
They would have worked . Yeah , we

01:37:03.104 --> 01:37:04.938
wouldn't have had the , uh , the

01:37:04.938 --> 01:37:06.604
freezing , uh , buildings and

01:37:06.604 --> 01:37:08.660
facilities that we had and , and the

01:37:08.660 --> 01:37:10.938
health issues that we had as well . OK ,

01:37:10.938 --> 01:37:13.750
good . Thank you . Thank the boy of the

01:37:13.750 --> 01:37:15.379
family , we're adjourned .