Ah,
Behind all the maneuvering by DoD on the F-35 to prevent the price of the aircraft from exceeding promised figures is the avoidance of a hearing in Congress like this. This happens to be the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense testifying to the Senate on US Syrian strategy. Imagine a hearing like this on the F-35 skyrocketing costs... Both the Congressional supporters and the DoD supporters of the F-35 Program need to get beyond the November 2016 elections without this type of hearing happening, watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQwofJEQ6ng