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like to call this hearing to order The 

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committee meets today to receive 

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testimony and the President's defensive 

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budget requests for fiscal year 2022 

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witnesses this morning , Our Secretary 

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Lloyd Austin , Secretary of Defense , 

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Mr Michael McCord , undersecretary of 

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Defense Controller and General Mark 

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Milley , chairman of the Joint Chiefs 

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of Staff . I welcome each of you and 

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thank you for your service and 

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willingness to appear before us today . 

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Two weeks ago , President Biden 

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released his defense budget request for 

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the fiscal year 2022 with a top line of 

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$715 billion . The request focused on 

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several key areas defeating COVID-19 , 

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prioritizing china as the pacing 

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challenge , addressing advanced and 

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persistent threats , innovating and 

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modernizing duty and tackling the 

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climate crisis . The president's 

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defense budget request is a starting 

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point for Congress and must always be 

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viewed in the broader context of the 

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national security and physical 

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challenges we face . It is important 

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that we ensure we have the right 

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strategies and resources to keep the 

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american people safe now and in the 

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future . With a keen eye toward 

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evolving threats around the globe , I'm 

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pleased to see that this budget request 

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places a priority on taking care of the 

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men and women who serve in uniform and 

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the civilians who serve alongside them 

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in the department By including across 

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the board pay raise for military and 

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civilian personnel of 2.7% . While this 

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pay raises required by law for military 

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personnel too often D . O . D . 

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Civilians have been overlooked . This 

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increase in civilian pay sends an 

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important message to the workforce and 

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begins to reverse years of pay freezes 

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and benefit cuts , Notably the budget 

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request includes $112 billion dollars 

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in research , development , test and 

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evaluation funds . The largest ever 

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requested in this area . This includes 

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significant funding for modernization 

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areas such as micro electronics , 

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artificial intelligence , hypersonic 

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missiles and five G . Building our 

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strength in these areas will be 

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critical to the modernization of our 

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national security . But as the recent 

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solar winds , Microsoft exchange and 

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colonial pipeline server breaches 

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painfully illustrate our traditional 

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perimeter . Best based cyber defenses 

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are simply inadequate to deal with 

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sophisticated adversaries that are 

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clearly advantaged in the cyber domain . 

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I hope our witnesses will expand on 

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what activities do d is taking to 

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accelerate and expand our cybersecurity 

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and what resources are needed to 

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accomplish them With regard to the 

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president's transition strategy in 

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Afghanistan . The budget request 

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includes $3.3 billion dollars for the 

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Afghan Security Forces Fund . This will 

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ensure our continued support for the 

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sustainment infrastructure , equipment 

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and training requirements for Afghan 

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security personnel . I asked that our 

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witnesses update the committee on this 

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transition last year . This committee 

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led the way in establishing the Pacific 

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Defense Initiative for PD to serve as a 

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means for improving the capabilities , 

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design and posture of our joint forces 

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in the indo pacific region . The P . D . 

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I . Was intended to strengthen the 

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presence and resiliency of our armed 

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forces , improve logistics and 

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maintenance capabilities , support 

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exercises , training , experimentation 

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and innovation for the joint force and 

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build the defense and security 

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capabilities and cooperation of allies 

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and partners . I am concerned that the 

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department's budget request takes a 

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heavily platform centric approach to P . 

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D . I . And I look forward to working 

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collaboratively with the Department of 

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Defense leadership to approve more 

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appropriately aligned resources in the 

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D . O . D . Budget with our intent for 

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P . D . I . Similarly , the budget 

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request proposes an $800 million 

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European deterrence an issue . Already . 

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The initiative , which was also 

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established by this committee has seen 

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budget decreases for the past three 

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years . The department has suggested 

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that this is a part of transitioning to 

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a steady state in the european command . 

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L . R . I . Would ask that I witnessed 

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further explained the reasoning behind 

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that produced E . D . I . Budget and 

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specifically whether you believe this 

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level of investment in infrastructure 

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force posture and capabilities is 

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sufficient to deter Russian aggression 

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with regard to our nuclear strategy . I 

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understand the budget request before 

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supports important steps towards 

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nuclear modernization . Our allies and 

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partners depend on the U . S . Nuclear 

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umbrella and modernization of our 

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strategic forces is needed to reassure 

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them of our dependability . One thing I 

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think everyone would agree on and often 

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gets lost in discussion is the fact 

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that arms control and the modernization 

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of our nuclear forces are inherently 

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linked together . Even as we modernize , 

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we should seek ways to promote 

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strategic stability like the extension 

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of the New Start Agreement and follow 

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on talks to cover new strategic weapons 

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and further reduce nuclear stockpiles . 

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Lastly , I would note that fiscal year 

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2022 is the first year in 10 years that 

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we will not be constrained by the 

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Budget Control Act . eliminating 

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arbitrary spending caps means that 

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every department's budget can and 

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should be argued on its merits . 

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Taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for 

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programs or systems that are wasteful 

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or ineffective and Congress must not 

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shrink its responsibilities to get rid 

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of outdated systems in favor of more 

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advanced , effective new technologies 

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and capabilities . Belt tightening in 

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any department , particularly defense 

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is always a challenge , But it is also 

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an opportunity to evaluate what is 

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necessary and what drives innovation . 

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The department has taken the first 

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difficult steps in proposing $2.8 

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billion dollars worth of divestments 

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and retirements of platforms and I will 

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work my colleagues to evaluate these 

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proposals and make hard but necessary 

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choices . Finally , as we progress 

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through this legislative year , the 

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committee will tackle many important 

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policy issues , none bigger than how we 

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prevent and prosecute sexual assault 

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and harassment in the ranks , changes 

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coming to the department and the 

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military services more than anything . 

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Cultural change when the force is 

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critical to reducing the number of 

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sexual assaults and related offenses . 

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The president directed a review earlier 

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this year , and I know the department 

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has been hard at work . I look forward 

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to receiving the administration's 

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recommendations to incorporate into the 

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committee's important work on this 

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issue Again , I thank the witnesses for 

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their participation today and I look 

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forward to the testimonies . Now . Let 

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me recognize the ranking member , 

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Senator in our Thank you . Thank you . 

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Mr . Chairman . I'd like to thank all 

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three of our witnesses for the 

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dedicating their lives to securing our 

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nation . Secretary Austin told us , 

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along with nearly every witness who has 

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come before this committee china is are 

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facing threat . It's a global long term 

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competition and it's across every arena 

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of the national power . But the 

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military balance of power concerns me 

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most . In 2018 , the National 

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Defense strategy gave us a 

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blueprint for pushing back on china . 

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The bipartisan NDS commission said that 

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3 to 5% real growth was needed to 

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implement that strategy didn't look 

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like we're going to get that . Since 

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then , the threats have gotten worse . 

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Administration gave us a budget that 

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cuts spending when we need real growth . 

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They want the military to do more on 

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climate change and pandemic response 

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more mission . But with fewer resources , 

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we've been asking our military to do 

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too much with too little for too long 

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and President biden's budget cuts but 

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make it even harder . It barely trends 

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dredged water . While we face all these 

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threats , this budget cuts shifts , 

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aircraft munitions and more . We have 

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nearly 25 billion dollars of unfunded 

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priorities . These aren't wish lists . 

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These are risk lists , The budget 

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cuts , aircraft procurement by 20% back 

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slides on army readiness and starves , 

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Navy shipbuilding . This budget forces 

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our military leaders to choose between 

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being ready for today's fight or the 

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fight of the future . But the chinese 

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military leaders are they're not making 

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that choice . On Tuesday . I read in 

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the press about the memo by acting 

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Secretary of the Navy on the next 

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year's budget . He says the navy must 

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choose between modernizing shifts , 

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says subs and aircraft . Does anyone 

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think the chinese the chinese have to 

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make that that decision ? The Chinese 

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defense budget has grown by 450 

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Since 2001 . They added two , they 

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added 200 billion in the last decade . 

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While we cut 400 billion , so we're 

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behind in some of the areas and we're 

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falling behind in some of the other 

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areas . And as a result , I'm more a 

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deterrence will fail Maybe today or 

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five years or 10 years and when it does , 

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the cost will be much higher than any 

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investment we could be making today to 

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prevent that and we're not making hard 

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choices . We're making bad choices and 

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short sighted choices . Administration 

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tells us that the pentagon budget is 

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cut because of fiscal realities , but 

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they're spending trillions of taxpayer 

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dollars on everything . Alison and of 

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the son . We all agree that even the 

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administration agrees that strong 

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military improves all other tools of 

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national power . I just can't 

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understand this short sighted 

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underfunding of our troops . We make 

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sacred compact compact with 

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our service members . We tell them 

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we'll take care of them and their 

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families and we do that very well . We 

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also tell them that we'll give them the 

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tools that are necessary to defend the 

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nation and come home safe . But we're 

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not holding up our end of the bargain 

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with this proposed budget . We're 

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failing to give them the resources they 

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need to implement that strategy and 

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this term . We need to do better . 

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Thank you . Mr . Chairman . Well , 

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thank you very much . Senator off 

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Secretary Austin please . 

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Mm Chairman . Re ranking member 

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Inhofe . Distinguished members of the 

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committee . Thank you for the 

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opportunity to testify today about the 

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president's budget request for fiscal 

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year 2022 . I'm pleased to appear 

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before you alongside General Milley , 

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whose advice and counsel has been 

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crucial to us as we developed our 

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budget and as we continue to defend 

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00:11:02,290 --> 00:11:04,380
this nation which is our chief 

280
00:11:04,380 --> 00:11:06,860
responsibility and my top priority . 

281
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I'm also glad to be joined by our 

282
00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:13,550
controller and our CFO . Mr Mike McCord . 

283
00:11:14,540 --> 00:11:16,762
Let me say at the outset that I believe 

284
00:11:16,762 --> 00:11:18,873
that our budget requests will help us 

285
00:11:18,873 --> 00:11:21,310
match resources to strategy , strategy 

286
00:11:21,310 --> 00:11:23,532
to policy and policy to the will of the 

287
00:11:23,532 --> 00:11:25,870
american people informed by the 

288
00:11:25,870 --> 00:11:27,981
President's interim national security 

289
00:11:27,981 --> 00:11:29,926
guidance and my own message to the 

290
00:11:29,926 --> 00:11:31,814
force . It funds the right mix of 

291
00:11:31,814 --> 00:11:33,990
capabilities that we need most to 

292
00:11:33,990 --> 00:11:35,879
defend this nation now and in the 

293
00:11:35,879 --> 00:11:39,390
future it invests in hypersonic weapons , 

294
00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:41,950
artificial intelligence , micro 

295
00:11:41,950 --> 00:11:44,220
electronics , five G . Technology , 

296
00:11:44,220 --> 00:11:46,960
space based systems , shipbuilding and 

297
00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:49,182
nuclear modernization . To name a few . 

298
00:11:49,940 --> 00:11:52,230
In fact this budget ask you to approve 

299
00:11:52,230 --> 00:11:55,290
nearly $28 billion dollars to modernize 

300
00:11:55,290 --> 00:11:58,290
our nuclear triad And $112 billion 

301
00:11:58,290 --> 00:12:00,360
dollars for research , development , 

302
00:12:00,940 --> 00:12:03,051
test and evaluation . The largest R . 

303
00:12:03,051 --> 00:12:05,680
And D . Request ever put forth by this 

304
00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:08,620
department . Our request also gives us 

305
00:12:08,620 --> 00:12:10,940
the flexibility to divest ourselves of 

306
00:12:10,940 --> 00:12:13,760
systems and platforms that no longer 

307
00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:15,871
adequately meet our needs , including 

308
00:12:15,871 --> 00:12:19,230
older ships , aircraft and is our 

309
00:12:19,230 --> 00:12:21,397
platforms that demand more maintenance 

310
00:12:21,397 --> 00:12:23,960
upkeep and risk . Then we can afford , 

311
00:12:25,140 --> 00:12:27,084
as you know , we've commissioned a 

312
00:12:27,084 --> 00:12:28,862
global posture review and a new 

313
00:12:28,862 --> 00:12:30,918
national defense strategy which will 

314
00:12:30,918 --> 00:12:33,029
further inform and guide our resource 

315
00:12:33,029 --> 00:12:35,250
decisions . The department must be 

316
00:12:35,250 --> 00:12:37,306
ready to meet and keep pace with our 

317
00:12:37,306 --> 00:12:39,920
competitors and if necessary to fight 

318
00:12:39,930 --> 00:12:42,350
and win the next war and not the last . 

319
00:12:43,340 --> 00:12:45,396
That's why this budget stays true to 

320
00:12:45,396 --> 00:12:47,618
our focus on matching the patient , the 

321
00:12:47,618 --> 00:12:49,673
pacing challenge that we clearly see 

322
00:12:49,673 --> 00:12:52,130
from the People's Republic of china To 

323
00:12:52,130 --> 00:12:54,186
include more than $5 billion dollars 

324
00:12:54,186 --> 00:12:56,241
for the Pacific Defense Initiative . 

325
00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:59,040
And I would just add that are china 

326
00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:02,020
Task forces also completed its work and 

327
00:13:02,020 --> 00:13:03,980
yesterday I issued an internal 

328
00:13:03,980 --> 00:13:05,647
directive kicking off several 

329
00:13:05,647 --> 00:13:07,770
department wide efforts that will , 

330
00:13:07,770 --> 00:13:09,881
among other things , help bolster our 

331
00:13:09,881 --> 00:13:11,920
deterrence against the PRC and 

332
00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:13,920
revitalize our network of regional 

333
00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:16,610
allies and partners and accelerate the 

334
00:13:16,610 --> 00:13:18,166
development of cutting edge 

335
00:13:18,166 --> 00:13:20,440
capabilities and new operational 

336
00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:23,270
concepts . However , we recognize that 

337
00:13:23,270 --> 00:13:26,150
china is not our only challenge . Our 

338
00:13:26,150 --> 00:13:28,510
budget also includes $617 million 

339
00:13:28,510 --> 00:13:30,732
dollars to counter the damaging effects 

340
00:13:30,732 --> 00:13:32,899
of climate change and additional funds 

341
00:13:32,899 --> 00:13:35,010
to prepare for future challenges like 

342
00:13:35,010 --> 00:13:37,760
another pandemic . It also helps us 

343
00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:39,871
counter the belligerents that we face 

344
00:13:39,871 --> 00:13:42,170
from Russia , especially in the cyber 

345
00:13:42,180 --> 00:13:44,610
cyber realm . And you'll see more than 

346
00:13:44,610 --> 00:13:46,980
$10 billion dollars here devoted to 

347
00:13:46,980 --> 00:13:50,170
cybersecurity , cyberspace operations 

348
00:13:50,450 --> 00:13:52,506
and cyber research and development . 

349
00:13:53,140 --> 00:13:55,362
With this emphasis on space , missile , 

350
00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:57,770
space , missile defense and more 

351
00:13:57,770 --> 00:14:00,410
sophisticated sensors . Our budget will 

352
00:14:00,410 --> 00:14:02,490
also help us counter the increasing 

353
00:14:02,500 --> 00:14:04,600
ballistic missile capabilities of 

354
00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:07,920
nations like North Korea and Iran . It 

355
00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:09,420
funds a troop presence and 

356
00:14:09,420 --> 00:14:11,476
counterterrorism capabilities in the 

357
00:14:11,476 --> 00:14:13,642
Middle East and South Asia to meet the 

358
00:14:13,642 --> 00:14:15,864
threats posed not only by Iran but also 

359
00:14:15,864 --> 00:14:18,470
by terrorist networks like Isis and al 

360
00:14:18,470 --> 00:14:21,490
Qaeda and in Africa like those posed by 

361
00:14:21,530 --> 00:14:24,400
al Shabaab . I'm also confident that 

362
00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:26,511
this budget will help us maintain the 

363
00:14:26,511 --> 00:14:28,511
integrated deterrent capability and 

364
00:14:28,511 --> 00:14:31,180
global posture necessary to back to 

365
00:14:31,180 --> 00:14:33,347
back up the hard work of our diplomats 

366
00:14:33,347 --> 00:14:35,069
and demonstrate our resolve in 

367
00:14:35,069 --> 00:14:37,910
leadership all over the world alongside 

368
00:14:37,910 --> 00:14:40,770
our allies and partners . I know that 

369
00:14:40,770 --> 00:14:42,881
Afghanistan remains at the top of all 

370
00:14:42,881 --> 00:14:44,881
of our minds and today I can report 

371
00:14:44,881 --> 00:14:47,460
that the retrograde remains on pace . 

372
00:14:48,340 --> 00:14:50,396
We have accomplished the mission for 

373
00:14:50,396 --> 00:14:52,062
which our troops were sent to 

374
00:14:52,062 --> 00:14:54,284
Afghanistan 20 years ago and I'm also , 

375
00:14:54,284 --> 00:14:56,507
I'm very proud of the men and women who 

376
00:14:56,507 --> 00:14:58,673
made it possible and of those who gave 

377
00:14:58,673 --> 00:15:01,060
their lives for this mission . 

378
00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:04,418
I'm also deeply grateful to the 

379
00:15:04,418 --> 00:15:06,418
families of our service members who 

380
00:15:06,418 --> 00:15:09,360
have endured as much as they sent their 

381
00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:12,120
sons and daughters and and husbands and 

382
00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:15,080
wives into battle . And so we will now 

383
00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:17,040
transition to a new bilateral late 

384
00:15:17,050 --> 00:15:19,272
relationship with our Afghan partners , 

385
00:15:19,740 --> 00:15:21,796
one that continues to help them meet 

386
00:15:21,796 --> 00:15:23,610
their responsibilities to their 

387
00:15:23,610 --> 00:15:25,840
citizens , but one that will not 

388
00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:28,020
require our U . S . Footprint larger 

389
00:15:28,020 --> 00:15:30,076
than what's necessary to protect our 

390
00:15:30,076 --> 00:15:32,230
diplomats . And that's one reason why 

391
00:15:32,230 --> 00:15:34,010
we're asking to move overseas , 

392
00:15:34,010 --> 00:15:35,970
Contingency operations , fundings 

393
00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:38,780
inside the budget . This will give us 

394
00:15:38,780 --> 00:15:40,730
and you greater transparency , 

395
00:15:40,730 --> 00:15:43,020
accountability and predictability in 

396
00:15:43,020 --> 00:15:45,260
the budgeting process . This is the 

397
00:15:45,260 --> 00:15:47,316
right thing to do . And frankly it's 

398
00:15:47,316 --> 00:15:50,140
overdue now taking care of our people 

399
00:15:50,150 --> 00:15:52,690
is also the right thing to do . Our 

400
00:15:52,690 --> 00:15:54,740
budget request increases funding to 

401
00:15:54,740 --> 00:15:56,830
support in home care and support , 

402
00:15:56,930 --> 00:15:59,340
which has become increasingly important 

403
00:15:59,340 --> 00:16:01,640
during the pandemic , will also be 

404
00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:03,696
looked will also be seeking funds to 

405
00:16:03,696 --> 00:16:05,990
improve military base pay retention 

406
00:16:05,990 --> 00:16:08,500
bonuses and other incentives that will 

407
00:16:08,500 --> 00:16:10,690
help us attract and retain the best 

408
00:16:10,690 --> 00:16:12,850
talent . And we'll be working hard to 

409
00:16:12,850 --> 00:16:15,017
combat challenges that make service in 

410
00:16:15,017 --> 00:16:17,380
the ranks more difficult for the men 

411
00:16:17,380 --> 00:16:20,480
and women of the department from 

412
00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:22,610
getting a better handle on the extent 

413
00:16:22,620 --> 00:16:24,509
to which we experienced extremist 

414
00:16:24,509 --> 00:16:27,350
behavior to combating sexual assault 

415
00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:30,300
and harassment . As you know , my first 

416
00:16:30,300 --> 00:16:32,450
directive as Secretary of Defense , 

417
00:16:32,460 --> 00:16:34,920
issued on my first full day in the 

418
00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:37,650
office was to service leadership about 

419
00:16:37,650 --> 00:16:40,490
sexual assault . I made it clear then , 

420
00:16:40,490 --> 00:16:42,712
and I still believe that we must not be 

421
00:16:42,712 --> 00:16:45,020
afraid to try new approaches and to 

422
00:16:45,020 --> 00:16:48,470
change our minds so that we can truly 

423
00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:51,300
and fully address the scourge of sexual 

424
00:16:51,300 --> 00:16:53,990
assault in our force and clearly what 

425
00:16:53,990 --> 00:16:56,157
we've been doing hasn't been working . 

426
00:16:56,157 --> 00:16:58,580
And one assault is too many . The 

427
00:16:58,580 --> 00:17:00,636
numbers of sexual assaults are still 

428
00:17:00,636 --> 00:17:02,580
too high and the confidence in our 

429
00:17:02,580 --> 00:17:04,560
system is still too low . The 

430
00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:06,671
independent review commission that we 

431
00:17:06,671 --> 00:17:08,671
established has provided me with an 

432
00:17:08,671 --> 00:17:10,893
initial set of recommendations starting 

433
00:17:10,893 --> 00:17:13,570
around the issue of accountability in 

434
00:17:13,570 --> 00:17:15,681
this line of effort is focused on how 

435
00:17:15,681 --> 00:17:17,570
these crimes are investigated and 

436
00:17:17,570 --> 00:17:19,292
prosecuted . I've shared these 

437
00:17:19,292 --> 00:17:21,459
recommendations with General Million . 

438
00:17:21,459 --> 00:17:23,348
A civilian military leaders , the 

439
00:17:23,348 --> 00:17:25,403
civilian and military leaders of the 

440
00:17:25,403 --> 00:17:27,348
service branches and I'm carefully 

441
00:17:27,348 --> 00:17:29,181
reviewing the feedback that they 

442
00:17:29,181 --> 00:17:31,348
provided me . There will be additional 

443
00:17:31,348 --> 00:17:33,459
recommendations coming to us from the 

444
00:17:33,459 --> 00:17:35,514
IRC on prevention culture and victim 

445
00:17:35,514 --> 00:17:37,300
support . And I look forward to 

446
00:17:37,300 --> 00:17:39,600
receiving them as well . And making my 

447
00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:41,920
full recommendation to the president 

448
00:17:41,930 --> 00:17:44,780
later this month . As I've said before , 

449
00:17:44,790 --> 00:17:47,120
what we're doing is not working and we 

450
00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:50,360
need to fix it . And I want to be sure 

451
00:17:50,360 --> 00:17:52,638
that whatever changes we make to the U . 

452
00:17:52,638 --> 00:17:55,860
C . M . J or whatever changes to the 

453
00:17:55,860 --> 00:17:57,620
UcMJ A that I recommend to the 

454
00:17:57,620 --> 00:17:59,950
president and ultimately to this 

455
00:17:59,950 --> 00:18:02,350
committee that they are scoped to the 

456
00:18:02,350 --> 00:18:04,890
problem that we're trying to solve and 

457
00:18:04,890 --> 00:18:06,446
have a clear way forward on 

458
00:18:06,446 --> 00:18:08,760
implementation and ultimately restore 

459
00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:10,704
the confidence of the force in the 

460
00:18:10,704 --> 00:18:13,000
system . You have my commitment to that 

461
00:18:13,010 --> 00:18:14,621
and my commitment to working 

462
00:18:14,621 --> 00:18:17,230
expeditiously as you consider 

463
00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:19,860
legislative proposals . So whatever 

464
00:18:19,860 --> 00:18:22,027
changes we make , I believe we need to 

465
00:18:22,027 --> 00:18:24,138
focus on effective implementation and 

466
00:18:24,138 --> 00:18:26,340
resources and I know I will need your 

467
00:18:26,340 --> 00:18:28,950
help . Chairman read members of this 

468
00:18:28,950 --> 00:18:30,783
committee . We feel the greatest 

469
00:18:30,783 --> 00:18:34,080
military in human history , made up of 

470
00:18:34,090 --> 00:18:36,257
the finest men and women who have ever 

471
00:18:36,257 --> 00:18:38,257
done the cloth of their nation . We 

472
00:18:38,257 --> 00:18:40,423
also enjoy a civilian workforce deeply 

473
00:18:40,423 --> 00:18:42,479
committed to every mission that they 

474
00:18:42,479 --> 00:18:44,840
take on and for all the things that we 

475
00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:46,562
know we need to do better . No 

476
00:18:46,562 --> 00:18:48,729
adversary can match the quality of our 

477
00:18:48,729 --> 00:18:51,040
people . I'm immensely proud of them 

478
00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:53,336
and humbled to be of service to them 

479
00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:56,080
and privileged to be able to serve 

480
00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:58,790
again with them and their families . I 

481
00:18:58,790 --> 00:19:00,846
know the values their spouse and the 

482
00:19:00,846 --> 00:19:02,760
oath that they took . I know what 

483
00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:05,820
they're capable of And I believe I have 

484
00:19:05,820 --> 00:19:07,987
a very good sense of what they need to 

485
00:19:07,987 --> 00:19:10,340
do their jobs and I can assure you that 

486
00:19:10,340 --> 00:19:12,284
the president's budget request for 

487
00:19:12,284 --> 00:19:15,230
fiscal year 22 fulfills that obligation 

488
00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:17,296
and I look forward to answering your 

489
00:19:17,296 --> 00:19:19,073
questions and thank you for the 

490
00:19:19,073 --> 00:19:21,240
steadfast support that you continue to 

491
00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:23,296
provide to the Department of Defense 

492
00:19:23,296 --> 00:19:25,407
and for all the efforts that you make 

493
00:19:25,407 --> 00:19:27,351
every day to ensure that we remain 

494
00:19:27,351 --> 00:19:29,573
ready to defend this nation . Thank you 

495
00:19:29,573 --> 00:19:31,560
sir . Thank you very much . Mr 

496
00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,090
Secretary Before I recognize General 

497
00:19:34,090 --> 00:19:36,820
Milley . Since a quorum is present , I 

498
00:19:36,820 --> 00:19:38,870
would ask the committee to consider 

499
00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:41,350
seven nominations . The nominations of 

500
00:19:41,350 --> 00:19:43,517
the honourable frank Kendall author to 

501
00:19:43,517 --> 00:19:45,517
be Secretary of the Air Force . The 

502
00:19:45,517 --> 00:19:47,072
honourable Heidi shoe to be 

503
00:19:47,072 --> 00:19:49,239
undersecretary of Defense for Research 

504
00:19:49,239 --> 00:19:51,183
and Engineering . Miss Suzanna V . 

505
00:19:51,183 --> 00:19:53,017
Bloom to be the Director of cost 

506
00:19:53,017 --> 00:19:55,017
assessment and program Evaluation , 

507
00:19:55,017 --> 00:19:57,183
Department of Defense , MS Jill M ruby 

508
00:19:57,183 --> 00:19:59,239
to be the under sector of Energy for 

509
00:19:59,239 --> 00:20:01,128
Nuclear Security Administration . 

510
00:20:01,128 --> 00:20:02,572
National Nuclear Security 

511
00:20:02,572 --> 00:20:04,739
Administration , Mr frank A Rose to be 

512
00:20:04,739 --> 00:20:06,670
Principal Deputy Administrator , 

513
00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:08,240
National Nuclear Security 

514
00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:10,380
Administration , Miss Deborah G . 

515
00:20:10,380 --> 00:20:12,780
Rosenbloom to be Assistant Secretary of 

516
00:20:12,780 --> 00:20:14,724
Defense for Nuclear , chemical and 

517
00:20:14,724 --> 00:20:16,740
biological defense programs and Mr 

518
00:20:16,740 --> 00:20:18,907
Christopher P . Mayor to the Assistant 

519
00:20:18,907 --> 00:20:20,740
Secretary of Defense for special 

520
00:20:20,740 --> 00:20:22,962
operations and low intensity conflict . 

521
00:20:22,962 --> 00:20:25,018
Is there a motion to favour ? Report 

522
00:20:25,018 --> 00:20:27,240
these seven nominations to the Senate ? 

523
00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:30,770
Is there a second all in favor ? Yeah , 

524
00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:34,070
the motion carries thank you very much . 

525
00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:36,850
Uh General Milley . Your comments 

526
00:20:36,850 --> 00:20:37,260
please 

527
00:20:41,940 --> 00:20:44,430
german read ranking member in off and 

528
00:20:44,430 --> 00:20:46,486
distinguished members of committee . 

529
00:20:46,486 --> 00:20:48,319
Thank you for the opportunity to 

530
00:20:48,319 --> 00:20:50,541
testify before you today and it remains 

531
00:20:50,541 --> 00:20:52,486
my distinct honor and privilege to 

532
00:20:52,486 --> 00:20:54,430
represent the soldiers , sailors , 

533
00:20:54,430 --> 00:20:56,486
airmen , marines and guardians . The 

534
00:20:56,486 --> 00:20:58,430
United States Joint Force the most 

535
00:20:58,430 --> 00:21:00,430
capable military in the world . Our 

536
00:21:00,430 --> 00:21:02,208
troops are the best lead , best 

537
00:21:02,208 --> 00:21:03,986
equipped and best trained force 

538
00:21:03,986 --> 00:21:05,986
anywhere . And I want to personally 

539
00:21:05,986 --> 00:21:08,097
thank Secretary Austin for his steady 

540
00:21:08,097 --> 00:21:10,097
leadership and wise guidance . Your 

541
00:21:10,097 --> 00:21:12,730
Joint Forces standing watch protecting 

542
00:21:12,730 --> 00:21:14,619
american interests in all domains 

543
00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:17,390
around the globe . Alongside our allies 

544
00:21:17,390 --> 00:21:19,334
and partners . American troops are 

545
00:21:19,334 --> 00:21:21,557
currently training or conducting combat 

546
00:21:21,557 --> 00:21:25,340
operations or other operations In 165 

547
00:21:25,340 --> 00:21:28,110
countries . To keep Americans safe . We 

548
00:21:28,110 --> 00:21:30,166
are conducting major exercises as we 

549
00:21:30,166 --> 00:21:32,450
speak in europe . We are monitoring the 

550
00:21:32,450 --> 00:21:34,890
dems in Korea . We are conducting 

551
00:21:34,890 --> 00:21:37,112
freedom of navigation operations in the 

552
00:21:37,112 --> 00:21:39,001
strategic waterways of the global 

553
00:21:39,001 --> 00:21:41,310
commons . We are sustaining operations 

554
00:21:41,310 --> 00:21:43,970
in space and cyberspace . We are 

555
00:21:43,970 --> 00:21:46,140
supporting our allies and partners in 

556
00:21:46,140 --> 00:21:49,120
Africa , Asia and europe . And we are 

557
00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:51,453
patrolling the skies of the Middle East . 

558
00:21:51,453 --> 00:21:53,730
And as we speak , our joint force is 

559
00:21:53,730 --> 00:21:56,090
conducting a safe , responsible and 

560
00:21:56,090 --> 00:21:58,146
deliberate strategic retrograde from 

561
00:21:58,146 --> 00:21:59,979
Afghanistan and good order while 

562
00:21:59,979 --> 00:22:02,090
ensuring continued support the Afghan 

563
00:22:02,090 --> 00:22:04,920
national security forces . The purpose 

564
00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:07,253
of the United States military is simple . 

565
00:22:07,253 --> 00:22:09,570
It is to protect and defend the 

566
00:22:09,570 --> 00:22:11,626
constitution of the United States of 

567
00:22:11,626 --> 00:22:13,737
America against all enemies , foreign 

568
00:22:13,737 --> 00:22:15,959
and domestic and with that comes to key 

569
00:22:15,959 --> 00:22:19,390
tasks Past one is to fight when 

570
00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:22,110
America's wars if necessary . And key 

571
00:22:22,110 --> 00:22:25,630
task to is to prepare to fight and win 

572
00:22:25,820 --> 00:22:28,420
America's wars . The United States 

573
00:22:28,420 --> 00:22:30,700
military is a critical component of 

574
00:22:30,700 --> 00:22:33,160
national power , which in concert with 

575
00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:35,380
our diplomatic efforts , economic 

576
00:22:35,380 --> 00:22:37,269
engine and overriding hope of the 

577
00:22:37,269 --> 00:22:39,580
american message that will deter 

578
00:22:39,580 --> 00:22:43,000
adversaries and preserve the peace . We 

579
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:45,080
are prepared to fight however , and 

580
00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:47,470
fight and when if those who seek to 

581
00:22:47,470 --> 00:22:49,692
attack the United States and our allies 

582
00:22:49,692 --> 00:22:53,300
and partners are undeterred , but force 

583
00:22:53,500 --> 00:22:56,050
must always be a last resort when other 

584
00:22:56,050 --> 00:22:58,810
means of achieving our ends have been 

585
00:22:58,810 --> 00:23:01,980
exhausted . We are in an era of 

586
00:23:01,990 --> 00:23:05,060
increased strategic competition . The 

587
00:23:05,060 --> 00:23:06,930
current strategic landscape is 

588
00:23:06,930 --> 00:23:09,140
witnessing rapid change and the 

589
00:23:09,140 --> 00:23:11,630
potential for increased threat to the 

590
00:23:11,630 --> 00:23:14,550
peace and stability of various regions 

591
00:23:14,780 --> 00:23:18,050
and indeed for the world . States and 

592
00:23:18,050 --> 00:23:20,240
non state actors are rapidly 

593
00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:22,620
transforming technologically . And we 

594
00:23:22,620 --> 00:23:24,910
are bearing witness to a fundamental 

595
00:23:24,910 --> 00:23:27,870
change in the character of war . In 

596
00:23:27,870 --> 00:23:30,830
particular china is increasing its 

597
00:23:30,830 --> 00:23:33,480
military capability at a very serious 

598
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:36,760
and sustained rate and we must ensure 

599
00:23:36,770 --> 00:23:38,750
that we retain our competitive and 

600
00:23:38,750 --> 00:23:41,280
technological edge against this pacing 

601
00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:43,270
threat . As Secretary Ahsan has 

602
00:23:43,270 --> 00:23:46,810
directed readiness , modernization and 

603
00:23:46,810 --> 00:23:49,810
combat power are key to deter war and 

604
00:23:49,810 --> 00:23:51,990
maintain the peace . And equally 

605
00:23:51,990 --> 00:23:54,530
important are the combat multipliers of 

606
00:23:54,530 --> 00:23:57,050
teamwork , cohesion and well led units . 

607
00:23:57,640 --> 00:23:59,990
We must resolve the issue of sexual 

608
00:23:59,990 --> 00:24:02,150
assault and confront the issue of 

609
00:24:02,150 --> 00:24:05,530
extremism . Both are corrosive to the 

610
00:24:05,530 --> 00:24:07,990
very essence of what it means to be in 

611
00:24:07,990 --> 00:24:11,310
the military and they destroy cohesion , 

612
00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:14,050
they destroy teamwork and they reduce 

613
00:24:14,060 --> 00:24:17,340
combat power . Additionally , we must 

614
00:24:17,340 --> 00:24:19,220
continue to invest in leader 

615
00:24:19,220 --> 00:24:21,109
development and talent management 

616
00:24:21,109 --> 00:24:23,020
required for the future operating 

617
00:24:23,020 --> 00:24:25,670
environment . And finally we must 

618
00:24:25,670 --> 00:24:28,080
continue to nurture and sustain a key 

619
00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:30,950
strategic source of our strength which 

620
00:24:30,950 --> 00:24:33,172
is our network of many close allies and 

621
00:24:33,172 --> 00:24:35,720
partners around the world . The Joint 

622
00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:37,720
force appreciates the work that our 

623
00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:39,940
elected representatives due to ensure 

624
00:24:39,940 --> 00:24:41,996
that we have the resources needed to 

625
00:24:41,996 --> 00:24:43,996
train equipment , man the forest in 

626
00:24:43,996 --> 00:24:45,996
order to be ready . The days of the 

627
00:24:45,996 --> 00:24:48,700
Budget Control Act has noted are over 

628
00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:50,760
and repeated continuing resolutions 

629
00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:52,816
which eroded readiness are hopefully 

630
00:24:52,816 --> 00:24:55,200
behind us for good . The joint force 

631
00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:57,256
will deliver modernization with this 

632
00:24:57,256 --> 00:24:59,530
budget of our armed forces and security 

633
00:24:59,530 --> 00:25:01,750
to the people of the United States At 

634
00:25:01,750 --> 00:25:05,370
the FY 22 budget requests Of $715 

635
00:25:05,370 --> 00:25:08,140
billion . While it is a modest increase 

636
00:25:08,330 --> 00:25:11,260
from the enacted FY 21 budget is a 

637
00:25:11,260 --> 00:25:13,390
significant commitment of treasure of 

638
00:25:13,390 --> 00:25:16,650
the american people and entrusted to us 

639
00:25:16,660 --> 00:25:18,771
and we will work diligently to ensure 

640
00:25:18,771 --> 00:25:20,660
it is spent prudently in the best 

641
00:25:20,660 --> 00:25:23,700
interests of the nation . The FY 22 

642
00:25:23,700 --> 00:25:26,070
presidential budget as a result of very 

643
00:25:26,070 --> 00:25:28,300
hard choices in a year in which the 

644
00:25:28,300 --> 00:25:30,760
nation has suffered economic hardship 

645
00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:34,800
Due to COVID 19 pandemic in alignment 

646
00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:36,744
with the interim national security 

647
00:25:36,744 --> 00:25:38,578
strategic guidance . This budget 

648
00:25:38,578 --> 00:25:40,633
delivers a ready , agile and capable 

649
00:25:40,633 --> 00:25:42,800
joint force that will compete to turn 

650
00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:45,020
win across all domains and which is 

651
00:25:45,020 --> 00:25:47,350
postured for continued dominance in the 

652
00:25:47,350 --> 00:25:49,860
future . This budget prioritizes 

653
00:25:49,860 --> 00:25:51,990
nuclear modernization , long range 

654
00:25:51,990 --> 00:25:53,770
fires , hypersonic technology , 

655
00:25:54,140 --> 00:25:56,450
Artificial Intelligence , Shipbuilding , 

656
00:25:56,480 --> 00:25:59,170
Microelectronic Space , Cyber and five 

657
00:25:59,170 --> 00:26:01,840
G . These investments , in concert with 

658
00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:03,451
our recently developed joint 

659
00:26:03,451 --> 00:26:05,673
warfighting concept , will pave the way 

660
00:26:05,673 --> 00:26:07,784
for a joint force of the future . The 

661
00:26:07,784 --> 00:26:10,540
PB 22 budget request increases the 

662
00:26:10,540 --> 00:26:12,596
readiness of the force by developing 

663
00:26:12,596 --> 00:26:14,373
the joint force of the future , 

664
00:26:14,373 --> 00:26:16,540
ensuring our people are our number one 

665
00:26:16,540 --> 00:26:18,707
priority and positioning us to achieve 

666
00:26:18,707 --> 00:26:20,860
through teamwork . Many enemies 

667
00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:23,250
historically have grossly 

668
00:26:23,250 --> 00:26:25,540
underestimated the United States and 

669
00:26:25,540 --> 00:26:27,880
our people . They've underestimated our 

670
00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:29,590
national resolve . They've 

671
00:26:29,590 --> 00:26:31,900
underestimated our capability , our 

672
00:26:31,900 --> 00:26:35,040
skill in our combat power and each in 

673
00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:38,150
the past has made a fatal choice which 

674
00:26:38,150 --> 00:26:40,094
ended with their enrollment in the 

675
00:26:40,094 --> 00:26:42,206
dustbin of history . The same will be 

676
00:26:42,206 --> 00:26:44,170
true of any enemy that makes that 

677
00:26:44,170 --> 00:26:46,400
mistake today or tomorrow . We are 

678
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:48,622
ready now and remain so in the future . 

679
00:26:48,740 --> 00:26:50,629
We're also facing tough strategic 

680
00:26:50,629 --> 00:26:52,684
choices and we're being increasingly 

681
00:26:52,684 --> 00:26:54,851
challenged with very capable potential 

682
00:26:54,851 --> 00:26:56,629
adversaries , clearly acting in 

683
00:26:56,629 --> 00:26:58,962
opposition to our interest , consistent , 

684
00:26:58,970 --> 00:27:01,120
predictable budgets informed of the 

685
00:27:01,120 --> 00:27:03,340
will of the people are critical to our 

686
00:27:03,340 --> 00:27:05,420
nation's defense and the passage of 

687
00:27:05,420 --> 00:27:07,820
this budget in a timely way is 

688
00:27:07,820 --> 00:27:10,810
important . The FY 22 presidential 

689
00:27:10,810 --> 00:27:12,921
budget strikes an appropriate balance 

690
00:27:12,921 --> 00:27:14,977
between preserving present readiness 

691
00:27:14,977 --> 00:27:17,200
and future modernization . It's a down 

692
00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:19,400
payment on investments for the future 

693
00:27:19,540 --> 00:27:21,762
with a bias toward the future operating 

694
00:27:21,762 --> 00:27:24,360
environment . It is now that we must 

695
00:27:24,360 --> 00:27:26,600
set ourselves on a path to modernize 

696
00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:28,530
the joint force and this budget 

697
00:27:28,540 --> 00:27:31,130
contributes to doing that . Our job is 

698
00:27:31,130 --> 00:27:33,186
your joint force , our contract with 

699
00:27:33,186 --> 00:27:35,130
the american people is that we the 

700
00:27:35,130 --> 00:27:37,297
United States military will be able to 

701
00:27:37,297 --> 00:27:39,940
fight and win when called upon . We 

702
00:27:39,940 --> 00:27:41,551
will support and defend this 

703
00:27:41,551 --> 00:27:43,960
consultation of constitution always and 

704
00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:46,140
forever . And I look forward to your 

705
00:27:46,140 --> 00:27:48,460
questions . Thank you very much . 

706
00:27:48,470 --> 00:27:50,581
General Milley understand . Mr McCord 

707
00:27:50,581 --> 00:27:52,637
does not have a statement and that's 

708
00:27:52,637 --> 00:27:54,526
correct . Thank you . Mr McCord . 

709
00:27:54,526 --> 00:27:56,550
Secretary Austin . Uh We are in the 

710
00:27:56,550 --> 00:27:58,990
process of withdrawing our combat 

711
00:27:58,990 --> 00:28:02,740
forces uh save for embassy protection 

712
00:28:02,740 --> 00:28:06,740
personnel . It is going rapidly . The 

713
00:28:06,750 --> 00:28:08,639
projections I think I've read are 

714
00:28:08,639 --> 00:28:10,806
perhaps july we could have wall forces 

715
00:28:10,806 --> 00:28:14,700
out I think also to the taliban . Are 

716
00:28:14,700 --> 00:28:16,960
aware that if they would encroach upon 

717
00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:19,127
our forces , that would not only delay 

718
00:28:19,127 --> 00:28:22,280
at departure but re engage us in active 

719
00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:24,730
operations . So the questions I think 

720
00:28:24,730 --> 00:28:26,950
now are after the departure of our 

721
00:28:26,950 --> 00:28:30,770
forces , uh do uh believe you 

722
00:28:30,770 --> 00:28:33,830
have the appropriate authorities and 

723
00:28:33,830 --> 00:28:36,080
funding to continue to support the 

724
00:28:36,090 --> 00:28:38,500
afghan national security forces and 

725
00:28:38,510 --> 00:28:41,260
counterterrorism operations after the 

726
00:28:41,260 --> 00:28:44,990
transition . Thank you . 

727
00:28:44,990 --> 00:28:47,070
Chairman . As you know , what we've 

728
00:28:47,070 --> 00:28:50,260
said is that we intend to maintain a 

729
00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:53,790
a good and productive relationship with 

730
00:28:53,790 --> 00:28:57,080
the afghans uh post our withdrawal 

731
00:28:57,080 --> 00:29:00,760
retrograde . Uh and that entails 

732
00:29:00,770 --> 00:29:04,350
making sure that with your support , we 

733
00:29:04,350 --> 00:29:07,170
can we can continue to provide funding 

734
00:29:07,170 --> 00:29:09,840
for the military and support for the 

735
00:29:09,850 --> 00:29:11,961
government as well . And I think that 

736
00:29:11,961 --> 00:29:14,220
support is critical in ensuring that 

737
00:29:14,220 --> 00:29:16,770
the government remains uh uh huh 

738
00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:19,370
retains the ability to function and 

739
00:29:19,380 --> 00:29:22,890
that the military remains intact . And 

740
00:29:22,890 --> 00:29:25,150
so again , we'll need your support to 

741
00:29:25,150 --> 00:29:27,060
be able to do that in terms of 

742
00:29:27,060 --> 00:29:29,830
authorities . I do think that we have 

743
00:29:29,830 --> 00:29:32,052
the authorities that we need to be able 

744
00:29:32,052 --> 00:29:34,960
to focus on a discreet 

745
00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:38,970
set of threats . And that threat is 

746
00:29:38,980 --> 00:29:42,050
uh those threats that could um 

747
00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:46,460
uh conduct operations uh against the 

748
00:29:46,460 --> 00:29:48,460
United States of America that would 

749
00:29:48,460 --> 00:29:50,320
emanate from that that space in 

750
00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:54,320
Afghanistan . So R . C . T . Threat is 

751
00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:57,930
focused on al Qaeda . Uh huh . 

752
00:29:57,940 --> 00:30:00,550
And we are confident that we will have 

753
00:30:00,550 --> 00:30:02,630
the authorities to uh to continue 

754
00:30:02,630 --> 00:30:05,270
operations . Are you also confident 

755
00:30:05,270 --> 00:30:07,410
that given a significant drawdown of 

756
00:30:07,410 --> 00:30:09,890
personnel that you'll be able to 

757
00:30:09,890 --> 00:30:12,830
effectively distribute the resources of 

758
00:30:12,830 --> 00:30:16,470
the Afghan National Army and 

759
00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:19,550
other insecurity institutions ? 

760
00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:22,620
As you know , senator , we our plan is 

761
00:30:22,620 --> 00:30:25,470
to keep our embassy there and hopefully 

762
00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:28,200
uh as we work uh we continue to work 

763
00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:30,220
with the Afghan government will 

764
00:30:30,220 --> 00:30:33,490
establish those uh those capabilities 

765
00:30:33,490 --> 00:30:36,000
and procedures necessary to be able to 

766
00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:38,950
effectively distribute uh funds and 

767
00:30:38,950 --> 00:30:41,200
track the movement of those funds and 

768
00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:44,200
capabilities . Well at any point in 

769
00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:46,311
your review as the situation develops 

770
00:30:46,311 --> 00:30:48,144
and you feel you need additional 

771
00:30:48,144 --> 00:30:50,780
authorities , Please do not hesitate to 

772
00:30:50,780 --> 00:30:52,836
contact the committee . I think both 

773
00:30:52,940 --> 00:30:55,170
myself and the ranking member would be 

774
00:30:55,170 --> 00:30:57,670
very eager to provide those authorities . 

775
00:30:58,140 --> 00:31:00,610
Uh You mentioned in your opening 

776
00:31:00,610 --> 00:31:03,060
statements , the scourge of sexual 

777
00:31:03,060 --> 00:31:06,950
assault and military and uh the ongoing 

778
00:31:06,950 --> 00:31:09,450
efforts to reform the U . C . M . J . 

779
00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:12,020
The last time we did a major military 

780
00:31:12,030 --> 00:31:15,790
reform in 2017 . The defense bill 

781
00:31:15,790 --> 00:31:17,734
required a two-year implementation 

782
00:31:17,734 --> 00:31:20,220
timeframe and every bit of which was 

783
00:31:20,220 --> 00:31:23,680
used critical to this process is that 

784
00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:26,060
the fact the president must republish 

785
00:31:26,060 --> 00:31:28,040
the manual for courts martial and 

786
00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:30,260
ensure that ongoing investigations and 

787
00:31:30,260 --> 00:31:32,610
prostitution prosecutions are not 

788
00:31:32,610 --> 00:31:34,860
jeopardized by Russian implementation . 

789
00:31:35,540 --> 00:31:37,790
And uh when you forward the 

790
00:31:37,790 --> 00:31:40,012
administration's recommendations , will 

791
00:31:40,012 --> 00:31:42,346
you include your assessment at the time , 

792
00:31:42,346 --> 00:31:44,457
resources and the qualified personnel 

793
00:31:44,457 --> 00:31:46,530
necessary to effectively implement 

794
00:31:46,530 --> 00:31:50,410
those changes ? We will Chairman . And 

795
00:31:50,420 --> 00:31:53,280
to your point , uh any change ? Any 

796
00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:56,280
proposed change to the U . C . M . J is 

797
00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:59,370
a very serious issue . We'll need the 

798
00:31:59,380 --> 00:32:02,690
adequate time to implement the change 

799
00:32:02,700 --> 00:32:05,180
in a very responsible way . And we'll 

800
00:32:05,180 --> 00:32:07,291
also need resources to make sure that 

801
00:32:07,291 --> 00:32:09,960
we can effectively implement it and uh 

802
00:32:09,970 --> 00:32:12,440
we'll need flexibility to ensure that 

803
00:32:12,450 --> 00:32:14,672
if there's something that needs to be a 

804
00:32:14,672 --> 00:32:16,672
just we can adjust . Thank you very 

805
00:32:16,672 --> 00:32:18,920
much . Mr Secretary thank you . General 

806
00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:21,087
Milley and Mr McCord . Senator North . 

807
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:23,930
Thank you Mr Chairman because the 

808
00:32:23,930 --> 00:32:26,097
interest we have here , I just have to 

809
00:32:26,100 --> 00:32:29,260
brief questions . One General Milley 

810
00:32:29,740 --> 00:32:32,990
In 2018 you testified that it's hard to 

811
00:32:32,990 --> 00:32:35,610
compare the US . and Chinese defense 

812
00:32:35,610 --> 00:32:38,360
budgets because china's budget is very 

813
00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:41,130
different . And for a better comparison 

814
00:32:41,130 --> 00:32:43,352
we need to make some adjustments and we 

815
00:32:43,352 --> 00:32:45,520
have we have done that little things 

816
00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:48,260
like the cost of labor and all of that . 

817
00:32:48,740 --> 00:32:50,740
But making those adjustments is not 

818
00:32:50,740 --> 00:32:53,660
easy and that's why we required in last 

819
00:32:53,660 --> 00:32:56,090
year's defense authorization bill that 

820
00:32:56,090 --> 00:32:58,770
the pentagon do a study to try to make 

821
00:32:58,770 --> 00:33:02,430
this comparison . Uh china and 

822
00:33:02,430 --> 00:33:04,570
Russia combined probably spend more 

823
00:33:04,570 --> 00:33:07,010
than we do . I made that point in an op 

824
00:33:07,010 --> 00:33:10,840
ed piece last me . So I would ask 

825
00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:13,860
you general miller Millie the 

826
00:33:14,340 --> 00:33:17,180
chinese and Russian economies and 

827
00:33:17,180 --> 00:33:20,890
defense spending are unique . And given 

828
00:33:20,890 --> 00:33:23,112
this , do you think that their relative 

829
00:33:23,112 --> 00:33:26,330
combined effort is similar to ours ? 

830
00:33:26,340 --> 00:33:29,510
And do you think that they under state 

831
00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:32,270
the spending that they're doing 

832
00:33:35,940 --> 00:33:39,450
center Mike taylor . The 

833
00:33:40,740 --> 00:33:43,980
both of our analysis uh Diodes analysis 

834
00:33:43,980 --> 00:33:45,813
and the intelligence community's 

835
00:33:45,813 --> 00:33:48,530
analysis of budgets for um both Russia 

836
00:33:48,530 --> 00:33:50,697
and china classified at non classified 

837
00:33:50,697 --> 00:33:53,210
level . I would tell you that combined 

838
00:33:53,210 --> 00:33:55,670
the Russian and chinese budgets exceed 

839
00:33:56,140 --> 00:33:58,307
our budgets . If all the cards are put 

840
00:33:58,307 --> 00:34:00,473
on the table , both governments do not 

841
00:34:00,473 --> 00:34:02,584
put all their cards on the table when 

842
00:34:02,584 --> 00:34:04,807
it comes to the budget . Um it's a it's 

843
00:34:04,807 --> 00:34:06,973
a very difficult thing to discern that 

844
00:34:06,973 --> 00:34:09,084
which is being spent on their defense 

845
00:34:09,084 --> 00:34:10,973
versus other priorities . Uh with 

846
00:34:10,973 --> 00:34:12,807
respect to china , they have put 

847
00:34:12,807 --> 00:34:15,320
significant levels of effort Of their 

848
00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:17,487
economy . And of course the economy is 

849
00:34:17,487 --> 00:34:19,542
second only to ours . Uh significant 

850
00:34:19,542 --> 00:34:21,653
levels of resources into building the 

851
00:34:21,653 --> 00:34:23,487
Chinese military and the Chinese 

852
00:34:23,487 --> 00:34:25,542
military is , we've noted many times 

853
00:34:25,542 --> 00:34:27,653
before is on a significant increasing 

854
00:34:27,653 --> 00:34:29,764
rising capability over the last 20 or 

855
00:34:29,764 --> 00:34:32,040
30 years . Uh and uh and they continue 

856
00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:34,490
to invest heavily in that . That's 

857
00:34:34,490 --> 00:34:38,080
right . And Secretary Austin during 

858
00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:40,247
your confirmation hearing in january , 

859
00:34:40,247 --> 00:34:42,580
you said , and this is a quote you said . 

860
00:34:42,580 --> 00:34:45,410
I see china in particular as a pacing 

861
00:34:45,410 --> 00:34:48,710
challenge for our department and that 

862
00:34:48,720 --> 00:34:51,540
you need our help to deter china . Now , 

863
00:34:51,540 --> 00:34:53,910
I'm worried that if we under fund the 

864
00:34:53,910 --> 00:34:55,970
military , our military , we will 

865
00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:59,250
undermine our alliances and weaken 

866
00:34:59,250 --> 00:35:02,470
deterrence . And in your opinion . 

867
00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:05,970
Well , let me just state this . We've 

868
00:35:05,980 --> 00:35:09,700
felt for some time and have said that 

869
00:35:09,710 --> 00:35:12,030
when we we have countries 

870
00:35:12,030 --> 00:35:15,550
that happened that we 

871
00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:19,090
senator rounds and I went to 

872
00:35:19,100 --> 00:35:22,280
six different countries last week , one 

873
00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:24,350
of those was Romania . And they 

874
00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:27,680
reminded us that We talked to them 

875
00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:30,750
about 2% . They should get to 2% for 

876
00:35:30,750 --> 00:35:32,806
the defense spending . They did that 

877
00:35:32,806 --> 00:35:34,917
and they told us that they did that . 

878
00:35:34,917 --> 00:35:37,400
And yet they're looking at us actually 

879
00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:39,590
reducing our funding . And I'd just 

880
00:35:39,590 --> 00:35:41,701
like to have you comment on what kind 

881
00:35:41,701 --> 00:35:43,990
of effect that might have to other 

882
00:35:43,990 --> 00:35:44,990
countries too . 

883
00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:53,230
Well , thank you , Senator . I I would 

884
00:35:53,230 --> 00:35:55,400
say that when you look at our overall 

885
00:35:55,400 --> 00:35:58,980
contributions to NATO , we 

886
00:35:58,980 --> 00:36:02,870
contribute a substantial amount to the 

887
00:36:02,870 --> 00:36:05,037
NATO effort and will continue to do so 

888
00:36:05,037 --> 00:36:08,750
going forward . I think uh the 

889
00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:10,593
budget gives us the right mix of 

890
00:36:10,593 --> 00:36:14,430
capabilities uh in the flexibility to 

891
00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:17,780
uh to be very effective uh in our 

892
00:36:17,780 --> 00:36:20,650
efforts to um 

893
00:36:21,430 --> 00:36:24,090
deter china going forward in Russia or 

894
00:36:24,090 --> 00:36:26,201
anyone else who would want to take us 

895
00:36:26,201 --> 00:36:28,840
on . So I'm confident that this budget 

896
00:36:28,850 --> 00:36:32,010
uh will allow us to match our resources 

897
00:36:32,010 --> 00:36:34,177
to our strategy and our strategy to it 

898
00:36:34,177 --> 00:36:36,790
to our policy . My concern has been 

899
00:36:36,790 --> 00:36:38,930
that our insistence in the previous 

900
00:36:38,930 --> 00:36:41,097
administration , which I agreed with , 

901
00:36:41,097 --> 00:36:43,208
that we reached the 2% in these other 

902
00:36:43,208 --> 00:36:46,360
countries and they see that it appears 

903
00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:49,030
that our expectations are much less 

904
00:36:49,030 --> 00:36:51,197
than this administration . Thank you . 

905
00:36:51,197 --> 00:36:55,140
Mr Chairman . Ah Thank you very much 

906
00:36:55,140 --> 00:36:57,140
Senator Inhofe . Before I recognize 

907
00:36:57,140 --> 00:36:59,680
Senator Shaheen , uh we have a room 

908
00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:02,340
reserved for a closed session after 

909
00:37:02,730 --> 00:37:06,300
this open session . So there are any 

910
00:37:06,300 --> 00:37:09,200
questions that the panel fields would 

911
00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:11,880
be best addressed in a closed session . 

912
00:37:11,880 --> 00:37:14,047
We will retire there . If there are no 

913
00:37:14,047 --> 00:37:16,213
such questions and we'll conclude with 

914
00:37:16,213 --> 00:37:18,380
the open session center Sheen , please 

915
00:37:18,730 --> 00:37:20,897
thank you Mr Chairman and thank you to 

916
00:37:20,897 --> 00:37:22,952
all three of you for your service to 

917
00:37:22,952 --> 00:37:24,952
the country and for being here this 

918
00:37:24,952 --> 00:37:27,560
morning , Secretary Austin . There's an 

919
00:37:27,560 --> 00:37:31,450
interesting article out in the new 

920
00:37:31,450 --> 00:37:34,700
york Times today that suggests that our 

921
00:37:34,700 --> 00:37:38,420
plan in Afghanistan is to 

922
00:37:38,430 --> 00:37:41,830
not just provide for some sort of over 

923
00:37:41,830 --> 00:37:43,460
the horizon um 

924
00:37:45,430 --> 00:37:47,800
troops to address counterterrorism , 

925
00:37:47,900 --> 00:37:49,960
but that we might also be looking at 

926
00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:53,430
ways that we can provide air support to 

927
00:37:53,630 --> 00:37:57,120
the Afghan forces if they're in danger 

928
00:37:57,130 --> 00:37:59,960
or if we're in danger of losing Kabul 

929
00:37:59,970 --> 00:38:02,480
or another major city in the country . 

930
00:38:02,480 --> 00:38:05,030
And it also quotes afghan officials as 

931
00:38:05,030 --> 00:38:07,197
saying that they've been told by their 

932
00:38:07,197 --> 00:38:09,363
american counterparts that the U . S . 

933
00:38:09,363 --> 00:38:11,697
Would stop any takeover of a major city . 

934
00:38:12,020 --> 00:38:14,750
Obviously who knows what the source of 

935
00:38:14,750 --> 00:38:17,560
that is ? But can you tell me if we are 

936
00:38:17,560 --> 00:38:20,470
in fact first of all where we are in 

937
00:38:20,470 --> 00:38:22,530
our plans to develop an over the 

938
00:38:22,530 --> 00:38:25,460
horizon C . T . Force and if we are in 

939
00:38:25,460 --> 00:38:28,270
fact contemplating any other actions in 

940
00:38:28,270 --> 00:38:30,492
support of the Afghan troops should the 

941
00:38:30,492 --> 00:38:32,860
Taliban be in danger of taking over 

942
00:38:32,860 --> 00:38:36,250
Kabul . Mhm . 

943
00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:39,930
Thank you senator . As you know , we 

944
00:38:39,930 --> 00:38:43,410
continue to provide support to the 

945
00:38:43,410 --> 00:38:46,040
Afghan security forces as we retrograde . 

946
00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:49,470
Once we have completed our retrograde 

947
00:38:49,480 --> 00:38:52,920
that will be very difficult to 

948
00:38:52,920 --> 00:38:55,890
do because our capabilities will have 

949
00:38:55,890 --> 00:38:58,690
diminished in country . I really won't . 

950
00:38:58,700 --> 00:39:02,030
I won't speculate about any uh any 

951
00:39:02,030 --> 00:39:04,080
potential outcomes or any potential 

952
00:39:04,080 --> 00:39:07,500
future actions . I will just say 

953
00:39:07,500 --> 00:39:10,650
that the president has been clear that 

954
00:39:10,650 --> 00:39:13,170
our mission in Afghanistan has been 

955
00:39:13,170 --> 00:39:16,520
accomplished and and we are focused on 

956
00:39:16,530 --> 00:39:18,630
on retro grading our people and 

957
00:39:18,630 --> 00:39:22,090
equipment out and uh and again going 

958
00:39:22,090 --> 00:39:24,940
forward . Uh in terms of our seti 

959
00:39:24,940 --> 00:39:27,410
efforts , those seti efforts will be 

960
00:39:27,410 --> 00:39:30,940
focused on uh those elements that can 

961
00:39:30,940 --> 00:39:34,260
possibly conduct attacks against our 

962
00:39:34,260 --> 00:39:37,810
homeland . And uh in terms of 

963
00:39:37,820 --> 00:39:41,340
our efforts to establish over the 

964
00:39:41,340 --> 00:39:44,140
horizon capability . I would just point 

965
00:39:44,140 --> 00:39:46,140
to the fact that , you know , as we 

966
00:39:46,140 --> 00:39:47,930
have retro grated a lot of our 

967
00:39:47,930 --> 00:39:50,152
capability out of country . We're doing 

968
00:39:50,152 --> 00:39:52,319
a lot of things over the horizon now . 

969
00:39:52,319 --> 00:39:56,270
S . R . Is being flown from from gcc 

970
00:39:56,280 --> 00:40:00,130
a lot of our combat aircraft or 

971
00:40:00,140 --> 00:40:02,029
missions are being conducted from 

972
00:40:02,029 --> 00:40:04,910
platforms uh you know , in the gulf . 

973
00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:07,440
And and uh and so we have the 

974
00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:10,250
capability now to do that . What we 

975
00:40:10,250 --> 00:40:13,920
were looking for is uh , is the 

976
00:40:13,920 --> 00:40:15,990
ability to shorten the legs going 

977
00:40:15,990 --> 00:40:18,560
forward by stationing some capability 

978
00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:21,130
in neighboring countries that is still 

979
00:40:21,130 --> 00:40:23,330
a work in progress . So do you have a 

980
00:40:23,340 --> 00:40:25,451
timetable for when that plan might be 

981
00:40:25,451 --> 00:40:28,020
completed ? I don't have a timetable . 

982
00:40:28,020 --> 00:40:30,076
I will tell you that we will move as 

983
00:40:30,076 --> 00:40:32,350
quickly as we can in conjunction with 

984
00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:35,530
with State Department efforts um , in 

985
00:40:35,540 --> 00:40:37,707
talking with some of the women leaders 

986
00:40:37,707 --> 00:40:40,580
of Afghanistan in the last weeks . One 

987
00:40:40,580 --> 00:40:43,590
of the things that they have um asked 

988
00:40:43,600 --> 00:40:45,322
and said they thought was very 

989
00:40:45,322 --> 00:40:47,360
important would be for high level 

990
00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:49,580
american officials . The president , 

991
00:40:49,590 --> 00:40:52,020
certainly you as Secretary of Defense 

992
00:40:52,310 --> 00:40:55,130
to speak out against the Talibans , 

993
00:40:55,210 --> 00:40:57,440
attacks against women and girls in the 

994
00:40:57,440 --> 00:40:59,840
country and to make it clear that 

995
00:40:59,840 --> 00:41:02,300
that's a violation of international 

996
00:41:02,300 --> 00:41:05,680
norms of behavior and human rights . I 

997
00:41:05,680 --> 00:41:07,800
would urge you to do that along with 

998
00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:10,240
other members of the administration . I 

999
00:41:10,240 --> 00:41:13,370
think um that's the least we can do at 

1000
00:41:13,370 --> 00:41:16,710
this point is to make a point of the 

1001
00:41:16,720 --> 00:41:20,380
violation of norms and human rights 

1002
00:41:20,380 --> 00:41:22,580
that the Taliban are conducting in 

1003
00:41:22,580 --> 00:41:24,747
Afghanistan , especially when it comes 

1004
00:41:24,747 --> 00:41:28,180
to women and girls . I I want to go on 

1005
00:41:28,180 --> 00:41:31,220
to another issue in my time that's left 

1006
00:41:31,230 --> 00:41:33,286
because one of the things you talked 

1007
00:41:33,286 --> 00:41:35,508
about in your opening statement was the 

1008
00:41:35,508 --> 00:41:37,841
importance of taking care of our people . 

1009
00:41:37,841 --> 00:41:40,008
And as we know , one of the challenges 

1010
00:41:40,008 --> 00:41:42,286
that we're facing not just among D . O . 

1011
00:41:42,286 --> 00:41:45,130
D . Employees but and intel agencies at 

1012
00:41:45,130 --> 00:41:49,020
ST has been attacks of 

1013
00:41:50,210 --> 00:41:52,321
what has been come to be known as the 

1014
00:41:52,321 --> 00:41:54,730
Havana syndrome . The National Academy 

1015
00:41:54,730 --> 00:41:56,897
of Science report that was released in 

1016
00:41:56,897 --> 00:41:59,430
december calls these directed energy 

1017
00:41:59,430 --> 00:42:03,100
attacks . It's my understanding that D . 

1018
00:42:03,100 --> 00:42:05,460
O . D . Is the department that's taking 

1019
00:42:05,460 --> 00:42:07,380
the lead on treating individuals 

1020
00:42:07,390 --> 00:42:09,690
suffering from these attacks . Can you 

1021
00:42:09,690 --> 00:42:11,801
tell us if that's the case and if you 

1022
00:42:11,801 --> 00:42:13,801
have the resources that you need to 

1023
00:42:13,801 --> 00:42:16,210
continue to do that and then what steps 

1024
00:42:16,210 --> 00:42:18,266
you're taking to protect D . O . D . 

1025
00:42:18,266 --> 00:42:20,620
Personnel from future attacks ? 

1026
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:27,050
Well , the the health and welfare of 

1027
00:42:27,050 --> 00:42:30,510
our people is utmost importance to me . 

1028
00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:33,890
Uh And we are working with uh we're 

1029
00:42:33,890 --> 00:42:37,490
working as one element of a larger 

1030
00:42:37,500 --> 00:42:41,000
uh whole of government effort to 

1031
00:42:41,010 --> 00:42:43,570
really determine the cause of these , 

1032
00:42:43,580 --> 00:42:45,747
try to determine the cause of these uh 

1033
00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:49,830
uh these injuries . And uh and also 

1034
00:42:49,840 --> 00:42:52,062
we're working as hard as fast as we can 

1035
00:42:52,062 --> 00:42:54,590
to expand our medical capabilities . 

1036
00:42:54,590 --> 00:42:56,910
And we've done that expanded our 

1037
00:42:56,910 --> 00:43:00,310
capabilities to to treat TB 

1038
00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:04,270
and and H . I . 

1039
00:43:05,100 --> 00:43:09,070
Uh injuries . And uh and so we'll have 

1040
00:43:09,070 --> 00:43:11,237
the ability to treat more people going 

1041
00:43:11,237 --> 00:43:13,403
forward . But but again , we'll remain 

1042
00:43:13,403 --> 00:43:15,459
cited on this and we're working as a 

1043
00:43:15,459 --> 00:43:17,514
part of a whole of government effort 

1044
00:43:17,700 --> 00:43:19,970
and you factor that into your budget 

1045
00:43:19,970 --> 00:43:23,020
request . Mhm . 

1046
00:43:23,400 --> 00:43:26,390
We did not ask for additional funds for 

1047
00:43:26,400 --> 00:43:28,567
this specific , but we have sufficient 

1048
00:43:28,567 --> 00:43:30,622
funds to do what's necessary . Thank 

1049
00:43:30,622 --> 00:43:32,844
you . Thank you . Mr . Chairman . Thank 

1050
00:43:32,844 --> 00:43:34,956
you . Let me recognize Senator Worker 

1051
00:43:34,956 --> 00:43:37,289
Police . Thank you . Mr . Chairman . Mr . 

1052
00:43:37,289 --> 00:43:39,511
Secretary , thank you for being with us 

1053
00:43:39,511 --> 00:43:42,230
today . We had a seapower subcommittee 

1054
00:43:42,240 --> 00:43:45,920
hearing just this week 

1055
00:43:46,500 --> 00:43:49,620
and the Navy's Vice Admiral Witness 

1056
00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:52,670
before that subcommittee said this and 

1057
00:43:52,670 --> 00:43:54,870
I quote , we've done many studies over 

1058
00:43:54,870 --> 00:43:57,037
the last five years that say we need a 

1059
00:43:57,037 --> 00:44:00,060
larger navy . The Navy we can afford 

1060
00:44:00,060 --> 00:44:03,570
now is roughly 300-305 

1061
00:44:03,580 --> 00:44:07,410
ships . So if we're going to pace the 

1062
00:44:07,420 --> 00:44:10,780
adversary , we need to have a 

1063
00:44:10,780 --> 00:44:14,130
bigger navy . Mr . Secretary did the 

1064
00:44:14,140 --> 00:44:17,260
did the Vice Admiral misspeak in saying 

1065
00:44:17,260 --> 00:44:21,150
that what I would 

1066
00:44:21,150 --> 00:44:24,510
say senator , and you know , I think 

1067
00:44:24,990 --> 00:44:28,390
certainly we have the most 

1068
00:44:28,400 --> 00:44:31,970
capable and dominant navy in the world 

1069
00:44:32,010 --> 00:44:34,010
and it will continue to be so going 

1070
00:44:34,010 --> 00:44:36,430
forward . And when you talk about naval 

1071
00:44:36,430 --> 00:44:38,780
power , certainly size matters . But 

1072
00:44:38,780 --> 00:44:40,891
what also matters is having the right 

1073
00:44:40,891 --> 00:44:44,740
mix of capabilities in the force and uh 

1074
00:44:44,750 --> 00:44:47,930
and so our goal is to make sure that we 

1075
00:44:47,930 --> 00:44:50,250
remain that we maintain a ready , 

1076
00:44:50,260 --> 00:44:53,110
capable and sustainable force uh in the 

1077
00:44:53,110 --> 00:44:56,730
future . Okay . 

1078
00:44:56,740 --> 00:44:59,720
Did the Navy Vice Admiral Misspeak in 

1079
00:44:59,720 --> 00:45:01,887
saying that we need a larger navy ? He 

1080
00:45:01,887 --> 00:45:03,800
said that two days ago , um in 

1081
00:45:03,800 --> 00:45:05,467
testimony before the seapower 

1082
00:45:05,467 --> 00:45:07,800
subcommittee , can you just answer that ? 

1083
00:45:07,990 --> 00:45:10,510
What I will say senator is that uh for 

1084
00:45:10,510 --> 00:45:13,920
some time , uh we've had a goal of 

1085
00:45:13,930 --> 00:45:17,470
355 ship maybe . And I think that goal 

1086
00:45:17,480 --> 00:45:19,920
is a goal , a good goal to shoot at . 

1087
00:45:19,930 --> 00:45:21,986
So I think that's probably what he's 

1088
00:45:21,986 --> 00:45:24,760
referencing . This budget doesn't get 

1089
00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:27,590
us anywhere near back on the path to do 

1090
00:45:27,590 --> 00:45:29,701
that . I also have concerns about the 

1091
00:45:29,701 --> 00:45:32,150
Navy's plans for amphibious warships . 

1092
00:45:32,160 --> 00:45:36,120
Last year , Congress authorized um 

1093
00:45:36,200 --> 00:45:39,570
in the India multi ship 

1094
00:45:39,570 --> 00:45:42,790
procurement bundle for three L . P . D . 

1095
00:45:42,790 --> 00:45:46,380
S . And one LH A . This would 

1096
00:45:46,390 --> 00:45:49,870
result in a $700 million 

1097
00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:53,010
cost savings . And in that hearing on 

1098
00:45:53,010 --> 00:45:55,177
Tuesday , acting Secretary of the Navy 

1099
00:45:55,177 --> 00:45:56,899
for Research , Development and 

1100
00:45:56,899 --> 00:45:59,010
acquisition , testified that although 

1101
00:45:59,010 --> 00:46:00,843
the Navy had reached a handshake 

1102
00:46:00,843 --> 00:46:04,110
agreement to execute the block by the 

1103
00:46:04,110 --> 00:46:06,221
Department of Defense was unlikely to 

1104
00:46:06,221 --> 00:46:08,221
approve it . Why does it make sense 

1105
00:46:08,680 --> 00:46:10,900
That knowing that we're going to have 

1106
00:46:10,900 --> 00:46:13,180
to buy these amphibious ships , why 

1107
00:46:13,180 --> 00:46:16,200
does it make sense that the Department 

1108
00:46:16,200 --> 00:46:18,570
of Defense might oppose saving the 

1109
00:46:18,570 --> 00:46:21,850
taxpayers over $700 million 

1110
00:46:21,850 --> 00:46:25,370
dollars by procuring the ships in a 

1111
00:46:25,370 --> 00:46:29,350
block by as we said at 

1112
00:46:29,350 --> 00:46:31,960
the top senator ? Uh You know , and you 

1113
00:46:31,960 --> 00:46:33,980
well know , we're always faced with 

1114
00:46:33,980 --> 00:46:37,940
making tough choices . Uh And and so as 

1115
00:46:37,940 --> 00:46:41,650
we looked at what what we could 

1116
00:46:41,660 --> 00:46:43,827
do in this budget and what was best to 

1117
00:46:43,827 --> 00:46:45,827
do in this budget , uh we're making 

1118
00:46:45,827 --> 00:46:48,660
those choices . All right , well , let 

1119
00:46:48,660 --> 00:46:50,300
me just say this . Um 

1120
00:46:52,580 --> 00:46:56,290
this is an inadequate defense budget . 

1121
00:46:57,480 --> 00:47:01,220
And and and I sit here and and while 

1122
00:47:01,220 --> 00:47:04,290
I very much admire our constitution 

1123
00:47:05,080 --> 00:47:07,302
And the fact that we have one commander 

1124
00:47:07,302 --> 00:47:11,040
in chief . And so the military members , 

1125
00:47:11,040 --> 00:47:13,151
no matter how many stars they have on 

1126
00:47:13,151 --> 00:47:15,429
their shoulders under our constitution , 

1127
00:47:15,429 --> 00:47:18,020
they salute that Commander in chief and 

1128
00:47:18,020 --> 00:47:20,750
he appoints a secretary of defense and 

1129
00:47:20,750 --> 00:47:23,910
he appoints cabinet officials and and 

1130
00:47:23,920 --> 00:47:26,031
based on the best advice that you and 

1131
00:47:26,031 --> 00:47:28,198
others give him the Commander in chief 

1132
00:47:28,198 --> 00:47:30,920
makes the decision . And uh and the O . 

1133
00:47:30,920 --> 00:47:34,090
M . B . That he appoints apparently 

1134
00:47:34,980 --> 00:47:38,730
um has decided that we can do 

1135
00:47:39,030 --> 00:47:43,020
just fine in a world where 

1136
00:47:43,020 --> 00:47:46,630
china is expanding in the 

1137
00:47:46,630 --> 00:47:49,360
pacific where Hamas is still raining 

1138
00:47:49,370 --> 00:47:51,510
rockets down on Jerusalem , where 

1139
00:47:51,520 --> 00:47:54,030
Russia is not quitting at all and where 

1140
00:47:54,030 --> 00:47:56,141
we've just heard that they're they're 

1141
00:47:56,141 --> 00:48:00,000
combined budgets are of Russia and 

1142
00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:02,790
china are greater than ours . Uh We've 

1143
00:48:02,790 --> 00:48:05,200
decided based on what somebody in what 

1144
00:48:05,200 --> 00:48:08,200
some budget countries in O . And B . 

1145
00:48:08,570 --> 00:48:10,737
And bean counters and A . And B . Have 

1146
00:48:10,737 --> 00:48:12,903
decided that we ought to be able to do 

1147
00:48:12,903 --> 00:48:16,090
and that we can have massive increases 

1148
00:48:16,570 --> 00:48:19,880
in domestic spending but a 

1149
00:48:19,890 --> 00:48:23,790
cut in purchasing power um for 

1150
00:48:23,800 --> 00:48:27,420
the national defense budget . Let me 

1151
00:48:27,420 --> 00:48:29,700
just say to my colleagues , the 

1152
00:48:29,700 --> 00:48:31,867
Constitution of the United States also 

1153
00:48:31,867 --> 00:48:34,790
gives us the power of the purse . And 

1154
00:48:34,790 --> 00:48:37,123
while we appreciate the suggestion by O . 

1155
00:48:37,123 --> 00:48:39,460
N . B . Budget crunchers , it is our 

1156
00:48:39,460 --> 00:48:41,640
obligation to defend this nation and 

1157
00:48:41,640 --> 00:48:44,700
this proposed budget does not do so in 

1158
00:48:44,700 --> 00:48:47,330
the two respects that I have mentioned 

1159
00:48:47,340 --> 00:48:50,030
in the respect that the ranking member 

1160
00:48:50,040 --> 00:48:52,140
mentioned earlier on and it is 

1161
00:48:52,140 --> 00:48:56,120
incumbent on us to reverse this and 

1162
00:48:56,120 --> 00:48:58,670
to get our troops and our nation the 

1163
00:48:58,670 --> 00:49:01,003
national security budget that they need . 

1164
00:49:01,003 --> 00:49:03,226
Thank you very much . Thank you senator 

1165
00:49:03,226 --> 00:49:05,059
worker . Let me recognize center 

1166
00:49:05,059 --> 00:49:07,430
Gentlemen please thank you Mr Chairman . 

1167
00:49:07,440 --> 00:49:09,607
Um thank you to our witnesses for your 

1168
00:49:09,607 --> 00:49:11,920
service , your dedication uh and your 

1169
00:49:11,920 --> 00:49:14,620
integrity as you both know , I've been 

1170
00:49:14,620 --> 00:49:16,787
fighting against sexual assault in the 

1171
00:49:16,787 --> 00:49:19,840
military for the last eight years Along 

1172
00:49:19,840 --> 00:49:21,970
with now 66 co sponsors on the 

1173
00:49:21,970 --> 00:49:24,520
legislation from the U . S . Senate are 

1174
00:49:24,520 --> 00:49:26,742
proposing that we draw a bright line at 

1175
00:49:26,742 --> 00:49:28,853
all serious crimes , take them out of 

1176
00:49:28,853 --> 00:49:31,110
this change of chain of command and 

1177
00:49:31,110 --> 00:49:33,330
that one change we believe will create 

1178
00:49:33,330 --> 00:49:35,663
more transparency , more accountability , 

1179
00:49:35,663 --> 00:49:37,774
a higher professionalization and will 

1180
00:49:37,774 --> 00:49:39,830
create less bias within the system . 

1181
00:49:40,370 --> 00:49:42,426
General Milley , I'd like to ask you 

1182
00:49:42,426 --> 00:49:44,592
about your thoughts on this proposal . 

1183
00:49:44,592 --> 00:49:46,759
It's my understanding that you are now 

1184
00:49:46,759 --> 00:49:48,759
open to removing sexual assault and 

1185
00:49:48,759 --> 00:49:50,592
related crimes from the chain of 

1186
00:49:50,592 --> 00:49:52,703
command . Can you please confirm that 

1187
00:49:52,703 --> 00:49:54,926
to the committee today ? Thanks Senator 

1188
00:49:54,926 --> 00:49:57,092
and thanks for your leadership on this 

1189
00:49:57,092 --> 00:49:59,390
issue . Um , I've said publicly before 

1190
00:49:59,770 --> 00:50:02,570
and and I'll say it here . I I think 

1191
00:50:02,570 --> 00:50:04,737
that this issue has been out there for 

1192
00:50:04,737 --> 00:50:07,200
quite a long time and and we in uniform 

1193
00:50:07,200 --> 00:50:09,144
generals and change members of the 

1194
00:50:09,144 --> 00:50:11,311
Chain of Command , et cetera . We have 

1195
00:50:11,311 --> 00:50:13,367
not successfully moved the needle in 

1196
00:50:13,367 --> 00:50:15,880
resolving sexual assault . Uh , and in 

1197
00:50:15,880 --> 00:50:18,470
addition to that , I have some evidence , 

1198
00:50:18,470 --> 00:50:20,637
some studies , some anecdotal evidence 

1199
00:50:20,637 --> 00:50:22,637
that junior members of the chain of 

1200
00:50:22,637 --> 00:50:24,637
command of or junior members in the 

1201
00:50:24,637 --> 00:50:26,990
military of primarily women have lost 

1202
00:50:26,990 --> 00:50:29,046
faith and confidence in our chain of 

1203
00:50:29,046 --> 00:50:30,934
command to resolve sexual assault 

1204
00:50:30,934 --> 00:50:33,101
through the chain of command . So I am 

1205
00:50:33,101 --> 00:50:35,157
very open minded to some significant 

1206
00:50:35,157 --> 00:50:37,268
and fundamental change in the area of 

1207
00:50:37,268 --> 00:50:39,434
sexual assault and sexual harassment . 

1208
00:50:39,434 --> 00:50:41,601
What you mentioned was the bright line 

1209
00:50:41,601 --> 00:50:44,120
of all the other , um all felonies . 

1210
00:50:44,120 --> 00:50:46,400
For example , I think that requires 

1211
00:50:46,400 --> 00:50:48,190
some detailed study before we 

1212
00:50:48,190 --> 00:50:50,640
completely overall the entire U . C . M . 

1213
00:50:50,640 --> 00:50:52,670
J . But the focused area of sexual 

1214
00:50:52,670 --> 00:50:54,337
assault and sexual harassment 

1215
00:50:54,337 --> 00:50:56,337
completely open minded to some very 

1216
00:50:56,337 --> 00:50:58,559
significant change . And I think that's 

1217
00:50:58,559 --> 00:51:00,781
also true of most of the senior leaders 

1218
00:51:00,781 --> 00:51:03,003
in uniform . Thank you . Thank you very 

1219
00:51:03,003 --> 00:51:04,837
much . General as you and I have 

1220
00:51:04,837 --> 00:51:07,700
discussed um In recent years , we've 

1221
00:51:07,700 --> 00:51:09,756
seen some very chilling statistics , 

1222
00:51:09,756 --> 00:51:11,867
statistics about bias in the military 

1223
00:51:11,867 --> 00:51:14,200
justice system against people of colour . 

1224
00:51:14,200 --> 00:51:16,200
Black Service members were at least 

1225
00:51:16,200 --> 00:51:18,480
1.29 times and as much as 2.16 times 

1226
00:51:18,480 --> 00:51:20,750
more likely to have disciplinary action 

1227
00:51:20,760 --> 00:51:23,038
taken against them in the average year . 

1228
00:51:23,038 --> 00:51:25,490
Across all branches from 2006 to 2015 , 

1229
00:51:25,960 --> 00:51:27,960
these disparities largely did not 

1230
00:51:27,960 --> 00:51:30,127
improve and in some cases got worse in 

1231
00:51:30,127 --> 00:51:32,700
the most recent years . As an example , 

1232
00:51:32,700 --> 00:51:34,811
the december 2020 Air Force Inspector 

1233
00:51:34,811 --> 00:51:36,700
General's review found that black 

1234
00:51:36,700 --> 00:51:38,422
service members quote voiced a 

1235
00:51:38,422 --> 00:51:40,589
consistent lack of confidence . End of 

1236
00:51:40,589 --> 00:51:42,922
quote in Air Force discipline processes . 

1237
00:51:42,922 --> 00:51:44,978
Three and five black service members 

1238
00:51:44,978 --> 00:51:47,160
said they would not receive the same 

1239
00:51:47,160 --> 00:51:49,160
benefit of the doubt as their white 

1240
00:51:49,160 --> 00:51:51,216
peers if they got into trouble . And 

1241
00:51:51,216 --> 00:51:53,216
one and three said they believe the 

1242
00:51:53,216 --> 00:51:55,104
military justice system is biased 

1243
00:51:55,104 --> 00:51:57,216
against them . Problem , however , is 

1244
00:51:57,216 --> 00:51:59,327
even more chilling . When you look at 

1245
00:51:59,327 --> 00:52:01,438
military capital cases . 1 2012 death 

1246
00:52:01,438 --> 00:52:03,550
penalty study found that 41% of 

1247
00:52:03,550 --> 00:52:05,661
defendants were people of color , but 

1248
00:52:05,661 --> 00:52:07,960
67% of those that actually receive the 

1249
00:52:07,960 --> 00:52:10,750
death penalty were people of color . So 

1250
00:52:10,750 --> 00:52:12,917
the reason why we wrote our bill eight 

1251
00:52:12,917 --> 00:52:15,083
years ago to draw bright lines against 

1252
00:52:15,083 --> 00:52:17,028
all serious felonies , all serious 

1253
00:52:17,028 --> 00:52:19,028
crimes . Anything that carried more 

1254
00:52:19,028 --> 00:52:21,194
than a year of penalty Was not just to 

1255
00:52:21,194 --> 00:52:23,306
professionalize the system and remove 

1256
00:52:23,306 --> 00:52:25,139
bias against survivors of sexual 

1257
00:52:25,139 --> 00:52:27,139
assault , but also to remove biases 

1258
00:52:27,139 --> 00:52:29,361
across the board and to professionalize 

1259
00:52:29,361 --> 00:52:31,417
the entire military justice system . 

1260
00:52:31,417 --> 00:52:33,850
That is what all military experts in 

1261
00:52:33,850 --> 00:52:36,072
criminal justice recommended . And it's 

1262
00:52:36,072 --> 00:52:38,183
what our allies actually did over the 

1263
00:52:38,183 --> 00:52:40,370
last 40 years . UK Germany , Israel , 

1264
00:52:40,380 --> 00:52:43,870
Canada Netherlands , Australia . And so 

1265
00:52:43,870 --> 00:52:45,870
as a result , we mirror that in our 

1266
00:52:45,870 --> 00:52:48,660
legislation , uh , and we carve out all 

1267
00:52:48,660 --> 00:52:50,940
uniquely military crimes . So I'd like 

1268
00:52:50,940 --> 00:52:52,996
to know , um , General Milley , will 

1269
00:52:52,996 --> 00:52:55,107
you remain to have an open mind as to 

1270
00:52:55,107 --> 00:52:56,940
review these statistics and this 

1271
00:52:56,940 --> 00:52:58,996
additional data before you make your 

1272
00:52:58,996 --> 00:53:00,884
recommendation to the committee ? 

1273
00:53:00,884 --> 00:53:03,051
Totally , I am very sincere . I have a 

1274
00:53:03,051 --> 00:53:05,162
complete open mind on this . As I set 

1275
00:53:05,162 --> 00:53:07,218
up front my opening statement , uh , 

1276
00:53:07,218 --> 00:53:09,051
the United States military has a 

1277
00:53:09,051 --> 00:53:11,218
singular purpose to support and defend 

1278
00:53:11,218 --> 00:53:13,162
the constitution . And we have two 

1279
00:53:13,162 --> 00:53:15,329
tasks uh to fight and win our nation's 

1280
00:53:15,329 --> 00:53:17,440
wars and prepare to fight and win our 

1281
00:53:17,440 --> 00:53:19,496
nation's wars and unit cohesion is a 

1282
00:53:19,496 --> 00:53:21,496
significant contributor . In fact , 

1283
00:53:21,496 --> 00:53:23,329
it's probably the most important 

1284
00:53:23,329 --> 00:53:25,496
contributor to combat power and sexual 

1285
00:53:25,496 --> 00:53:27,770
assault , sexual harassment . Any kind 

1286
00:53:27,770 --> 00:53:30,490
of uh deviance from any sort of good 

1287
00:53:30,490 --> 00:53:32,823
order and discipline rips apart at that . 

1288
00:53:32,823 --> 00:53:35,290
Central to the concept is also the 

1289
00:53:35,290 --> 00:53:37,512
commander's personal responsibility and 

1290
00:53:37,512 --> 00:53:39,623
accountability for the good order and 

1291
00:53:39,623 --> 00:53:41,623
discipline of the unit and they are 

1292
00:53:41,623 --> 00:53:43,957
personally responsible for the cohesion . 

1293
00:53:43,957 --> 00:53:46,012
Uh So I am absolutely open minded to 

1294
00:53:46,012 --> 00:53:45,830
suggestions to improve the system 

1295
00:53:45,830 --> 00:53:47,830
because what we wanna do is fix the 

1296
00:53:47,830 --> 00:53:50,052
problem and improve the combat power of 

1297
00:53:50,052 --> 00:53:52,070
the U . S . Military general . Uh 

1298
00:53:52,080 --> 00:53:54,191
Secretary Austin . We've also had the 

1299
00:53:54,191 --> 00:53:56,358
benefit of having a conversation about 

1300
00:53:56,358 --> 00:53:58,580
these details . And I'd like to ask you 

1301
00:53:58,580 --> 00:54:00,747
the same question . Will you remain an 

1302
00:54:00,747 --> 00:54:02,969
open mind as you look at new data about 

1303
00:54:02,969 --> 00:54:05,136
racial disparities as well as the data 

1304
00:54:05,136 --> 00:54:07,191
you will receive from the panel that 

1305
00:54:07,191 --> 00:54:09,630
you requested advice on specifically 

1306
00:54:09,630 --> 00:54:12,010
sexual assault related crimes . Uh and 

1307
00:54:12,010 --> 00:54:14,490
I ask that you remain an open mind as 

1308
00:54:14,490 --> 00:54:17,300
you look at the full uh version of the 

1309
00:54:17,310 --> 00:54:19,366
details and facts that the diode has 

1310
00:54:19,366 --> 00:54:21,477
compiled over many years And the work 

1311
00:54:21,477 --> 00:54:23,588
of this committee over the last eight 

1312
00:54:23,588 --> 00:54:25,754
years . Before I answer that , Senator 

1313
00:54:25,754 --> 00:54:28,710
Gillibrand , let me thank you for your 

1314
00:54:28,710 --> 00:54:31,580
incredible work that you have done over 

1315
00:54:31,580 --> 00:54:35,220
the years to on this issue on the issue 

1316
00:54:35,220 --> 00:54:37,442
of sexual assault , sexual harassment . 

1317
00:54:37,940 --> 00:54:39,996
Whatever changes occur going forward 

1318
00:54:40,000 --> 00:54:43,320
will be largely due to your incredible 

1319
00:54:43,320 --> 00:54:46,000
dedication to this issue . So behalf of 

1320
00:54:46,000 --> 00:54:48,111
the Department of Defense , thank you 

1321
00:54:48,111 --> 00:54:50,500
for what you've done as you know , 

1322
00:54:50,500 --> 00:54:53,020
Senator . Uh , first of all , yes , I 

1323
00:54:53,020 --> 00:54:55,310
always have an open mind to solving any 

1324
00:54:55,310 --> 00:54:59,150
tough problem . But as you know , 

1325
00:54:59,160 --> 00:55:01,550
the commission that the president 

1326
00:55:01,940 --> 00:55:05,390
tasked me to stand up and that has 

1327
00:55:05,390 --> 00:55:07,501
stood up and provided me some initial 

1328
00:55:07,501 --> 00:55:09,668
recommendations and still owes me more 

1329
00:55:09,668 --> 00:55:12,140
recommendations is focused has been 

1330
00:55:12,140 --> 00:55:14,470
focused on the issue of sexual assault 

1331
00:55:14,480 --> 00:55:16,860
and sexual harassment , and so that 

1332
00:55:16,870 --> 00:55:18,759
those are the those those are the 

1333
00:55:18,759 --> 00:55:22,590
problems that we're we're trying to to 

1334
00:55:22,600 --> 00:55:26,130
resolve and improve and and so . But 

1335
00:55:26,130 --> 00:55:28,186
yes , I always maintain an open mind 

1336
00:55:28,186 --> 00:55:30,500
with with any tough problem , but we're 

1337
00:55:30,500 --> 00:55:32,667
focused on the issue of sexual assault 

1338
00:55:32,667 --> 00:55:34,889
and sexual harassment and again , thank 

1339
00:55:34,889 --> 00:55:37,000
you for all the work that you've done 

1340
00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:39,222
on this issue . Thank you . Secretary . 

1341
00:55:39,222 --> 00:55:41,444
Thank you . Mr . Chairman . Thank you . 

1342
00:55:41,444 --> 00:55:41,240
Senator Gillibrand . Now let me 

1343
00:55:41,240 --> 00:55:43,900
recognize Senator Fisher please . Thank 

1344
00:55:43,900 --> 00:55:46,233
you . Mr . Chairman . Welcome Gentlemen . 

1345
00:55:46,233 --> 00:55:48,420
I too want to thank you for your 

1346
00:55:48,430 --> 00:55:51,240
patriotism , your years of service and 

1347
00:55:51,240 --> 00:55:53,390
your years and years of caring for 

1348
00:55:53,390 --> 00:55:56,690
those who serve with you in protecting 

1349
00:55:56,690 --> 00:55:59,720
this nation . Secretary Austin . I 

1350
00:55:59,720 --> 00:56:01,553
appreciate the way the budget is 

1351
00:56:01,553 --> 00:56:03,870
prioritized nuclear modernization and 

1352
00:56:03,870 --> 00:56:06,860
kept important programs like G . B . S . 

1353
00:56:06,860 --> 00:56:09,670
D . L . R . S . O . And the Columbia 

1354
00:56:09,680 --> 00:56:13,090
class submarine on track . I'm also 

1355
00:56:13,090 --> 00:56:16,190
happy to see it invests in n . c . 

1356
00:56:16,190 --> 00:56:19,010
three and finally begin moving forward 

1357
00:56:19,010 --> 00:56:21,650
on replacing the F four B with 

1358
00:56:21,660 --> 00:56:24,550
survivable Airborne Operations Center . 

1359
00:56:25,230 --> 00:56:27,341
During your confirmation , you talked 

1360
00:56:27,341 --> 00:56:29,286
about the need for a review of our 

1361
00:56:29,286 --> 00:56:31,450
nuclear posture and modernization 

1362
00:56:31,450 --> 00:56:34,600
programs . Has the department begun a 

1363
00:56:34,600 --> 00:56:37,350
formal nuclear posture review ? And 

1364
00:56:37,350 --> 00:56:39,550
when do you expect it to be complete ? 

1365
00:56:41,430 --> 00:56:43,950
We have not begun that review yet , 

1366
00:56:43,960 --> 00:56:45,793
Senator , but it will begin very 

1367
00:56:45,793 --> 00:56:47,970
shortly and it will take us several 

1368
00:56:47,970 --> 00:56:51,030
months to to conduct the review . Well , 

1369
00:56:51,030 --> 00:56:53,380
I think that review process is so very 

1370
00:56:53,380 --> 00:56:56,900
important . These systems are the most 

1371
00:56:56,900 --> 00:56:59,350
important military capabilities that we 

1372
00:56:59,350 --> 00:57:01,610
possess . And decisions about our 

1373
00:57:01,610 --> 00:57:04,570
nuclear policies and programs must be 

1374
00:57:04,570 --> 00:57:06,950
considered in a thorough deliberative 

1375
00:57:06,950 --> 00:57:10,110
process that allows stakeholders from 

1376
00:57:10,110 --> 00:57:12,221
across the Department of Defense , as 

1377
00:57:12,221 --> 00:57:14,890
well as other federal agencies like the 

1378
00:57:14,890 --> 00:57:17,920
Department of Energy and our allies to 

1379
00:57:17,920 --> 00:57:20,230
provide their input so that decisions 

1380
00:57:20,230 --> 00:57:22,440
can be made with a full understanding 

1381
00:57:22,440 --> 00:57:25,390
of consequences . We can't be careless 

1382
00:57:25,390 --> 00:57:29,100
about this , which is why I was very 

1383
00:57:29,100 --> 00:57:32,890
concerned to see a news story um 

1384
00:57:32,900 --> 00:57:35,810
that put forth a copy of a memo from 

1385
00:57:35,810 --> 00:57:38,440
the acting secretary of the Navy thomas 

1386
00:57:38,440 --> 00:57:41,380
Harker , in which he directed the Navy 

1387
00:57:41,380 --> 00:57:44,050
to defund the sea launched cruise 

1388
00:57:44,050 --> 00:57:47,340
missile program . This memo was signed 

1389
00:57:47,350 --> 00:57:50,480
June four . That's just one week after 

1390
00:57:50,480 --> 00:57:52,591
the Department of Defense submitted a 

1391
00:57:52,591 --> 00:57:56,500
budget request That asked for $5 

1392
00:57:56,510 --> 00:57:59,080
million dollars to continue to study 

1393
00:57:59,080 --> 00:58:02,890
that concept and the NSA requested $10 

1394
00:58:02,890 --> 00:58:05,540
million to conduct its own assessment 

1395
00:58:06,020 --> 00:58:08,610
based on what you've just said . It 

1396
00:58:08,610 --> 00:58:11,620
seems like this decision was made 

1397
00:58:11,630 --> 00:58:14,760
outside of any kind of posture review 

1398
00:58:14,760 --> 00:58:18,730
process . Is that correct , sir ? I 

1399
00:58:18,730 --> 00:58:21,710
have not seen the memo , but uh , but I 

1400
00:58:21,710 --> 00:58:24,300
would say that uh , you know , all of 

1401
00:58:24,300 --> 00:58:25,967
us , all the services and the 

1402
00:58:25,967 --> 00:58:27,940
department , again , making tough 

1403
00:58:27,940 --> 00:58:30,480
choices in terms of where , what to 

1404
00:58:30,480 --> 00:58:33,400
prioritize and and we're too except uh , 

1405
00:58:33,410 --> 00:58:37,220
except risk uh , that memo 

1406
00:58:37,230 --> 00:58:39,760
has to be pre decisional because 

1407
00:58:39,770 --> 00:58:42,048
because of where we are in the process . 

1408
00:58:42,048 --> 00:58:43,992
And so I don't feel comfortable in 

1409
00:58:43,992 --> 00:58:46,214
commenting on his on his memo . I would 

1410
00:58:46,214 --> 00:58:48,490
just say that uh that again , I am 

1411
00:58:48,490 --> 00:58:52,070
committed to a uh posture 

1412
00:58:52,070 --> 00:58:56,040
review to make sure that we uh uh 

1413
00:58:56,050 --> 00:58:58,300
adequate , adequately analyze what our 

1414
00:58:58,300 --> 00:59:00,522
capabilities are , what's needed in the 

1415
00:59:00,522 --> 00:59:02,744
future and that we that we maintain the 

1416
00:59:02,744 --> 00:59:04,744
right balance in our nuclear forces 

1417
00:59:04,744 --> 00:59:06,900
going forward . So you were not 

1418
00:59:06,900 --> 00:59:09,260
consulted on that at all . That's an 

1419
00:59:09,260 --> 00:59:11,980
internal department memo , I believe , 

1420
00:59:11,990 --> 00:59:15,350
based upon what's been said . General 

1421
00:59:15,350 --> 00:59:17,930
Milley were the Joint Chiefs consulted 

1422
00:59:17,930 --> 00:59:20,200
at all to your knowledge . I'm not 

1423
00:59:20,200 --> 00:59:22,144
familiar with the memo , nor was I 

1424
00:59:22,144 --> 00:59:24,367
consulted . And um but as soon as we're 

1425
00:59:24,367 --> 00:59:26,589
done here , I'll find that memo and get 

1426
00:59:26,589 --> 00:59:30,330
consulted . Thank you , sir . I find it 

1427
00:59:30,330 --> 00:59:32,840
very concerning that an accurate 

1428
00:59:33,030 --> 00:59:36,780
enacting service secretary who hasn't 

1429
00:59:36,780 --> 00:59:38,947
been confirmed by the Senate is making 

1430
00:59:38,947 --> 00:59:42,340
a decision like this outside of any 

1431
00:59:42,350 --> 00:59:46,190
review process . Without analysis 

1432
00:59:46,200 --> 00:59:50,080
or input from OSD policy from 

1433
00:59:50,090 --> 00:59:52,400
nuclear matters , the Joint Chiefs or 

1434
00:59:52,400 --> 00:59:55,390
stratcom and without talking to other 

1435
00:59:55,400 --> 00:59:58,270
agencies or having it seems any 

1436
00:59:58,270 --> 01:00:00,910
discussions with our allies . I would 

1437
01:00:00,910 --> 01:00:03,320
also point out that the analysis of 

1438
01:00:03,320 --> 01:00:05,431
alternatives for the missile is still 

1439
01:00:05,431 --> 01:00:07,500
ongoing and so it would seem very , 

1440
01:00:07,510 --> 01:00:11,090
very premature to reach any conclusions 

1441
01:00:11,090 --> 01:00:13,830
about it being feasible or infeasible . 

1442
01:00:14,610 --> 01:00:16,777
I don't think this is the right way to 

1443
01:00:16,777 --> 01:00:19,190
make decisions about nuclear policy . 

1444
01:00:19,200 --> 01:00:21,160
Do you agree with that ? Senate 

1445
01:00:21,170 --> 01:00:24,030
Secretary Austin , I do Senator 

1446
01:00:25,210 --> 01:00:27,710
should a decision like this be made 

1447
01:00:27,710 --> 01:00:29,640
through that review process . 

1448
01:00:32,310 --> 01:00:34,532
I have every confidence that it will be 

1449
01:00:34,532 --> 01:00:38,450
senator . Thank you . I I hope you will 

1450
01:00:38,450 --> 01:00:41,310
follow up with the acting secretary to 

1451
01:00:41,310 --> 01:00:44,700
make sure that it's uh it's a posture 

1452
01:00:44,700 --> 01:00:47,440
review that makes a decision on this . 

1453
01:00:48,310 --> 01:00:50,600
Does the department still support the 

1454
01:00:50,600 --> 01:00:53,500
President's Fy 22 budget request for 

1455
01:00:53,500 --> 01:00:57,370
this program ? It does , thank you . 

1456
01:00:57,370 --> 01:00:59,537
Happy to hear that . Thank you again . 

1457
01:01:00,410 --> 01:01:02,577
Thank you , Senator Fisher . Now , let 

1458
01:01:02,577 --> 01:01:04,577
me recognize Senator kelly , please 

1459
01:01:06,810 --> 01:01:10,400
thank you . Mr Chairman . Um 

1460
01:01:10,410 --> 01:01:14,410
thank you to uh Secretary McCord 

1461
01:01:14,410 --> 01:01:16,960
and Secretary Austin and General Milley 

1462
01:01:16,960 --> 01:01:20,150
for being here today . Uh General 

1463
01:01:20,150 --> 01:01:22,150
Milley . This question is for you . 

1464
01:01:22,150 --> 01:01:25,660
It's and it's specific to the 8 10 . Um , 

1465
01:01:25,670 --> 01:01:28,090
I think you would agree that properly 

1466
01:01:28,090 --> 01:01:30,470
balancing the need to sustain americans . 

1467
01:01:30,480 --> 01:01:32,480
America's military with the need to 

1468
01:01:32,480 --> 01:01:35,230
modernize is paramount to ensuring our 

1469
01:01:35,240 --> 01:01:37,720
adversaries are unable to outpace the 

1470
01:01:37,720 --> 01:01:39,750
United States having the right 

1471
01:01:39,750 --> 01:01:41,806
equipment available to our troops on 

1472
01:01:41,806 --> 01:01:43,972
the battlefield is critical , which is 

1473
01:01:43,972 --> 01:01:46,320
why I am very concerned , very 

1474
01:01:46,320 --> 01:01:49,590
concerned by the proposed Divestment of 

1475
01:01:49,590 --> 01:01:52,550
42 8 10 aircraft in the fiscal year 

1476
01:01:52,550 --> 01:01:56,220
2022 budget . As you know , The a 

1477
01:01:56,220 --> 01:01:58,730
10 is a combat proven asset that is 

1478
01:01:58,740 --> 01:02:00,930
unmatched in its ability to provide 

1479
01:02:00,930 --> 01:02:02,874
close air support to troops on the 

1480
01:02:02,874 --> 01:02:05,540
ground . The Air Force has not been 

1481
01:02:05,550 --> 01:02:07,470
able to establish a convincing 

1482
01:02:07,470 --> 01:02:10,120
replacement to carry out this mission 

1483
01:02:11,000 --> 01:02:13,167
And it certainly is not demonstrated a 

1484
01:02:13,167 --> 01:02:15,333
replacement that can match the A . 10s 

1485
01:02:15,333 --> 01:02:18,870
cost effectiveness Budget analysts have 

1486
01:02:18,870 --> 01:02:22,500
estimated a modest cost savings if the 

1487
01:02:22,500 --> 01:02:25,800
A10s are divested . But those savings 

1488
01:02:25,800 --> 01:02:27,980
are quite small When you consider the 

1489
01:02:27,980 --> 01:02:30,760
scope of the department $715 billion 

1490
01:02:30,760 --> 01:02:34,220
dollar budget , and it's critical that 

1491
01:02:34,220 --> 01:02:36,410
we consider the real costs of what we 

1492
01:02:36,410 --> 01:02:38,900
would be trading away if we were to 

1493
01:02:38,900 --> 01:02:42,600
take this action before an effective 

1494
01:02:42,600 --> 01:02:44,890
close air support replacement is in 

1495
01:02:44,890 --> 01:02:48,500
place . American troops rely on close 

1496
01:02:48,500 --> 01:02:51,120
air support in the most dire of 

1497
01:02:51,120 --> 01:02:55,070
circumstances . The 810 has saved the 

1498
01:02:55,070 --> 01:02:58,540
lives of many men and women because of 

1499
01:02:58,540 --> 01:03:02,180
its unique capabilities . Everyone I 

1500
01:03:02,180 --> 01:03:04,950
speak to everyone Who has had 

1501
01:03:04,960 --> 01:03:07,720
experience with the 8:10 in combat 

1502
01:03:08,200 --> 01:03:11,410
wants that to be the plane that shows 

1503
01:03:11,410 --> 01:03:13,840
up when they're in trouble . So when I 

1504
01:03:13,840 --> 01:03:15,860
think about the trade offs we'd be 

1505
01:03:15,860 --> 01:03:19,190
making by divesting . I just don't 

1506
01:03:19,190 --> 01:03:22,400
see that the risk has been properly 

1507
01:03:22,400 --> 01:03:25,230
accounted for . And I expect 

1508
01:03:26,000 --> 01:03:27,944
that you've had some of these same 

1509
01:03:27,944 --> 01:03:30,900
conversations and experiences as you 

1510
01:03:30,900 --> 01:03:34,380
talk to our troops . So general , do 

1511
01:03:34,380 --> 01:03:36,240
you feel that we have adequately 

1512
01:03:36,250 --> 01:03:38,460
assessed the risk that these 

1513
01:03:38,460 --> 01:03:42,260
retirements could pose for our troops 

1514
01:03:42,260 --> 01:03:45,520
on the ground ? Um , thanks center . 

1515
01:03:45,530 --> 01:03:47,752
And as a ground soldier who's been in a 

1516
01:03:47,752 --> 01:03:49,863
lot of firefights and have , you know 

1517
01:03:49,863 --> 01:03:52,086
exactly what I'm talking about the A 10 

1518
01:03:52,086 --> 01:03:54,308
or attack helicopters or , or any other 

1519
01:03:54,308 --> 01:03:56,474
munitions delivered by air . Um , it's 

1520
01:03:56,474 --> 01:03:58,641
a very , very important capability and 

1521
01:03:58,641 --> 01:04:00,586
personally a big fan of the A 10 , 

1522
01:04:00,586 --> 01:04:03,400
however , uh , We're talking about 42 

1523
01:04:03,400 --> 01:04:05,622
aircraft , we're still gonna have 239 . 

1524
01:04:05,622 --> 01:04:07,733
We've got enough for five squadrons . 

1525
01:04:07,733 --> 01:04:09,789
What we have to do . We collectively 

1526
01:04:09,789 --> 01:04:11,820
Congress Department offense , we in 

1527
01:04:11,820 --> 01:04:14,060
uniform , We've got to recognize and 

1528
01:04:14,060 --> 01:04:16,040
begin to shift toward the future 

1529
01:04:16,040 --> 01:04:18,096
operating environment and a changing 

1530
01:04:18,096 --> 01:04:21,600
character of war and we must shift the 

1531
01:04:21,600 --> 01:04:23,933
capabilities that are gonna be relevant . 

1532
01:04:23,933 --> 01:04:26,980
Survivable and effective against a Tier 

1533
01:04:26,980 --> 01:04:29,650
one adversary sometime in the future . 

1534
01:04:29,910 --> 01:04:32,410
This is a modest decrease in the number 

1535
01:04:32,410 --> 01:04:34,650
of a tens . I think it is acceptable 

1536
01:04:34,650 --> 01:04:36,594
risk and I support the Air Force's 

1537
01:04:36,594 --> 01:04:38,706
recommendations . So generally all we 

1538
01:04:38,706 --> 01:04:40,817
often think about these things as you 

1539
01:04:40,817 --> 01:04:42,817
know , what is day one of the world 

1540
01:04:42,817 --> 01:04:44,928
looks like . I'm also concerned about 

1541
01:04:44,928 --> 01:04:48,010
future conflict on day 3060 , 180 

1542
01:04:48,390 --> 01:04:50,501
and in a former life , I used to be a 

1543
01:04:50,501 --> 01:04:52,390
test pilot . I've flown close air 

1544
01:04:52,390 --> 01:04:54,557
support missions myself on an airplane 

1545
01:04:54,557 --> 01:04:56,668
that does not do the job well . And I 

1546
01:04:56,668 --> 01:04:58,557
don't see another airframe in our 

1547
01:04:58,557 --> 01:05:01,090
inventory , not the F 16 at the F 35 . 

1548
01:05:01,090 --> 01:05:03,350
That can do the mission like the A 10 

1549
01:05:03,350 --> 01:05:07,060
can when you combine the fact that it 

1550
01:05:07,060 --> 01:05:10,030
is far superior in that role and 

1551
01:05:10,030 --> 01:05:12,410
protects troops on the ground when they 

1552
01:05:12,410 --> 01:05:15,310
need it the most and at the same time 

1553
01:05:15,320 --> 01:05:18,980
is , Is cheap compared to 

1554
01:05:19,280 --> 01:05:21,800
the flight . Our cost of an F- 35 or 

1555
01:05:21,800 --> 01:05:25,710
even an F- 16 . Um , and 

1556
01:05:26,190 --> 01:05:28,301
We don't have an airplane that can do 

1557
01:05:28,301 --> 01:05:30,468
this mission like the a 10 Ken . And I 

1558
01:05:30,468 --> 01:05:34,100
am seriously concerned that if we go 

1559
01:05:34,100 --> 01:05:37,710
down this road And we remove 42 

1560
01:05:37,760 --> 01:05:40,830
airplanes from the inventory that if we 

1561
01:05:40,830 --> 01:05:42,886
wind up in a conflict And we wind up 

1562
01:05:42,886 --> 01:05:45,910
day 30 60 90 . um 

1563
01:05:46,990 --> 01:05:49,190
we're going to be regretful that we 

1564
01:05:49,190 --> 01:05:51,980
don't have that platform . So thank you 

1565
01:05:51,980 --> 01:05:54,400
general and I yield back the remainder 

1566
01:05:54,400 --> 01:05:56,567
of my time . Thank you Senator kelly . 

1567
01:05:56,567 --> 01:05:58,567
Now let me recognize Senator Cotton 

1568
01:05:58,567 --> 01:06:02,090
please . Mr Secretary I have received 

1569
01:06:02,090 --> 01:06:04,312
along with congressman Crenshaw several 

1570
01:06:04,312 --> 01:06:06,840
100 whistleblower complaints about 

1571
01:06:06,850 --> 01:06:08,840
pentagon extremists and diversity 

1572
01:06:08,840 --> 01:06:11,600
training . I want to share just a small 

1573
01:06:11,600 --> 01:06:13,711
selection of what your own troops are 

1574
01:06:13,711 --> 01:06:15,600
saying . And Mr Chairman I have a 

1575
01:06:15,600 --> 01:06:17,656
longer list . I would like to submit 

1576
01:06:17,656 --> 01:06:19,600
for the record without objection . 

1577
01:06:19,600 --> 01:06:19,600
Again , this is just a few examples . 

1578
01:06:20,480 --> 01:06:22,313
One Marine told us that military 

1579
01:06:22,313 --> 01:06:24,424
military history training session was 

1580
01:06:24,424 --> 01:06:26,424
replaced with mandatory training on 

1581
01:06:26,424 --> 01:06:28,591
police brutality , white privilege and 

1582
01:06:28,591 --> 01:06:30,536
systemic racism . He reported that 

1583
01:06:30,536 --> 01:06:32,591
several officers are now leaving his 

1584
01:06:32,591 --> 01:06:34,591
unit citing that training . Another 

1585
01:06:34,591 --> 01:06:36,758
service member told us that their unit 

1586
01:06:36,758 --> 01:06:38,980
was required to read white fragility by 

1587
01:06:38,980 --> 01:06:41,147
Robin D'angelo , which claims and this 

1588
01:06:41,147 --> 01:06:41,070
is a quote white people raised in 

1589
01:06:41,070 --> 01:06:43,237
Western society are conditioned into a 

1590
01:06:43,237 --> 01:06:45,820
white supremacist worldview . A member 

1591
01:06:45,820 --> 01:06:48,042
of the Special operations community has 

1592
01:06:48,042 --> 01:06:50,209
told us that they are being instructed 

1593
01:06:50,209 --> 01:06:52,042
that quote , the U . S . Special 

1594
01:06:52,042 --> 01:06:54,098
operations community is racist . One 

1595
01:06:54,098 --> 01:06:56,320
army officer related to us the words of 

1596
01:06:56,320 --> 01:06:58,431
his general officer who told him that 

1597
01:06:58,431 --> 01:07:00,542
the entire U . S . Army is racist . A 

1598
01:07:00,542 --> 01:07:02,598
midshipman at the Naval Academy said 

1599
01:07:02,598 --> 01:07:04,431
classmates are calling America a 

1600
01:07:04,431 --> 01:07:06,431
fundamentally racist place and that 

1601
01:07:06,431 --> 01:07:08,376
this sentiment is not contested by 

1602
01:07:08,376 --> 01:07:10,542
school administrators . An airman told 

1603
01:07:10,542 --> 01:07:12,709
us their unit was forced into a racist 

1604
01:07:12,709 --> 01:07:14,709
exercise called a privileged walk . 

1605
01:07:15,180 --> 01:07:17,291
Were members of the wing were ordered 

1606
01:07:17,291 --> 01:07:19,236
to separate themselves by race and 

1607
01:07:19,236 --> 01:07:21,300
gender in order to stratify people 

1608
01:07:21,300 --> 01:07:23,411
based on their perceived privileged . 

1609
01:07:23,980 --> 01:07:25,670
When African American officer 

1610
01:07:25,670 --> 01:07:28,560
disparagingly said , and I quote , the 

1611
01:07:28,560 --> 01:07:31,380
Navy thinks my only value is as a black 

1612
01:07:31,390 --> 01:07:34,040
woman and not the fact that she is a 

1613
01:07:34,050 --> 01:07:36,210
highly trained military specialist . 

1614
01:07:36,980 --> 01:07:39,091
Soldiers have come forward to tell us 

1615
01:07:39,091 --> 01:07:41,202
they are being forced to watch videos 

1616
01:07:41,202 --> 01:07:43,424
about systemic racism and documentaries 

1617
01:07:43,424 --> 01:07:45,424
that rewrite America's history as a 

1618
01:07:45,424 --> 01:07:47,591
fundamentally racist and evil nation . 

1619
01:07:47,680 --> 01:07:49,791
When Space force officer told me that 

1620
01:07:49,791 --> 01:07:52,013
two guardians left his ranks in a short 

1621
01:07:52,013 --> 01:07:53,890
period of time . One was a young 

1622
01:07:53,890 --> 01:07:55,946
African american who said that after 

1623
01:07:55,946 --> 01:07:57,946
the training , she would never have 

1624
01:07:57,946 --> 01:08:00,112
joined the military had she known that 

1625
01:08:00,112 --> 01:08:02,168
it was such a hotbed of racism . The 

1626
01:08:02,168 --> 01:08:04,223
other was a white airman who said he 

1627
01:08:04,223 --> 01:08:06,390
didn't sign up to be indoctrinated and 

1628
01:08:06,390 --> 01:08:08,168
filed separation paperwork . MR 

1629
01:08:08,168 --> 01:08:10,223
Secretary . We're hearing reports of 

1630
01:08:10,223 --> 01:08:12,600
plummeting morale , growing mistrust 

1631
01:08:12,610 --> 01:08:14,721
between the races and sexes were none 

1632
01:08:14,721 --> 01:08:16,570
existed just six months ago and 

1633
01:08:16,580 --> 01:08:19,100
unexpected retirements and separations 

1634
01:08:19,110 --> 01:08:21,880
based on these trainings Alone . And 

1635
01:08:21,880 --> 01:08:24,060
again , these are not my words . These 

1636
01:08:24,060 --> 01:08:26,550
are the words of your own troops . So I 

1637
01:08:26,550 --> 01:08:28,494
want to ask a few simple but vital 

1638
01:08:28,494 --> 01:08:30,810
questions . Mr Secretary , do you 

1639
01:08:30,810 --> 01:08:32,532
believe that our military is a 

1640
01:08:32,532 --> 01:08:35,420
fundamentally racist organization ? Yes 

1641
01:08:35,420 --> 01:08:38,270
or no ? Please ? Well , I won't give 

1642
01:08:38,270 --> 01:08:40,381
you a yes or no answer on that center 

1643
01:08:40,381 --> 01:08:42,580
because it deserves more than a yes or 

1644
01:08:42,580 --> 01:08:46,370
no uh , military like any organization 

1645
01:08:46,380 --> 01:08:48,602
will have its challenges . But I do not 

1646
01:08:48,602 --> 01:08:50,658
believe it is a fundamentally racist 

1647
01:08:50,658 --> 01:08:52,824
organization . Thank you . I'm sorry , 

1648
01:08:52,824 --> 01:08:55,047
I'm sorry to cut you off . But our time 

1649
01:08:55,047 --> 01:08:57,047
is limited . I think it is a pretty 

1650
01:08:57,047 --> 01:08:59,047
simple question . I'm glad that you 

1651
01:08:59,047 --> 01:09:01,213
agree it is not fundamentally racist . 

1652
01:09:01,213 --> 01:09:03,324
Do you believe that any member of the 

1653
01:09:03,324 --> 01:09:03,170
military should be treated differently 

1654
01:09:03,170 --> 01:09:05,281
based on their skin , color insects ? 

1655
01:09:05,281 --> 01:09:07,448
Again , yes or no will do again . This 

1656
01:09:07,448 --> 01:09:09,670
question deserves more than a yes or no 

1657
01:09:09,670 --> 01:09:11,781
answer . Uh , Mr . 2nd , I'm sorry to 

1658
01:09:11,781 --> 01:09:13,990
cut you off . Our time is limited . It 

1659
01:09:13,990 --> 01:09:16,150
is a very simple question . Should a 

1660
01:09:16,150 --> 01:09:18,317
member of the organization you lied be 

1661
01:09:18,317 --> 01:09:20,680
treated differently in violation of the 

1662
01:09:20,680 --> 01:09:22,680
constitution . I would add based on 

1663
01:09:22,680 --> 01:09:25,540
their or the color of their skin . No , 

1664
01:09:25,540 --> 01:09:27,540
I do not believe that . And that is 

1665
01:09:27,540 --> 01:09:29,596
that that is why we have diversity , 

1666
01:09:29,596 --> 01:09:31,596
equity and inclusion focused in the 

1667
01:09:31,596 --> 01:09:34,360
military . It's and the military for 

1668
01:09:34,360 --> 01:09:36,150
decades has been one of the 

1669
01:09:36,150 --> 01:09:38,261
institutions in the society where you 

1670
01:09:38,261 --> 01:09:40,372
are most likely to get ahead based on 

1671
01:09:40,372 --> 01:09:42,317
your own performance , on your own 

1672
01:09:42,317 --> 01:09:44,372
merit , irrespective of the color of 

1673
01:09:44,372 --> 01:09:46,594
your skin or where you came from or who 

1674
01:09:46,594 --> 01:09:48,594
your parents were , Sir . I have to 

1675
01:09:48,594 --> 01:09:50,539
agree with that . And I am I am an 

1676
01:09:50,539 --> 01:09:52,539
example of that . You're also and I 

1677
01:09:52,539 --> 01:09:54,706
would also say that the Secretary , mr 

1678
01:09:54,706 --> 01:09:57,310
Secretary your career is an excellent 

1679
01:09:57,320 --> 01:09:59,630
example of that . But I have more 

1680
01:09:59,630 --> 01:10:01,686
questions based on the reports we've 

1681
01:10:01,686 --> 01:10:03,741
seen . The military has included the 

1682
01:10:03,741 --> 01:10:05,908
works of critical race theories on its 

1683
01:10:05,908 --> 01:10:08,120
reading list by authors like Abraham 

1684
01:10:08,130 --> 01:10:10,186
Henry Rogers , who now calls himself 

1685
01:10:10,186 --> 01:10:12,880
Abraham Kennedy and Robin D'angelo . Mr 

1686
01:10:12,880 --> 01:10:15,080
Kennedy has written quote , the only 

1687
01:10:15,080 --> 01:10:16,950
remedy to pass discrimination is 

1688
01:10:16,950 --> 01:10:18,860
present discrimination . The only 

1689
01:10:18,860 --> 01:10:21,030
remedy to present discrimination is 

1690
01:10:21,030 --> 01:10:23,197
future discrimination . End quote . Do 

1691
01:10:23,197 --> 01:10:25,490
you agree with that proposition ? I've 

1692
01:10:25,490 --> 01:10:27,800
not read that and I don't you know , I 

1693
01:10:27,800 --> 01:10:29,800
certainly don't agree with what you 

1694
01:10:29,800 --> 01:10:31,689
just said . But I , you know , MR 

1695
01:10:31,689 --> 01:10:33,744
Secretary , it's always important to 

1696
01:10:33,744 --> 01:10:35,633
have the full context of anything 

1697
01:10:35,633 --> 01:10:37,689
that's uh that you're being asked to 

1698
01:10:37,689 --> 01:10:39,522
evaluate . MR Secretary , do you 

1699
01:10:39,522 --> 01:10:41,744
believe that race and should be the key 

1700
01:10:41,744 --> 01:10:43,800
factor when selecting combat leaders 

1701
01:10:44,160 --> 01:10:46,438
rather than say operational excellence , 

1702
01:10:46,438 --> 01:10:48,493
technical proficiency , leadership , 

1703
01:10:48,493 --> 01:10:50,680
agility and integrity . I do not , 

1704
01:10:50,690 --> 01:10:52,990
senator . I think what you just said 

1705
01:10:52,990 --> 01:10:55,690
should be key components in making any 

1706
01:10:55,690 --> 01:10:58,050
selection . Thank you . I'm glad we 

1707
01:10:58,050 --> 01:11:00,272
agree on all this . So let me just wrap 

1708
01:11:00,272 --> 01:11:02,161
up by saying this . If troops are 

1709
01:11:02,161 --> 01:11:04,580
subjected to the kinds of trainings , 

1710
01:11:04,580 --> 01:11:06,747
drawing on critical race concepts like 

1711
01:11:06,747 --> 01:11:08,913
America and our military is inherently 

1712
01:11:08,913 --> 01:11:11,200
racist or certain races are inherently 

1713
01:11:11,200 --> 01:11:13,422
privileged . Other races are inherently 

1714
01:11:13,422 --> 01:11:15,533
victimized . Given what you've said . 

1715
01:11:15,533 --> 01:11:17,589
Should they reported up the chain of 

1716
01:11:17,589 --> 01:11:19,756
command to the inspector general or to 

1717
01:11:19,756 --> 01:11:21,811
other appropriate channels ? They've 

1718
01:11:21,811 --> 01:11:23,644
always had . Yes , they should . 

1719
01:11:23,644 --> 01:11:23,430
They've always had that ability to take 

1720
01:11:23,430 --> 01:11:25,597
that and I would recommend that in the 

1721
01:11:25,597 --> 01:11:27,319
future . I would also say that 

1722
01:11:27,319 --> 01:11:29,208
diversity equity and inclusion is 

1723
01:11:29,208 --> 01:11:31,400
important to this military now and it 

1724
01:11:31,400 --> 01:11:33,511
will be important in the future . And 

1725
01:11:33,511 --> 01:11:36,550
so we're going to make sure that our 

1726
01:11:36,550 --> 01:11:38,661
military looks like America and there 

1727
01:11:38,661 --> 01:11:40,883
are leadership looks like what's in the 

1728
01:11:40,883 --> 01:11:42,939
ranks of the military . I appreciate 

1729
01:11:42,939 --> 01:11:44,939
your support and I and I agree with 

1730
01:11:44,939 --> 01:11:47,050
that . Like I said , the military has 

1731
01:11:47,050 --> 01:11:49,050
always been one of the most diverse 

1732
01:11:49,050 --> 01:11:51,161
institutions in our society where you 

1733
01:11:51,161 --> 01:11:53,383
can get ahead irrespective of the color 

1734
01:11:53,383 --> 01:11:55,606
of your skin or who you came , who your 

1735
01:11:55,606 --> 01:11:57,828
parents are , where you came from . And 

1736
01:11:57,828 --> 01:11:57,280
I'm glad that we agree on that . This 

1737
01:11:57,280 --> 01:11:59,280
is not about diversity in general , 

1738
01:11:59,280 --> 01:12:01,447
though . This is about a very specific 

1739
01:12:01,447 --> 01:12:04,610
kind of anti american indoctrination 

1740
01:12:04,620 --> 01:12:06,787
that is seeping into some parts of our 

1741
01:12:06,787 --> 01:12:08,787
military based on the whistleblower 

1742
01:12:08,787 --> 01:12:11,120
complaints we have received . Thank you . 

1743
01:12:11,120 --> 01:12:14,090
My time's expired . Thank you . Let me 

1744
01:12:14,090 --> 01:12:16,720
recognize Senator Kaine , please . Mr 

1745
01:12:16,720 --> 01:12:18,942
Secretary , I want to give you a chance 

1746
01:12:18,942 --> 01:12:21,200
to uh explain the context . Senator 

1747
01:12:21,200 --> 01:12:23,367
Cotton asked you a question about your 

1748
01:12:23,367 --> 01:12:25,533
own career and you indicated that your 

1749
01:12:25,533 --> 01:12:27,367
career is an indication that the 

1750
01:12:27,367 --> 01:12:29,533
military can be welcoming to all kinds 

1751
01:12:29,533 --> 01:12:31,644
of people . But you are then going to 

1752
01:12:31,644 --> 01:12:33,700
explain the context of what your own 

1753
01:12:33,700 --> 01:12:35,589
personal experience has shown you 

1754
01:12:35,589 --> 01:12:37,533
during your time in the military , 

1755
01:12:37,533 --> 01:12:39,740
about why we need to take seriously 

1756
01:12:39,740 --> 01:12:42,540
these issues of diversity um , and 

1757
01:12:42,540 --> 01:12:44,460
inclusion . The senator had other 

1758
01:12:44,460 --> 01:12:46,940
questions , but I'd like to hear how 

1759
01:12:46,940 --> 01:12:49,218
you were going to answer that question , 

1760
01:12:49,218 --> 01:12:51,329
giving the full context . I think the 

1761
01:12:51,329 --> 01:12:53,273
leadership has a responsibility to 

1762
01:12:53,273 --> 01:12:55,496
create a climate where everyone , first 

1763
01:12:55,496 --> 01:12:57,880
of all it should be , we should be 

1764
01:12:57,880 --> 01:13:01,640
welcoming to everyone who is who can 

1765
01:13:01,640 --> 01:13:04,050
qualify and who is fit to serve and who 

1766
01:13:04,050 --> 01:13:06,350
can maintain the standards . And 

1767
01:13:06,350 --> 01:13:08,517
secondly , uh , you know , we ought to 

1768
01:13:08,517 --> 01:13:10,430
look like America America that we 

1769
01:13:10,430 --> 01:13:12,790
support and defend and our senior 

1770
01:13:12,790 --> 01:13:15,520
leadership should look like uh , what's 

1771
01:13:15,520 --> 01:13:17,520
in the ranks and where we've done a 

1772
01:13:17,520 --> 01:13:20,530
great job in uh , in recruiting very 

1773
01:13:20,540 --> 01:13:23,610
highly qualified and capable people . I 

1774
01:13:23,610 --> 01:13:26,780
think we need to do a bit better in 

1775
01:13:26,780 --> 01:13:28,558
terms of making sure that we're 

1776
01:13:28,558 --> 01:13:30,630
absolutely inclusive and making sure 

1777
01:13:30,630 --> 01:13:32,830
that that we create pathways or 

1778
01:13:32,830 --> 01:13:35,140
pathways are available for everybody 

1779
01:13:35,140 --> 01:13:37,520
that's in the ranks to uh , to achieve , 

1780
01:13:37,530 --> 01:13:39,530
you know , to to realize their full 

1781
01:13:39,530 --> 01:13:41,530
potential . And so that's what that 

1782
01:13:41,530 --> 01:13:43,863
diversity equity inclusion is all about . 

1783
01:13:43,863 --> 01:13:45,974
Uh , it's about cohesion , it's about 

1784
01:13:45,974 --> 01:13:48,480
making sure that that we we remain 

1785
01:13:48,490 --> 01:13:51,530
remain the most effective and lethal 

1786
01:13:51,530 --> 01:13:54,530
fighting force in the , in the world . 

1787
01:13:54,540 --> 01:13:56,540
And we have been in the past and we 

1788
01:13:56,540 --> 01:13:58,540
will be in the future . And when we 

1789
01:13:58,540 --> 01:14:00,762
moved toward diversity , the military , 

1790
01:14:00,762 --> 01:14:02,762
it's always made us stronger . When 

1791
01:14:02,762 --> 01:14:04,651
Secretary , when President Truman 

1792
01:14:04,651 --> 01:14:06,707
integrated the military , it was not 

1793
01:14:06,707 --> 01:14:08,929
uniformly popular . In fact , I believe 

1794
01:14:08,929 --> 01:14:10,818
as secretary of the Army ended up 

1795
01:14:10,818 --> 01:14:13,040
resigning after refusing to desegregate 

1796
01:14:13,040 --> 01:14:15,096
units about a year after the order . 

1797
01:14:15,140 --> 01:14:17,820
But moves like that where the military 

1798
01:14:17,820 --> 01:14:19,840
has often led society and building 

1799
01:14:19,840 --> 01:14:22,690
cohesion . The military does it ? Well . 

1800
01:14:22,700 --> 01:14:24,978
They're not always immediately popular , 

1801
01:14:24,978 --> 01:14:27,144
but they end up paying dividends , not 

1802
01:14:27,144 --> 01:14:27,110
just for the military , but for 

1803
01:14:27,110 --> 01:14:28,888
american society has to be done 

1804
01:14:28,888 --> 01:14:30,888
sensitively carefully by people who 

1805
01:14:30,888 --> 01:14:32,999
understand it . But but I applaud you 

1806
01:14:32,999 --> 01:14:35,166
and other leaders who are trying to do 

1807
01:14:35,166 --> 01:14:37,166
that . Let me now move to questions 

1808
01:14:37,166 --> 01:14:39,388
that have been asked about the top line 

1809
01:14:39,388 --> 01:14:41,332
of the budget . And I've seen I've 

1810
01:14:41,332 --> 01:14:43,332
gotten some handouts from folks who 

1811
01:14:43,332 --> 01:14:42,930
haven't yet asked questions and so I 

1812
01:14:42,930 --> 01:14:45,152
can see some more questions on this are 

1813
01:14:45,152 --> 01:14:47,208
coming . So General Milley , if if I 

1814
01:14:47,208 --> 01:14:49,319
recall , you became head of the joint 

1815
01:14:49,319 --> 01:14:51,486
chiefs of staff in late 2018 . Is that 

1816
01:14:51,486 --> 01:14:53,950
correct ? 2019 , 

1817
01:14:55,940 --> 01:14:59,630
were And so were you involved in the 

1818
01:14:59,640 --> 01:15:02,480
discussions around the submission of 

1819
01:15:02,480 --> 01:15:04,930
President trump's fy 21 budget which 

1820
01:15:04,930 --> 01:15:07,330
came to this committee in february of 

1821
01:15:07,330 --> 01:15:10,940
2020 . Sure . Absolutely . So I guess I 

1822
01:15:10,940 --> 01:15:14,360
want to just compare the biden proposal . 

1823
01:15:14,360 --> 01:15:16,550
President biden's proposal for defense 

1824
01:15:16,550 --> 01:15:19,650
to President trump's proposal . And my 

1825
01:15:19,650 --> 01:15:22,400
argument is to some of my colleagues 

1826
01:15:22,410 --> 01:15:25,100
who are trying to attack the biden 

1827
01:15:25,100 --> 01:15:27,250
budget , it's exactly what president 

1828
01:15:27,250 --> 01:15:30,570
trump proposed . Um President Trump 

1829
01:15:30,570 --> 01:15:33,090
gave us a future year defense plan in 

1830
01:15:33,090 --> 01:15:37,040
February of 2020 , February of 2020 

1831
01:15:37,080 --> 01:15:40,300
and it called for a top line of $721 

1832
01:15:40,300 --> 01:15:44,080
billion dollars for this year . Now , 

1833
01:15:44,080 --> 01:15:46,110
President Biden has submitted a top 

1834
01:15:46,110 --> 01:15:49,010
line of $715 billion . So it would 

1835
01:15:49,010 --> 01:15:52,760
suggest that may be the Trump budget 

1836
01:15:52,770 --> 01:15:54,992
projection for this year was $6 billion 

1837
01:15:54,992 --> 01:15:57,159
dollars higher than the biden budget . 

1838
01:15:57,159 --> 01:15:58,992
But that's actually not the case 

1839
01:15:59,640 --> 01:16:01,880
because under the trump administration 

1840
01:16:01,880 --> 01:16:03,936
there was a practice of taking money 

1841
01:16:03,936 --> 01:16:05,880
out of the pentagon budget for non 

1842
01:16:05,880 --> 01:16:08,670
military emergencies Over a 13-month 

1843
01:16:08,680 --> 01:16:11,840
period between I'm sorry , an 11-month 

1844
01:16:11,840 --> 01:16:14,950
period between March of 2019 and 

1845
01:16:14,950 --> 01:16:16,394
February 2020 . The Trump 

1846
01:16:16,394 --> 01:16:18,910
administration took $10 billion dollars 

1847
01:16:18,920 --> 01:16:22,250
out of the top line , so 

1848
01:16:22,630 --> 01:16:24,686
that straddled two fiscal years . So 

1849
01:16:24,686 --> 01:16:25,908
divide that in half , 

1850
01:16:27,630 --> 01:16:31,440
About 5-6 billion dollars a 

1851
01:16:31,440 --> 01:16:34,170
year was taken out of the Pentagon's 

1852
01:16:34,170 --> 01:16:37,150
budget by President Trump . So the 

1853
01:16:37,150 --> 01:16:40,490
difference between 7 15 and 7 21 who's 

1854
01:16:40,490 --> 01:16:43,260
essentially erased so long as president 

1855
01:16:43,260 --> 01:16:45,371
biden did take money for non military 

1856
01:16:45,371 --> 01:16:47,960
purposes . I have asked the O . M . B . 

1857
01:16:47,960 --> 01:16:50,127
Director , I have asked everybody that 

1858
01:16:50,127 --> 01:16:52,182
I know in the biden White House , is 

1859
01:16:52,182 --> 01:16:54,349
that the intention of this White House 

1860
01:16:54,349 --> 01:16:57,170
to take pentagon dollars for non 

1861
01:16:57,170 --> 01:16:59,281
military purposes ? And the answer to 

1862
01:16:59,281 --> 01:17:02,730
that is no President biden says 

1863
01:17:02,860 --> 01:17:05,082
if Congress appropriates , I'm going to 

1864
01:17:05,082 --> 01:17:07,193
respect the appropriation and I'm not 

1865
01:17:07,193 --> 01:17:09,082
going to spirit monies out of the 

1866
01:17:09,082 --> 01:17:11,249
pentagon and use them for non military 

1867
01:17:11,249 --> 01:17:14,960
emergencies . So my belief is this is a 

1868
01:17:15,430 --> 01:17:18,600
budget that was essentially identical 

1869
01:17:18,600 --> 01:17:20,711
to the budget that we would have seen 

1870
01:17:20,711 --> 01:17:22,767
under President trump based upon the 

1871
01:17:22,767 --> 01:17:24,989
trump numbers that were submitted to us 

1872
01:17:24,989 --> 01:17:26,822
over a year ago . And when those 

1873
01:17:26,822 --> 01:17:29,044
numbers were submitted to us , I didn't 

1874
01:17:29,044 --> 01:17:30,711
hear anyone on this committee 

1875
01:17:30,711 --> 01:17:30,650
complained about President trump . 

1876
01:17:30,650 --> 01:17:33,640
Didn't have a high enough top line . We 

1877
01:17:33,640 --> 01:17:35,862
ultimately control what the number will 

1878
01:17:35,862 --> 01:17:38,970
be . But in terms of the difference 

1879
01:17:38,970 --> 01:17:40,970
between the two administrations and 

1880
01:17:40,970 --> 01:17:43,192
their budget submissions to this body , 

1881
01:17:43,192 --> 01:17:45,414
I would argue that they are identical . 

1882
01:17:45,414 --> 01:17:47,414
President biden has submitted a top 

1883
01:17:47,414 --> 01:17:49,526
line that is essentially identical to 

1884
01:17:49,526 --> 01:17:51,303
what president trump would have 

1885
01:17:51,303 --> 01:17:53,526
submitted based upon the documents they 

1886
01:17:53,526 --> 01:17:55,748
gave us a year ago Without MR . Chair . 

1887
01:17:55,748 --> 01:17:57,692
I yield back . Thank you very much 

1888
01:17:57,692 --> 01:17:59,470
Senator Kaine . And I'll let me 

1889
01:17:59,470 --> 01:18:01,692
recognize , centered around thank you . 

1890
01:18:01,692 --> 01:18:04,000
Mr Chairman gentlemen , thank you for 

1891
01:18:04,000 --> 01:18:06,540
your service to our country . I'd like 

1892
01:18:06,540 --> 01:18:08,850
to follow up a little bit and continue 

1893
01:18:08,850 --> 01:18:10,961
the discussion that Senator Kaine has 

1894
01:18:10,961 --> 01:18:13,050
begun and that is with regard to the 

1895
01:18:13,050 --> 01:18:16,410
top line of the budget . I do believe 

1896
01:18:16,410 --> 01:18:19,540
that this defense budget request on the 

1897
01:18:19,540 --> 01:18:22,420
whole is moving in a very similar 

1898
01:18:22,420 --> 01:18:26,070
direction that we had before with 

1899
01:18:26,070 --> 01:18:28,292
regard to trying to follow through with 

1900
01:18:28,292 --> 01:18:30,650
the National Defense strategy . The NDS 

1901
01:18:31,120 --> 01:18:33,720
I think . And I would like confirmation . 

1902
01:18:33,720 --> 01:18:36,110
I'll begin with General Milley That 

1903
01:18:36,120 --> 01:18:38,490
this particular budget is focused on 

1904
01:18:38,500 --> 01:18:40,444
achieving the major goals that are 

1905
01:18:40,444 --> 01:18:43,940
found in the national the NFS from 2017 . 

1906
01:18:44,420 --> 01:18:46,364
General Milley , could you share a 

1907
01:18:46,364 --> 01:18:48,587
little bit about in terms of what those 

1908
01:18:48,587 --> 01:18:50,864
major goals are and the priorities are . 

1909
01:18:50,864 --> 01:18:53,087
And the nds that this particular budget 

1910
01:18:53,087 --> 01:18:56,190
is trying to achieve . Sure . Center 

1911
01:18:56,190 --> 01:18:58,650
the NDS as it was written and that was 

1912
01:18:58,650 --> 01:19:01,110
undersecretary Madison . I was at that 

1913
01:19:01,120 --> 01:19:04,030
point Chief Staff , the army uh and all 

1914
01:19:04,030 --> 01:19:06,252
the Joint chiefs participated in that . 

1915
01:19:06,252 --> 01:19:08,086
That's a rigorous documents well 

1916
01:19:08,086 --> 01:19:10,141
thought out and it stood the test of 

1917
01:19:10,141 --> 01:19:12,308
time and and we all still use it uh as 

1918
01:19:12,308 --> 01:19:14,252
a , as a guiding light . And we're 

1919
01:19:14,252 --> 01:19:16,419
under a review with Secretary Austin . 

1920
01:19:16,419 --> 01:19:18,530
Uh and we'll see how that comes out . 

1921
01:19:18,530 --> 01:19:20,752
There'll be modifications the documents 

1922
01:19:20,752 --> 01:19:22,863
four or five years old now . So there 

1923
01:19:22,863 --> 01:19:22,450
will be some modifications to that . 

1924
01:19:22,460 --> 01:19:24,349
But it's still good . And and the 

1925
01:19:24,349 --> 01:19:26,682
fundamentals of it emphasized readiness , 

1926
01:19:26,682 --> 01:19:28,627
modernization , lethal et allies , 

1927
01:19:28,627 --> 01:19:30,682
partners , uh irregular warfare . It 

1928
01:19:30,682 --> 01:19:33,440
calls out china Russia , uh , Iran 

1929
01:19:33,440 --> 01:19:35,650
north Korea counterterrorism . Uh So 

1930
01:19:35,650 --> 01:19:37,761
the main structures of it are more or 

1931
01:19:37,761 --> 01:19:40,300
less still valid . Uh And perhaps china 

1932
01:19:40,310 --> 01:19:42,477
is a little bit more advanced now than 

1933
01:19:42,477 --> 01:19:44,477
they were , say five years ago . So 

1934
01:19:44,477 --> 01:19:46,310
it's still a fundamentally solid 

1935
01:19:46,310 --> 01:19:48,477
document . But I would tell you , as I 

1936
01:19:48,477 --> 01:19:50,699
said in my opening statement , the $715 

1937
01:19:50,699 --> 01:19:53,110
billion dollar budget requires hard 

1938
01:19:53,110 --> 01:19:55,166
choices in terms of prioritization . 

1939
01:19:55,166 --> 01:19:57,166
But I think it adequately meets the 

1940
01:19:57,166 --> 01:19:59,388
needs in terms of the priorities of the 

1941
01:19:59,388 --> 01:20:01,499
current existing NDS and the one that 

1942
01:20:01,499 --> 01:20:03,388
we're working on to modify on the 

1943
01:20:03,388 --> 01:20:05,443
Secretary Austin signatures . So I'm 

1944
01:20:05,443 --> 01:20:07,666
very comfortable that we can provide an 

1945
01:20:07,666 --> 01:20:07,530
adequate defense of the United States 

1946
01:20:07,530 --> 01:20:09,752
of America with a seven and $15 billion 

1947
01:20:09,752 --> 01:20:11,830
budget . I I understand that the 

1948
01:20:11,840 --> 01:20:14,007
direction of the fact that you've been 

1949
01:20:14,007 --> 01:20:16,173
involved in establishing and that your 

1950
01:20:16,173 --> 01:20:18,340
input has been involved in that in the 

1951
01:20:18,340 --> 01:20:20,562
development of this budget . But I also 

1952
01:20:20,562 --> 01:20:22,673
know that I think nuclear command and 

1953
01:20:22,673 --> 01:20:24,896
control upgrades are critical and would 

1954
01:20:24,896 --> 01:20:26,840
be recognized under this as well , 

1955
01:20:26,840 --> 01:20:28,951
would it not ? Yes , absolutely . And 

1956
01:20:28,951 --> 01:20:31,930
the continued development and 

1957
01:20:31,940 --> 01:20:34,030
modernization of the nuclear triad 

1958
01:20:34,030 --> 01:20:36,252
would also be involved , would it not . 

1959
01:20:36,252 --> 01:20:38,419
Absolutely . In fact , we've said that 

1960
01:20:38,419 --> 01:20:40,641
that the recapitalisation nuclear triad 

1961
01:20:40,641 --> 01:20:42,641
is one of the number one , it's the 

1962
01:20:42,641 --> 01:20:44,641
number one priority in terms of the 

1963
01:20:44,641 --> 01:20:46,974
actual programs . Programmatic spending . 

1964
01:20:46,974 --> 01:20:49,308
It's it's critical that we have the air , 

1965
01:20:49,308 --> 01:20:51,700
sea and land components of that triad 

1966
01:20:51,700 --> 01:20:53,589
in order to maintain the security 

1967
01:20:53,589 --> 01:20:55,811
United States going forward generally . 

1968
01:20:55,811 --> 01:20:58,190
I think that the basic goals of the NDS 

1969
01:20:58,200 --> 01:21:00,490
are represented within this . I think 

1970
01:21:00,490 --> 01:21:02,820
that's I do not disagree with that . My 

1971
01:21:02,820 --> 01:21:06,010
concern and that I will express his is 

1972
01:21:06,010 --> 01:21:09,310
that is based on being able to handle 

1973
01:21:09,320 --> 01:21:11,890
those goals , but also being able to 

1974
01:21:11,890 --> 01:21:15,300
maintain and not expect the members of 

1975
01:21:15,300 --> 01:21:19,300
the armed services to to continue to do 

1976
01:21:19,300 --> 01:21:22,360
the day to day operations . If we have 

1977
01:21:22,370 --> 01:21:24,537
increases in inflation , whether it be 

1978
01:21:24,537 --> 01:21:26,592
for fuel or for other supplies , for 

1979
01:21:26,592 --> 01:21:28,759
health care and so forth . General . I 

1980
01:21:28,759 --> 01:21:30,981
think there were some very hard choices 

1981
01:21:30,981 --> 01:21:33,203
made . And I guess my question to you , 

1982
01:21:33,203 --> 01:21:35,520
sir , uh and I don't intend this to be 

1983
01:21:35,520 --> 01:21:38,390
a gotcha question . But the hard 

1984
01:21:38,390 --> 01:21:40,810
choices that had to be made in order to 

1985
01:21:40,820 --> 01:21:43,760
achieve the top line goals of the NDS , 

1986
01:21:44,410 --> 01:21:46,650
where are the reductions or the 

1987
01:21:46,650 --> 01:21:50,320
limitations that have to be recognized 

1988
01:21:50,330 --> 01:21:52,552
when we do have a very similar in terms 

1989
01:21:52,552 --> 01:21:54,663
of the total number of dollars . When 

1990
01:21:54,663 --> 01:21:56,719
we do expect that inflation will run 

1991
01:21:56,719 --> 01:21:59,130
perhaps between three and five and at 

1992
01:21:59,130 --> 01:22:01,690
the same time , the NDS expected to 

1993
01:22:01,690 --> 01:22:03,801
have and in order to meet its goals , 

1994
01:22:04,100 --> 01:22:06,210
An ongoing increase of between three 

1995
01:22:06,210 --> 01:22:09,490
and 5% over inflation , which clearly 

1996
01:22:09,490 --> 01:22:11,657
is not reflected in the budget . And I 

1997
01:22:11,657 --> 01:22:13,970
know it's not news to you sir . Yeah , 

1998
01:22:13,970 --> 01:22:17,210
sure . The the I mean , you can do the 

1999
01:22:17,210 --> 01:22:19,377
numbers all different ways . Uh and we 

2000
01:22:19,377 --> 01:22:21,488
have Mike McCord here and he knows it 

2001
01:22:21,488 --> 01:22:23,599
better than anyone else . But uh this 

2002
01:22:23,599 --> 01:22:25,750
budget is uh about $11 billion 

2003
01:22:25,750 --> 01:22:29,410
FY21 enacted budget . 

2004
01:22:29,900 --> 01:22:31,900
Uh If you factor in inflation , you 

2005
01:22:31,900 --> 01:22:33,956
normalize the dollars , it's more or 

2006
01:22:33,956 --> 01:22:36,400
less flat , or even , I think it's 0.5 

2007
01:22:36,400 --> 01:22:38,400
less or something like that . So it 

2008
01:22:38,400 --> 01:22:40,456
depends on which way you look at the 

2009
01:22:40,456 --> 01:22:39,830
numbers . But in terms of the key 

2010
01:22:39,830 --> 01:22:41,690
capabilities , uh Senator kelly 

2011
01:22:41,690 --> 01:22:44,480
mentioned 42 . Uh A ten's getting 

2012
01:22:44,480 --> 01:22:46,424
divested . We had to make a choice 

2013
01:22:46,424 --> 01:22:48,700
between buying two subs and buying one 

2014
01:22:48,700 --> 01:22:51,490
destroyer and frigate , uh and 12 subs 

2015
01:22:51,490 --> 01:22:53,546
one destroyer and frigate versus two 

2016
01:22:53,546 --> 01:22:55,712
destroyers . Uh and things like that . 

2017
01:22:55,712 --> 01:22:57,823
So there's hard choices in all of the 

2018
01:22:57,823 --> 01:22:59,934
domains . Uh , and that is this is my 

2019
01:22:59,934 --> 01:23:01,934
sixth budget in every single budget 

2020
01:23:01,934 --> 01:23:03,823
I've seen were always making hard 

2021
01:23:03,823 --> 01:23:06,157
choices . We always have you for a list . 

2022
01:23:06,157 --> 01:23:08,379
We always have ways to spend more money 

2023
01:23:08,379 --> 01:23:10,323
effectively for the defense of the 

2024
01:23:10,323 --> 01:23:12,157
country . But in my professional 

2025
01:23:12,157 --> 01:23:14,323
opinion , a $715 billion dollar budget 

2026
01:23:14,323 --> 01:23:16,379
as long as we are disciplined in its 

2027
01:23:16,379 --> 01:23:18,212
application and we adhere to the 

2028
01:23:18,212 --> 01:23:18,120
priorities that we've established will 

2029
01:23:18,120 --> 01:23:20,231
provide for the defense of the United 

2030
01:23:20,231 --> 01:23:22,509
States . Thank you sir . Mr . Chairman . 

2031
01:23:22,509 --> 01:23:24,290
My time has expired . Thank you 

2032
01:23:24,290 --> 01:23:26,179
gentlemen for your service to our 

2033
01:23:26,179 --> 01:23:26,120
country .