WEBVTT

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I believe we're reconvened and with

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that I will , if we get someone to shut

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that door um then we will call on

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Mr Norcross Norcross , you're

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recognized for five minutes . Thank you

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Chairman and to Secretary Austin Darren

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Millie . Thank you for your service

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very much appreciate you coming by

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today . A number of issues that have

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been illuminated over the past year ,

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particularly with pandemic , is our

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industrial base uh certainly told those

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who continue to work during the

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pandemic , incredibly helpful for

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us in our country to continue to move .

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But one thing it has done is really

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illuminate some of the problems that

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we're having with our industrial base

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and supply chain . As the chairman

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mentioned , we have the task force so

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critical supply chain that has pointed

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out a number of issues whether

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semiconductors , where earth

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propellants , explosives . But one of

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the things that was somewhat surprised

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to the committee was the workforce uh

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and that goes hand in glove with the

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industrial base . Uh what is the

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department doing or plan on doing for

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these supply chains to get more

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visibility ? We don't get caught

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shorthanded on some of the surprises

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that uh report upon us during a

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pandemic .

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Well , thank you , sir , let me say up

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front that I absolutely agree with you

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that you know , making sure that we

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have sound and protected supply

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changes is critical . Supply chain

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vulnerability uh winds up

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being a national security vulnerability .

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I certainly appreciate the president's

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leadership in this as as he has

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emphasized this over and over again Um

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in this budget , you'll see that we're

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investing $341 million dollars uh

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to uh partner with U . S .

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Companies to make sure that we're doing

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our part to boost defense industrial

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base activity and onshore some of the

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some of the supply chain activities

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that have been offshore in the past .

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Well , thank you for that because

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obviously we have trusted partners that

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we care very much about , but I think

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we can move from the 55% where we are

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incrementally and predictably , so that

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that supply chains become more secure .

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And that brings me to my second

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question , in particular about the

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Navy's long term aircraft inventory

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plan . We have no in this year's

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president's budget , the F A 18 E N F

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get that have previously been focused

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on uh , the

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loss of a critical supply chain . And

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there's F eighteens is very much in

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question , not only from what we need

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in terms of our tactical force , but

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the minimum sustaining rates . Can you

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talk about the issue with the F 18 ?

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Why we are dropping back on that and

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the problems that might cause .

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What I can say serious is that we

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continue to invest in those

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capabilities and technologies that we

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think will be relevant in the future

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and and make sure that we have uh

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sufficient lifespan and those

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capabilities going forward . So , and

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it cause for us to calls for us to make

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trade offs . Uh and so as we invest in

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one type of aircraft or capability ,

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we'll have to either divest of some

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current capability or or not

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reinvest in that capability

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now , incredibly important . But it's

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also keeping that industrial base alive ,

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which we all agree with that . Uh that

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Mr Chairman , I yield back . Thank you .

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Thank you . Dr . Desjarlais is

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recognized for five minutes . Thank you .

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Mr Chairman and thank you General

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Milley and Secretary Austin for your

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service . I'd like to start with

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General Milley . We know from Admiral

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Richards testimony before the committee

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that the United Kingdom has reached out

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and expressed concerns about the United

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States adopting a no first use for sole

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purpose policy . I personally heard the

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same from the polish ambassador , the

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french japanese South Koreans have also

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expressed similar concerns about the U .

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S . Possibility changing its

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declamatory policy . You know , the

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words used its sole purpose . Have you

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heard similar concerns from the allies

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to the top ? And a NFU or sole purpose

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policy would be destabilizing . I

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have frequently engaged with allies and

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partners , both Asia , europe all the

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place . And that particular issue has

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not risen of a particular concern with

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respect uh Michael uh

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counterparts that I've dealt with in

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april . And the Richards further

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testified that the U . S . Adoption of

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no first use policy would remove a

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level of ambiguity that has deterrence

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value and that such a move would have a

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negative effect on the extended

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deterrence and assurance to our allies .

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Would you agree with that ? Yeah ,

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absolutely . I think the the President

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of the United States should always have

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as many options as possible . Um And

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that's my position . He further told us

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that available evidence indicates that

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Russia and china will not be you . Such

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a shift in US policy is credible . Do

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you agree with Admiral Richards on that

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as well ? I have not talked to Emma

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Richards on that specific point . I

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would have to get with the intel

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community to determine if their

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assessment was what the view of Russia

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and china would be on a declaration .

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But again , maximum options always

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available to the President is my

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position . Okay , so not to beat a dead

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horse , but in short , the US declaring

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the sole purpose or and a few policy

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would be destabilized , destabilizing

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alienate allies . Undermine our

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extended deterrence guarantees would

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have no impact on Russia . China's

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calculus . So generally , given all

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this , what's your best military advice

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as to whether the US should adopt an

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NFU or sole purpose nuclear declaratory

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policy . My view my you're asking for

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my personal best military advice is to

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maintain all options are available to

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the President of the United States at

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all times . Uh So I would not recommend

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making a declaration of no first use .

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It is a topic for which I think would

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take away an option for the President .

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Always maintain options for the

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President . Thank you . Uh General

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Milley Secretary Austin , same question

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to you , given the corrosive impact

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that such a change in policy would have

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on our alliances and extended

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deterrence guarantees as well as the

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men going back on Russian and chinese

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nuclear calculus , what is your best

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military advice on tank and uh nuclear

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declaration policy or to know , profuse

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or sole purpose ? You know , I

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absolutely agree with the chairman that

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are goal is to provide as many

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credible options to the president as

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possible . Uh And uh I would also say

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though that this is a policy issue and

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one that uh that you know , the

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administration will will sort through

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sort out going forward as it it does a

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strategic reviews in the future .

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Okay . And Secretary Austin shifting

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topics , I would like you to provide uh

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you can have the rest of my time to

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describe why it is so critical that

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Congress worked quickly reimburse the

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National Guard for the over 500 million

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spent on its mission here at the

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capitol earlier this year . And what

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impact on ready to uh could result if

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these funds are not repairing the in a

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timely manner . So I'll just make a

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brief comment and the Chairman might

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want to comment on this as well . I

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think you've heard me say before that ,

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that if we don't resource the

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Guard and and what will happen is it

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will begin to erode readiness . It will

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disallow them to uh , to conduct their

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training in accordance with the

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schedules that they should be on . And

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so this is very , very important to us .

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And uh , and I would encourage you and

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ask for your help in providing those

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resources and I would add to that

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congressman , I would dido what

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secretary just said $500 million in the

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grand scheme of a $715 million budget .

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May not seem like a lot , but the

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National Guard that is a lot . Uh , so

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reimbursing them for their efforts , of

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the great efforts . And this is also a

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year in which the guard's been doing ,

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covid their overseas . Uh , there's a

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very high optempo in the guard So that

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$500 million dollars is very important .

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I would like to see it reimbursed uh

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for for the National Guard in order to

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maintain their training and their

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standards . Do we know that ? Thanks to

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you both Chairman of your back . Thank

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you . Representative uh Secretary

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Austin . Earlier this year we discussed

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our shared interests for strong ,

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consistent civilian oversight of the

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armed forces . As chairman of the

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Intelligence special operations

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subcommittee , I appreciate your

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commitment to ensure civilian

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leadership are Special operations

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forces with the restructuring of the as

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diastolic to include resourcing and

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staffing the office consistent with its

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oversight responsibilities . Can you

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please highlight the steps you

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alongside Deputy Secretary Hicks are

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taking to increase civilian oversight

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of the soft community to ensure an

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agile and lethal force ready for

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strategic competition , particularly

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regards to acquisition and diversity .

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Uh Thank you . You you may have heard

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me say earlier that there's a direct

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recording chain now too , uh linked to

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me and uh you know , uh

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that secretary will uh will sit in on

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all of uh all of my key leader meetings ,

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report to me routinely on the uh on the

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on going efforts in the in the

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department and we'll discuss will be

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cited on those service like

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requirements and needs for for the

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special operations community . Uh Thank

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you Secretary . More than 18 months ago ,

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nine combatant commanders articulate an

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immediate need for intelligence

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community to help combat provocative

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actions of china and Russia and the

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public domain . The Director of

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National Intelligence establishing a

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malign foreign influence response

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center that will lead coordination and

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integration of intelligence related to

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foreign malign influence . What changes

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are you directing within the department

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to help address this urgent requirement ?

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We've had uh Chairman and I have had uh

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first of all , I I do believe that it

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is an important issue . All of the

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combatant commanders have identified a

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need for resourcing to address this

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issue . Um You know , we've as we've

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talked for the combatant commanders ,

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uh we want to make sure that that we're

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synchronizing our efforts and that

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we're putting the resources in the

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right place . So this is the thing that

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that were getting our arms around a

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little bit better . But I would say up

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front that we will resource the

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combatant commanders based upon their

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request . Uh but we want to make sure

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that that we're using those dollars to

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get best value . And I'm confident that

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we'll be able to thank you secretary

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for over 20 years . The soft community

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has been focused on anti terrorism

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operations in permissive environments ,

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but the growing threat posed by china

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and Russia underscore the need to pivot

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our focus to the great power

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competition . Can you expand how this

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budget proposal addresses ? The need to

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refocus special operations to combat

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near pure adversaries ? Well , I

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I think , uh , you know , you've seen

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uh Special operations forces began in a

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first of all , they have incredible

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capability across the spectrum of

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activity . Whereas we've been focused

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on transnational terrorism to a greater

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extent in the past . Uh they , you know ,

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over the last several years , that

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began to lean into great power

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competition , developed capabilities

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and and resources that will be a bit

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more relevant to , to that near pier

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competition . Uh , as as

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you look at what we've invested in ,

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you know , throughout the budget here ,

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in terms of the major items , you know ,

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uh research development , uh , uh ,

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technology , uh , you know , long range

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fires , lethal air force that sort all

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of that really kind of contributes to

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the overall effort there and a special

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operations forces as a part of that

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obviously . But but we're setting the

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stage to make sure that not only the

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special ops , but every other element

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on the battlefield can be , can be

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effective . And again , we're

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emphasizing that this is , this is

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competition across all domains and not

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just not just uh land , air and sea .

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Could I just add something congressman

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gallegos ? If I could uh , go ahead ,

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john uh , training is the key here .

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They're so comes reorienting the

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training of the special operations

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community for higher end fight against

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china and all of the core fundamental

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task of unconventional war , strategic

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reconnaissance and the entire list of

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of core tasks . And it's really got to

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do with training and getting them

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aligned with the various war plans

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against the pacing through to china .

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Thank you , jeremy . Any time we have

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last year , Congress Party appropriate

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$169 million Initiative to increase

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military aid and cooperation with the

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Baltics . Do you have an update on how

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the department spending this money

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caramel ? Our Secretary Austin ? Yeah .

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With with respect to the Baltics ? Yeah ,

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we are doing exercises . We are doing

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back to special operations forces .

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There's a lot of special operations

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things going on in there . The train ,

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advise assist with them and we are as

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part of the european Defense Initiative .

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Part of that is exercising in the

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Baltics . So under the purview of you

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come , all of that is happening . So

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that's where that money is going . And

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the president just recently met with

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the three key senior leaders of the

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Baltics there and uh in brussels in the

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margins of the summit of NATO summit

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there . So thank you . Secretary ,

14:30.430 --> 14:32.652
thank you . General and I now recognize

14:32.652 --> 14:34.819
ranking member to the ISO subcommittee

14:34.819 --> 14:37.097
represented kelly . Thank you Chairman .

14:38.540 --> 14:40.762
First of all , I wanna kinda double tap

14:40.762 --> 14:42.940
what I think Mr Desjarlais said dr

14:42.940 --> 14:45.630
Desjarlais . Uh it's important that we

14:45.630 --> 14:47.686
get those dollars back to the garden

14:47.686 --> 14:49.630
reserve uh so that they don't miss

14:49.630 --> 14:51.852
drills . You know , we have our 155 B .

14:51.852 --> 14:53.852
C . T . Out of Mississippi that has

14:53.852 --> 14:55.963
done covid response , we put shots in

14:55.963 --> 14:57.908
orange . We've done we've been the

14:57.908 --> 14:59.852
logistical backbone for our entire

14:59.852 --> 15:01.797
state . They're ntc and a rotation

15:01.797 --> 15:03.797
right now . And then those guys and

15:03.797 --> 15:05.963
girls are going to come back and we're

15:05.963 --> 15:07.852
going to tell them in a august or

15:07.852 --> 15:07.830
september we can't pay you for drills ,

15:07.830 --> 15:09.997
so stay home and we're gonna lose that

15:09.997 --> 15:12.219
readiness that we've been building . So

15:12.219 --> 15:14.330
please help us get those dollars back

15:14.330 --> 15:16.330
to the garden reserve . You have my

15:16.330 --> 15:18.330
commitment that we will advocate uh

15:18.330 --> 15:21.400
winning wherever possible . Uh and just

15:21.400 --> 15:24.210
a dovetail on what you just said there .

15:24.210 --> 15:26.432
I am absolutely proud of what our guard

15:26.432 --> 15:28.860
has done over the last year especially

15:28.870 --> 15:32.400
and they have been a significant factor

15:32.410 --> 15:34.760
in our ability to begin to bend the

15:34.760 --> 15:38.150
curve with respect to Covid and uh

15:38.440 --> 15:40.440
now we're entering the firefighting

15:40.440 --> 15:42.329
season and the hurricane season .

15:42.329 --> 15:44.950
Absolutely . They will continue to be .

15:44.960 --> 15:47.127
Thank you mr Secretary . Now I want to

15:47.127 --> 15:49.127
talk a little bit about tricare and

15:49.127 --> 15:51.460
having been through this process myself ,

15:51.460 --> 15:53.516
we have a garden reserve which don't

15:53.516 --> 15:55.349
have tricare except when they're

15:55.349 --> 15:57.460
deployed or there's a cost associated

15:57.460 --> 15:59.571
with it , which is greater . You have

15:59.571 --> 15:59.040
certain members , federal technicians

15:59.040 --> 16:01.207
which are not allowed to get tricare .

16:01.207 --> 16:03.780
It is very difficult going on and off

16:03.780 --> 16:05.947
of deployments , especially as much as

16:05.947 --> 16:07.724
we're being used and not having

16:07.724 --> 16:09.980
continuity of healthcare . You agree

16:09.980 --> 16:12.036
that the primary readiness issue for

16:12.036 --> 16:14.750
Garden Reserve is having health issues ,

16:14.750 --> 16:16.861
whether it's teeth issues , dental or

16:16.861 --> 16:18.917
other . Uh what what are we doing in

16:18.917 --> 16:20.972
the D . O . D . To make sure that we

16:20.972 --> 16:23.230
have continuity of health care for our

16:23.230 --> 16:25.452
Garden reserve , whether traditional or

16:25.452 --> 16:29.440
full time healthy health welfare and

16:29.450 --> 16:33.110
safety of our forces . Utmost important

16:33.120 --> 16:34.898
to me . And I thank you for the

16:34.898 --> 16:36.731
question and I would welcome any

16:36.731 --> 16:39.780
initiative that enables us to

16:39.790 --> 16:42.770
provide better health care , more

16:42.770 --> 16:44.790
efficient health care to all the

16:44.790 --> 16:47.120
components of our service . Uh the

16:47.120 --> 16:50.420
issue always is resources and and so ,

16:50.430 --> 16:53.800
you know , as you know , currently , uh

16:53.810 --> 16:55.920
we're only resource to do a certain

16:55.920 --> 16:59.110
amount and uh and I agree the members

16:59.110 --> 17:01.460
of our , all the members of our armed

17:01.460 --> 17:03.682
forces are important . And if we make a

17:03.682 --> 17:05.682
decision that we're going to expand

17:05.682 --> 17:08.430
services Uh certainly will need to be

17:08.430 --> 17:10.652
researched . Thank you know , I want to

17:10.652 --> 17:12.652
get on to the next one is so uh the

17:12.652 --> 17:14.600
Intel are special operations . The

17:14.600 --> 17:18.170
budget in Fy 21 was cut 495 million

17:18.640 --> 17:21.820
Is the proposed cut this year ? Or it

17:21.820 --> 17:24.490
was 600 million cut from Fy 20 and

17:24.490 --> 17:28.130
21 , million this year . They're having

17:28.130 --> 17:31.910
to do more with less as we shift to

17:31.910 --> 17:34.000
china and Russia and are near peer

17:34.000 --> 17:36.590
adversaries . Uh We still have to do

17:36.590 --> 17:38.810
the work that are special operators so

17:38.810 --> 17:40.921
often do , and many times they're the

17:40.921 --> 17:43.300
only people who can do that . Um what

17:43.300 --> 17:45.467
are we doing to make sure that we have

17:45.467 --> 17:48.340
them ready to be in places like Africa ,

17:48.350 --> 17:51.060
the Middle East and those things with

17:51.060 --> 17:53.227
these budget cuts were resourcing them

17:53.227 --> 17:55.600
less , but in reality we're asking them

17:55.600 --> 17:57.711
to do more with less . Do you agree ?

17:57.711 --> 18:00.140
Secretary Austin ? Well , I think when

18:00.140 --> 18:02.140
we look at the entire picture , you

18:02.140 --> 18:04.251
know , we we are we are retro grading

18:04.251 --> 18:07.750
from Afghanistan as we speak . Uh and

18:07.750 --> 18:09.972
and that will create some opportunities

18:09.972 --> 18:12.194
for us to shift some resources around .

18:12.194 --> 18:14.600
But to your point , uh Special

18:14.600 --> 18:17.290
Operations Forces , there's always high

18:17.290 --> 18:19.401
demand and there's a very low density

18:19.401 --> 18:23.250
of these elements uh and we'll need to

18:23.250 --> 18:25.417
make sure that they have the resources

18:25.417 --> 18:27.528
they need to be successful . So we'll

18:27.528 --> 18:29.583
continue . And Secretary , I'm sorry

18:29.583 --> 18:31.417
Chairman Millie , I'm sorry . Uh

18:33.640 --> 18:36.700
I've been traveled recently to the

18:36.700 --> 18:38.920
Middle East and Africa and in the

18:38.920 --> 18:41.500
Middle East specifically . And what

18:41.500 --> 18:43.222
when we as we're coming out of

18:43.222 --> 18:45.530
Afghanistan , we still have centcom .

18:45.530 --> 18:47.308
So I understand we'll have less

18:47.308 --> 18:49.252
resources . Many of our allies and

18:49.252 --> 18:51.120
partners in the region like our

18:51.120 --> 18:54.240
presence there . So can you tell me

18:54.440 --> 18:56.440
what what are we doing to build the

18:56.440 --> 18:58.551
confidence in our allies and partners

18:58.551 --> 19:00.440
in the Middle East and europe and

19:00.440 --> 19:02.551
Africa that we're still going to be .

19:02.551 --> 19:04.718
There is a great partner , even though

19:04.718 --> 19:06.940
we're coming out of Afghanistan because

19:06.940 --> 19:08.996
we've got some work I think with our

19:08.996 --> 19:08.680
allies and partners to do their So

19:08.680 --> 19:10.736
Chairman Millie , if you can address

19:10.736 --> 19:12.791
that place well , let me give you an

19:12.791 --> 19:15.013
units of time congressman . Let me give

19:15.013 --> 19:17.180
you an answer for the record with some

19:17.180 --> 19:16.710
details of what we're doing . But in

19:16.710 --> 19:18.740
general for the same company or the

19:18.740 --> 19:20.851
Middle East is important . The United

19:20.851 --> 19:22.962
States is going to be important to us

19:22.962 --> 19:22.960
in the future . We are looking at under

19:22.960 --> 19:25.580
the direction of the Secretary Austin ,

19:25.590 --> 19:28.360
uh an entire global posture review . Uh

19:28.370 --> 19:30.481
we have a lot of work left to do that

19:30.481 --> 19:32.703
uh back brief . The Secretary on that ,

19:32.703 --> 19:35.050
but exercises forward presence bases .

19:35.140 --> 19:37.362
All of those things are working closely

19:37.362 --> 19:39.584
with our allies and partners and all of

19:39.584 --> 19:39.530
the region's you just mentioned and I

19:39.530 --> 19:41.419
owe you an answer in writing on .

19:41.419 --> 19:43.419
Absolutely . Thank you . Now you're

19:43.419 --> 19:45.530
back . Thank you . Mr bolton's reckon

19:45.530 --> 19:47.641
after five minutes , Secretary Austin

19:47.641 --> 19:49.863
and Chairman Billy , thank you for your

19:49.863 --> 19:52.030
lifetimes of service and leadership to

19:52.030 --> 19:53.919
our country . As we withdraw from

19:53.919 --> 19:56.120
Afghanistan , we have not seen an

19:56.120 --> 19:58.720
operational plan to save our brave

19:58.730 --> 20:01.200
Afghan partners and allies . Now , I

20:01.200 --> 20:03.510
recognize that the trump administration

20:03.510 --> 20:06.440
left you with no plans and even earlier

20:06.440 --> 20:08.730
withdrawal date . Not to mention that

20:08.740 --> 20:10.573
trump's policy of banning muslim

20:10.573 --> 20:12.740
immigrants would probably have led him

20:12.740 --> 20:14.890
to abandon our allies in Afghanistan

20:14.900 --> 20:17.122
the same way he abandoned our allies in

20:17.122 --> 20:20.250
Syria . Nonetheless , all of this now

20:20.250 --> 20:22.950
falls on this administration .

20:26.040 --> 20:27.980
We have 80 days until our formal

20:27.980 --> 20:31.630
withdrawal date . It takes 800 days

20:31.640 --> 20:34.090
or more to process a special immigrant

20:34.090 --> 20:36.940
visa . So it's too late for the special

20:36.940 --> 20:38.980
immigrant visa process . Secretary

20:38.980 --> 20:41.920
Austin , why have you not started an

20:41.920 --> 20:43.160
evacuation yet ?

20:46.840 --> 20:48.896
Well , thanks for the question . And

20:48.896 --> 20:51.062
let me say up front that , I know this

20:51.062 --> 20:53.118
is a topic that's near and dear to a

20:53.118 --> 20:55.284
number of people in this room who have

20:55.284 --> 20:58.040
served alongside some of the the

20:58.040 --> 21:00.262
interpreters and people who have helped

21:00.262 --> 21:02.484
us in the past . And so this is this is

21:02.484 --> 21:05.170
important to all of us . Uh , we are

21:05.170 --> 21:07.226
working with the Department of State

21:07.226 --> 21:09.337
who has the lead on this , along with

21:09.337 --> 21:13.040
DHS Uh two as one part of a whole of

21:13.040 --> 21:15.490
government effort uh , to address this

21:15.490 --> 21:18.970
issue , we are encouraging uh to move

21:18.970 --> 21:21.980
as quickly as we can uh and we stand

21:21.980 --> 21:23.647
ready to provide resources to

21:23.647 --> 21:25.950
accelerate this if at all possible , if

21:25.950 --> 21:28.117
it's possible and it is possible . And

21:28.117 --> 21:30.440
in some cases , uh they've shorten the

21:30.440 --> 21:34.050
timeline for uh for from application

21:34.050 --> 21:37.940
to completion there . Uh there's a

21:37.950 --> 21:40.210
number of people in the pipeline . I am

21:40.210 --> 21:42.870
confident that at some will begin to

21:42.870 --> 21:45.092
evacuate some of those people soon . Uh

21:45.092 --> 21:47.600
but but again , I would refer to

21:47.610 --> 21:49.610
Secretary Blinken to really outline

21:49.610 --> 21:52.830
with the the Secretary , I don't need

21:52.830 --> 21:55.670
to tell you this , but these brave

21:55.680 --> 21:59.350
afghan partners , these afghan and

21:59.350 --> 22:02.370
american heroes , people who we asked

22:02.370 --> 22:05.230
to risk their lives , not just for

22:05.230 --> 22:07.452
Afghanistan , but for America . Because

22:07.452 --> 22:10.560
we had their backs , their

22:10.560 --> 22:13.660
future is in your hands .

22:14.640 --> 22:17.560
And this much is certain

22:19.110 --> 22:22.560
the taliban will kill them if they can ,

22:23.840 --> 22:27.080
and they will rape and murder their

22:27.080 --> 22:30.160
wives and kids first

22:31.440 --> 22:35.370
if they can . Chairman

22:35.370 --> 22:37.370
Millie , if the Service Chiefs were

22:37.370 --> 22:39.481
ordered to evacuate our afghan allies

22:39.481 --> 22:41.960
Today , is there a plan in place to get

22:41.960 --> 22:45.760
that started immediately ? We have the

22:45.760 --> 22:47.880
military capability to do whatever is

22:47.880 --> 22:49.824
directed by the President , United

22:49.824 --> 22:52.047
States with respect to our allies uh in

22:52.047 --> 22:54.102
and those that have worked with us .

22:54.102 --> 22:56.324
And I consider it a moral imperative to

22:56.324 --> 22:58.324
take care of those that have served

22:58.324 --> 23:00.324
along our side . We are prepared to

23:00.324 --> 23:02.269
execute whatever we are directed .

23:02.269 --> 23:04.310
Thank you . Mr . Chairman Changing

23:04.310 --> 23:06.850
subjects , Secretary Austin last week ,

23:06.850 --> 23:08.517
General Brown highlighted the

23:08.517 --> 23:10.739
importance of suicide prevention in his

23:10.739 --> 23:12.961
opening statement and then committed to

23:12.961 --> 23:15.072
supporting the Brandon Act . Later in

23:15.072 --> 23:17.239
the hearing , a bill that I introduced

23:17.239 --> 23:19.406
last week to provide service members a

23:19.406 --> 23:21.628
mechanism to seek mental health support

23:21.628 --> 23:21.270
if they are contemplating suicide .

23:21.540 --> 23:23.707
However , we've received pushback from

23:23.707 --> 23:25.762
other elements within D . O . D . On

23:25.762 --> 23:27.818
the Brandon Act , but no alternative

23:27.818 --> 23:29.929
suggestion for how we can tackle this

23:29.929 --> 23:31.596
epidemic . Are you personally

23:31.596 --> 23:33.596
comfortable with how D . O . D . Is

23:33.596 --> 23:35.596
managing suicide prevention ? Given

23:35.596 --> 23:37.762
that we have lost more service members

23:37.762 --> 23:39.762
to suicide last year than we did in

23:39.762 --> 23:41.596
combat ? And are you prepared to

23:41.596 --> 23:43.818
support efforts like the Brandon Act or

23:43.818 --> 23:46.040
present a better alternative to address

23:46.040 --> 23:49.670
this ? Um ,

23:50.240 --> 23:52.960
Mhm . I think this is a very important

23:52.960 --> 23:55.280
issue and I am prepared to do whatever

23:55.280 --> 23:58.270
it takes to improve in this area . This

23:58.270 --> 24:00.700
is uh this is something that I have

24:00.700 --> 24:02.867
personally been swinging at for a long

24:02.867 --> 24:05.150
time as a part of one of the senior

24:05.150 --> 24:08.410
leaders of the of the military uh and

24:08.420 --> 24:10.990
uh and try as we may , we have not made

24:10.990 --> 24:13.970
the progress that we we we need to make .

24:13.980 --> 24:17.440
Um There's a stigma associated with uh

24:17.450 --> 24:21.080
with seeking help , uh seeking mental

24:21.080 --> 24:24.510
health care . And uh and we got to do

24:24.510 --> 24:26.732
more to relieve to remove that stigma .

24:26.732 --> 24:29.110
And we've got to do more to provide uh

24:29.120 --> 24:32.330
adequate healthcare to uh to our troops .

24:32.340 --> 24:34.930
So the answer to your question is , you

24:34.930 --> 24:37.152
have my commitment that I will continue

24:37.152 --> 24:39.152
to work this . And I would tell you

24:39.152 --> 24:41.263
right now that our service chiefs are

24:41.263 --> 24:43.670
absolutely focused on this uh and we'll

24:43.670 --> 24:46.480
work with the uh you know , the greater

24:46.480 --> 24:49.270
community at large to get best

24:49.280 --> 24:51.391
practices and lessons learned so that

24:51.391 --> 24:53.613
we can get better at this . Thank you .

24:53.613 --> 24:53.270
Secretary , grateful for your

24:53.270 --> 24:55.190
leadership and I yield back Mr

24:55.190 --> 24:57.023
Gallagher is recognized for five

24:57.023 --> 24:59.246
minutes . Thank you . Chairman Millie .

24:59.246 --> 25:01.412
Last week in front of this committee ,

25:01.412 --> 25:03.301
both the Cno and the commandant ,

25:03.301 --> 25:06.160
General burger concurred with Admiral

25:06.160 --> 25:08.340
Davidson's assessment that we have a

25:08.340 --> 25:11.170
growing risk of appeal invasion of

25:11.180 --> 25:13.520
Taiwan within the next six years ,

25:13.520 --> 25:15.464
which is an alarming timeline . My

25:15.464 --> 25:18.420
understanding , excuse me , is that you

25:18.420 --> 25:20.476
sort of publicly disagreed with that

25:20.476 --> 25:22.587
timeline . I'd be curious to get your

25:22.587 --> 25:24.309
alternative assessment and the

25:24.309 --> 25:26.309
justification for it . But I mean ,

25:26.309 --> 25:28.309
would you agree with just the basic

25:28.309 --> 25:31.430
idea that the PLS capability is growing

25:31.440 --> 25:34.200
that the unification of Taiwan with the

25:34.200 --> 25:36.910
mainland is a legacy issue for General

25:36.910 --> 25:38.854
Secretary XI and that this creates

25:38.854 --> 25:41.021
problems for our deterrent posture and

25:41.021 --> 25:44.450
end up a cop . Yes . So what

25:44.460 --> 25:47.000
Davidson and equally , no . And others

25:47.010 --> 25:50.520
have said is that chinese

25:50.520 --> 25:53.510
capability To invade and seize the

25:53.510 --> 25:56.230
island of Taiwan is being accelerated

25:56.230 --> 25:59.060
to 2027 , 6 years from now . I don't

25:59.640 --> 26:02.540
dismissed that at all . What I said was

26:02.540 --> 26:05.190
near term In my definition . That's 1-2

26:05.190 --> 26:09.120
years . I don't see uh china , they

26:09.120 --> 26:11.176
have that they could they could make

26:11.176 --> 26:13.231
decisions whatever they want to do .

26:13.231 --> 26:15.342
But I don't see it happening uh right

26:15.342 --> 26:17.564
out of the blue . There's no reason for

26:17.564 --> 26:19.731
it . And the cost of china far exceeds

26:19.731 --> 26:21.842
the benefit . Uh And President Xi and

26:21.842 --> 26:23.953
his military would do the calculation

26:23.953 --> 26:26.009
and they know uh that an invasion in

26:26.009 --> 26:28.176
order to seize an island that big with

26:28.176 --> 26:30.009
that many people And the defense

26:30.009 --> 26:32.120
capability of Taiwanese have would be

26:32.120 --> 26:34.287
extraordinarily complicated and costly

26:34.287 --> 26:36.287
and at this point in time near term

26:36.287 --> 26:39.690
next 12 , months . Um I don't I'm not

26:39.690 --> 26:41.801
seeing indications and warnings yet .

26:41.801 --> 26:43.968
Could've happened six years from now .

26:43.968 --> 26:46.134
Eight years from now . 10 years , 20 .

26:46.134 --> 26:48.301
Sure . A lot of things can happen . Uh

26:48.301 --> 26:50.134
The chinese are clearly building

26:50.134 --> 26:52.301
capability . There's no question about

26:52.301 --> 26:51.470
that . They've been doing it for quite

26:51.470 --> 26:53.526
a while and we're monitoring it very

26:53.526 --> 26:55.470
closely and that gets back to this

26:55.470 --> 26:57.470
budget . We need to continue to get

26:57.470 --> 26:59.526
this budget through , get it done on

26:59.526 --> 27:01.692
time in order for us to keep pace with

27:01.692 --> 27:01.390
the chinese to stay ahead of them . We

27:01.390 --> 27:03.600
want overmatch in order to deter a

27:03.610 --> 27:05.832
great power war and stay at great power

27:05.832 --> 27:07.832
competition , recognizing there are

27:07.832 --> 27:09.777
limitations to the format we're in

27:09.777 --> 27:11.832
right now , just given your position

27:11.832 --> 27:14.054
and the time you spent interacting with

27:14.054 --> 27:16.277
your counterparts in the region is your

27:16.277 --> 27:18.499
son and an understanding that there are

27:18.499 --> 27:20.554
that to some extent , the intentions

27:20.554 --> 27:22.443
that she himself and the party in

27:22.443 --> 27:24.480
general are unknowable and a lot of

27:24.480 --> 27:26.758
things could change in the environment .

27:26.758 --> 27:29.091
Um , what is your , your basic sense of ,

27:29.091 --> 27:31.313
of the priority that the CCP in the P .

27:31.313 --> 27:33.591
L . A put on Taiwan And to what extent ,

27:33.591 --> 27:35.647
as I said before , it's bound up and

27:35.647 --> 27:37.702
she's personal legacy . I think both

27:37.702 --> 27:39.869
are true . I think the issue of Taiwan

27:39.869 --> 27:41.647
and the unification Taiwan with

27:41.647 --> 27:43.980
mainland china . I think that is a core ,

27:43.980 --> 27:46.258
I said it before in previous testimony ,

27:46.258 --> 27:48.369
CRE accord national security interest

27:48.369 --> 27:50.870
of china . Uh , and it's also a core

27:50.880 --> 27:52.824
national security interests of the

27:52.824 --> 27:54.936
United States to ensure that whatever

27:54.936 --> 27:57.102
happens with respect to Taiwan happens

27:57.102 --> 27:59.430
peacefully and we don't have a general

27:59.430 --> 28:02.350
conflict in the region or globally . So

28:02.350 --> 28:05.670
we support , you know , that the

28:06.140 --> 28:08.307
with the Taiwan Relations Act etcetera

28:08.307 --> 28:10.750
for a peaceful resolution of the issue

28:10.760 --> 28:13.600
between Taiwan and china and I

28:13.610 --> 28:15.832
completely agree the sentiment you just

28:15.832 --> 28:17.888
expressed about . And I think it's a

28:17.888 --> 28:17.680
shared goal in this committee of

28:17.680 --> 28:20.460
deterring such a conflict as as one of

28:20.460 --> 28:22.627
our core priorities , because it would

28:22.627 --> 28:24.627
be messy indeed , uh , which is why

28:24.627 --> 28:26.460
earlier this year in Delta . Com

28:26.460 --> 28:28.404
submitted to Congress the detailed

28:28.404 --> 28:30.571
requests for exercise funds , training

28:30.571 --> 28:32.293
ranges , military construction

28:32.293 --> 28:34.349
munitions , defensive Guam systems .

28:34.349 --> 28:36.571
But the pacific deterrence initiative ,

28:36.571 --> 28:38.738
as requested by the department in this

28:38.738 --> 28:40.738
budget consisted of non Indo pak on

28:40.738 --> 28:42.900
specific list of procurement items

28:42.900 --> 28:44.733
including a destroyer , some jet

28:44.733 --> 28:46.622
fighters , a logistic ship . What

28:46.622 --> 28:48.733
caused the difference between the two

28:48.733 --> 28:51.120
versions of PD ? Why were so many of

28:51.120 --> 28:53.580
the top needs identified in the section

28:53.580 --> 28:55.670
12 51 report ? That's Indo pak calms

28:55.690 --> 28:58.490
report mostly or completely unfunded in

28:58.490 --> 29:02.140
the budget request sector . Yes ,

29:02.150 --> 29:05.960
our intent is to is to

29:06.740 --> 29:10.420
realize the intent of Congress and

29:10.420 --> 29:12.850
resource P . D . I . In accordance with

29:12.860 --> 29:15.260
uh with you know what's been laid out .

29:15.740 --> 29:17.018
I think there are some

29:17.018 --> 29:18.907
miscommunications in terms of how

29:18.907 --> 29:21.018
things were been . We're working with

29:21.018 --> 29:23.240
the committees to try to try to clarify

29:23.240 --> 29:25.407
that now and we'll continue to do so .

29:25.407 --> 29:27.573
But the intent is to make sure that we

29:27.573 --> 29:29.573
follow along with Congress's intent

29:29.573 --> 29:31.810
with the P . D . I . And then , I mean

29:31.820 --> 29:34.420
in my remaining 25 seconds I'm tempted

29:34.420 --> 29:36.587
to ask Mr McCord question because he's

29:36.587 --> 29:40.180
gotten off easy I think . Uh but I and

29:40.180 --> 29:42.236
I don't have enough time for my army

29:42.236 --> 29:44.124
and strength question for for the

29:44.124 --> 29:46.124
chairman . So instead I will I will

29:46.124 --> 29:48.180
yield back my my 12 seconds and hope

29:48.180 --> 29:50.180
that somebody gets Mr McCord on the

29:50.180 --> 29:54.130
record . Thank you . Uh Mr Carver Hall

29:54.140 --> 29:56.307
is recognized for five minutes . Thank

29:56.307 --> 29:58.720
you . Mr Chair Mr McCord kidding . Uh I

29:58.730 --> 30:00.980
want to thank you all for being here

30:00.980 --> 30:03.300
today . Uh Let me start with Secretary

30:03.300 --> 30:06.370
Austin . Uh I want to start by asking

30:06.370 --> 30:08.481
you about the Department of Defense ,

30:08.481 --> 30:10.537
audit and financial accountability .

30:10.840 --> 30:13.062
Congress robustly funds the D . O . D .

30:13.062 --> 30:15.600
In order to defend the nation and

30:15.600 --> 30:18.120
detour conflict . We also have a

30:18.120 --> 30:20.231
responsibility to our constituents to

30:20.231 --> 30:22.390
conduct oversight and ensure that the

30:22.390 --> 30:25.110
funds are obligated effectively and

30:25.110 --> 30:27.690
responsibly . How important is the

30:27.690 --> 30:30.230
ongoing audit to your work as secretary

30:30.430 --> 30:32.374
and how's the department using the

30:32.374 --> 30:34.370
results of the audit to impact the

30:34.370 --> 30:37.280
budget process ? Uh It's not only

30:37.280 --> 30:40.300
important , it's it's critical and uh

30:40.310 --> 30:44.160
you know , we're we've made progress a

30:44.170 --> 30:46.630
lot of progress since I was last uh

30:46.640 --> 30:48.473
affiliated with the department .

30:48.640 --> 30:51.210
There's still work to be done and and

30:51.210 --> 30:53.550
we will move out on this as

30:53.560 --> 30:55.530
expeditiously as possible and

30:55.530 --> 30:58.360
deliberately as possible to ensure that

30:58.360 --> 31:00.930
we get a clean audit at some point

31:00.930 --> 31:02.986
going forward as quickly as we can .

31:03.640 --> 31:06.780
Thank you , Secretary Austin in the

31:06.780 --> 31:09.002
previous administration . One of my key

31:09.002 --> 31:11.058
concerns with the department was the

31:11.058 --> 31:13.450
lack of transparency to Congress in

31:13.450 --> 31:16.190
decision making processes . For example ,

31:16.190 --> 31:18.340
many here in this committee were left

31:18.340 --> 31:20.570
with more questions than answers when

31:20.570 --> 31:22.681
the department announced its decision

31:22.681 --> 31:25.260
to select Redstone arsenal in Alabama

31:25.640 --> 31:27.807
as the permanent headquarters for US .

31:27.807 --> 31:29.973
Space . Com . Looking forward . I hope

31:29.973 --> 31:32.160
you will commit to this committee that

31:32.160 --> 31:34.271
the department will be transparent in

31:34.271 --> 31:37.440
its decision uh making . So Congress

31:37.480 --> 31:39.480
and the public have full confidence

31:39.480 --> 31:42.790
that decisions are made objectively and

31:42.790 --> 31:44.901
in the best interests of our national

31:44.901 --> 31:47.370
security . With that , I'm closely

31:47.370 --> 31:49.537
following the upcoming basing decision

31:49.537 --> 31:52.530
process for the Space Forces star

31:52.690 --> 31:55.290
Headquarters . As I believe Annenberg

31:55.290 --> 31:57.540
space for space will be an ideal

31:57.540 --> 32:00.520
location uh to be the future home for

32:00.520 --> 32:03.290
the training and readiness command . I

32:03.290 --> 32:05.346
know this process will be led by the

32:05.346 --> 32:07.346
Department of the Air Force , but I

32:07.346 --> 32:09.760
believe leadership starts at the top

32:10.340 --> 32:12.340
and I urge you to work with the Air

32:12.340 --> 32:14.507
Force to ensure a transparent and fair

32:14.507 --> 32:16.729
process that was more so of a statement

32:16.940 --> 32:19.160
than a question , but I'd love to get

32:19.160 --> 32:21.970
your reaction to that . So on the in

32:21.970 --> 32:24.192
the first instance , you know that that

32:24.192 --> 32:28.000
issue is under investigation by the by

32:28.000 --> 32:31.710
the uh the I . G . And there's also a G

32:31.710 --> 32:34.500
A . O . Look ongoing as well . So I

32:34.500 --> 32:36.778
won't have any comment on that for you .

32:36.778 --> 32:39.000
I will say that my commitment to you is

32:39.000 --> 32:42.210
that we will remain as transparent as

32:42.210 --> 32:45.180
possible on this and other issues going

32:45.180 --> 32:47.910
forward and I will require that the

32:47.910 --> 32:51.110
services do the same . Thank you . And

32:51.110 --> 32:54.590
just uh to conclude on that point , uh

32:54.600 --> 32:56.640
it was pretty much a bipartisan

32:56.640 --> 32:58.930
sentiment about the transparency and

32:58.930 --> 33:00.930
the need for more information about

33:00.930 --> 33:03.152
that . So I'm glad the investigation is

33:03.152 --> 33:05.630
ensuing . Lastly , Secretary Austin and

33:05.640 --> 33:07.660
General Milley , this committee has

33:07.660 --> 33:10.150
been focused on addressing extremism in

33:10.150 --> 33:12.560
the ranks . I appreciate the tone of

33:12.560 --> 33:14.980
the direction that I have seen and

33:14.980 --> 33:16.869
heard from the service Chiefs and

33:16.869 --> 33:19.350
civilian leaders , but clearly more

33:19.350 --> 33:21.550
needs to be done to take that message

33:21.560 --> 33:23.540
at the top and then share it has

33:23.540 --> 33:25.630
received throughout the Rings . How

33:25.630 --> 33:27.510
does this budget make necessary

33:27.520 --> 33:30.100
investments in initiatives that seek to

33:30.100 --> 33:32.680
address extremism and also promote

33:32.680 --> 33:36.430
diversity ? Well , there are provisions

33:36.430 --> 33:39.960
in the budget that that that uh huh

33:41.040 --> 33:43.890
resource us to continue our efforts

33:43.890 --> 33:46.170
there to make sure that that we have

33:46.170 --> 33:48.670
the right staffing and uh that sort of

33:48.670 --> 33:51.990
business to provide oversight , but but

33:52.000 --> 33:54.111
this is accounted for in our budget .

33:54.111 --> 33:57.500
So General Milley , Yeah , I

33:57.510 --> 33:59.399
agree . It's accounted for in the

33:59.399 --> 34:01.566
budget . Let me make a broader comment

34:01.566 --> 34:03.677
on extremism . United States military

34:03.677 --> 34:05.510
is committed to the idea that is

34:05.510 --> 34:07.566
America and it's embedded within our

34:07.566 --> 34:09.677
constitution . Uh and we are sworn at

34:09.677 --> 34:11.899
the risk of our life or limb separation

34:11.899 --> 34:13.621
from our family to defend that

34:13.621 --> 34:15.843
constitution no matter what . And there

34:15.843 --> 34:18.950
is no room in uniform for anyone who

34:18.950 --> 34:21.117
doesn't subscribe to the values of the

34:21.117 --> 34:23.228
United States of America . And I know

34:23.228 --> 34:25.228
we're going through a workgroups to

34:25.228 --> 34:27.283
finding extremism , checking out our

34:27.283 --> 34:29.394
Department of Defense instructions et

34:29.394 --> 34:31.450
cetera . But from private to general

34:31.450 --> 34:31.070
there's no room for extremist behavior

34:31.070 --> 34:33.320
in United States Military . Thank you .

34:33.320 --> 34:36.150
General . With that , I yield back . Mr

34:36.150 --> 34:40.030
McCord escaped again . Yeah . Mr Gates

34:40.030 --> 34:42.252
has recognized for five minutes . Thank

34:42.252 --> 34:44.308
you . Mr Chairman Mr Secretary , why

34:44.308 --> 34:46.419
was Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Lemire

34:46.419 --> 34:48.363
relieved of his command ? It was a

34:48.363 --> 34:50.586
decision made by his uh by his chain of

34:50.586 --> 34:53.330
command and typically those decisions

34:53.330 --> 34:55.850
are made based upon either having

34:55.850 --> 34:58.510
confidence or lack of confidence . This

34:58.520 --> 35:01.930
issue is under investigation by the I .

35:01.930 --> 35:04.097
G . And so I won't comment any further

35:04.097 --> 35:07.350
on that in my previous

35:07.360 --> 35:10.040
discussions with service members and

35:10.040 --> 35:12.680
particularly officers , I would hear

35:12.680 --> 35:14.710
about complaints over parts not

35:14.710 --> 35:17.700
arriving on time long deployments . And

35:17.700 --> 35:19.820
in my more recent discussions with

35:19.820 --> 35:22.730
those officers , the number one issue

35:22.740 --> 35:25.170
that they raised to me with concern ,

35:25.180 --> 35:27.970
often unable to speak publicly for fear

35:28.040 --> 35:29.818
of the type of retribution that

35:29.818 --> 35:31.984
Lieutenant Colonel Lemire faced . They

35:31.984 --> 35:33.970
say that your stand down regarding

35:33.970 --> 35:37.110
extremism did not help our military and

35:37.110 --> 35:39.221
hurt the military and I want to share

35:39.221 --> 35:41.110
with you that perspective that it

35:41.110 --> 35:43.780
caused service members to other eyes

35:43.790 --> 35:46.490
one another , it impaired group

35:46.490 --> 35:49.390
cohesion . And interesting to me is

35:49.390 --> 35:52.950
that I've heard those sentiments most

35:52.950 --> 35:56.190
frequently from units that are majority

35:56.200 --> 35:59.250
minority . That this was not

35:59.250 --> 36:01.361
particularly helpful . So I wanted to

36:01.361 --> 36:03.583
give you the opportunity to maybe share

36:03.583 --> 36:05.750
with us more specificity regarding the

36:05.750 --> 36:07.528
definitions that seemed to be a

36:07.528 --> 36:09.750
challenge when this Hartzler was asking

36:09.750 --> 36:11.861
questions , how should the Department

36:11.861 --> 36:13.917
of Defense think about critical race

36:13.917 --> 36:15.806
theory ? Could I make a comment ?

36:15.806 --> 36:18.028
Secretary ? I'm very limited on my time

36:18.028 --> 36:20.139
general . I just want to make comment

36:20.139 --> 36:21.972
that I know , but I've asked the

36:21.972 --> 36:24.139
question to Secretary Austin , I don't

36:24.139 --> 36:25.917
know what the what the issue of

36:25.917 --> 36:27.972
critical race theory is and what the

36:27.972 --> 36:30.194
relevance here in with the department .

36:30.200 --> 36:32.820
We do not teach critical race theory .

36:32.830 --> 36:35.290
We don't we don't embrace critical race

36:35.290 --> 36:37.401
theory . And I think I think that's a

36:37.401 --> 36:41.200
spurious uh conversation . And so

36:41.210 --> 36:44.030
we are focused on extremist behaviors

36:44.040 --> 36:47.470
and and not not ideology , not

36:47.480 --> 36:49.340
not not people's thoughts , not

36:49.340 --> 36:52.850
people's uh political orientation

36:52.860 --> 36:55.070
behaviors is what we're focused on ,

36:55.080 --> 36:57.191
but in one final point and thanks for

36:57.191 --> 36:59.610
your anecdotal input , but I would say

36:59.610 --> 37:02.150
that I have gotten 10 times that amount

37:02.150 --> 37:04.310
of input , 50 times that amount of

37:04.310 --> 37:07.170
input uh on the other side that has

37:07.170 --> 37:10.070
said , hey , we're glad to have had the

37:10.070 --> 37:12.450
ability to have a conversation with

37:12.450 --> 37:14.561
ourselves and with our leadership and

37:14.561 --> 37:16.728
that's what we need to make it again .

37:16.728 --> 37:19.390
Mr Secretary , it may be that you're

37:19.390 --> 37:21.880
receiving that input in the ratios you

37:21.880 --> 37:24.550
describe because it was your directive .

37:24.830 --> 37:27.650
It may be that people are concerned

37:27.650 --> 37:29.872
about criticizing your decision because

37:29.872 --> 37:32.020
Lieutenant Colonel Lemire was not

37:32.020 --> 37:34.353
relieved of his command for his actions .

37:34.353 --> 37:36.298
He was not relieved of his command

37:36.298 --> 37:38.409
because of poor performance regarding

37:38.409 --> 37:40.409
his duties . He was relieved of his

37:40.409 --> 37:42.242
command precisely because of his

37:42.242 --> 37:44.464
thoughts and because of his critique of

37:44.464 --> 37:44.460
Critical race theory . It is

37:44.460 --> 37:46.740
particularly helpful that you have said

37:46.830 --> 37:49.052
that the Department of Defense does not

37:49.052 --> 37:51.163
embrace Critical Race theory and that

37:51.163 --> 37:52.941
you think the discussion is not

37:52.941 --> 37:55.052
appropriate . I would suggest that it

37:55.052 --> 37:57.386
is the ideology that is not appropriate ,

37:57.386 --> 37:59.608
and it is particularly concerning to me

37:59.608 --> 38:01.608
that you have hired a critical race

38:01.608 --> 38:04.050
theorist to give you advice on

38:04.060 --> 38:06.227
personnel matters . And that person is

38:06.227 --> 38:07.893
Bishop Garrison . And I would

38:07.893 --> 38:10.540
particularly observe That on July 27 ,

38:10.540 --> 38:13.500
2019 Bishop Garrison tweeted regarding

38:13.510 --> 38:15.677
former President trump . He's dragging

38:16.320 --> 38:18.790
a lot of bad actors out into the

38:18.790 --> 38:20.990
sunlight , normalizing their actions

38:20.990 --> 38:23.101
and here's the relevant part . If you

38:23.101 --> 38:25.101
support the president , you support

38:25.101 --> 38:28.010
that there is no room for nuance in

38:28.010 --> 38:31.070
this , There is no more . But I'm not

38:31.070 --> 38:33.292
like that talk . And then he replies to

38:33.292 --> 38:35.403
his own tweet with what seems to be a

38:35.403 --> 38:37.940
very ethno nationalist . Hashtag

38:38.120 --> 38:41.140
hashtag black 44 . Could you enlighten

38:41.140 --> 38:44.090
us as to what advice Mr . Garrison has

38:44.090 --> 38:46.257
given you ? And are you concerned that

38:46.257 --> 38:48.146
while you testify publicly to our

38:48.146 --> 38:50.257
committee that the department doesn't

38:50.257 --> 38:52.479
embrace critical race theory ? You have

38:52.479 --> 38:54.312
hired someone who is precisely a

38:54.312 --> 38:57.440
critical race theorist . This is the

38:57.440 --> 39:00.630
first I've ever heard . Uh Mr Garrison

39:00.630 --> 39:02.710
being described as a critical race

39:02.710 --> 39:06.390
theorist . So this is new and I'm sure

39:06.390 --> 39:08.557
you review his tweets before you hired

39:08.557 --> 39:10.560
him personally . Did you review his

39:10.560 --> 39:12.840
tweets before you hired him ? I did not

39:12.840 --> 39:15.170
personally review his tweets . I would

39:15.170 --> 39:17.059
just ask that maybe that would be

39:17.059 --> 39:19.059
helpful . Is there anything you can

39:19.059 --> 39:21.226
share in these final seconds regarding

39:21.226 --> 39:23.392
any advice he's given you ? Let me let

39:23.392 --> 39:23.250
me just share one other thing that you

39:23.250 --> 39:25.810
brought up congressman about the input

39:25.810 --> 39:28.280
that comes to me . You know , I trust

39:28.280 --> 39:31.260
my leadership from top to bottom , that

39:31.260 --> 39:33.810
they will give me fair uh and and

39:33.810 --> 39:36.480
balanced and unvarnished input and for

39:36.480 --> 39:38.900
you to say that people are telling me

39:38.910 --> 39:41.132
what they want to hear , what I want to

39:41.132 --> 39:43.890
hear . I get it , but I'm smart enough

39:43.890 --> 39:46.210
and that does happen . Yeah . You know ,

39:46.210 --> 39:48.432
maybe they're telling you what you want

39:48.432 --> 39:50.654
to hear . Well , I don't know that they

39:50.654 --> 39:52.932
even know what I once time has expired .

39:52.932 --> 39:55.266
Mr Brown is recognized for five minutes .

39:55.266 --> 39:57.266
Thank you . Mr Chairman . Um I have

39:57.266 --> 39:59.377
only five minutes and two questions .

39:59.377 --> 40:01.599
So at the Midway mark , I may interrupt

40:01.599 --> 40:03.821
the response to the first question . MR

40:03.821 --> 40:05.932
Secretary . Two years after President

40:05.932 --> 40:08.099
Truman desegregated the Armed Forces .

40:08.099 --> 40:09.877
A commission . It was the Fahey

40:09.877 --> 40:12.099
Commission found . And I quote , that a

40:12.099 --> 40:14.099
policy of equality of treatment and

40:14.099 --> 40:16.432
opportunity will make for a better army ,

40:16.432 --> 40:18.599
Navy and Air Force . It is right , and

40:18.599 --> 40:20.654
just it will strengthen the nation .

40:20.654 --> 40:22.920
End of quote Today , while 19% of

40:22.920 --> 40:25.142
active duty service members are black ,

40:25.310 --> 40:27.640
only 24 star generals and admirals are

40:27.640 --> 40:29.560
black and there is a significant

40:29.560 --> 40:31.838
underrepresentation by race and gender .

40:31.838 --> 40:33.880
I should add in those career fields

40:33.880 --> 40:36.047
that experience higher promotion rates

40:36.047 --> 40:38.670
to senior ranks to address this problem .

40:38.670 --> 40:41.340
Last year , bipartisan this Congress

40:41.400 --> 40:43.850
required the secretary and today that's

40:43.850 --> 40:46.040
you to establish a mentor and career

40:46.040 --> 40:48.250
counseling program . I recently

40:48.250 --> 40:50.306
requested information from the under

40:50.306 --> 40:52.417
Secretary for personnel and readiness

40:52.417 --> 40:54.417
on the program status . I found the

40:54.417 --> 40:56.639
response um , wanting . So the question

40:56.639 --> 40:58.528
is , how are you implementing the

40:58.528 --> 41:00.730
provisions of that program and why our

41:00.730 --> 41:02.780
diversity and inclusion initiatives

41:02.780 --> 41:04.590
such as those important to the

41:04.590 --> 41:08.520
department ? Um , just um ,

41:09.310 --> 41:12.190
one comment up front on the importance

41:12.190 --> 41:16.030
of diversity , equity and inclusion .

41:17.110 --> 41:19.360
I would point out to you congressman

41:19.370 --> 41:21.370
something that you already know and

41:21.370 --> 41:23.537
that the United States military is the

41:23.537 --> 41:27.370
most diverse organization in

41:27.370 --> 41:30.380
this country . It represents , uh ,

41:30.390 --> 41:33.450
citizens from all walks of life , all

41:33.450 --> 41:36.420
ethnicities . Uh , and , and it is , it

41:36.420 --> 41:39.300
is truly a diverse organization . I

41:39.300 --> 41:42.210
would absolutely agree with you that

41:42.220 --> 41:46.140
the senior leadership should look like

41:46.150 --> 41:48.372
those people that are those troops that

41:48.372 --> 41:50.372
are , that are in the ranks and the

41:50.372 --> 41:52.483
troop ought to be able to look up and

41:52.483 --> 41:54.706
say I can be a senior person , I can be

41:54.706 --> 41:56.872
that that man or that woman at the top

41:56.872 --> 41:59.480
of the totem pole on top of the pecking

41:59.480 --> 42:02.030
order . At some point in time , it has

42:02.030 --> 42:04.380
provided that , you know , uh , some of

42:04.380 --> 42:06.470
the best opportunities for our young

42:06.470 --> 42:09.800
citizens of any organization in America .

42:09.970 --> 42:12.700
In terms of mentor ship your specific

42:12.700 --> 42:15.820
question , I absolutely believe in the

42:15.820 --> 42:19.010
power of mentorship and embrace that

42:19.400 --> 42:22.520
and we need to do better and you have

42:22.520 --> 42:24.687
my commitment that we will do better .

42:24.687 --> 42:27.430
And so we stand ready to work with you

42:27.430 --> 42:29.430
and answer any additional questions

42:29.430 --> 42:31.486
that you have . I appreciate them as

42:31.486 --> 42:33.652
secretary . So we'll follow . But I do

42:33.652 --> 42:35.874
want to get to the second question . Um

42:35.874 --> 42:37.708
and if a commission talked about

42:37.708 --> 42:39.930
treatment , not just opportunities . So

42:39.930 --> 42:42.097
I'm very concerned about the disparate

42:42.097 --> 42:44.263
racial treatment that minority service

42:44.263 --> 42:46.208
managers are experienced under the

42:46.208 --> 42:48.430
uniform code of Military justice of May

42:48.430 --> 42:50.263
2019 G . A . O . Study that this

42:50.263 --> 42:52.208
congress directed found that black

42:52.208 --> 42:54.230
service members across all services

42:54.340 --> 42:58.140
more than 1.5 times likely to be tried

42:58.140 --> 43:00.680
by court martial for the same conduct

43:00.690 --> 43:03.130
has white service members . It's clear

43:03.130 --> 43:05.540
there is a general failure on the part

43:05.540 --> 43:08.010
of commanders in exercising their broad

43:08.020 --> 43:10.020
discretion to refer cases the court

43:10.020 --> 43:12.187
martial . My questions are why are the

43:12.187 --> 43:14.570
commander is woefully failing our black

43:14.570 --> 43:17.270
service members who enlist at higher

43:17.270 --> 43:20.990
rates than any other demographic group

43:21.000 --> 43:23.450
in our country ? And how do we fix the

43:23.450 --> 43:25.740
system so that there is truly equal

43:25.740 --> 43:27.629
justice under the uniform code of

43:27.629 --> 43:29.851
military justice , which does not exist

43:29.851 --> 43:32.129
today . That's my question . Thank you ,

43:32.129 --> 43:34.184
congressman . Thanks for flying in a

43:34.184 --> 43:36.296
question there . This is an important

43:36.296 --> 43:38.296
issue and I think one that requires

43:38.296 --> 43:42.070
more and detailed study . Um I would

43:42.070 --> 43:44.070
just say that the point that I made

43:44.070 --> 43:46.310
earlier in terms of making sure that we

43:46.310 --> 43:48.199
have the right representation and

43:48.199 --> 43:50.790
senior ranks is very , very important

43:50.790 --> 43:53.700
and contributes to making this uh this

43:53.710 --> 43:55.877
issue better or improving this issue .

43:56.000 --> 43:58.930
Right ? And I'm going to follow up and

43:58.930 --> 44:01.041
sort of make a comment and pick up on

44:01.041 --> 44:03.770
that point . There is a correlation , I

44:03.770 --> 44:06.810
believe between the lack of diversity

44:07.270 --> 44:09.140
in senior leadership and command

44:09.140 --> 44:12.580
positions and the disproportionate high

44:12.590 --> 44:15.290
rate of court martial of black and

44:15.290 --> 44:17.510
brown service members . Racial bias

44:17.520 --> 44:21.330
exists not only in the criminal justice

44:21.330 --> 44:23.430
system as we've experienced and seen

44:23.430 --> 44:26.230
for decades and brought to greater

44:26.230 --> 44:28.910
public attention after the the murder

44:29.990 --> 44:32.540
of George Floyd . But that same racial

44:32.540 --> 44:36.080
bias exists in the military justice

44:36.080 --> 44:37.969
system . So these are two related

44:37.969 --> 44:39.747
questions . We need to focus on

44:39.747 --> 44:41.913
diversity , but we need to immediately

44:41.913 --> 44:44.990
get after the desperate treatment under

44:44.990 --> 44:48.190
the UcMJ A that we can fix now that we

44:48.190 --> 44:50.412
can fix now . Thank you . Mr Chairman .

44:50.412 --> 44:52.523
I yield back . Thank you . Mr . Bacon

44:52.523 --> 44:54.690
is recognized for five minutes . Thank

44:54.690 --> 44:56.690
you Chairman . And I appreciate our

44:56.690 --> 44:56.630
Chairman and secretary , appreciate

44:56.630 --> 44:58.686
your leadership and I appreciate the

44:58.686 --> 45:00.797
journey that you've taken to get here

45:00.797 --> 45:02.797
also , Mr McCord . Thanks for being

45:02.797 --> 45:05.019
here . Um I do got a couple of comments

45:05.019 --> 45:07.241
for the record , just criticisms of the

45:07.241 --> 45:09.463
administration and I want to talk about

45:09.463 --> 45:11.574
the Air Force budget . But first I'll

45:11.574 --> 45:13.630
just talk about china being a pacing

45:13.630 --> 45:15.741
threat , rising superpower , a navy's

45:15.741 --> 45:18.320
matching ours and , you know , an

45:18.330 --> 45:20.610
imminent timeframe . But then you look

45:20.610 --> 45:22.777
at the actual budget after inflation .

45:22.777 --> 45:25.320
It's a reduction . Our words do not

45:25.320 --> 45:27.264
match our actions here and I think

45:27.264 --> 45:29.153
china sees it . I think the world

45:29.153 --> 45:31.376
season . I would have at least expected

45:31.376 --> 45:33.598
a budget that was even with inflation .

45:33.598 --> 45:35.376
Um , and but yet we're seeing a

45:35.376 --> 45:37.376
reduction . Secondly , I personally

45:37.376 --> 45:39.598
oppose taking the prosecution authority

45:39.598 --> 45:41.764
away from the commander . I was a five

45:41.764 --> 45:44.042
time commander myself in the Air Force .

45:44.042 --> 45:46.209
I think the change will now create two

45:46.209 --> 45:48.209
chains of command at the unit level

45:48.209 --> 45:48.060
undermines the principle that we

45:48.060 --> 45:50.420
cherish , which is unity of command and

45:50.420 --> 45:52.476
I just I think it's going to open up

45:52.476 --> 45:54.642
frictions and tensions within the unit

45:54.642 --> 45:56.809
and who's actually in charge . A third

45:56.809 --> 45:59.330
point of criticism As we've had several

45:59.330 --> 46:01.330
months now where the administration

46:01.330 --> 46:03.497
should have come up with an evacuation

46:03.497 --> 46:05.608
plan for interpreters who have 18,000

46:05.608 --> 46:07.830
roughly . And there is no concrete plan

46:07.830 --> 46:10.100
that I know of . It's unconscionable .

46:10.680 --> 46:12.680
We've had time to work through this

46:12.680 --> 46:15.650
talking about it's not not a plan . And

46:15.650 --> 46:17.483
so I know this is a falls in the

46:17.483 --> 46:19.261
secretary of State or the State

46:19.261 --> 46:21.317
Department . But so is the criticism

46:21.317 --> 46:23.150
toward the administration versus

46:23.150 --> 46:25.310
Youtube . But Our country owes better

46:25.420 --> 46:27.550
to these 18,000 and they will be

46:27.550 --> 46:29.790
targeted . I'm like my real first

46:29.790 --> 46:31.734
question they get to the Air force

46:31.734 --> 46:35.150
budget . He was , I think it's

46:35.150 --> 46:37.317
important that our defense budgets are

46:37.317 --> 46:39.428
accurate and transparent , But that's

46:39.428 --> 46:41.483
not really the case of the air force

46:41.483 --> 46:43.706
budget . The air force budget submitted

46:43.706 --> 46:45.928
by the administration is $212 billion ,

46:45.928 --> 46:48.290
but 39 billion of it , or 18% doesn't

46:48.290 --> 46:50.457
actually go to the Air Force . It gets

46:50.457 --> 46:52.568
passed through to other organizations

46:53.730 --> 46:55.952
manufactured in the Air Force budget is

46:55.952 --> 46:58.260
really only 100 73 billion . And and

46:58.260 --> 47:00.204
the other services have about a 1%

47:00.204 --> 47:02.371
pastor by the way , versus 18% for the

47:02.371 --> 47:04.038
Air Force . I just think it's

47:04.038 --> 47:06.093
misleading . Most people in Congress

47:06.093 --> 47:08.316
and most people are citizens think it's

47:08.316 --> 47:10.482
about a 3rd 3rd 3rd for the services .

47:10.482 --> 47:13.600
So last NBA we tasked the department to

47:13.600 --> 47:15.711
come up with a better way . Could you

47:15.711 --> 47:17.822
give us an update on your thinking on

47:17.822 --> 47:19.933
this and what we can do ? Thank you .

47:19.933 --> 47:23.560
Mr Secretary . Uh huh . Yeah , I'll

47:23.560 --> 47:25.727
take this for the record because we do

47:25.727 --> 47:28.150
all you an answer in terms of uh you

47:28.150 --> 47:30.317
know , the progress that we've made or

47:30.317 --> 47:32.372
you know how we've approached this .

47:32.372 --> 47:34.372
But I just want to say that I would

47:34.372 --> 47:37.980
absolutely agree with you that . Well ,

47:37.980 --> 47:40.091
we can't be fully transparent on some

47:40.091 --> 47:42.440
on some of these issues . We need to

47:42.440 --> 47:44.620
make sure that the Air Force budget is

47:44.630 --> 47:46.852
is represented in the appropriate way .

47:46.852 --> 47:48.519
Thank you . I appreciate your

47:48.519 --> 47:50.297
sentiments there . Uh My second

47:50.297 --> 47:52.074
question is with the electronic

47:52.074 --> 47:54.550
magnetic spectrum operations uh in the

47:54.550 --> 47:56.410
19 N . D . A . We directed the

47:56.410 --> 47:58.690
department to update its uh strategy

47:58.690 --> 48:00.246
here And provide a detailed

48:00.246 --> 48:02.540
implementing implementation plan . So

48:02.540 --> 48:04.707
2020 the department to come out with a

48:04.707 --> 48:06.596
strategy who have not yet seen an

48:06.596 --> 48:08.818
implementation plan . Uh could you give

48:08.818 --> 48:10.818
us an update on where we're at with

48:10.818 --> 48:13.860
that ? You may have heard me say before

48:13.860 --> 48:16.170
Congressman and our vice chairman is

48:16.170 --> 48:18.170
leading the effort along the deputy

48:18.170 --> 48:21.000
secretary to make sure that we lay out

48:21.000 --> 48:23.610
an implementation plan and that we we

48:23.610 --> 48:25.980
supervise the implementation of the

48:25.980 --> 48:28.510
plan . This is very important . It

48:28.510 --> 48:30.650
becomes increasingly important as we

48:30.650 --> 48:34.290
entered , as we look towards a

48:34.970 --> 48:38.810
competition with great power , we

48:38.810 --> 48:42.230
can expect much more uh

48:42.240 --> 48:45.720
contested airspace and and much greater

48:45.720 --> 48:47.740
pressure on the electromagnetic

48:47.740 --> 48:49.900
spectrum we saw . And you know this

48:49.900 --> 48:52.000
because you've been there , we

48:52.000 --> 48:54.830
experienced some significant issues

48:54.830 --> 48:57.950
early on in Iraq and Afghanistan trying

48:57.950 --> 49:00.420
to manage that spectrum and make sure

49:00.420 --> 49:02.300
that each service had have the

49:02.300 --> 49:04.300
capabilities they need . It will be

49:04.300 --> 49:06.467
increasingly difficult going forward .

49:06.467 --> 49:08.633
But the vice chairman is essential and

49:08.633 --> 49:10.744
I think the Vice chairman did a great

49:10.744 --> 49:12.744
job and I applaud the effort . I do

49:12.744 --> 49:14.856
hope they will . In the end we have a

49:14.856 --> 49:17.022
somebody the one star to start A level

49:17.022 --> 49:19.244
that owns this in the future because as

49:19.244 --> 49:19.150
you know , at the four star level ,

49:19.150 --> 49:21.372
they're doing 100 different things . So

49:21.372 --> 49:22.928
I just put that in for your

49:22.928 --> 49:25.150
consideration finally , to the chairman

49:25.150 --> 49:27.372
of like about three seconds left . What

49:27.372 --> 49:26.840
are some tangible things we can do to

49:26.840 --> 49:29.350
strengthen deterrence for Taiwan ? Like

49:29.350 --> 49:31.790
what kind of weapons can they can we

49:31.800 --> 49:33.911
sell them or provide them ? Thank you

49:34.470 --> 49:36.414
Again , I'll take that one for the

49:36.414 --> 49:38.526
record . But briefly , you're talking

49:38.526 --> 49:40.692
about air power , counter air power so

49:40.692 --> 49:42.748
that they can have some dominance or

49:42.748 --> 49:45.081
air superiority over their own airspace ,

49:45.081 --> 49:47.137
ballistic missile defense of the key

49:47.137 --> 49:49.248
and then their abilities to defend on

49:49.248 --> 49:51.359
the ground and conduct combined hours

49:51.359 --> 49:50.870
maneuver against an invading force .

49:50.880 --> 49:52.991
Those are the things that would be in

49:52.991 --> 49:55.400
Taiwan's interests . I'll give you more

49:55.570 --> 49:58.260
complete answer . Thank you . Famous

49:58.260 --> 50:00.038
time is expired . Mr Keating is

50:00.038 --> 50:02.371
recognized for five minutes . Thank you .

50:02.371 --> 50:04.290
Mr Chairman as someone who was a

50:04.290 --> 50:06.320
district attorney for over a decade

50:06.320 --> 50:08.900
before I came to Congress , uh , I

50:08.900 --> 50:11.067
realized the challenges and complexity

50:11.067 --> 50:13.680
of sexual assault cases . First hand ,

50:14.160 --> 50:17.090
and in fact , I had separate units on

50:17.090 --> 50:19.257
the civil side , separate units within

50:19.257 --> 50:21.500
my office specializing in prosecution

50:21.510 --> 50:24.320
of sexual assaults and , uh , with

50:24.330 --> 50:26.820
special units for sexual assault on

50:26.820 --> 50:29.930
victims witness advocacy . So , uh , I

50:29.930 --> 50:32.070
was really pleased to hear the news

50:32.080 --> 50:34.136
that you shared this morning with us

50:34.136 --> 50:37.310
regarding , uh , what's coming forth

50:37.310 --> 50:39.150
from the commission in terms of

50:39.150 --> 50:41.317
removing these cases from the military

50:41.317 --> 50:44.050
chain of command recommendations of one

50:44.050 --> 50:46.440
thing . But hearing from both the

50:46.440 --> 50:48.607
Secretary of Defense and and the chair

50:48.607 --> 50:51.750
of the Joint Chiefs that you support

50:51.750 --> 50:55.510
that effort to is so important . So , a

50:55.510 --> 50:57.399
couple of quick questions in that

50:57.399 --> 50:59.566
regard . Number one , what does , what

50:59.566 --> 51:01.566
do you mean by removing it from the

51:01.566 --> 51:03.843
military chain of command ? Number two ,

51:03.843 --> 51:06.010
General Milley mentioned to changes in

51:06.010 --> 51:10.000
the domestic violence areas the

51:10.010 --> 51:12.066
way they're going to be reviewed . I

51:12.066 --> 51:14.288
had a separate unit for that too . So ,

51:14.288 --> 51:16.399
could you tell us what's in store for

51:16.399 --> 51:18.621
us and those very important things that

51:18.621 --> 51:20.510
were a priority of myself in this

51:20.510 --> 51:23.400
committee . So , for those or first of

51:23.400 --> 51:26.690
all , I would I would

51:27.160 --> 51:29.530
point to the issue of this will require

51:29.540 --> 51:32.700
uh , resources and it will require

51:32.710 --> 51:35.790
making sure that we outline a path to

51:35.790 --> 51:38.320
get to where we need to be so that

51:38.330 --> 51:41.240
we're doing this the right way . Um ,

51:41.250 --> 51:43.500
we are focused on sexual assault ,

51:43.500 --> 51:45.670
sexual harassment and related crimes .

51:45.670 --> 51:47.781
And you you were you mentioned , uh ,

51:48.260 --> 51:50.750
uh , domestic violence , uh , in a

51:50.760 --> 51:52.538
couple of other things that are

51:52.538 --> 51:55.050
directly related to that . But we would

51:55.050 --> 51:57.200
set up a special victims prosecutor ,

51:57.210 --> 51:59.690
Excuse me , special prosecutor to uh ,

52:00.050 --> 52:03.740
uh , two assess

52:03.750 --> 52:06.010
and and refer these cases forward . And

52:06.010 --> 52:08.570
so their cases would be would be

52:08.950 --> 52:11.490
referred and prosecuted outside of the

52:11.490 --> 52:13.490
chain of command . Mr . Secretary .

52:13.490 --> 52:16.240
Would they be investigated outside as

52:16.240 --> 52:18.670
well with the a civil

52:19.250 --> 52:21.150
investigator working with that

52:21.150 --> 52:23.980
prosecutor . They would be investigated

52:23.980 --> 52:27.690
by the competent authorities uh ,

52:27.690 --> 52:30.530
and uh , and the investigator with what

52:30.540 --> 52:32.651
with work with the prosecutor . Yes .

52:32.651 --> 52:35.060
Yeah . I would hope those authorities

52:35.060 --> 52:37.580
included some of the civil side too and

52:37.580 --> 52:39.691
someone that would work as a domestic

52:39.691 --> 52:41.913
violence advocate to our sexual assault

52:41.913 --> 52:44.010
and witness victim advocate . Now in

52:44.010 --> 52:46.300
terms of domestic mass , it is discreet

52:46.310 --> 52:48.540
many , many times from sexual assault .

52:48.540 --> 52:50.762
So , is there anything to share with us

52:50.762 --> 52:52.818
this morning on that issue as well ?

52:55.150 --> 52:58.170
Yeah . So , um , what we're saying ,

52:58.170 --> 53:00.281
we're recommending what we've already

53:00.281 --> 53:02.503
made a recommendation . Secretary is to

53:02.503 --> 53:04.614
stay narrowly focused on the issue of

53:04.614 --> 53:06.614
sexual assault and directly related

53:06.614 --> 53:08.559
crimes such as domestic violence .

53:08.559 --> 53:08.550
Sometimes they are sometimes they're

53:08.550 --> 53:10.494
not , well , something's there are

53:10.494 --> 53:12.717
sometimes not . But the data shows that

53:12.717 --> 53:14.606
there's a strong correlation . So

53:14.606 --> 53:16.772
you've been some of these other crimes

53:16.772 --> 53:19.330
in a as far as all other felonies go ,

53:19.340 --> 53:21.460
we're recommending not to do that but

53:21.460 --> 53:24.180
to stay focused on the sexual assault

53:24.190 --> 53:26.640
and immediate related crimes . Take

53:26.640 --> 53:28.751
that out of the commander's hands for

53:28.751 --> 53:30.584
referral and deferral of charges

53:30.584 --> 53:32.696
investigation as well and put that in

53:32.696 --> 53:34.862
the hand . And why are we doing that ?

53:34.862 --> 53:37.029
Because the data shows that we haven't

53:37.029 --> 53:36.720
moved the needle to solve that problem ,

53:36.720 --> 53:38.720
It's a very significant problem for

53:38.720 --> 53:40.776
cohesion of the force and we've lost

53:40.776 --> 53:42.942
the trust and confidence of the of the

53:42.942 --> 53:44.998
lower ranking troops in it . So , uh

53:44.998 --> 53:47.053
but it's very limited though to that

53:47.053 --> 53:49.387
set of crimes because the U . C . M . J .

53:49.387 --> 53:51.442
Is fundamental to the good order and

53:51.442 --> 53:51.130
discipline of the force . And the

53:51.130 --> 53:53.074
commander must have that authority

53:53.074 --> 53:55.960
because this entire system is built in

53:55.960 --> 53:58.520
order to fight in combat . Uh And

53:58.520 --> 54:00.520
that's important to remember it . I

54:00.520 --> 54:02.687
would like to suggest to that you look

54:02.687 --> 54:04.853
more specifically at domestic violence

54:04.853 --> 54:06.800
as well . Uh And I'm here and I'm

54:06.810 --> 54:08.670
joined by many members of this

54:08.670 --> 54:10.880
committee to provide the resources and

54:10.880 --> 54:14.020
assist you along those lines . I thank

54:14.020 --> 54:16.190
you for the news , but we want to see

54:16.550 --> 54:18.550
if we can be helpful moving forward

54:18.550 --> 54:20.717
secondly , we all share the belief and

54:20.717 --> 54:24.060
certainly you to share it more than

54:24.440 --> 54:27.290
many americans to protect families .

54:27.300 --> 54:29.133
They're giving the most precious

54:29.133 --> 54:31.133
resources uh their Children , their

54:31.133 --> 54:34.130
parents or spouses

54:34.140 --> 54:37.670
uh to defend our country . And

54:38.140 --> 54:41.250
bu study Just recently out showed that

54:41.260 --> 54:45.040
30,177 Uh either active

54:45.050 --> 54:47.770
duty of veterans post 9 11 committed

54:47.770 --> 54:50.750
suicide lost their lives . That's over

54:50.750 --> 54:53.550
four times the number of

54:53.560 --> 54:57.310
uh similarly situated people that

54:57.310 --> 55:00.080
lost it in war operations lost their

55:00.080 --> 55:03.730
lives and war operations . And this

55:03.730 --> 55:05.897
committee through the N . D . A . Time

55:05.897 --> 55:07.841
how the G . A . O . C . Which I'll

55:07.841 --> 55:09.841
follow up with the question how you

55:09.841 --> 55:11.952
thanks . Um , and I would like to let

55:11.952 --> 55:13.897
members know if I took a moment of

55:13.897 --> 55:16.008
personal privilege here on the sexual

55:16.008 --> 55:17.674
assault issue . There is wide

55:17.674 --> 55:20.008
bipartisan support and support at D . O .

55:20.008 --> 55:22.119
D . Within the administration for the

55:22.119 --> 55:21.660
idea that we need to take the

55:21.660 --> 55:24.290
prosecution of sexual assault crimes

55:24.300 --> 55:26.300
out of the chain of command . Now ,

55:26.300 --> 55:28.356
that is a recent development . We've

55:28.356 --> 55:30.578
been talking about this for 10 years in

55:30.578 --> 55:32.689
a variety of different forms . It has

55:32.689 --> 55:32.680
been resisted in a variety of different

55:32.680 --> 55:34.902
quarters up to this point . But at this

55:34.902 --> 55:37.100
point there is wide , but there is

55:37.100 --> 55:39.880
still some who oppose , but there are a

55:39.880 --> 55:41.890
lot of co sponsors , but but the

55:41.890 --> 55:44.230
details are different and I think that

55:44.230 --> 55:47.460
is being lost in this debate . Um There

55:47.460 --> 55:50.510
are some bills to take all non military

55:50.510 --> 55:53.350
felonies out . Then there is a proposal

55:53.350 --> 55:55.350
that has come from the commission .

55:55.350 --> 55:57.183
There was also a bill and I know

55:57.183 --> 55:59.350
Representative Speier has introduced a

55:59.350 --> 56:01.517
new bill this week , but a month or so

56:01.517 --> 56:03.406
ago there was a bill that she had

56:03.406 --> 56:05.406
introduced , it was focused just on

56:05.406 --> 56:07.517
crimes . Another way to slice this is

56:07.517 --> 56:09.628
felonies and misdemeanors . If you go

56:09.628 --> 56:11.850
the all felony route , which was a bill

56:11.850 --> 56:14.072
that was introduced this morning in the

56:14.072 --> 56:16.128
House and one that was introduced in

56:16.128 --> 56:18.183
the Senate . You do miss some crimes

56:18.183 --> 56:20.406
that are misdemeanors and you certainly

56:20.406 --> 56:22.572
miss a lot of domestic violence . That

56:22.572 --> 56:24.683
is also misdemeanors . And then there

56:24.683 --> 56:24.190
is the subject that Mr keating brought

56:24.190 --> 56:26.246
up , and that is , well , what about

56:26.246 --> 56:28.190
the people investigating it in the

56:28.190 --> 56:30.357
first place ? Are they still under the

56:30.357 --> 56:32.468
chain of command ? We we need to make

56:32.468 --> 56:35.110
this change I think is really important ,

56:35.120 --> 56:37.760
that we take a moment to do it right ,

56:37.770 --> 56:39.714
that we have a conversation with a

56:39.714 --> 56:41.714
bunch of different people . I'm not

56:41.714 --> 56:41.550
presuming who's right and who's wrong ,

56:41.560 --> 56:43.940
but this is no longer a question for

56:43.940 --> 56:46.162
the overwhelming majority of members in

56:46.162 --> 56:48.384
the House and the Senate whether or not

56:48.384 --> 56:50.607
this needs to be taken out of the chain

56:50.607 --> 56:52.662
of command . It is now a question of

56:52.662 --> 56:54.570
how to do that . Um and that is a

56:54.570 --> 56:56.570
debate discussion that I think this

56:56.570 --> 56:58.626
committee needs to take a leadership

56:58.626 --> 57:00.848
role in doing . Uh Mr Rogers , I'd like

57:00.848 --> 57:03.070
to completely associate myself with the

57:03.070 --> 57:05.620
chairman's remarks . Thank you . Uh Mr

57:05.620 --> 57:07.787
waltz is recognized for five minutes .

57:09.030 --> 57:11.197
Thank you . Mr Chairman . And I'd like

57:11.197 --> 57:13.980
to introduce into the record a letter

57:13.990 --> 57:16.430
uh , to myself from the Superintendent

57:16.430 --> 57:18.263
of West Point Lieutenant General

57:18.263 --> 57:20.041
Williams that was sent to me in

57:20.041 --> 57:22.690
response to my letter regarding the

57:22.690 --> 57:24.690
teaching of critical race theory at

57:24.690 --> 57:26.690
West Point is the objection hearing

57:26.690 --> 57:28.634
down so ordered . Mr Secretary , I

57:28.634 --> 57:30.579
found that very interesting . Your

57:30.579 --> 57:32.746
exchange , Mr Gates on no teachings of

57:32.746 --> 57:34.690
critical race theory in the United

57:34.690 --> 57:36.746
States Military . I want to quote to

57:36.746 --> 57:38.579
you a letter I received from the

57:38.579 --> 57:40.746
Superintendent of West Point says with

57:40.746 --> 57:42.968
regards to critical Race theory , there

57:42.968 --> 57:45.079
is one course that has this theory as

57:45.079 --> 57:47.134
part of the syllabus . There are two

57:47.134 --> 57:49.357
lessons on Critical race theory . There

57:49.357 --> 57:51.246
is a book on critical race theory

57:51.246 --> 57:53.023
titled Critical Race Theory and

57:53.023 --> 57:56.620
introduction uh on and on and on about

57:56.620 --> 57:58.860
the teaching of Critical Race theory in

57:58.860 --> 58:01.280
West Point . I just want to emphasize

58:01.280 --> 58:03.391
something . This isn't something that

58:03.391 --> 58:05.740
we're raising . This is this came to me

58:05.740 --> 58:07.684
from cadets , from families , from

58:07.684 --> 58:10.010
soldiers with their alarm and their

58:10.010 --> 58:13.140
concern at how divisive this type of

58:13.140 --> 58:15.540
teaching is that is rooted in Marxism

58:16.120 --> 58:18.900
that classifies people along class

58:18.900 --> 58:21.070
lines . An entire race of people as

58:21.070 --> 58:23.140
oppressor and oppressed .

58:23.520 --> 58:26.740
I cannot think of anything more

58:26.740 --> 58:29.970
divisive and more destructive to unit

58:29.970 --> 58:32.670
morale . I want to be very clear . The

58:32.670 --> 58:34.503
military needs to be open to all

58:34.503 --> 58:36.559
americans . Absolutely . That is the

58:36.559 --> 58:38.837
strength of the United States military .

58:38.837 --> 58:41.030
But once we're in we bleed green and

58:41.040 --> 58:43.096
our skin color is camouflage . We're

58:43.096 --> 58:45.318
worried about that american flag on our

58:45.318 --> 58:47.373
shoulder . That's the only thing our

58:47.373 --> 58:49.540
enemies are worried about . I think we

58:49.540 --> 58:49.250
can agree there . But the other thing

58:49.250 --> 58:52.470
that they raise to me was a seminar

58:52.470 --> 58:55.260
that over 100 cadets attended titled

58:55.410 --> 58:58.150
Understanding Whiteness and White Rage ,

58:58.720 --> 59:01.140
taught by a woman who described the

59:01.140 --> 59:03.540
Republican Party platform as a platform

59:03.540 --> 59:05.850
of white supremacy . This is going on

59:05.850 --> 59:08.090
at West Point as we speak to our future

59:08.090 --> 59:10.740
military leaders . And sir , I would

59:10.750 --> 59:13.840
encourage you , I would demand that you

59:13.840 --> 59:15.951
get to the bottom of what is going on

59:15.951 --> 59:19.060
in the force and further for what it

59:19.060 --> 59:21.060
means for civilian oversight of the

59:21.060 --> 59:22.949
military when our future military

59:22.949 --> 59:25.340
leaders are being taught that the

59:25.340 --> 59:27.396
fundament , the constitution and the

59:27.396 --> 59:29.870
fundamental civilian institutions of

59:29.870 --> 59:32.840
this country are endemically racist ,

59:32.840 --> 59:34.618
misogynist and colonialists and

59:34.618 --> 59:36.673
therefore it is their duty to resist

59:36.673 --> 59:38.896
them . What does that mean for a future

59:38.896 --> 59:41.118
cadet who one day will be sitting where

59:41.118 --> 59:43.530
you are ? And so do you agree that ?

59:44.220 --> 59:46.560
Will you work with us to do you agree

59:46.560 --> 59:48.560
that critical race theory should or

59:48.560 --> 59:50.616
should not be taught in our military

59:50.616 --> 59:52.782
academies ? As I said earlier ? Thanks

59:52.782 --> 59:54.727
congressman for the question . And

59:54.727 --> 59:56.727
thanks for your continued support .

59:56.727 --> 59:58.727
Thanks for your service . Um , uh ,

59:58.727 --> 01:00:00.900
this is not something that the United

01:00:00.900 --> 01:00:04.480
States military is , uh , is

01:00:04.490 --> 01:00:06.820
embracing and pushing and causing

01:00:06.820 --> 01:00:09.280
people to subscribe to whether or not

01:00:09.280 --> 01:00:12.830
this was some sort of A critical

01:00:12.830 --> 01:00:14.941
examination of different theories . I

01:00:14.941 --> 01:00:17.108
don't know , but we need to understand

01:00:17.108 --> 01:00:19.163
our past . I want to be very clear .

01:00:19.163 --> 01:00:20.941
But can you agree at least that

01:00:20.941 --> 01:00:23.108
understanding whiteness and white rage

01:00:23.108 --> 01:00:25.108
presented an I call over 100 cadets

01:00:25.108 --> 01:00:27.330
probably is something that we shouldn't

01:00:27.330 --> 01:00:29.441
be teaching our future leaders of the

01:00:29.441 --> 01:00:31.163
United States Army as you have

01:00:31.163 --> 01:00:33.219
described that . It certainly sounds

01:00:33.219 --> 01:00:35.330
like that's something that should not

01:00:35.330 --> 01:00:37.497
not occur again , I would like to know

01:00:37.497 --> 01:00:39.497
the specifics of . Thank you . Mr .

01:00:39.497 --> 01:00:41.552
Secretary , just switching topics to

01:00:41.552 --> 01:00:43.719
shipyards and our infrastructure . Our

01:00:43.719 --> 01:00:45.719
shipyards are old . They're small .

01:00:45.719 --> 01:00:47.886
They can't handle the fleet of today ,

01:00:47.886 --> 01:00:49.941
Much less the fleet of tomorrow . We

01:00:49.941 --> 01:00:52.163
currently have four public in less than

01:00:52.163 --> 01:00:53.941
20 commercial , the Chinese are

01:00:53.941 --> 01:00:57.250
approaching 1000 shipyards , One dry

01:00:57.250 --> 01:00:59.361
dock that can handle the Ford class ,

01:00:59.361 --> 01:01:01.583
not enough for the Virginia class . The

01:01:01.583 --> 01:01:04.730
Navy has its $21 billion 20 years

01:01:05.210 --> 01:01:07.321
over the next two decades . Would you

01:01:07.321 --> 01:01:09.432
welcome additional funding as part of

01:01:09.432 --> 01:01:11.800
uh , as part of our shipyard

01:01:11.800 --> 01:01:14.022
modernization ? I think it's absolutely

01:01:14.022 --> 01:01:16.510
critical . I agree that it's critical

01:01:16.520 --> 01:01:18.742
and uh , you know , we not only have to

01:01:18.742 --> 01:01:20.853
have the right mix of capabilities we

01:01:20.853 --> 01:01:23.076
have to be able to sustain and maintain

01:01:23.076 --> 01:01:25.298
as well . And in this budget you'll see

01:01:25.298 --> 01:01:27.409
that we've invested some $830 million

01:01:27.409 --> 01:01:33.010
Chinese

01:01:33.010 --> 01:01:35.730
or 2000 . We're at less than 20 . And

01:01:35.730 --> 01:01:37.619
what I'm so disturbed by is we're

01:01:37.619 --> 01:01:40.140
debating at $1.9 trillion dollar

01:01:40.140 --> 01:01:42.700
infrastructure plan . Navy has its

01:01:42.710 --> 01:01:45.060
shipyard infrastructure improvement

01:01:45.060 --> 01:01:46.782
plan . So they clearly defined

01:01:46.782 --> 01:01:49.230
shipyards infrastructure , no mention

01:01:49.700 --> 01:01:53.320
Not one . Were you consulted by the

01:01:53.330 --> 01:01:55.386
Interagency group that submitted the

01:01:55.386 --> 01:01:59.270
infrastructure plan to to whether it is

01:01:59.270 --> 01:02:02.950
grids , ports and especially shipyards .

01:02:02.960 --> 01:02:04.793
Where was the Defense Department

01:02:04.793 --> 01:02:06.904
consultant for its priorities as part

01:02:06.904 --> 01:02:08.904
of the administration's plan ? Well

01:02:08.904 --> 01:02:10.238
certainly I support the

01:02:10.238 --> 01:02:12.480
administration's plan and that will

01:02:12.480 --> 01:02:14.591
have to be taken for the record . The

01:02:14.591 --> 01:02:16.591
gentleman's time has expired . Miss

01:02:16.591 --> 01:02:18.924
Hoolahan is recognized for five minutes .

01:02:18.924 --> 01:02:18.750
Thank you Mr . Chair and thank you

01:02:18.750 --> 01:02:20.972
gentlemen for joining us today . I know

01:02:20.972 --> 01:02:23.028
my time is very precious but I would

01:02:23.028 --> 01:02:24.861
like to yield some of my time to

01:02:24.861 --> 01:02:26.972
General Milley because I know that he

01:02:26.972 --> 01:02:28.972
had some comments that he wanted to

01:02:28.972 --> 01:02:31.194
make . Representative Gates was talking

01:02:31.194 --> 01:02:33.194
as well as mr waltz about a similar

01:02:33.194 --> 01:02:35.139
subject of the stand down and race

01:02:35.139 --> 01:02:37.306
theory . Would you like a minute or so

01:02:37.306 --> 01:02:39.361
to comment on that ? Do you remember

01:02:39.361 --> 01:02:41.472
what we were your line of questioning

01:02:41.472 --> 01:02:43.528
your thought , was there ? Um Sure ,

01:02:43.528 --> 01:02:45.900
first of all , on the issue of critical

01:02:45.900 --> 01:02:48.011
race theory etcetera . I'll obviously

01:02:48.011 --> 01:02:50.067
have to get much smarter on whatever

01:02:50.067 --> 01:02:53.030
the theory is . Um but I do think it's

01:02:53.030 --> 01:02:55.940
important actually uh for those of us

01:02:55.940 --> 01:02:59.120
in uniform to be open minded and be

01:02:59.120 --> 01:03:00.953
widely read in the United States

01:03:00.953 --> 01:03:03.360
Military Academy is a university . Uh ,

01:03:03.370 --> 01:03:05.850
and it is important that we train and

01:03:05.850 --> 01:03:08.240
we understand , uh , and I want to

01:03:08.240 --> 01:03:10.600
understand white rage and I'm white and

01:03:10.600 --> 01:03:13.190
I want to understand it . So what is it

01:03:13.200 --> 01:03:15.200
that caused thousands of people to

01:03:15.200 --> 01:03:17.840
assault this building and try to

01:03:17.840 --> 01:03:20.062
overturn the constitution of the United

01:03:20.062 --> 01:03:22.229
States of America ? What caused that ?

01:03:22.229 --> 01:03:24.229
I want to find that out . I want to

01:03:24.229 --> 01:03:26.229
maintain an open mind here and I do

01:03:26.229 --> 01:03:26.150
want to analyze it . It's important

01:03:26.150 --> 01:03:28.150
that we understand that because our

01:03:28.150 --> 01:03:30.261
soldiers , sailors , airmen , marines

01:03:30.261 --> 01:03:30.160
and guardians , they come from the

01:03:30.160 --> 01:03:32.220
american people . So it is important

01:03:32.220 --> 01:03:35.000
that the leaders now and in the future

01:03:35.010 --> 01:03:37.100
do understand it . I've read miles ,

01:03:37.100 --> 01:03:39.322
say tongue . I've read , I've read Karl

01:03:39.322 --> 01:03:41.433
Marx , I've read Lenin , that doesn't

01:03:41.433 --> 01:03:43.600
make me a communist . So what is wrong

01:03:43.900 --> 01:03:45.960
with understanding having some

01:03:45.960 --> 01:03:47.960
situational understanding about the

01:03:47.960 --> 01:03:50.293
country for which we are here to defend ?

01:03:50.293 --> 01:03:52.830
And I personally find it offensive that

01:03:52.830 --> 01:03:54.719
we are accusing the United States

01:03:54.719 --> 01:03:56.552
military at general officers are

01:03:56.552 --> 01:03:58.663
commissioned noncommissioned officers

01:03:58.663 --> 01:04:00.886
of being quote woke or something else .

01:04:00.886 --> 01:04:02.941
Because we're studying some theories

01:04:02.941 --> 01:04:05.052
that are out there . That was started

01:04:05.052 --> 01:04:04.960
at Harvard Law School years ago and it

01:04:04.960 --> 01:04:07.016
proposed that there were laws in the

01:04:07.016 --> 01:04:09.182
United States anti belem laws prior to

01:04:09.182 --> 01:04:12.110
the Civil war that led to A power

01:04:12.110 --> 01:04:14.221
differential with African Americans .

01:04:14.221 --> 01:04:16.277
There were 3/4 of a human being when

01:04:16.277 --> 01:04:18.332
this country was formed and we had a

01:04:18.332 --> 01:04:20.499
civil war emancipation proclamation to

01:04:20.499 --> 01:04:22.721
change it . And we brought it up to the

01:04:22.721 --> 01:04:22.460
Civil Rights Act in 1964 took another

01:04:22.460 --> 01:04:24.682
100 years to change that . So look at ,

01:04:24.682 --> 01:04:26.740
I do want to know and I respect your

01:04:26.740 --> 01:04:28.851
service and you and I have both green

01:04:28.851 --> 01:04:30.796
Berets , but I want to know and it

01:04:30.796 --> 01:04:32.573
matters to our military and the

01:04:32.573 --> 01:04:32.490
discipline and cohesion of this

01:04:32.490 --> 01:04:34.434
military . And I thank you for the

01:04:34.434 --> 01:04:36.657
opportunity to make a comment on that .

01:04:36.657 --> 01:04:38.601
Thank you . General , changing the

01:04:38.601 --> 01:04:41.020
subject right now to our people , which

01:04:41.020 --> 01:04:42.909
I think is really important . You

01:04:42.909 --> 01:04:44.964
mentioned that people are our number

01:04:44.964 --> 01:04:47.131
one priority . In May of this year , I

01:04:47.131 --> 01:04:49.464
introduced the Military Moms Matter Act ,

01:04:49.464 --> 01:04:49.320
which , among other initiatives would

01:04:49.320 --> 01:04:51.810
propose extending paid family leave to

01:04:51.810 --> 01:04:53.866
12 weeks for service members , which

01:04:53.866 --> 01:04:55.977
would be in line with the N . D . A .

01:04:55.977 --> 01:04:58.310
2020 proposal for all federal employees .

01:04:58.310 --> 01:05:00.477
And that became law last year . One of

01:05:00.477 --> 01:05:02.588
the big topics of debate in this bill

01:05:02.588 --> 01:05:04.366
is for primary versus secondary

01:05:04.366 --> 01:05:06.588
caregivers . As the policy is currently

01:05:06.588 --> 01:05:08.810
written , a secondary caregiver is able

01:05:08.810 --> 01:05:10.921
to use very little leave . We want to

01:05:10.921 --> 01:05:12.977
make sure that we understand that in

01:05:12.977 --> 01:05:15.143
general and secretary , would you mind

01:05:15.143 --> 01:05:17.040
uh expounding on your thoughts on

01:05:17.040 --> 01:05:18.929
secondarily for service members ,

01:05:18.929 --> 01:05:20.818
Should that be eliminated or that

01:05:20.818 --> 01:05:22.540
designation be altered so that

01:05:22.540 --> 01:05:24.596
everybody could have equal access to

01:05:24.596 --> 01:05:26.373
paternity and maternity leave ?

01:05:28.690 --> 01:05:30.801
Well , it's a it's a thing that needs

01:05:30.801 --> 01:05:32.720
deserves further discussion and

01:05:32.720 --> 01:05:34.664
examination . But you asked for my

01:05:34.664 --> 01:05:37.040
personal opinion and I absolutely

01:05:37.040 --> 01:05:40.790
support primary and secondary . Thank

01:05:40.790 --> 01:05:43.190
you , sir . Uh And what what's left of

01:05:43.190 --> 01:05:45.357
my time ? I'd like to talk about child

01:05:45.357 --> 01:05:47.301
care . What happens after you have

01:05:47.301 --> 01:05:50.180
believe ? I'm grateful to see that $168

01:05:50.180 --> 01:05:52.236
million increase was included in the

01:05:52.236 --> 01:05:54.291
budget for family issues , including

01:05:54.291 --> 01:05:56.180
child care , including in in home

01:05:56.180 --> 01:05:58.250
childcare . Uh But I was really uh

01:05:58.260 --> 01:06:00.371
devastated to hear a story of a young

01:06:00.371 --> 01:06:02.538
woman at Fort Hood Who explained to me

01:06:02.538 --> 01:06:04.593
a single mother that she had to drop

01:06:04.593 --> 01:06:06.649
her child off at 5:30 AM . Off based

01:06:06.649 --> 01:06:09.830
childcare . Had to drive at 80 mph to

01:06:09.830 --> 01:06:12.052
try to get online fast enough to get to

01:06:12.052 --> 01:06:14.920
PT at 6:00 AM . And this is not Okay .

01:06:14.930 --> 01:06:17.750
So my question is how can we make sure

01:06:17.750 --> 01:06:19.472
that we provide better support

01:06:19.472 --> 01:06:21.528
mechanisms in the childcare area for

01:06:21.528 --> 01:06:25.350
those people like her ? Well , I

01:06:25.350 --> 01:06:28.160
think first of all that the pandemic as

01:06:28.170 --> 01:06:31.710
uh as kind of amplified some of the

01:06:31.720 --> 01:06:34.140
existing concerns with childcare and

01:06:34.140 --> 01:06:37.800
other issues . Um We have

01:06:37.800 --> 01:06:41.130
provisions uh in this budget to address

01:06:41.140 --> 01:06:45.070
home care support and uh and I think we

01:06:45.070 --> 01:06:47.292
need to continue to look at this hard .

01:06:47.292 --> 01:06:49.292
And I would say in addition to that

01:06:49.292 --> 01:06:52.160
there is some 8.6 million uh $8.6

01:06:52.160 --> 01:06:55.650
billion dollars that are focused on uh

01:06:55.660 --> 01:06:57.827
military family support programs . And

01:06:57.827 --> 01:07:00.790
so uh this is very important to us . Uh

01:07:00.800 --> 01:07:04.720
we'll continue to work it but could not

01:07:04.720 --> 01:07:06.831
agree more with you on the importance

01:07:06.831 --> 01:07:08.887
of this issue . Thank you . And with

01:07:08.887 --> 01:07:10.831
that I yield back . Thank you . Mr

01:07:10.831 --> 01:07:10.760
Chair and thank you , gentlemen . Thank

01:07:10.760 --> 01:07:12.927
you . Mr johnson's recognized for five

01:07:12.927 --> 01:07:14.927
minutes . Thank you . Mr Chairman .

01:07:14.927 --> 01:07:16.927
Secretary Austin , General Milley ,

01:07:16.927 --> 01:07:19.038
thank you for being here today . Many

01:07:19.038 --> 01:07:21.260
of my colleagues have expressed concern

01:07:21.260 --> 01:07:20.520
with the top line amount for this

01:07:20.520 --> 01:07:22.631
year's budget request and I just want

01:07:22.631 --> 01:07:24.880
to echo those concerns and we recognize

01:07:24.880 --> 01:07:27.102
of course , that you're operating under

01:07:27.102 --> 01:07:29.324
certain constraints . But it's alarming

01:07:29.324 --> 01:07:31.324
to many of us that the president is

01:07:31.324 --> 01:07:33.213
spending with reckless abandon in

01:07:33.213 --> 01:07:34.991
virtually every area except our

01:07:34.991 --> 01:07:37.047
national defense and our our current

01:07:37.047 --> 01:07:39.158
era of strategic competition makes it

01:07:39.158 --> 01:07:41.102
all the more important that the US

01:07:41.102 --> 01:07:43.269
recommit the longstanding principle of

01:07:43.269 --> 01:07:43.210
peace through strength , especially as

01:07:43.210 --> 01:07:45.266
our key adversaries continue to take

01:07:45.266 --> 01:07:47.154
meaningful steps to close the gap

01:07:47.154 --> 01:07:49.321
between us and them . Secretary Austin

01:07:49.321 --> 01:07:51.321
brings me to a question for you and

01:07:51.321 --> 01:07:53.543
your and your confirmation hearing when

01:07:53.543 --> 01:07:55.766
asked to commit to the current schedule

01:07:55.766 --> 01:07:57.988
for nuclear modernization efforts . You

01:07:57.988 --> 01:07:57.930
told Senator Fisher you'd like to look

01:07:57.930 --> 01:08:00.041
under the hood first and get a better

01:08:00.041 --> 01:08:02.152
feel for what we're dealing with with

01:08:02.152 --> 01:08:04.208
our nuclear forces . I know this has

01:08:04.208 --> 01:08:06.319
been covered a bit today . Some of us

01:08:06.319 --> 01:08:05.950
are in and out for other hearings but

01:08:05.960 --> 01:08:08.127
just to be sure you've been on the job

01:08:08.127 --> 01:08:10.293
now six months . Um can you commit now

01:08:10.293 --> 01:08:12.349
to nuclear modernization being a top

01:08:12.349 --> 01:08:14.670
priority for D . O . D . I think you

01:08:14.670 --> 01:08:16.892
may have heard me say a number of times

01:08:16.892 --> 01:08:19.180
or that uh modernization of our triad

01:08:19.180 --> 01:08:21.370
is absolutely important to us . What I

01:08:21.370 --> 01:08:23.537
meant by looking under the hood though

01:08:23.537 --> 01:08:25.759
is making sure that we go through a new

01:08:25.759 --> 01:08:27.870
posture review to ensure that we have

01:08:27.870 --> 01:08:29.870
the right balance and mix of forces

01:08:29.870 --> 01:08:32.092
well staying on that subject . Our next

01:08:32.092 --> 01:08:34.092
generation I C . B . M . The ground

01:08:34.092 --> 01:08:36.259
based strategic deterrent was a system

01:08:36.259 --> 01:08:38.370
approved by President Obama in 2015 .

01:08:38.370 --> 01:08:40.648
It was fully funded by President trump .

01:08:40.648 --> 01:08:42.759
It was funded in President Biden's Fy

01:08:42.759 --> 01:08:45.500
22 budget request at 2.6 billion . And

01:08:45.500 --> 01:08:47.611
since you were confirmed as secretary

01:08:47.611 --> 01:08:49.833
of defense , we've learned that the G B

01:08:49.833 --> 01:08:51.667
S . D will be almost $38 billion

01:08:51.667 --> 01:08:53.833
cheaper than any minute man three life

01:08:53.833 --> 01:08:56.056
extension . It will also be a much more

01:08:56.056 --> 01:08:58.222
capable system . Albert able to better

01:08:58.222 --> 01:09:00.333
penetrate Russian and chinese defense

01:09:00.333 --> 01:09:02.056
systems . Do you fully support

01:09:02.056 --> 01:09:05.280
President Biden's Fy 2020 If we're 22

01:09:05.470 --> 01:09:07.900
budget request for the G . BSD and

01:09:07.900 --> 01:09:10.067
agree it is the future of the land leg

01:09:10.067 --> 01:09:12.860
of the triad . I fully support the

01:09:12.870 --> 01:09:15.110
President's budget . I would further

01:09:15.110 --> 01:09:18.660
say that , you know , G B S . D . Is

01:09:18.660 --> 01:09:20.827
one of those things that will continue

01:09:20.827 --> 01:09:24.100
to evaluate uh mhm

01:09:24.470 --> 01:09:27.420
along with the uh the posture reviews

01:09:27.420 --> 01:09:29.364
that we have ongoing a new posture

01:09:29.364 --> 01:09:31.870
review . So , and I am I correct in

01:09:31.870 --> 01:09:34.037
stating that the G . P . S . D . Is on

01:09:34.037 --> 01:09:36.037
track on schedule on budget for the

01:09:36.037 --> 01:09:39.690
first flight test in 2023 . You are

01:09:40.470 --> 01:09:42.637
another item we were pleased to see in

01:09:42.637 --> 01:09:44.803
the budget is a request to construct a

01:09:44.803 --> 01:09:46.526
weapons generation facility at

01:09:46.526 --> 01:09:48.414
Barksdale Air Force Base and that

01:09:48.414 --> 01:09:50.470
facility allows or that construction

01:09:50.470 --> 01:09:52.414
will allow our B 50 two's that are

01:09:52.414 --> 01:09:52.130
stationed there to carry out their

01:09:52.130 --> 01:09:54.241
nuclear mission without having to fly

01:09:54.241 --> 01:09:56.500
first from Louisiana to North Dakota in

01:09:56.500 --> 01:09:58.278
order to be loaded with nuclear

01:09:58.278 --> 01:10:00.389
ordinance . So Secretary Austin or or

01:10:00.389 --> 01:10:02.611
General Milley , can you comment on the

01:10:02.611 --> 01:10:04.944
strategic flexibility the Barksdale W G .

01:10:04.944 --> 01:10:07.000
F . Will provide and making sure the

01:10:07.000 --> 01:10:09.000
air leg of the tryout is capable of

01:10:09.000 --> 01:10:11.167
fully executing its mission ? Yeah , I

01:10:11.167 --> 01:10:12.960
think again , the triad in

01:10:12.960 --> 01:10:14.627
recapitalization of try it is

01:10:14.627 --> 01:10:16.627
critically important . It's been in

01:10:16.627 --> 01:10:18.571
effect really for I guess going on

01:10:18.571 --> 01:10:20.627
seven decades since the end of World

01:10:20.627 --> 01:10:22.571
War Two , uh , and it is , you can

01:10:22.571 --> 01:10:21.860
never prove a negative , but it is

01:10:21.860 --> 01:10:24.450
clearly one of the fundamental reasons

01:10:24.450 --> 01:10:26.506
why World War three didn't break out

01:10:26.506 --> 01:10:28.728
was because of the nuclear capability ,

01:10:28.728 --> 01:10:30.617
United States . It is time now to

01:10:30.617 --> 01:10:32.839
recapitalize the entire thing , all all

01:10:32.839 --> 01:10:32.330
three parts of plus the commanding

01:10:32.330 --> 01:10:34.600
control piece that is really critical

01:10:34.610 --> 01:10:36.832
uh , to defend this nation for the next

01:10:36.832 --> 01:10:39.110
seven decades . And the time is now to

01:10:39.110 --> 01:10:41.210
invest in it . It will be a one time

01:10:41.210 --> 01:10:43.266
thing for a period of years until we

01:10:43.266 --> 01:10:45.432
can get the system replaced . But it's

01:10:45.432 --> 01:10:47.599
really , really important and all legs

01:10:47.599 --> 01:10:49.821
to include that barksdale with the B 50

01:10:49.821 --> 01:10:51.766
twos and soon to be the B 20 one's

01:10:51.766 --> 01:10:53.932
etcetera . Really critically important

01:10:53.932 --> 01:10:53.600
to do that . Thank you in those

01:10:53.600 --> 01:10:55.544
efficiencies I think will help and

01:10:55.544 --> 01:10:57.600
those are all goals . The last thing

01:10:57.600 --> 01:10:59.378
I'll touch on is the noticeable

01:10:59.378 --> 01:11:01.267
reduction in army accounts in the

01:11:01.267 --> 01:11:03.322
budget request . Understand that's a

01:11:03.322 --> 01:11:05.600
reflection of the Afghanistan drawdown .

01:11:05.600 --> 01:11:05.460
But as we transition our focus to other

01:11:05.460 --> 01:11:07.516
parts of the world , I do think it's

01:11:07.516 --> 01:11:09.349
important that we not allow army

01:11:09.349 --> 01:11:11.460
readiness to decline . I know you all

01:11:11.460 --> 01:11:13.404
agree with that . We still need to

01:11:13.404 --> 01:11:13.110
execute rotations through our training

01:11:13.110 --> 01:11:14.777
centers . And to that end , I

01:11:14.777 --> 01:11:16.943
appreciate the budget requesting a new

01:11:16.943 --> 01:11:18.999
joint operations center at Fort Poll

01:11:18.999 --> 01:11:20.888
that the current jock has decades

01:11:20.888 --> 01:11:22.721
overdue for an upgrade and A new

01:11:22.721 --> 01:11:24.777
facility will make sure our soldiers

01:11:24.777 --> 01:11:26.777
are equipped with the best possible

01:11:26.777 --> 01:11:28.888
training experience so they're at the

01:11:28.888 --> 01:11:28.640
ready if and when they're called upon .

01:11:28.640 --> 01:11:31.210
But just in the 40 seconds I have

01:11:31.210 --> 01:11:33.432
remaining . Which one of you comment on

01:11:33.432 --> 01:11:35.543
the importance of that army readiness

01:11:35.543 --> 01:11:37.680
where we stand on that ? Uh , we're

01:11:37.680 --> 01:11:41.450
both yeah , deeply indebted to the

01:11:41.450 --> 01:11:43.590
army for where we are in life . But I

01:11:43.590 --> 01:11:45.812
would say as a former Chief Staff , the

01:11:45.812 --> 01:11:47.812
Army , the readiness of the army is

01:11:47.812 --> 01:11:49.923
critical . Uh , it takes a full joint

01:11:49.923 --> 01:11:52.257
force , the synergy of air , land , sea ,

01:11:52.257 --> 01:11:52.200
space and cyber uh , to prevail in

01:11:52.200 --> 01:11:54.210
combat . And wars are often started

01:11:54.210 --> 01:11:57.010
from afar from from long range weapon

01:11:57.010 --> 01:11:58.954
systems , but they're always ended

01:11:58.954 --> 01:12:01.177
somewhere on the ground . Uh , the last

01:12:01.177 --> 01:12:03.399
bullet of the war is usually fired by a

01:12:03.399 --> 01:12:05.454
marine or army infantryman . Uh , so

01:12:05.454 --> 01:12:07.510
it's really critical to maintain the

01:12:07.510 --> 01:12:07.040
readiness of the United States Army .

01:12:07.050 --> 01:12:09.106
Hopefully we can host it . Fort polk

01:12:09.106 --> 01:12:11.050
sometimes . Gonna love to see that

01:12:11.050 --> 01:12:13.050
we've been hosted there quite a bit

01:12:13.050 --> 01:12:15.328
both of these . Uh , Mr johnson , I uh ,

01:12:15.328 --> 01:12:17.550
congressman johnson . I and I would say

01:12:17.550 --> 01:12:19.828
that it's a pretty valuable capability .

01:12:19.828 --> 01:12:21.994
Thank you . Are you back ? Thank you .

01:12:21.994 --> 01:12:24.106
Mr Crowe was recognized . Thank you .

01:12:24.106 --> 01:12:26.328
Mr Chairman . I would like to associate

01:12:26.328 --> 01:12:28.494
myself with the concerns by some of my

01:12:28.494 --> 01:12:28.460
colleagues on the other side of the

01:12:28.460 --> 01:12:30.970
diets about back pay for National Guard .

01:12:31.150 --> 01:12:34.740
And also point out that the HR 30 to

01:12:34.740 --> 01:12:37.018
37 the emergency security supplemental ,

01:12:37.018 --> 01:12:39.073
which passed the House by one vote ,

01:12:39.073 --> 01:12:42.520
actually created a back pay of

01:12:42.520 --> 01:12:45.870
$500 million to help shore up the pay

01:12:45.870 --> 01:12:48.330
for the National Guard . Um , So I

01:12:48.330 --> 01:12:50.163
would encourage my colleagues to

01:12:50.163 --> 01:12:52.330
support that and they continue to push

01:12:52.330 --> 01:12:54.386
the Senate to support that as well .

01:12:54.386 --> 01:12:56.719
Because if we actually passed that bill ,

01:12:56.719 --> 01:12:58.774
we would resolve that issue and make

01:12:58.774 --> 01:12:58.620
sure that our men and women in uniform

01:12:58.630 --> 01:13:01.860
do get paid . I do want to change to

01:13:01.860 --> 01:13:04.350
Afghanistan for a minute . And just

01:13:04.350 --> 01:13:07.540
start by saying , I understand that

01:13:07.550 --> 01:13:10.790
it's not your decision to make to

01:13:10.800 --> 01:13:14.250
conduct an evacuation of civic society

01:13:14.250 --> 01:13:16.890
leaders . S I've applicants or anybody

01:13:17.000 --> 01:13:19.111
that's not for you to decide . That's

01:13:19.111 --> 01:13:21.222
not for Secretary blink in the decide

01:13:21.222 --> 01:13:23.389
that's a decision that only resides at

01:13:23.389 --> 01:13:25.444
the White House . I get that . And I

01:13:25.444 --> 01:13:27.556
appreciate the fact that you all have

01:13:27.556 --> 01:13:29.611
conducted contingency planning to be

01:13:29.611 --> 01:13:29.220
prepared to do that . And General

01:13:29.220 --> 01:13:31.940
Milley , your comment earlier about the

01:13:31.950 --> 01:13:33.950
military capability that exists and

01:13:33.950 --> 01:13:35.839
that you will conduct whatever is

01:13:35.839 --> 01:13:38.070
necessary . My concern is about time

01:13:38.750 --> 01:13:41.690
because where we sit right now , that

01:13:41.690 --> 01:13:43.912
capability and the dangers and risks of

01:13:43.912 --> 01:13:46.470
doing it are not going to be static .

01:13:47.250 --> 01:13:50.190
That risk is not lessening . Is it true ?

01:13:50.200 --> 01:13:52.670
Secretary Austin that the Taliban

01:13:52.670 --> 01:13:54.892
continue to make territorial gains that

01:13:54.892 --> 01:13:56.948
provincial capitals continue to fall

01:13:56.948 --> 01:13:59.114
and that freedom of navigation and the

01:13:59.114 --> 01:14:00.726
outer ring road continues to

01:14:00.726 --> 01:14:03.420
deteriorate . The taliban have have

01:14:03.420 --> 01:14:06.760
made uh gains , incremental gains

01:14:06.760 --> 01:14:08.982
throughout . And those those gains have

01:14:08.982 --> 01:14:10.982
increased most recently in terms of

01:14:10.982 --> 01:14:13.204
provincial capitals . I think you heard

01:14:13.204 --> 01:14:15.371
General Millie's assessment earlier on

01:14:15.371 --> 01:14:17.427
that actually none of the provincial

01:14:17.427 --> 01:14:19.538
capitals have fallen . They have made

01:14:19.538 --> 01:14:21.690
uh some games where they surrounded

01:14:21.690 --> 01:14:23.760
some of the provincial capitals . Uh

01:14:23.770 --> 01:14:26.990
And um part of that , General Milley ,

01:14:27.000 --> 01:14:29.056
is it true that we don't yet have an

01:14:29.056 --> 01:14:32.020
agreement with Turkey or any other ally ,

01:14:32.020 --> 01:14:34.280
NATO ally with regard to the security

01:14:34.280 --> 01:14:38.270
of the Kabul airport written agreement ?

01:14:38.740 --> 01:14:41.340
Um No , we're having a meeting this

01:14:41.340 --> 01:14:43.560
week . I think we're pretty much the

01:14:43.570 --> 01:14:45.681
final piece . I don't wanna speak for

01:14:45.681 --> 01:14:47.848
Turkey and I don't want to preempt the

01:14:47.848 --> 01:14:47.300
outcome of a final agreement , but I

01:14:47.310 --> 01:14:49.421
feel very comfortable that security ,

01:14:49.421 --> 01:14:51.477
the Kabul airport will be maintained

01:14:51.477 --> 01:14:53.588
and it will be a part of that . Is it

01:14:53.588 --> 01:14:55.810
true that we're turning over control of

01:14:55.810 --> 01:14:57.977
bagram two , the afghans ? That is the

01:14:57.977 --> 01:15:00.090
plan . That's correct . Ok , so ,

01:15:00.100 --> 01:15:02.810
understanding that situation , the

01:15:02.820 --> 01:15:05.270
deteriorating security situation , the

01:15:05.270 --> 01:15:08.550
assessments , the lack of navigation in

01:15:08.550 --> 01:15:10.717
the fact that these ? S ivy applicants

01:15:10.717 --> 01:15:13.500
would actually need to make it to Kabul

01:15:13.500 --> 01:15:15.890
or population center to be evacuated

01:15:16.130 --> 01:15:18.510
and they also need to do in person

01:15:18.510 --> 01:15:22.060
vetting in kabul to qualify .

01:15:22.440 --> 01:15:25.760
Is it fair to say that as time

01:15:25.760 --> 01:15:28.240
continues to progress that it becomes

01:15:28.240 --> 01:15:31.190
harder and more risky to conduct an

01:15:31.190 --> 01:15:33.910
evacuation ? I think that's a fair

01:15:33.910 --> 01:15:35.743
statement , congressman . Okay ,

01:15:36.640 --> 01:15:40.060
related lee , I'm concerned about the

01:15:40.060 --> 01:15:42.020
ability of the afghan air Force to

01:15:42.020 --> 01:15:45.060
conduct air operations and to maintain

01:15:45.060 --> 01:15:48.960
an air cap with our withdrawal .

01:15:49.340 --> 01:15:52.970
Uh a 29 fleet continues to degrade . We

01:15:52.970 --> 01:15:55.400
know that we have submitted a request

01:15:55.400 --> 01:15:57.550
for three additional 8 29 but

01:15:57.550 --> 01:15:59.772
maintenance with the removal of all the

01:15:59.772 --> 01:16:01.939
maintenance personnel , do we yet have

01:16:01.939 --> 01:16:04.570
any fidelity on where that maintenance

01:16:04.580 --> 01:16:07.610
will occur once our contractors

01:16:07.610 --> 01:16:09.332
withdrawal , who are currently

01:16:09.332 --> 01:16:12.890
conducting that maintenance ? Uh Some

01:16:12.890 --> 01:16:14.910
of the maintenance is uh is taking

01:16:14.910 --> 01:16:18.560
place in uh in the in one of the gulf

01:16:19.530 --> 01:16:21.810
countries , one of our partners . And

01:16:21.810 --> 01:16:23.754
so we would fly for for the higher

01:16:23.754 --> 01:16:25.866
level maintenance . We would fly that

01:16:25.866 --> 01:16:28.430
have flown uh some of that year out to

01:16:28.440 --> 01:16:31.970
uh that location to be uh to be

01:16:31.970 --> 01:16:34.380
serviced uh And you've got different

01:16:34.380 --> 01:16:36.658
levels of maintenance as you well know .

01:16:36.658 --> 01:16:39.430
But the the organizational maintenance ,

01:16:39.440 --> 01:16:41.329
you know , the operating level of

01:16:41.329 --> 01:16:43.273
maintenance . We we can do and are

01:16:43.273 --> 01:16:45.940
doing some of that vert by virtual

01:16:45.950 --> 01:16:49.070
mentorship as on a day to day basis .

01:16:49.080 --> 01:16:52.540
Uh And we may be able to contract other

01:16:52.540 --> 01:16:56.050
types of of uh capabilities going

01:16:56.050 --> 01:16:57.994
forward and that's still a work in

01:16:57.994 --> 01:17:00.500
progress . Uh ideally we'd like to see

01:17:00.510 --> 01:17:02.760
like to have the ability to conduct uh

01:17:02.770 --> 01:17:04.937
maintenance and one of the neighboring

01:17:04.937 --> 01:17:07.048
countries or some of the higher level

01:17:07.048 --> 01:17:09.610
uh maintenance . Uh but uh but again ,

01:17:09.620 --> 01:17:11.842
a work in progress not yet solidified ,

01:17:11.842 --> 01:17:14.064
I appreciate that . And with my rain 10

01:17:14.064 --> 01:17:16.200
seconds , I just wanted to express my

01:17:16.200 --> 01:17:18.650
appreciation . Chairman Millie for your

01:17:18.650 --> 01:17:21.130
leadership and your courage and how you

01:17:21.130 --> 01:17:23.640
continue to speak out on behalf of what

01:17:23.640 --> 01:17:25.751
is a diverse and increasingly diverse

01:17:25.751 --> 01:17:28.540
uh force of men and women in uniform

01:17:28.550 --> 01:17:32.120
has acquired . MR . Green is recognized

01:17:32.120 --> 01:17:33.898
for five minutes . Thank you Mr

01:17:33.898 --> 01:17:36.064
Chairman and ranking member Rogers for

01:17:36.064 --> 01:17:38.064
holding the hearing . And I want to

01:17:38.064 --> 01:17:37.750
thank our witnesses for being here

01:17:37.750 --> 01:17:40.400
today , deeply respect and appreciate

01:17:40.430 --> 01:17:42.652
your combined service to this country .

01:17:43.030 --> 01:17:45.610
Um , as the world terror has continued

01:17:45.610 --> 01:17:47.832
in the United States military has taken

01:17:47.832 --> 01:17:49.980
risks to maintain readiness during

01:17:49.980 --> 01:17:53.280
budget decreases of the last last year .

01:17:53.280 --> 01:17:55.590
The Obama administration , including

01:17:55.590 --> 01:17:57.757
installation management , research and

01:17:57.757 --> 01:17:59.812
development for future systems . The

01:17:59.812 --> 01:18:02.034
last administration set us on the right

01:18:02.034 --> 01:18:04.146
path helping to rebuild peace through

01:18:04.146 --> 01:18:05.979
strength . Those four years have

01:18:05.979 --> 01:18:07.979
increased budgets helped , but they

01:18:07.979 --> 01:18:10.090
could not make up for nearly 20 years

01:18:10.090 --> 01:18:11.923
of war and seven years of cuts .

01:18:11.923 --> 01:18:14.540
Today's forces still challenged with

01:18:14.540 --> 01:18:16.630
decreasing overmatched due to those

01:18:16.640 --> 01:18:19.310
previous cuts . And the risk decisions

01:18:19.310 --> 01:18:21.366
that were made to maintain readiness

01:18:21.920 --> 01:18:23.698
when we send America's sons and

01:18:23.698 --> 01:18:25.698
daughters and I believe each of you

01:18:25.698 --> 01:18:27.920
would agree with me on this . It should

01:18:27.920 --> 01:18:27.480
never be a fair fight when they go to

01:18:27.480 --> 01:18:29.570
war . It looks like the real dollar

01:18:29.570 --> 01:18:31.737
cuts and spending a $4 billion dollars

01:18:31.737 --> 01:18:33.681
in this budget proposal where once

01:18:33.681 --> 01:18:36.010
again potentially sacrificing the

01:18:36.010 --> 01:18:39.170
future fight for readiness today . In

01:18:39.170 --> 01:18:41.114
the case of the Navy's budget , it

01:18:41.114 --> 01:18:43.226
looks like they're pinning their risk

01:18:43.226 --> 01:18:45.230
in the 3-5 year range in hopes that

01:18:45.230 --> 01:18:46.897
beyond that they can find new

01:18:46.897 --> 01:18:48.841
technologies that will create over

01:18:48.841 --> 01:18:51.290
match . The question of course is how

01:18:51.290 --> 01:18:53.179
do we maintain ? Overmatched with

01:18:53.179 --> 01:18:55.179
pacing , threats such as China when

01:18:55.179 --> 01:18:57.346
they're increasing their budget ? 6.8%

01:18:57.346 --> 01:19:00.670
were effectively decreasing ours . Uh

01:19:00.680 --> 01:19:03.210
My my first question gets very granular

01:19:03.210 --> 01:19:05.160
and it goes on what Mr johnson was

01:19:05.160 --> 01:19:07.327
talking about the C . T . C . S . I've

01:19:07.327 --> 01:19:09.438
noticed recently if I'm understanding

01:19:09.438 --> 01:19:11.438
the budget for the army correctly ,

01:19:11.438 --> 01:19:14.110
we're cutting CTC rotations by a third

01:19:14.120 --> 01:19:16.840
in this budget if that's correct ? Can

01:19:16.840 --> 01:19:19.080
you tell me why ? Yeah I don't think

01:19:19.080 --> 01:19:21.247
that's correct . I'll go back to Chief

01:19:21.247 --> 01:19:23.469
staff , the army , there's 10 rotations

01:19:23.469 --> 01:19:25.358
a year . The teacher the CTC's if

01:19:25.358 --> 01:19:27.469
they're cutting them by a third , I'd

01:19:27.469 --> 01:19:29.580
be very surprised . Would you do me a

01:19:29.580 --> 01:19:31.747
favor and get back ? Thanks . I'll get

01:19:31.747 --> 01:19:30.940
back to you . Thank you . Chairman . I

01:19:30.940 --> 01:19:33.051
really appreciate that . I noticed on

01:19:33.051 --> 01:19:35.218
aviation , we were looking at a cut of

01:19:35.218 --> 01:19:37.440
around 15.6% and this is across all the

01:19:37.440 --> 01:19:39.690
services for aviation . Can you guys

01:19:39.690 --> 01:19:41.801
kind of give me a description of what

01:19:41.801 --> 01:19:43.912
what we're doing to make up for those

01:19:43.912 --> 01:19:46.023
cuts ? Or is there some technology we

01:19:46.023 --> 01:19:48.246
don't know about ? Is there some future

01:19:48.246 --> 01:19:50.357
system that's gonna gonna address the

01:19:50.357 --> 01:19:52.523
decrease in readiness or capability in

01:19:52.523 --> 01:19:54.357
the future ? With a 15.6% cut in

01:19:54.357 --> 01:19:57.550
aviation ? We want to make sure we we

01:19:57.550 --> 01:19:59.606
want to make sure we're investing in

01:19:59.606 --> 01:20:01.717
the right capabilities and we want to

01:20:01.717 --> 01:20:03.920
be able to network those capabilities

01:20:03.920 --> 01:20:06.220
in new and effective ways that we've

01:20:06.220 --> 01:20:08.380
not been able to do in the past . And

01:20:08.380 --> 01:20:10.436
that requires investing in the right

01:20:10.436 --> 01:20:12.491
kinds of technology to be able to do

01:20:12.491 --> 01:20:15.370
that . Um If you take S . R . For

01:20:15.370 --> 01:20:17.592
example , and you say , and you look at

01:20:17.592 --> 01:20:20.410
the uh the fact that the Air Force is

01:20:20.410 --> 01:20:22.688
taking down a couple of lines of I . S .

01:20:22.688 --> 01:20:25.700
R . Uh and what they're really doing is

01:20:25.700 --> 01:20:27.920
not decreasing the number of tales .

01:20:27.930 --> 01:20:30.220
They're they're taking down some lines

01:20:30.220 --> 01:20:32.276
so that they can have the ability to

01:20:32.276 --> 01:20:34.276
upgrade some capability and network

01:20:34.276 --> 01:20:36.840
there . They're birds together in ways

01:20:36.840 --> 01:20:38.951
that we haven't haven't done before .

01:20:38.951 --> 01:20:40.729
And that applies to each of the

01:20:40.729 --> 01:20:42.729
services we have to invest in those

01:20:42.729 --> 01:20:44.784
things that are going to allow us to

01:20:44.784 --> 01:20:46.729
have resilient forces operate in a

01:20:46.729 --> 01:20:49.080
distributed manner and be absolutely

01:20:49.080 --> 01:20:51.430
lethal in the next fight . I understand .

01:20:51.430 --> 01:20:53.097
I just want to make sure that

01:20:53.097 --> 01:20:55.210
capability isn't decreasing 15.6% . I

01:20:55.210 --> 01:20:57.432
guess . That's really my big question .

01:20:57.432 --> 01:20:59.654
We're going to have the same capability

01:20:59.654 --> 01:21:01.821
or better capability even though we're

01:21:01.821 --> 01:21:03.932
cutting aviation 15% . Our goal is to

01:21:03.932 --> 01:21:06.154
have better capability . And with those

01:21:06.154 --> 01:21:08.432
investments that we make in the future ,

01:21:08.432 --> 01:21:10.654
we want to make sure that the platforms

01:21:10.654 --> 01:21:13.310
that we invest in are able to

01:21:13.310 --> 01:21:15.532
accomplish some of the things that that

01:21:15.532 --> 01:21:17.699
I just described . One of the , one of

01:21:17.699 --> 01:21:19.866
the open source journals the Computing

01:21:19.866 --> 01:21:21.780
Research Association reported

01:21:21.790 --> 01:21:23.846
concerning , quote , the Army , Navy

01:21:23.846 --> 01:21:25.790
and Air Forces University Research

01:21:25.790 --> 01:21:27.950
Initiative . Sub accounts are cut

01:21:27.960 --> 01:21:30.660
31.1% , and

01:21:30.660 --> 01:21:34.060
17.5% respectively . Considering

01:21:34.060 --> 01:21:37.350
sybers these recent cyber attacks . Is

01:21:37.350 --> 01:21:39.461
that really a wise decision ? I'm not

01:21:39.461 --> 01:21:41.294
an engineer , I'm not a computer

01:21:41.294 --> 01:21:43.350
scientist , I'm a physician . But it

01:21:43.350 --> 01:21:45.350
seems that cuts in those particular

01:21:45.350 --> 01:21:47.461
areas , those areas that research our

01:21:47.461 --> 01:21:50.390
ability to fight cyber um seems

01:21:50.400 --> 01:21:52.233
misplaced considering the recent

01:21:52.233 --> 01:21:54.344
attacks . Could you comment on that ?

01:21:54.344 --> 01:21:56.233
Or perhaps I can get something in

01:21:56.233 --> 01:21:58.530
writing back . We can do both , sir .

01:21:58.540 --> 01:22:02.440
Okay . Thanks Secretary . Uh First , uh

01:22:03.110 --> 01:22:05.400
I'll remind you that for R . D . T .

01:22:05.400 --> 01:22:08.160
and the overall we're investing $112

01:22:08.160 --> 01:22:11.910
billion , uh and specifically for cyber ,

01:22:11.910 --> 01:22:14.830
there's a 10 point almost $10.5 billion

01:22:14.830 --> 01:22:17.630
investment in in uh in cyber . And that

01:22:17.630 --> 01:22:20.240
includes cyberspace operations , uh and

01:22:20.240 --> 01:22:23.220
a number of other things . So uh we

01:22:23.220 --> 01:22:25.940
think cyber is pretty important . We we

01:22:26.210 --> 01:22:28.099
are part of a whole of government

01:22:28.099 --> 01:22:30.760
effort to defend our networks here in

01:22:30.760 --> 01:22:34.310
the country . Our focus is , you know ,

01:22:34.320 --> 01:22:36.710
further out towards the source of

01:22:36.710 --> 01:22:39.720
malign activity and time has expired .

01:22:39.720 --> 01:22:40.340
I apologize .