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Thank you . Senator King Senator Cotton 

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please General Richardson , I'll give 

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you a chance to talk a little bit more 

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detail about the Panama Canal because I 

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was troubled by um the brief 

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comments you had to Senator Inhofe of 

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all the things you've described that 

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china china is doing in your area of 

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responsibility . I think the strategic 

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investments is made along the Panama 

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Canal is most striking . I know that 

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this is primarily a State Department 

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and Treasury matter . But can you tell 

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us a little bit more about what's going 

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on around the canal and how south com 

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plays into the inter agency efforts to 

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counter the threat and what else you'd 

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like to see from the U . S . Government 

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to do so . Um Thank you for the 

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question Senator . We worked very 

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closely with with Panama . Um and our 

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Corps of Engineers just was able to 

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uh negotiate a water tender contract 

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with um with Panama , which I think is 

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huge because it's been 15 years in the 

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making . And so we have a lot of ground 

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to make up with with Panama . But in 

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terms of the investment um china and 

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the strategic investments that they 

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make . Uh , you know , just like the 

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Panama Canal when you enter and exit 

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and on either side you have chinese 

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state owned enterprises . And what I 

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worry about Chinese state owned 

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enterprises that have capability and 

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infrastructure there is that they're 

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used . They can be used for dual use , 

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which means civilian but also military . 

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And quite honestly , if you just look 

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at where the pork projects are . 29 

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pork projects in the o . r . uh , in 17 

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countries . I mean , these are very 

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methodically thought out in my opinion . 

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And again , I worry about the access 

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that they get in there under the guise 

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of infrastructure and and looking like 

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they're helping economies when they're 

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really not as well as the resources 

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that are in this A . O . R . It's just 

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off the charts . I've got 66 60% of the 

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world's lithium in the lithium triangle , 

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in south , in south America . That's in 

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Argentina Bolivia and chile . Um , 

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you've got 31% of the world's 

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freshwater . You have the Amazon , you 

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have the , the oil reserves in 

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Venezuela , the light sweet crude that 

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was discovered off the shores of Guyana . 

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There are a lot of resources in this 

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region . Uh , and again , I go back to 

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the , it's not an investment by our 

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competitors . It's , it's there to 

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extract in some way , shape or form . 

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What do you think china is up to their , 

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um , and all those investments around 

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the canal . Is it more about advancing 

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their own interests or holding at risk 

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and threatening hours ? I think it's 

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both . Um , 

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I mean , we depend on the canal more 

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because of our geography than does 

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china . Right ? I would say 

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that the , I would say yes . Um , but 

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the Panama canal as well as the strait 

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of Magellan uh , in my a , oh , are 

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those two very strategic global lines 

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of communication must remain open . I 

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mean it should we ever have a conflict 

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with china ? The decisive effort would 

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be somewhere in the western pacific . 

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I'm not in the caribbean basin or the 

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eastern pacific and it's the very 

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essence of strategy to try to force 

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your adversary to defend what he has no 

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choice but to defend far removed from 

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the theater of decision . That's one 

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reason I'm so worried about these 

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investments around the canal . You know 

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the Panama canal treaty was actually 

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two treaties . One of them was the 

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neutrality treaty we retained under 

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that neutrality treaty . Uh The 

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uncontested right to ensure the neutral 

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operation of the canal , correct ? 

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That's correct . Senator . Um One other 

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area I wanted to discuss was 

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agriculture . I know this is somewhat 

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removed from the Department of 

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Defense's lane but as we heard you have 

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no assigned forces . A lot of what you 

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do is with inter agency partners and 

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looking at uh non military non 

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traditional ways to cooperate . Um 

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Sometimes people overlook the 

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importance of agriculture . I don't 

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think china overlooks it . If you 

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consider their investments in south 

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America especially targeting crops like 

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soybeans . Um I think this economic 

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investment seems to be aimed at 

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creating alternative markets for them 

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to buy as well as to crowd out our 

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exports fortunately for us brazil 

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soybean crop uh didn't compare so well . 

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Two hours especially in Arkansas . Can 

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you give me your thoughts on how you 

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can work with agencies like a . I . D . 

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And the trade representative um to 

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dissuade countries in your area of 

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responsibility from continuing down the 

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path of further economic entanglement 

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with china and the agriculture domain . 

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So senator we work very closely as I 

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mentioned before regarding the folks 

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that we have that work in the Western 

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Hemisphere . And so we have a very 

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close working relationship with with U . 

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S . A . I . D . And I've met with 

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director powers previously and then she 

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travels the region as well . But uh uh 

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none of us have the resources . And so 

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I think that that helps us work 

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together more collab collaboratively 

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across all of the inter agency and work 

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so close together to uh to figure out 

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how we can invest in this region . But 

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I'd also like to highlight that china 

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gets 36% of its food source from uh 

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from this A . O . R . As well . Uh And 

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so uh the O . R . Just has a lot of 

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resources that are being eyed by by our 

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competitors . Yeah they are and I think 

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this is going to be a matter of growing 

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importance this year given the war in 

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Ukraine and how much grain Ukraine and 

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Russia provide to the rest of the world 

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as well as how many inputs they provide 

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into fertilizer or other agricultural 

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inputs . Not only in increasing prices 

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on our grocery shelves here in America 

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but also um threats to stability 

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uh in your region and in Africa and the 

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Middle East in places that have pretty 

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fragile governments and very limited 

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food supplies . Thank you . Thanks tom 

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Cotton . Senator Blumenthal , please . 

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Thanks Mr Chairman , thank you both for 

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your service . Thanks for being here . 

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Today . This morning , President biden 

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announced that the United States will 

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welcome 100,000 Ukrainian refugees 

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who were fleeing and absolutely 

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intolerable situation in Ukraine . I 

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recently visited the border of Ukraine 

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and Poland with a number of colleagues 

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bipartisan trip and saw the women and 

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Children . They are almost all women 

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and Children fleeing the horror and 

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terror that Putin has 

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caused to their country . And they'll 

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come here through a variety of legal 

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pathways and likely follow the same 

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general program as the Afghan 

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refugees . Did . I continue to call on 

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the administration to enable more of 

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our at risk afghan allies to escape 

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the Taliban . They have targets on 

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their backs . They helped americans . 

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Our troops are diplomats while we were 

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there and they are under 

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dire threat from the Taliban . But I 

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also applaud the president for his 

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effort to welcome Ukrainians in the 

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United States . And there's much more 

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To be done . The 3.5 million refugees 

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who have already fled Ukraine and the 

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10 million more internally displaced 

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have added to an already burgeoning 

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refugee and humanitarian crisis around 

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the globe , Located last year , 

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26 million refugees , 

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26 million refugees were displaced from 

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areas as diverse as Syria Venezuela 

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Afghanistan , South , Sudan 

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Myanmar and other countries and 

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these refugees represent a threat 

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as well as an opportunity literally an 

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opportunity because they have a great 

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deal of talent and skills and potential 

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for contributing to the countries that 

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they maybe moving to . But also a 

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threat insofar as the 

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failure to aid them will lead to 

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potential terrorism and other adverse 

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activity . I've seen the tremendous 

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support that North com provided to 

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Operation Allies welcome over the last 

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year and finding capacity on US bases 

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and efficiently housing and processing 

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afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban . 

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And I hope that North com will play 

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a role as well in welcoming and 

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resettling the Ukrainian refugees . 

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General Van Herk . Have you been given 

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instructions on the role for North com 

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with respect to Ukrainian refugees ? 

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Senator , I'm aware of the President's 

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announcement . I do not have any direct 

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mission tasked to plan for that yet . 

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Uh as we did with Operation Allies 

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Welcome . We stand ready if directed by 

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the Secretary of Defense to do that . 

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It was an honor to support nearly 

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74,000 afghans as we process them 

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through eight installations from D . O . 

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D . And so once if if directed will 

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move out . Senator , are there 

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lessons that we should learn from the O 

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A . W . Experience with the afghan 

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refugee . There are absolutely lessons 

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that we've incorporated uh that we 

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learned during Allies welcome . That 

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that I'm sure would make us better 

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prepared if we had to stand up to do 

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this mission again , what kinds of 

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lessons , inter agency coordination , 

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lessons to make more efficient use of 

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data and information , the the ability 

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to track uh categorize uh 

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whether it be medical , whether it be 

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security screening , all of these 

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things were worked closely and we're in 

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a much better place today than we were 

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when we started last july Well , I was 

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tremendously impressed when I visited 

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Quantico , which is only one of those 

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a with the enthusiasm and 

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dedication of the marines who were 

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involved at Quantico in welcoming and 

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aiding the refugees there . Most of 

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them had never served in either 

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Afghanistan or Iraq for them . This was 

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their deployment , so to speak . And 

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they love doing it . And 

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they provided a real american welcome 

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to these new americans . And I think 

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that we can all be proud of the work 

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that was done by our military at those 

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bases . In providing that first 

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american experience too , the Afghan 

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refugees . And I hope the same is done 

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with respect to Ukrainian refugee . 

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Thank you . Thank you . Senator 

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Blumenthal Senator rounds please thank 

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you mr Chairman , let me begin by 

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thanking both of you for your service 

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to our country . I'd like to begin with 

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General Van Herk with regards to 

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your mission and your role in keeping 

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our country safe . Could you share with 

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us what the activities that our 

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southern border and the challenges that 

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we face on our southern border right 

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00:12:06,818 --> 00:12:09,770
now with regard to transnational 

275
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criminal organizations , violent 

276
00:12:13,310 --> 00:12:15,366
extremist organizations and so forth 

277
00:12:15,366 --> 00:12:18,580
and the the the the porousness of that 

278
00:12:18,590 --> 00:12:20,701
that border right now . Can you share 

279
00:12:20,701 --> 00:12:22,910
with us what the impact is that that 

280
00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:25,270
might have on your responsibilities ? 

281
00:12:25,270 --> 00:12:29,140
Enroll Sen . Currently I'm in direct 

282
00:12:29,140 --> 00:12:31,251
support of the Department of Homeland 

283
00:12:31,251 --> 00:12:34,740
Security providing about 20 450 Uh 

284
00:12:34,750 --> 00:12:37,360
National Guards troops on title 10 

285
00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:39,360
status . What what they're doing is 

286
00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:41,590
detection and monitoring Intel analysis 

287
00:12:42,220 --> 00:12:44,950
and aviation support . Um 

288
00:12:45,340 --> 00:12:48,330
we're really treating the symptoms , 

289
00:12:48,340 --> 00:12:51,120
you know , counternarcotics migration , 

290
00:12:51,130 --> 00:12:53,074
human trafficking . Those kinds of 

291
00:12:53,074 --> 00:12:55,074
things are symptoms in my mind of a 

292
00:12:55,074 --> 00:12:56,574
broader problem and that's 

293
00:12:56,574 --> 00:12:58,630
transnational criminal organizations 

294
00:12:58,630 --> 00:13:00,519
who created an environment is not 

295
00:13:00,519 --> 00:13:02,408
conducive to raising a family for 

296
00:13:02,408 --> 00:13:04,241
economic success and we see that 

297
00:13:04,241 --> 00:13:06,574
happening right on our border in Mexico , 

298
00:13:06,574 --> 00:13:08,574
my concern with that senator is the 

299
00:13:08,574 --> 00:13:10,186
instability that creates the 

300
00:13:10,186 --> 00:13:12,352
opportunity it creates for actors such 

301
00:13:12,352 --> 00:13:14,560
as china Russia and others who might 

302
00:13:14,560 --> 00:13:16,782
have nefarious activities on their mind 

303
00:13:16,930 --> 00:13:19,152
to seek access and influence in our A . 

304
00:13:19,152 --> 00:13:20,986
O . R . From a national security 

305
00:13:20,986 --> 00:13:23,041
perspective , do you see evidence of 

306
00:13:23,041 --> 00:13:25,940
that at this time ? There are actors 

307
00:13:25,940 --> 00:13:28,107
who are very aggressive and active all 

308
00:13:28,107 --> 00:13:30,273
across the north Camilo are to include 

309
00:13:30,273 --> 00:13:32,590
in the Bahamas in Mexico china and 

310
00:13:32,590 --> 00:13:34,950
Russia . I would point out that the 

311
00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:37,390
largest portion of the G . R . U . 

312
00:13:37,390 --> 00:13:40,810
Members in the world is in Mexico right 

313
00:13:40,810 --> 00:13:42,866
now . Those are Russian intelligence 

314
00:13:42,866 --> 00:13:45,320
personnel and they keep an eye very 

315
00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:48,060
closely on their opportunities to have 

316
00:13:48,070 --> 00:13:51,120
influence on us opportunities and 

317
00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:53,770
access . General Richardson this is 

318
00:13:53,770 --> 00:13:57,480
your A . O . R . Would you concur with 

319
00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:00,150
the general's assessment ? Yes senator . 

320
00:14:00,940 --> 00:14:03,270
Does that impact your ability to do 

321
00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:05,830
your role or how does that impact your 

322
00:14:05,830 --> 00:14:08,660
ability to Fellow or 2 to complete your 

323
00:14:08,660 --> 00:14:12,050
assignments there ? So uh we work very 

324
00:14:12,050 --> 00:14:14,272
closely with our partner nations and as 

325
00:14:14,272 --> 00:14:16,383
um and as I've said how important the 

326
00:14:16,383 --> 00:14:18,494
lever is for security cooperation for 

327
00:14:18,500 --> 00:14:20,389
us to be on the field to have our 

328
00:14:20,389 --> 00:14:23,870
Jersey on have our number uh and work 

329
00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:26,158
shoulder to shoulder with our partners . 

330
00:14:26,158 --> 00:14:28,960
They really want to work with us and uh 

331
00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:31,440
and everything that all the levers that 

332
00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:34,370
I have that uh you all provide and that 

333
00:14:34,370 --> 00:14:36,426
I get from the Department of Defense 

334
00:14:36,426 --> 00:14:39,310
Department of State um go into action a 

335
00:14:39,310 --> 00:14:41,477
little goes a long way in this A . O . 

336
00:14:41,477 --> 00:14:43,588
R . Again I don't need to out compete 

337
00:14:43,588 --> 00:14:47,220
my competitors . Um but the or outspend 

338
00:14:47,220 --> 00:14:49,560
them to out compete them but we do have 

339
00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:51,504
to be present and we do have to be 

340
00:14:51,504 --> 00:14:54,750
there with them today . We fight war or 

341
00:14:54,750 --> 00:14:56,861
at least we have to be able to defend 

342
00:14:56,861 --> 00:14:58,917
against war that comes from multiple 

343
00:14:58,917 --> 00:15:01,320
domains , air , land and sea , space 

344
00:15:01,580 --> 00:15:04,740
and cyberspace . I understand that that 

345
00:15:04,740 --> 00:15:07,080
right now with regard to cyber 

346
00:15:07,090 --> 00:15:09,200
capabilities there's a limit to the 

347
00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:10,950
number that we have . General 

348
00:15:10,950 --> 00:15:13,006
Richardson can you share with us the 

349
00:15:13,006 --> 00:15:15,190
challenges you face in terms of being 

350
00:15:15,190 --> 00:15:18,280
able to meet your responsibilities with 

351
00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:20,520
the limited cyber capabilities or cyber 

352
00:15:20,530 --> 00:15:23,060
cyber defense capabilities that we have . 

353
00:15:24,140 --> 00:15:26,750
So the way we do our best in terms of 

354
00:15:26,750 --> 00:15:28,810
the small teams , the subject matter 

355
00:15:28,810 --> 00:15:31,160
exchanges , subject subject matter 

356
00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:33,370
expert exchanges that we do with our 

357
00:15:33,370 --> 00:15:36,130
partner nations will go with like a 

358
00:15:36,130 --> 00:15:38,500
cyber assessment team to help with the 

359
00:15:38,500 --> 00:15:40,667
an assessment of their network . Maybe 

360
00:15:40,667 --> 00:15:42,660
a 13 man team that works with the 

361
00:15:42,660 --> 00:15:45,600
partner nation . Uh We work over the 

362
00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:48,790
shoulder . We uh we cannot uh we can 

363
00:15:48,790 --> 00:15:51,350
provide direction and uh subject matter 

364
00:15:51,350 --> 00:15:53,320
expertise but we can't get on the 

365
00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:56,220
keyboards with them and and uh and go 

366
00:15:56,220 --> 00:15:58,387
to work with them . Let me ask this in 

367
00:15:58,387 --> 00:16:02,270
a different way if if it in order to do 

368
00:16:02,270 --> 00:16:06,140
your mission , are you able to receive 

369
00:16:06,150 --> 00:16:09,980
the number and types of cyber 

370
00:16:09,980 --> 00:16:13,480
mission teams that you request ? Um 

371
00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:15,369
We're able to do that through our 

372
00:16:15,369 --> 00:16:17,202
National Guard State partnership 

373
00:16:17,202 --> 00:16:19,313
program . Cyber com does not have the 

374
00:16:19,313 --> 00:16:21,460
the full capacity and capability to 

375
00:16:21,460 --> 00:16:23,920
support all the combatant commands and 

376
00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:26,420
I'm not a priority A . O . R . Uh And 

377
00:16:26,420 --> 00:16:28,680
uh as we see the EUCOM and end up a . 

378
00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:30,520
Com are the right now the two 

379
00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,330
priorities and so demand exceeds supply 

380
00:16:33,330 --> 00:16:36,460
then that's correct . Thank you . Um 

381
00:16:36,940 --> 00:16:40,720
General Van Herk with regards to all 

382
00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:43,330
domain awareness . Can you very briefly 

383
00:16:43,340 --> 00:16:45,770
describe to us just how critical cyber 

384
00:16:45,770 --> 00:16:47,937
is and the challenges that you face in 

385
00:16:47,937 --> 00:16:50,048
getting the resources that you need . 

386
00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:52,980
Senator cyber domain awareness is 

387
00:16:52,980 --> 00:16:55,100
absolutely critical The vast majority 

388
00:16:55,100 --> 00:16:57,211
of the key critical infrastructure in 

389
00:16:57,211 --> 00:16:59,433
the United States of America and Canada 

390
00:16:59,433 --> 00:17:01,544
for that matter exists in the private 

391
00:17:01,544 --> 00:17:03,656
sector . Today . I'm very comfortable 

392
00:17:03,656 --> 00:17:05,822
where we are with general macaroni and 

393
00:17:05,822 --> 00:17:07,600
his team's on the dalton of the 

394
00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:09,670
Department of Defense infrastructure 

395
00:17:09,940 --> 00:17:12,107
cisa with other federal networks . But 

396
00:17:12,107 --> 00:17:14,580
domain awareness outside of that is 

397
00:17:14,580 --> 00:17:16,747
relatively an unknown . You you know , 

398
00:17:16,747 --> 00:17:19,890
the the the many of those uh 

399
00:17:19,900 --> 00:17:22,890
municipalities companies uh they're 

400
00:17:22,890 --> 00:17:25,470
reporting is all we get and so they 

401
00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:27,647
actually are voluntarily playing . And 

402
00:17:27,647 --> 00:17:29,813
so from a domain this domain awareness 

403
00:17:29,813 --> 00:17:31,980
perspective we don't know exactly what 

404
00:17:31,980 --> 00:17:34,200
we don't know . Thank you . My time is 

405
00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:36,200
expired . Thank you . Mr Chairman , 

406
00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:38,256
thank you . Senator rounds . Senator 

407
00:17:38,256 --> 00:17:40,560
Sullivan please . Mhm . 

408
00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:49,070
Thank you . Mr Chairman . Um I want to 

409
00:17:49,070 --> 00:17:51,290
thank both the witnesses . I think you 

410
00:17:51,300 --> 00:17:53,411
both are doing an exceptional job and 

411
00:17:53,411 --> 00:17:56,290
an important kor that don't always get 

412
00:17:56,290 --> 00:17:58,179
the attention that they deserve . 

413
00:17:58,179 --> 00:18:00,179
General Van Herk . I appreciate our 

414
00:18:00,179 --> 00:18:02,430
meeting the other day . I want to talk 

415
00:18:02,430 --> 00:18:04,970
a little bit more and follow up on the 

416
00:18:04,970 --> 00:18:08,240
discussion about the provision that 

417
00:18:08,250 --> 00:18:11,770
Senator King and I co 

418
00:18:11,770 --> 00:18:13,780
sponsored in the N . D . A . On the 

419
00:18:13,780 --> 00:18:15,870
arctic security initiative . You're 

420
00:18:15,870 --> 00:18:18,037
already hearing here in this hearing a 

421
00:18:18,037 --> 00:18:20,270
number of senators bipartisan group of 

422
00:18:20,270 --> 00:18:24,190
senators are very focused on that . Um 

423
00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:28,060
as you know , it authorizes the sec def 

424
00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:30,218
to establish an arctic security 

425
00:18:30,218 --> 00:18:32,162
initiative which is modeled on the 

426
00:18:32,162 --> 00:18:34,273
pacific deterrence initiative and the 

427
00:18:34,273 --> 00:18:36,107
european deterrence initiative , 

428
00:18:36,107 --> 00:18:37,996
essentially initiatives from this 

429
00:18:37,996 --> 00:18:39,996
committee where we have thought the 

430
00:18:39,996 --> 00:18:42,450
pentagon wasn't focusing enough on 

431
00:18:42,450 --> 00:18:44,506
critical regions and I think both of 

432
00:18:44,506 --> 00:18:47,810
them P . D I and E D . I have been 

433
00:18:47,810 --> 00:18:51,460
quite prophetic saying , hey , pentagon 

434
00:18:51,500 --> 00:18:54,960
focus , europe Asia Taiwan 

435
00:18:55,540 --> 00:18:58,330
and now the arctic , can you please 

436
00:18:58,330 --> 00:19:00,740
provide a status on the update 

437
00:19:00,740 --> 00:19:04,660
regarding the assessment ? Um any 

438
00:19:04,660 --> 00:19:07,000
conclusions you've drawn as you know , 

439
00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:09,422
the arctic security initiative that was 

440
00:19:09,422 --> 00:19:12,090
passed into law directs you the North 

441
00:19:12,090 --> 00:19:15,850
com Commander , not osd to 

442
00:19:15,860 --> 00:19:17,960
complete an independent security 

443
00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:21,270
assessment of the arctic senator . 

444
00:19:21,270 --> 00:19:23,770
We're in progress with the uh the 

445
00:19:23,770 --> 00:19:25,826
assessment . What I commit to you is 

446
00:19:25,826 --> 00:19:27,603
you will get an honest , candid 

447
00:19:27,603 --> 00:19:29,770
assessment from me ? I will coordinate 

448
00:19:29,770 --> 00:19:31,881
that across the department . I expect 

449
00:19:31,881 --> 00:19:33,770
to have my portion of it complete 

450
00:19:33,770 --> 00:19:35,937
within the next few weeks and then the 

451
00:19:35,937 --> 00:19:38,103
coordination will begin . The suspense 

452
00:19:38,103 --> 00:19:40,214
is here in the very near future . I'm 

453
00:19:40,214 --> 00:19:42,326
likely gonna ask for an extension . I 

454
00:19:42,326 --> 00:19:44,326
believe it's crucial to not do this 

455
00:19:44,326 --> 00:19:46,548
fast but to do it right . And I hope to 

456
00:19:46,548 --> 00:19:48,548
have it done by early summer at the 

457
00:19:48,548 --> 00:19:50,548
latest . I would point to point out 

458
00:19:50,548 --> 00:19:52,548
real quick if you don't mind that I 

459
00:19:52,548 --> 00:19:52,260
look forward to seeing what the budget 

460
00:19:52,260 --> 00:19:54,530
comes out with next week with regards 

461
00:19:54,530 --> 00:19:56,590
to arctic for inclusion into my 

462
00:19:56,590 --> 00:20:00,590
assessment . Are there any things that 

463
00:20:00,590 --> 00:20:03,020
you can highlight already right now 

464
00:20:03,020 --> 00:20:05,140
with this committee . Uh In terms of 

465
00:20:05,140 --> 00:20:08,140
your assessment , Senator without 

466
00:20:08,140 --> 00:20:10,251
seeing the 23 budget . I really can't 

467
00:20:10,251 --> 00:20:12,770
give you a full assessment of of what 

468
00:20:12,770 --> 00:20:14,881
we're going to see for infrastructure 

469
00:20:14,881 --> 00:20:16,659
support . I believe we will see 

470
00:20:16,659 --> 00:20:18,214
additional domain awareness 

471
00:20:18,214 --> 00:20:20,320
capabilities significantly funded uh 

472
00:20:20,330 --> 00:20:22,552
with the 23 budget . But I look forward 

473
00:20:22,552 --> 00:20:24,610
to seeing that . I would assess that 

474
00:20:24,610 --> 00:20:26,832
there may still be some work to do with 

475
00:20:26,832 --> 00:20:28,999
regards to the strategies that each of 

476
00:20:28,999 --> 00:20:31,221
the services have funded are not funded 

477
00:20:31,221 --> 00:20:33,054
but put out and the department's 

478
00:20:33,054 --> 00:20:35,110
strategy . But when the budget comes 

479
00:20:35,110 --> 00:20:34,720
out I'll give you the final assessment . 

480
00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:37,290
Let me ask specifically on that . When 

481
00:20:37,300 --> 00:20:39,210
Secretary Austin was here for his 

482
00:20:39,210 --> 00:20:42,320
confirmation hearing , I asked if he 

483
00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:44,042
would commit to work with this 

484
00:20:44,042 --> 00:20:45,764
committee to ensure the arctic 

485
00:20:45,764 --> 00:20:49,070
strategies from the different services 

486
00:20:49,940 --> 00:20:53,430
are fully resourced and he 

487
00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:55,990
said quote , you have my commitment to 

488
00:20:55,990 --> 00:20:57,879
do that . That's what he told the 

489
00:20:57,879 --> 00:21:01,240
committee . Do you believe funding for 

490
00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:03,240
the arctic security initiative in a 

491
00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:05,462
similar manner . That has been done for 

492
00:21:05,462 --> 00:21:07,910
P . D . I . And E . D . I is critical 

493
00:21:07,910 --> 00:21:10,132
to our integrated deterrence efforts in 

494
00:21:10,132 --> 00:21:12,077
the arctic . And are . And are you 

495
00:21:12,077 --> 00:21:13,970
seeing that funding now ? I'm not 

496
00:21:13,970 --> 00:21:16,192
talking about the upcoming budget . I'm 

497
00:21:16,192 --> 00:21:18,303
talking about what you've seen in the 

498
00:21:18,303 --> 00:21:20,700
last year to answer the last question . 

499
00:21:20,970 --> 00:21:24,020
We have not seen the funding that I 

500
00:21:24,020 --> 00:21:26,131
would like to see with regards to the 

501
00:21:26,131 --> 00:21:28,242
arctic . So the strategies are coming 

502
00:21:28,242 --> 00:21:30,353
together . I think they're all coming 

503
00:21:30,353 --> 00:21:32,353
together . Well , they're serious . 

504
00:21:32,353 --> 00:21:34,409
That's a big change from a couple of 

505
00:21:34,409 --> 00:21:36,409
years ago but you're not seeing the 

506
00:21:36,409 --> 00:21:40,240
funding as of yet In the past . That's 

507
00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:42,240
correct . Senator I look forward to 

508
00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:44,296
seeing the 23 budget . The Arctic is 

509
00:21:44,296 --> 00:21:46,360
strategic in nature . We must be 

510
00:21:46,360 --> 00:21:48,810
persistent there to compete . That's a 

511
00:21:48,810 --> 00:21:50,977
part of the integrated deterrence that 

512
00:21:50,977 --> 00:21:53,810
you mentioned as well . So just for the 

513
00:21:53,810 --> 00:21:56,360
Pentagon folks watching um it's not 

514
00:21:56,360 --> 00:21:58,780
just forces but as Senator Wicker 

515
00:21:58,780 --> 00:22:01,510
talked about its infrastructure , I 

516
00:22:01,510 --> 00:22:03,560
know that it gives some people 

517
00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:06,262
neuralgia and the Pentagon when we talk 

518
00:22:06,262 --> 00:22:08,260
about strategic arctic ports , but 

519
00:22:08,260 --> 00:22:10,093
that's what we need , isn't it ? 

520
00:22:10,093 --> 00:22:13,620
General , the capability to have 

521
00:22:13,620 --> 00:22:16,860
presence in a strategic region where 

522
00:22:16,860 --> 00:22:19,082
one of the most brutal dictators in the 

523
00:22:19,082 --> 00:22:21,138
world . Vladimir Putin has said he's 

524
00:22:21,138 --> 00:22:23,360
going to own the arctic , he's going to 

525
00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:25,249
create the new Suez Canal and the 

526
00:22:25,249 --> 00:22:27,138
Northern sea route and he's gonna 

527
00:22:27,138 --> 00:22:29,304
dominate it . Don't we need a presence 

528
00:22:29,304 --> 00:22:31,550
ourselves to push back on this dictator 

529
00:22:32,140 --> 00:22:34,140
in that region of the world . We do 

530
00:22:34,140 --> 00:22:36,362
need a presence and fuel north of Dutch 

531
00:22:36,362 --> 00:22:38,029
harbor would do that as would 

532
00:22:38,029 --> 00:22:39,918
infrastructure and communications 

533
00:22:39,918 --> 00:22:41,751
capabilities . I look forward to 

534
00:22:41,751 --> 00:22:43,751
working with the Canadians on their 

535
00:22:43,751 --> 00:22:45,918
part of this . They need to be part of 

536
00:22:45,918 --> 00:22:48,140
it as well . Not only the Department of 

537
00:22:48,140 --> 00:22:47,550
Defense , especially on the 

538
00:22:47,550 --> 00:22:49,717
infrastructure piece . Well , just the 

539
00:22:49,717 --> 00:22:51,883
final point Mr chairman , I think this 

540
00:22:51,883 --> 00:22:54,050
committee has been very strong on this 

541
00:22:54,050 --> 00:22:55,883
over the last several years in a 

542
00:22:55,883 --> 00:22:58,106
bipartisan way and I think the Pentagon 

543
00:22:58,106 --> 00:23:00,660
needs to wake up . They need to wake up 

544
00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:03,510
and recognize this is a strategic 

545
00:23:03,510 --> 00:23:07,410
interest for our nation and um 

546
00:23:07,460 --> 00:23:09,390
the signal that's coming from the 

547
00:23:09,390 --> 00:23:12,590
Congress couldn't be more clear , just 

548
00:23:12,590 --> 00:23:14,479
like with the european deterrence 

549
00:23:14,479 --> 00:23:16,479
initiative , the pacific deterrence 

550
00:23:16,479 --> 00:23:18,368
initiative , This arctic security 

551
00:23:18,368 --> 00:23:20,400
initiative falls in that line and I 

552
00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:22,456
look forward to working with you and 

553
00:23:22,456 --> 00:23:24,900
this committee on your assessment and 

554
00:23:24,900 --> 00:23:27,200
seeing it soon . Thank you . Thank you . 

555
00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:29,200
Senator Sullivan . Senator Peters , 

556
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:31,400
please thank you . Mr Chairman . And I 

557
00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:33,233
couldn't agree more with Senator 

558
00:23:33,233 --> 00:23:35,520
Sullivan on the strategic importance of 

559
00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:37,409
the arctic and investments in the 

560
00:23:37,409 --> 00:23:39,131
arctic . And I think it is a a 

561
00:23:39,131 --> 00:23:40,853
consensus with members of this 

562
00:23:40,853 --> 00:23:43,020
committee and a bipartisan way that we 

563
00:23:43,020 --> 00:23:45,242
need to be focused on that . I had some 

564
00:23:45,242 --> 00:23:47,242
questions related to that . Senator 

565
00:23:47,242 --> 00:23:49,409
Sullivan did a great job of addressing 

566
00:23:49,409 --> 00:23:51,576
some of the questions that I had , but 

567
00:23:51,576 --> 00:23:53,687
maybe just pick up one thing with you 

568
00:23:53,687 --> 00:23:53,680
general eric is that the National Guard 

569
00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:56,370
Bureau uh to what extent are you 

570
00:23:56,370 --> 00:23:58,481
working with them to ensure that they 

571
00:23:58,481 --> 00:24:00,648
are ready to conduct some cold weather 

572
00:24:00,648 --> 00:24:04,210
operations in that region . We we work 

573
00:24:04,210 --> 00:24:06,377
with all of the services including the 

574
00:24:06,377 --> 00:24:08,321
National Guard Bureau to do that . 

575
00:24:08,321 --> 00:24:10,377
Actually , I'm highly reliant on the 

576
00:24:10,377 --> 00:24:12,599
National Guard Bureau to execute my day 

577
00:24:12,599 --> 00:24:14,488
to day campaign plan uh in a in a 

578
00:24:14,488 --> 00:24:16,321
voluntary status actually . So I 

579
00:24:16,321 --> 00:24:18,043
couldn't be more proud and and 

580
00:24:18,043 --> 00:24:20,220
appreciate the support because I don't 

581
00:24:20,220 --> 00:24:22,276
get access to the forces through the 

582
00:24:22,276 --> 00:24:24,387
global force management process and I 

583
00:24:24,387 --> 00:24:26,442
don't have the assigned forces to do 

584
00:24:26,442 --> 00:24:28,664
that campaign plan . I'd point out that 

585
00:24:28,664 --> 00:24:31,060
we need ready trained and equipped 

586
00:24:31,060 --> 00:24:33,590
forces to operate throughout my entire 

587
00:24:33,590 --> 00:24:35,368
area of responsibility and that 

588
00:24:35,368 --> 00:24:37,423
includes the arctic , that's part of 

589
00:24:37,423 --> 00:24:39,423
the services strategy and something 

590
00:24:39,423 --> 00:24:41,257
that we have to work on . I just 

591
00:24:41,257 --> 00:24:43,479
concluded an arctic edge exercise which 

592
00:24:43,479 --> 00:24:45,701
included some of the National Guard and 

593
00:24:45,701 --> 00:24:47,812
many of the services a joint exercise 

594
00:24:47,812 --> 00:24:49,868
and some allies and partners uh in a 

595
00:24:49,868 --> 00:24:49,860
classified environment . I'll share , 

596
00:24:49,870 --> 00:24:51,981
share some observations with you from 

597
00:24:51,981 --> 00:24:54,290
that . But the arctic is a challenging 

598
00:24:54,290 --> 00:24:56,401
environment to operate in and we have 

599
00:24:56,401 --> 00:24:58,700
worked . That remains alright , 

600
00:24:58,710 --> 00:25:01,740
appreciate that . General you , General 

601
00:25:01,750 --> 00:25:04,060
Van Herk a US intelligence indicates 

602
00:25:04,060 --> 00:25:06,200
that Russia may be positioning itself 

603
00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:08,550
to use chemical weapons in Ukraine 

604
00:25:08,940 --> 00:25:11,150
under the guise of a of a false flag . 

605
00:25:11,540 --> 00:25:13,651
And certainly while our hearts go out 

606
00:25:13,651 --> 00:25:15,429
to the brave Ukrainians who are 

607
00:25:15,429 --> 00:25:17,318
defending their country from this 

608
00:25:17,318 --> 00:25:19,370
illegal invasion and fighting for 

609
00:25:19,370 --> 00:25:21,592
freedom , I think we also must use this 

610
00:25:21,592 --> 00:25:23,648
crisis as an opportunity to consider 

611
00:25:23,648 --> 00:25:26,530
our our own preparedness for such an 

612
00:25:26,530 --> 00:25:29,110
attack . So , my question for you is do 

613
00:25:29,110 --> 00:25:30,943
you believe the United States is 

614
00:25:30,943 --> 00:25:32,777
properly prepared to contain and 

615
00:25:32,777 --> 00:25:34,721
respond to chemical attacks in the 

616
00:25:34,721 --> 00:25:36,832
homeland ? And are there any resource 

617
00:25:36,832 --> 00:25:39,400
shortfalls impacting Seabourn response 

618
00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:42,060
enterprise . So I believe we're 

619
00:25:42,060 --> 00:25:45,600
prepared to execute a response to a 

620
00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,810
small events such as we have planned 

621
00:25:48,810 --> 00:25:50,921
for based on a violent extremist type 

622
00:25:50,921 --> 00:25:54,040
organization event for a large scale 

623
00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:56,262
event in the homeland . I think there's 

624
00:25:56,262 --> 00:25:58,373
much work that still needs to be done 

625
00:25:58,373 --> 00:26:00,318
that could be additional resources 

626
00:26:00,318 --> 00:26:02,770
applied to Senator . Great thank you . 

627
00:26:03,140 --> 00:26:06,020
General Richardson , in your reply to 

628
00:26:06,030 --> 00:26:08,600
Senator Kaine question that Senator 

629
00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:10,711
Kaine offered you , you described the 

630
00:26:10,711 --> 00:26:12,711
importance of small team engagement 

631
00:26:12,711 --> 00:26:15,220
with our allies and partners . Nearly 

632
00:26:15,220 --> 00:26:18,000
every nation in south com kor 

633
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:19,944
participates in the National Guard 

634
00:26:19,944 --> 00:26:22,056
State Partnership program . As you're 

635
00:26:22,056 --> 00:26:24,222
well aware , my question for you is is 

636
00:26:24,222 --> 00:26:26,444
how do you plan to employ your National 

637
00:26:26,444 --> 00:26:28,556
Guard State Partnership Program units 

638
00:26:28,556 --> 00:26:30,722
to to deepen the defense relationships 

639
00:26:30,722 --> 00:26:32,944
so that we have in the region . So this 

640
00:26:32,944 --> 00:26:35,167
is a huge force , multiplier Senator uh 

641
00:26:35,167 --> 00:26:37,222
the State Partnership program and in 

642
00:26:37,222 --> 00:26:39,860
some cases uh 23 decades of 

643
00:26:39,860 --> 00:26:42,480
relationships uh that have evolved and 

644
00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:44,510
we see the the impact of that with 

645
00:26:44,510 --> 00:26:46,288
Ukraine and California and that 

646
00:26:46,288 --> 00:26:48,710
relationship that they have . And so 

647
00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:50,776
there was a creation a few years ago 

648
00:26:50,776 --> 00:26:52,942
the bilateral Affairs Officer which is 

649
00:26:52,942 --> 00:26:54,720
a National Guard officer that's 

650
00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:56,860
actually embedded uh in the embassies 

651
00:26:56,860 --> 00:26:59,500
with the D . O . D . Team there and uh 

652
00:26:59,500 --> 00:27:01,500
and then helps integrate that state 

653
00:27:01,500 --> 00:27:04,190
Partnership program in my campaign plan 

654
00:27:04,190 --> 00:27:06,910
and strategy for the region . And uh 

655
00:27:06,910 --> 00:27:08,820
and as was brought out and other 

656
00:27:08,820 --> 00:27:11,042
questions , you know , I don't have all 

657
00:27:11,042 --> 00:27:12,876
the resources I need but that is 

658
00:27:12,876 --> 00:27:14,931
reached back into the National Guard 

659
00:27:14,931 --> 00:27:16,987
and the capabilities especially with 

660
00:27:16,987 --> 00:27:19,210
the cyber battalions uh to help me with 

661
00:27:19,220 --> 00:27:22,100
with operations in the cyberspace 

662
00:27:22,100 --> 00:27:24,760
domain . Yeah . An area that we need to 

663
00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:27,080
have increased focus on without without 

664
00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:29,540
question . Another question for you 

665
00:27:29,550 --> 00:27:31,661
general is are you seeing the chinese 

666
00:27:31,661 --> 00:27:33,940
or the Russian military's copy these 

667
00:27:33,940 --> 00:27:36,170
types of efforts in collaborating with 

668
00:27:36,170 --> 00:27:38,003
regional militaries for training 

669
00:27:38,003 --> 00:27:39,892
opportunities . Is this something 

670
00:27:39,892 --> 00:27:41,781
they're picking up as well ? I do 

671
00:27:41,781 --> 00:27:43,948
senator , I see them using part of our 

672
00:27:43,948 --> 00:27:46,750
playbook against us actually . And what 

673
00:27:46,750 --> 00:27:48,750
I've said before is that they don't 

674
00:27:48,750 --> 00:27:51,000
have partners . Uh , they have clients 

675
00:27:51,010 --> 00:27:53,470
and so when we do our big exercises and 

676
00:27:53,470 --> 00:27:55,526
bring , you know , 20 some countries 

677
00:27:55,526 --> 00:27:57,637
together from the region , they don't 

678
00:27:57,637 --> 00:27:59,803
do that . But they do have a lot of uh 

679
00:27:59,940 --> 00:28:02,520
Of funding to bring large groups of 

680
00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:04,576
personnel from the military's or the 

681
00:28:04,576 --> 00:28:06,631
defense forces to all expense paid . 

682
00:28:06,631 --> 00:28:08,576
Professional military education in 

683
00:28:08,576 --> 00:28:10,853
Beijing for either a year or two years . 

684
00:28:10,950 --> 00:28:12,950
And if they do that , if I take the 

685
00:28:12,950 --> 00:28:15,117
country of Guyana for example and they 

686
00:28:15,117 --> 00:28:17,060
do 15 or 20 a year , they can get 

687
00:28:17,060 --> 00:28:19,227
through their defense force in about , 

688
00:28:19,227 --> 00:28:21,430
you know , five years . And so we've 

689
00:28:21,430 --> 00:28:23,630
got a uh , as I've said before , I 

690
00:28:23,630 --> 00:28:26,550
don't need to outspend china but I do 

691
00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:28,727
to out compete them , but I do need to 

692
00:28:28,727 --> 00:28:30,504
be on the field and my security 

693
00:28:30,504 --> 00:28:32,650
cooperation and I met funding uh a 

694
00:28:32,650 --> 00:28:35,140
little bit goes a long way . Great , 

695
00:28:35,150 --> 00:28:37,150
thank you . Thank you Mr Chairman , 

696
00:28:37,150 --> 00:28:39,372
thank you . Senator Peter Senator scott 

697
00:28:39,372 --> 00:28:42,700
please ? Thank you . Chairman . General 

698
00:28:42,700 --> 00:28:44,867
Richardson , can you first off , thank 

699
00:28:44,867 --> 00:28:47,089
you both of you for being here . Thanks 

700
00:28:47,089 --> 00:28:49,256
for the people , your your service and 

701
00:28:49,256 --> 00:28:49,030
the people , men and women that work 

702
00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:51,580
with you . General Richard Richardson , 

703
00:28:51,580 --> 00:28:53,747
can you describe what you've seen from 

704
00:28:53,747 --> 00:28:55,913
our enemies over the past six months ? 

705
00:28:55,913 --> 00:28:58,024
Have you had this command and what do 

706
00:28:58,024 --> 00:29:00,191
you believe their primary goals are in 

707
00:29:00,191 --> 00:29:03,000
our hemisphere ? So on . Frankly , the 

708
00:29:03,010 --> 00:29:06,740
I'm I'm surprised at how 

709
00:29:06,740 --> 00:29:09,410
much that our competitors have been 

710
00:29:09,410 --> 00:29:12,110
able to expand within the region and 

711
00:29:12,110 --> 00:29:13,832
how they've done that with the 

712
00:29:13,832 --> 00:29:16,310
proximity to the homeland . Uh , and 

713
00:29:16,310 --> 00:29:18,532
what I've , what I find myself doing is 

714
00:29:18,532 --> 00:29:20,699
a lot of educating and informing about 

715
00:29:20,699 --> 00:29:22,810
my A . O . R . As I travel around and 

716
00:29:22,810 --> 00:29:25,032
speak to different groups and and go to 

717
00:29:25,032 --> 00:29:27,820
different places to offer the message 

718
00:29:27,820 --> 00:29:29,987
and just educate folks because we tend 

719
00:29:29,987 --> 00:29:32,209
to look east and west , not necessarily 

720
00:29:32,209 --> 00:29:35,630
south . And uh , and I can fly to 80% 

721
00:29:35,630 --> 00:29:37,686
of this . A . O . R . It's huge . It 

722
00:29:37,686 --> 00:29:40,019
looks huge and it looks really far away . 

723
00:29:40,019 --> 00:29:42,440
I can fly to 80% of it in 2 to 3 hours 

724
00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:44,900
from Miami . And a lot of people don't , 

725
00:29:44,910 --> 00:29:46,966
you know , we just kind of forgotten 

726
00:29:46,966 --> 00:29:49,132
about that . Uh , I would say with the 

727
00:29:49,132 --> 00:29:51,243
investment of infrastructure over the 

728
00:29:51,243 --> 00:29:53,430
last five years by our long term 

729
00:29:53,430 --> 00:29:56,210
strategic competitor china . From 17 to 

730
00:29:56,210 --> 00:29:59,270
21 an investment of over 50 billion . 

731
00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:02,310
Um , I have corps of Engineers and we 

732
00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:05,180
average about 50 million per year . So 

733
00:30:05,180 --> 00:30:08,210
from 17 to 21 about 250 million 

734
00:30:08,220 --> 00:30:10,442
investment in the region . Now , that's 

735
00:30:10,442 --> 00:30:12,660
not it . I mean , usa ideas there and 

736
00:30:12,660 --> 00:30:15,900
there are other um , businesses and 

737
00:30:15,900 --> 00:30:18,060
corporations that are in the region , 

738
00:30:18,340 --> 00:30:20,620
but there's a , there's a huge 

739
00:30:20,620 --> 00:30:22,590
investment by , by our long term 

740
00:30:22,590 --> 00:30:24,646
strategic competitor in the region , 

741
00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:26,896
some of these countries as well as I 

742
00:30:26,896 --> 00:30:29,670
look to levers , levers that allow me 

743
00:30:29,670 --> 00:30:32,850
to out compete my adversary , uh , 

744
00:30:32,860 --> 00:30:35,820
foreign military sales . Um , I met 

745
00:30:35,830 --> 00:30:38,470
foreign military financing , security 

746
00:30:38,470 --> 00:30:41,100
cooperation , um , being able to have 

747
00:30:41,100 --> 00:30:43,290
responsive levers , we can't take a 

748
00:30:43,290 --> 00:30:46,000
year to two years . When are , you know , 

749
00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:47,944
our partner nations are asking for 

750
00:30:47,944 --> 00:30:51,080
capability , a couple of kilos , uh , 

751
00:30:51,090 --> 00:30:54,980
fighter jet , um , weapons vehicles and 

752
00:30:54,980 --> 00:30:57,147
we take two years . Our process is got 

753
00:30:57,147 --> 00:30:59,380
to be able to evolve with the , with 

754
00:30:59,380 --> 00:31:01,880
the times and uh , and we gotta be 

755
00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:05,480
faster . Do you see in in um , in our 

756
00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:07,591
hemisphere that Russia and china have 

757
00:31:07,591 --> 00:31:09,758
become clearly no question about their 

758
00:31:09,758 --> 00:31:11,924
adversaries . Um , they are definitely 

759
00:31:11,924 --> 00:31:13,980
competitors and I do look at them as 

760
00:31:13,980 --> 00:31:16,900
adversaries . So when you see american 

761
00:31:16,900 --> 00:31:19,170
companies that go do business in china 

762
00:31:19,540 --> 00:31:22,180
with chinese chinese government , with 

763
00:31:22,180 --> 00:31:24,291
the chinese military , does that make 

764
00:31:24,291 --> 00:31:28,230
your job harder or less hard ? I 

765
00:31:28,230 --> 00:31:30,730
look at it from a perspective of the 

766
00:31:30,740 --> 00:31:32,851
dual use , you have , they come under 

767
00:31:32,851 --> 00:31:34,962
the guise of infrastructure , doing a 

768
00:31:34,962 --> 00:31:37,129
good thing for that particular country 

769
00:31:37,129 --> 00:31:39,184
that , that they're , they look like 

770
00:31:39,184 --> 00:31:41,351
they're investing in . They don't do a 

771
00:31:41,351 --> 00:31:43,462
good a good job on the project in the 

772
00:31:43,462 --> 00:31:45,407
first place that generally becomes 

773
00:31:45,407 --> 00:31:47,580
evident in Anywhere from 5 to 7 years 

774
00:31:47,580 --> 00:31:49,636
after a project is done . They don't 

775
00:31:49,636 --> 00:31:51,747
hire host nation workers . They bring 

776
00:31:51,747 --> 00:31:54,770
in their own laborers . Um , It's uh , 

777
00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:57,496
I would say from my perspective , it 

778
00:31:57,500 --> 00:31:59,910
it's uh , it's , I worry about the 

779
00:31:59,910 --> 00:32:02,390
civilian and dual use with the military 

780
00:32:02,390 --> 00:32:04,557
and the PRC being able to bring in and 

781
00:32:04,557 --> 00:32:06,779
use uh switch something over . That's a 

782
00:32:06,779 --> 00:32:09,060
state owned enterprise to military use 

783
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:11,551
when they , when the chinese bring in 

784
00:32:11,551 --> 00:32:13,718
their own labor . Do they take it back 

785
00:32:13,718 --> 00:32:13,710
when it's finished , when the project's 

786
00:32:13,710 --> 00:32:15,821
finished or do they leave their labor 

787
00:32:15,821 --> 00:32:17,877
there ? I think it depends . I think 

788
00:32:17,877 --> 00:32:21,430
they actually do both . Okay . Do you 

789
00:32:21,430 --> 00:32:23,319
see signs of our enemies actively 

790
00:32:23,319 --> 00:32:25,900
supplying weapons to any state or group 

791
00:32:25,910 --> 00:32:28,200
state or group in latin America . Yes . 

792
00:32:28,980 --> 00:32:31,000
And is that increasing decreasing ? 

793
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:33,280
What's happening ? I think over 

794
00:32:33,290 --> 00:32:35,179
recently , probably over the past 

795
00:32:35,179 --> 00:32:37,123
couple of years . That's increased 

796
00:32:37,340 --> 00:32:40,800
again . It takes uh , whether they can 

797
00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:44,300
do it faster or cheaper than us . Uh , 

798
00:32:44,310 --> 00:32:46,960
is that's why I say are lovers and our 

799
00:32:46,970 --> 00:32:49,280
ability to be able to deliver has to , 

800
00:32:49,290 --> 00:32:52,070
has to speed up and our processes have 

801
00:32:52,070 --> 00:32:54,580
to get faster with the times . What 

802
00:32:54,580 --> 00:32:56,691
type of weapons are they sending into 

803
00:32:56,691 --> 00:32:58,880
our hemisphere fighter aircraft 

804
00:32:58,890 --> 00:33:01,820
helicopters , um , air defense 

805
00:33:01,820 --> 00:33:04,910
systems , uh , small arms 

806
00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:08,830
vehicles . So south 

807
00:33:08,830 --> 00:33:10,774
thomas had an office that supports 

808
00:33:10,774 --> 00:33:12,663
trade and investment and works to 

809
00:33:12,663 --> 00:33:14,941
connect small businesses in the region . 

810
00:33:14,941 --> 00:33:17,680
How is that doing ? Uh the in terms of 

811
00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:19,847
the small business , we have the small 

812
00:33:19,847 --> 00:33:22,060
business director actually attend the 

813
00:33:22,060 --> 00:33:24,850
chile inauguration for the president . 

814
00:33:24,860 --> 00:33:27,410
Uh and in terms of small business , 

815
00:33:27,410 --> 00:33:29,577
I'll tell you what I've done , Senator 

816
00:33:29,577 --> 00:33:31,632
is the we were able to bring bends , 

817
00:33:31,632 --> 00:33:33,466
which is business executives for 

818
00:33:33,466 --> 00:33:35,550
national security who coordinated a 

819
00:33:35,550 --> 00:33:38,200
trip into Panama on october with 10 C E . 

820
00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:40,260
O . S . Uh and I just took the out 

821
00:33:40,260 --> 00:33:42,320
brief a couple of weeks ago , it was 

822
00:33:42,330 --> 00:33:44,960
organized under my predecessor and then 

823
00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:47,071
just seeing the value of getting that 

824
00:33:47,071 --> 00:33:49,071
perspective on the ground . Because 

825
00:33:49,071 --> 00:33:51,016
when you talk about the investment 

826
00:33:51,016 --> 00:33:53,590
levels that that the PRC has , when 

827
00:33:53,590 --> 00:33:55,757
they go into these countries with over 

828
00:33:55,757 --> 00:33:58,034
50 billion and five years across the O . 

829
00:33:58,034 --> 00:34:01,110
R . I'm looking at OPM other people's 

830
00:34:01,110 --> 00:34:03,166
money , how can we get investment in 

831
00:34:03,166 --> 00:34:05,850
the region uh to help with the economic 

832
00:34:05,850 --> 00:34:07,739
problems that these countries are 

833
00:34:07,739 --> 00:34:09,961
having . All right , thanks both of you 

834
00:34:09,961 --> 00:34:12,128
for your service . Thank you . Senator 

835
00:34:12,128 --> 00:34:16,010
scott . Senator ernst please thank you 

836
00:34:16,010 --> 00:34:18,066
Mr . Chair and and thank you General 

837
00:34:18,066 --> 00:34:20,230
Van Herk in General Richardson for 

838
00:34:20,230 --> 00:34:22,008
being here today . We really do 

839
00:34:22,008 --> 00:34:24,600
appreciate your service to our country 

840
00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:28,060
and uh you both are acutely aware of 

841
00:34:28,060 --> 00:34:30,450
our adversaries and and how they are 

842
00:34:30,450 --> 00:34:32,561
actively spreading their economic and 

843
00:34:32,561 --> 00:34:34,783
military influence beyond their borders 

844
00:34:34,783 --> 00:34:36,783
to our own doorstep . This is right 

845
00:34:36,783 --> 00:34:39,690
here as your predecessor Admiral Faller 

846
00:34:39,690 --> 00:34:42,660
used to say in our own neighborhood and 

847
00:34:42,670 --> 00:34:44,837
that's such a great way to phrase that 

848
00:34:44,837 --> 00:34:47,003
because they are they're right here in 

849
00:34:47,003 --> 00:34:49,310
china in particular is on the offensive 

850
00:34:49,310 --> 00:34:52,870
here in the Western Hemisphere . And 

851
00:34:52,880 --> 00:34:54,990
there are days that I I truly worry 

852
00:34:54,990 --> 00:34:57,960
that our posture remains very 

853
00:34:57,970 --> 00:35:01,780
reactive at best and on 

854
00:35:01,780 --> 00:35:04,950
certain days , week at worst and that's 

855
00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:07,580
that's not due to you . It's because we 

856
00:35:07,580 --> 00:35:09,870
have many whether it stems all the way 

857
00:35:09,870 --> 00:35:12,037
from pennsylvania avenue , all the way 

858
00:35:12,037 --> 00:35:14,680
here , we just don't give enough 

859
00:35:14,690 --> 00:35:17,740
attention to our own 

860
00:35:17,750 --> 00:35:19,930
neighborhood . Many of my colleagues 

861
00:35:19,930 --> 00:35:22,560
have already stated that . Um so I 

862
00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:24,782
think it's imperative that we must give 

863
00:35:24,782 --> 00:35:27,004
you all the tools that you need to have 

864
00:35:27,004 --> 00:35:29,480
at your fingertips , the authorities 

865
00:35:29,490 --> 00:35:31,850
making sure that they are flexible . 

866
00:35:31,860 --> 00:35:34,510
But we also need realists in the D . O . 

867
00:35:34,510 --> 00:35:37,250
D . Policy shop and at the State 

868
00:35:37,250 --> 00:35:38,917
Department that will actually 

869
00:35:38,917 --> 00:35:41,300
acknowledge the significance of great 

870
00:35:41,300 --> 00:35:44,080
power threat that is emanating through 

871
00:35:44,080 --> 00:35:47,210
our area . Um So general richards and I 

872
00:35:47,210 --> 00:35:49,321
know that Senator Cotton focused very 

873
00:35:49,321 --> 00:35:51,377
heavily on the Panama Canal . Um , I 

874
00:35:51,377 --> 00:35:53,520
had a line of questioning as well in 

875
00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:55,742
that area . I'm gonna skip over quite a 

876
00:35:55,742 --> 00:35:58,580
bit of that . But just for everyone's 

877
00:35:58,580 --> 00:36:00,691
information , I think last year there 

878
00:36:00,691 --> 00:36:03,030
were about 14,000 transits through The 

879
00:36:03,030 --> 00:36:05,480
Panama Canal and the United States is 

880
00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:09,100
the number one user of the Panama Canal . 

881
00:36:09,110 --> 00:36:12,170
And 60% of what goes through the Panama 

882
00:36:12,170 --> 00:36:14,370
canal . It either originates in the 

883
00:36:14,370 --> 00:36:17,440
United States or is headed to the 

884
00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:19,662
United States and of course I come from 

885
00:36:19,662 --> 00:36:22,930
a very ag heavy state . A lot of those 

886
00:36:22,930 --> 00:36:25,430
commodities or products do transit 

887
00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:27,930
through the Panama Canal . So it is 

888
00:36:27,930 --> 00:36:30,940
extremely important for us . Um , so if 

889
00:36:30,940 --> 00:36:33,162
we could just hammer down just a little 

890
00:36:33,162 --> 00:36:35,329
bit more , just very briefly , general 

891
00:36:35,329 --> 00:36:37,496
richard Richardson , if you could talk 

892
00:36:37,496 --> 00:36:39,662
about what you see going on around the 

893
00:36:39,662 --> 00:36:42,600
Panama Canal with the chinese influence 

894
00:36:42,610 --> 00:36:45,480
that exists there . So thank you 

895
00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:47,900
senator . And certainly I'd like to 

896
00:36:47,900 --> 00:36:50,650
highlight that our country does 740 

897
00:36:50,650 --> 00:36:53,700
billion in trade with Latin America and 

898
00:36:53,700 --> 00:36:57,130
the Caribbean . It's huge . And so uh , 

899
00:36:57,140 --> 00:36:59,170
the importance of keeping that the 

900
00:36:59,170 --> 00:37:02,770
Panama Canal open and free and uh , for 

901
00:37:02,770 --> 00:37:05,040
global economics and the economy's not 

902
00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:07,660
just the war plans , which I , I worry 

903
00:37:07,660 --> 00:37:10,260
about as well uh , is extremely 

904
00:37:10,260 --> 00:37:12,500
important . But the strategic way of 

905
00:37:12,500 --> 00:37:15,720
the investments and the proximity and 

906
00:37:15,720 --> 00:37:17,720
the continued investment with other 

907
00:37:17,720 --> 00:37:19,910
projects that they make in and around 

908
00:37:19,910 --> 00:37:22,060
the Panama Canal is very concerning . 

909
00:37:22,070 --> 00:37:25,770
And so uh six billion additional in in 

910
00:37:25,770 --> 00:37:28,540
addition to the , on either side of the 

911
00:37:28,540 --> 00:37:30,740
canal , having state owned enterprise 

912
00:37:30,930 --> 00:37:34,530
uh , companies along the canal . Yeah , 

913
00:37:34,540 --> 00:37:37,450
it is very concerning about a week or 

914
00:37:37,450 --> 00:37:40,110
so . Prior to the Benz group and joe 

915
00:37:40,110 --> 00:37:43,530
hotels . Ben's group going into Panama . 

916
00:37:43,530 --> 00:37:45,586
I had traveled there with a group of 

917
00:37:45,586 --> 00:37:49,050
other congressmen um , to just really 

918
00:37:49,050 --> 00:37:51,430
see the chinese influence that is on 

919
00:37:51,430 --> 00:37:53,597
the ground there . And it is extremely 

920
00:37:53,597 --> 00:37:55,819
concerning . That's why I'm so thankful 

921
00:37:55,819 --> 00:37:57,970
that the Benz group is engaging in 

922
00:37:57,980 --> 00:38:01,060
central America and Panama and other 

923
00:38:01,060 --> 00:38:04,280
regions , we do need that economic uh 

924
00:38:04,290 --> 00:38:06,490
support in that region so that we can 

925
00:38:06,490 --> 00:38:09,540
also be a good partner . And if there 

926
00:38:09,540 --> 00:38:12,210
are ways that the United States maybe 

927
00:38:12,220 --> 00:38:14,730
won't invest if we can find other 

928
00:38:14,730 --> 00:38:17,790
allies and partners that do have the 

929
00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:19,522
type of supports that might be 

930
00:38:19,522 --> 00:38:21,670
necessary in that area , I think that 

931
00:38:21,670 --> 00:38:25,490
we should facilitate where we can . Um 

932
00:38:25,500 --> 00:38:27,611
I'd like to focus a little bit on the 

933
00:38:27,611 --> 00:38:30,680
mining activities that occur in south 

934
00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:33,910
America as well . Um This is an area 

935
00:38:33,910 --> 00:38:35,632
where we have seen a number of 

936
00:38:35,632 --> 00:38:37,521
businesses from the United States 

937
00:38:37,521 --> 00:38:39,830
attempt to get into places like chile 

938
00:38:40,020 --> 00:38:42,560
um where they have lithium resources 

939
00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:45,860
but who beat us to the punch the 

940
00:38:45,860 --> 00:38:48,660
chinese . Um So if you can talk a 

941
00:38:48,660 --> 00:38:51,930
little bit about mining activities and 

942
00:38:51,940 --> 00:38:54,370
and how valuable that would be to the 

943
00:38:54,370 --> 00:38:57,140
United States if we were able to engage 

944
00:38:57,150 --> 00:38:59,740
in those types of activities . So the 

945
00:38:59,750 --> 00:39:02,870
region is just rich with um with rare 

946
00:39:02,870 --> 00:39:05,037
earth minerals . And as you you talked 

947
00:39:05,037 --> 00:39:06,890
about , I mean I I just took my 

948
00:39:06,890 --> 00:39:09,870
granddaughter to the um the the history 

949
00:39:09,870 --> 00:39:12,330
Museum on the mall a couple of weeks 

950
00:39:12,330 --> 00:39:15,890
ago and got to see uh just all the 

951
00:39:15,900 --> 00:39:19,660
uh minerals and the precious metals and 

952
00:39:19,660 --> 00:39:21,730
things like that resources from the 

953
00:39:21,730 --> 00:39:24,530
region . Uh you know the rubies , the 

954
00:39:24,530 --> 00:39:26,863
emeralds , all of those kinds of things . 

955
00:39:26,863 --> 00:39:29,141
But when you talk about illegal mining , 

956
00:39:29,141 --> 00:39:31,086
it's illegal mining , It's illegal 

957
00:39:31,086 --> 00:39:33,680
logging , its illegal fishing . Uh that 

958
00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:36,660
happens um if I I know you asked about 

959
00:39:36,660 --> 00:39:38,660
mining , but if I could mention the 

960
00:39:38,660 --> 00:39:41,970
fishing at any given day , I have over 

961
00:39:41,970 --> 00:39:45,930
600 PRC uh fishing vessels in my A . 

962
00:39:45,930 --> 00:39:48,800
O . R . That are off the coast of 

963
00:39:48,810 --> 00:39:52,170
Ecuador . Peru chile . And they follow 

964
00:39:52,170 --> 00:39:54,460
the fishing migration patterns and so 

965
00:39:54,460 --> 00:39:56,571
you know where they're going to be by 

966
00:39:56,571 --> 00:39:58,793
the migration of the fish . And this is 

967
00:39:58,793 --> 00:40:01,880
about three billion in lost economics . 

968
00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:03,713
You know productivity that those 

969
00:40:03,713 --> 00:40:05,820
nations desperately need that the 

970
00:40:05,820 --> 00:40:08,570
chinese are are taking away . And so 

971
00:40:08,570 --> 00:40:10,660
it's it's it's all three of those 

972
00:40:10,660 --> 00:40:13,600
things that are extremely prevalent in 

973
00:40:13,610 --> 00:40:15,900
this A . O . R . Yeah I appreciate that 

974
00:40:15,900 --> 00:40:18,122
very much . I'm glad you brought up all 

975
00:40:18,122 --> 00:40:21,090
of those other resources . Um It's just 

976
00:40:21,100 --> 00:40:22,933
incredibly important that we pay 

977
00:40:22,933 --> 00:40:26,160
attention to our own neighborhood and 

978
00:40:26,170 --> 00:40:29,360
not only through our military but also 

979
00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:31,471
through our State Department but also 

980
00:40:31,471 --> 00:40:34,290
economically as well . So I really 

981
00:40:34,290 --> 00:40:36,401
appreciate your presence here today . 

982
00:40:36,401 --> 00:40:38,512
Um Thank you General Van Herk . Thank 

983
00:40:38,512 --> 00:40:40,679
you so much . General Richardson and I 

984
00:40:40,679 --> 00:40:42,820
yield . Thank you . Thank you Senator 

985
00:40:42,820 --> 00:40:45,180
and General Hawley please thank you Mr 

986
00:40:45,180 --> 00:40:47,180
Chairman and thanks to you both for 

987
00:40:47,180 --> 00:40:49,347
being here . Thank you to you for your 

988
00:40:49,347 --> 00:40:51,180
service to our country . General 

989
00:40:51,180 --> 00:40:51,020
Manager eric let me start with you and 

990
00:40:51,030 --> 00:40:53,141
let me say it's great to see a fellow 

991
00:40:53,141 --> 00:40:55,030
Missourian here as always . Um I 

992
00:40:55,030 --> 00:40:56,974
noticed something you said in your 

993
00:40:56,974 --> 00:40:59,141
opening statement , I want to quote it 

994
00:40:59,141 --> 00:41:01,141
to make sure I get it correct . You 

995
00:41:01,141 --> 00:41:02,974
said , I think that our reliance 

996
00:41:02,974 --> 00:41:04,974
America's reliance on deterrence by 

997
00:41:04,974 --> 00:41:06,586
cost imposition is currently 

998
00:41:06,586 --> 00:41:08,308
overweighted and significantly 

999
00:41:08,308 --> 00:41:10,530
increases the risk of miscalculation by 

1000
00:41:10,530 --> 00:41:12,641
limiting our national leaders options 

1001
00:41:12,641 --> 00:41:15,370
following an attack that caught my 

1002
00:41:15,370 --> 00:41:18,290
attention because I have been arguing 

1003
00:41:18,290 --> 00:41:20,512
for a while now about the importance of 

1004
00:41:20,512 --> 00:41:22,650
adopting a strategy of denial , 

1005
00:41:22,650 --> 00:41:24,817
deterrence by denial versus deterrence 

1006
00:41:24,817 --> 00:41:27,039
by cops custom position , especially as 

1007
00:41:27,039 --> 00:41:29,094
it relates to china . So I wonder if 

1008
00:41:29,094 --> 00:41:31,261
you could just expand on your comments 

1009
00:41:31,261 --> 00:41:33,428
a little bit and tell us why you think 

1010
00:41:33,428 --> 00:41:35,594
it's important to end an over reliance 

1011
00:41:35,594 --> 00:41:37,539
on deterrence by cost imposition . 

1012
00:41:37,539 --> 00:41:39,594
Thanks senator . 1st . 1st , I would 

1013
00:41:39,594 --> 00:41:41,372
say cost imposition the nuclear 

1014
00:41:41,372 --> 00:41:43,594
deterrent is the foundation of homeland 

1015
00:41:43,594 --> 00:41:45,872
defense and we must fully fund a triad . 

1016
00:41:45,872 --> 00:41:48,070
That is the foundation . We also must 

1017
00:41:48,070 --> 00:41:50,126
have a strong conventional force but 

1018
00:41:50,126 --> 00:41:52,160
that has to also be balanced with 

1019
00:41:52,170 --> 00:41:54,337
deterrence by denial and deterrence by 

1020
00:41:54,337 --> 00:41:56,820
denial is the capability to deny a 

1021
00:41:56,820 --> 00:42:00,150
potential adversary . The ability to 

1022
00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:02,930
believe they can inflict damage on us . 

1023
00:42:02,930 --> 00:42:04,986
That may bring us to our knees . And 

1024
00:42:04,986 --> 00:42:06,763
it's the ability to demonstrate 

1025
00:42:06,763 --> 00:42:09,680
readiness resiliency across the whole 

1026
00:42:09,680 --> 00:42:12,080
of government responsiveness . We do 

1027
00:42:12,080 --> 00:42:13,913
this every day with hurricanes , 

1028
00:42:13,913 --> 00:42:16,210
wildfires , we demonstrated it with 

1029
00:42:16,220 --> 00:42:18,060
allies . Welcome all of those 

1030
00:42:18,060 --> 00:42:19,960
contribute to the overarching 

1031
00:42:19,970 --> 00:42:22,192
integrated deterrents . That's where my 

1032
00:42:22,192 --> 00:42:24,414
campaign plan is focused . I don't want 

1033
00:42:24,414 --> 00:42:26,470
to start with defense kinetically in 

1034
00:42:26,470 --> 00:42:28,692
the homeland . I want to keep us out of 

1035
00:42:28,692 --> 00:42:30,859
the crisis and conflict by focusing on 

1036
00:42:30,859 --> 00:42:32,970
that deterrence by denial on a day to 

1037
00:42:32,970 --> 00:42:35,137
day basis . Let me ask you this , when 

1038
00:42:35,137 --> 00:42:37,359
when you say that one of the one of the 

1039
00:42:37,359 --> 00:42:39,470
dangers of over relying on deterrence 

1040
00:42:39,470 --> 00:42:41,248
by constant position is that it 

1041
00:42:41,248 --> 00:42:43,303
increases the risk of miscalculation 

1042
00:42:43,303 --> 00:42:45,192
and limits options . Can you just 

1043
00:42:45,192 --> 00:42:47,414
explain that piece of it ? Absolutely . 

1044
00:42:47,414 --> 00:42:49,750
So without the deterrence by denial and 

1045
00:42:49,750 --> 00:42:51,880
the belief in a potential adversaries 

1046
00:42:51,880 --> 00:42:54,290
mind that they can't be successful , 

1047
00:42:54,290 --> 00:42:57,910
they may actually believe that because 

1048
00:42:57,910 --> 00:42:59,910
the homeland is vulnerable and they 

1049
00:42:59,910 --> 00:43:02,110
could bring us to our knees that that 

1050
00:43:02,110 --> 00:43:05,460
maybe the emboldening factor that uh 

1051
00:43:05,470 --> 00:43:08,120
leads them to make a decision to attack 

1052
00:43:08,120 --> 00:43:11,010
whether that be in Taiwan or another 

1053
00:43:11,010 --> 00:43:13,360
place because they believe that they 

1054
00:43:13,360 --> 00:43:15,740
can disrupt delay or destroy our will 

1055
00:43:15,740 --> 00:43:17,962
in the homeland . We want to create the 

1056
00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:20,167
them to believe and understand that we 

1057
00:43:20,167 --> 00:43:22,167
have the capability that they could 

1058
00:43:22,167 --> 00:43:24,222
never do that to us by defending the 

1059
00:43:24,222 --> 00:43:26,389
key critical infrastructure and having 

1060
00:43:26,389 --> 00:43:28,611
the resiliency and readiness to respond 

1061
00:43:28,611 --> 00:43:30,833
very good . Thank you for that . Let me 

1062
00:43:30,833 --> 00:43:34,020
shift to the situation involving the 

1063
00:43:34,020 --> 00:43:36,740
drug supply at the southern border and 

1064
00:43:36,740 --> 00:43:39,530
particularly fentaNYL , which is in um 

1065
00:43:39,540 --> 00:43:42,780
our state absolutely devastating . And 

1066
00:43:42,780 --> 00:43:44,836
we're seeing mass quantities of it . 

1067
00:43:44,836 --> 00:43:47,058
Can you just give us an update on north 

1068
00:43:47,058 --> 00:43:49,450
coms efforts to help DHS stem the flow 

1069
00:43:49,450 --> 00:43:51,630
of illegal drugs and particularly 

1070
00:43:51,640 --> 00:43:53,751
fentaNYL there at the southern border 

1071
00:43:53,751 --> 00:43:55,473
Senator currently North campus 

1072
00:43:55,473 --> 00:43:58,760
providing about 2450 guardsmen from 

1073
00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:01,060
various states in a title 10 status . 

1074
00:44:01,130 --> 00:44:03,280
Doing detection and monitoring intel 

1075
00:44:03,280 --> 00:44:07,220
analysis and also aviation support . Uh 

1076
00:44:07,230 --> 00:44:09,397
They're the request for support for Fy 

1077
00:44:09,397 --> 00:44:11,950
23 is in the department as well and 

1078
00:44:11,960 --> 00:44:13,960
being adjudicated at the department 

1079
00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:16,127
level . I don't have a tasking yet for 

1080
00:44:16,127 --> 00:44:18,238
23 . Let me ask you about the mexican 

1081
00:44:18,238 --> 00:44:20,238
government . Have they been helping 

1082
00:44:20,238 --> 00:44:22,404
with this with the flow of drugs ? The 

1083
00:44:22,404 --> 00:44:25,190
human trafficking has that has it 

1084
00:44:25,190 --> 00:44:27,246
gotten better or worse than the last 

1085
00:44:27,246 --> 00:44:29,830
year ? The mexicans are extremely good 

1086
00:44:29,830 --> 00:44:31,941
partners . I have great relationships 

1087
00:44:31,941 --> 00:44:34,500
with General Sandoval of Sedona with 

1088
00:44:34,500 --> 00:44:36,630
Admiral O . Heda of some are both are 

1089
00:44:36,630 --> 00:44:38,686
coming to visit me next month . They 

1090
00:44:38,686 --> 00:44:40,690
have tens of thousands of mexican 

1091
00:44:40,690 --> 00:44:43,510
troops conducting the mission to 

1092
00:44:43,510 --> 00:44:45,566
support what we need with the common 

1093
00:44:45,566 --> 00:44:47,732
objectives and and we're very grateful 

1094
00:44:47,732 --> 00:44:49,788
for their partnership . What are you 

1095
00:44:49,788 --> 00:44:51,732
looking for them to do in the year 

1096
00:44:51,732 --> 00:44:54,110
ahead ? Continue to partner would 

1097
00:44:54,120 --> 00:44:56,210
provide additional security . Samara 

1098
00:44:56,210 --> 00:44:58,840
has ports security now for fentaNYL . 

1099
00:44:58,840 --> 00:45:01,062
That's crucial because those precursors 

1100
00:45:01,062 --> 00:45:03,310
often come into ports . Would like to 

1101
00:45:03,310 --> 00:45:05,477
work additional information sharing to 

1102
00:45:05,477 --> 00:45:07,532
enable them to be more successful in 

1103
00:45:07,532 --> 00:45:09,588
interdicting much of those precursor 

1104
00:45:09,588 --> 00:45:11,754
chemicals that come into Mexico . Very 

1105
00:45:11,754 --> 00:45:13,921
good . Let me shift back to china here 

1106
00:45:13,921 --> 00:45:15,810
quickly and my my a little bit of 

1107
00:45:15,810 --> 00:45:17,699
remaining time . Um you mentioned 

1108
00:45:17,699 --> 00:45:19,754
Taiwan a second ago . It's no secret 

1109
00:45:19,754 --> 00:45:21,810
Beijing would love to seize Taiwan . 

1110
00:45:21,810 --> 00:45:23,977
They'd love to execute a fete accompli 

1111
00:45:23,977 --> 00:45:26,030
with regard to Taiwan . And we also 

1112
00:45:26,030 --> 00:45:28,308
know that if they attempted to do that , 

1113
00:45:28,308 --> 00:45:30,252
they would seek to prevent us from 

1114
00:45:30,252 --> 00:45:33,190
deploying forces from the west coast 

1115
00:45:33,200 --> 00:45:36,060
into the theater . Tell me about your 

1116
00:45:36,060 --> 00:45:38,010
concerns about china's ability to 

1117
00:45:38,010 --> 00:45:40,177
strike military targets targets in the 

1118
00:45:40,177 --> 00:45:42,177
homeland using cyber capabilities . 

1119
00:45:42,790 --> 00:45:44,957
Well , China possesses extensive cyber 

1120
00:45:44,957 --> 00:45:48,160
capabilities . Those responsibilities 

1121
00:45:48,160 --> 00:45:50,382
to defend the homeland primarily reside 

1122
00:45:50,382 --> 00:45:53,010
with Cisa Director easterly and General 

1123
00:45:53,010 --> 00:45:55,590
Nakasone on the dot Inside my role is 

1124
00:45:55,590 --> 00:45:57,610
to provide defense support of civil 

1125
00:45:57,610 --> 00:45:59,390
authorities . In the case of 

1126
00:45:59,400 --> 00:46:01,590
municipalities industry asked for 

1127
00:46:01,590 --> 00:46:05,050
support . Um we have a good capability . 

1128
00:46:05,050 --> 00:46:07,290
What we don't know senator is the 

1129
00:46:07,290 --> 00:46:09,179
unknown . We don't know where the 

1130
00:46:09,179 --> 00:46:11,346
vulnerabilities are because of the way 

1131
00:46:11,346 --> 00:46:13,401
were set up across multiple agencies 

1132
00:46:13,401 --> 00:46:16,050
across multiple industries that we rely 

1133
00:46:16,050 --> 00:46:19,400
on volunteering their information for 

1134
00:46:19,410 --> 00:46:21,540
uh cyber vulnerabilities . Got it . 

1135
00:46:21,550 --> 00:46:23,772
Thank you both for your service again . 

1136
00:46:23,772 --> 00:46:25,828
General Richardson , I'll give you a 

1137
00:46:25,828 --> 00:46:27,939
few questions for the record . Thanks 

1138
00:46:27,939 --> 00:46:27,630
for being here . Thank you . Mr 

1139
00:46:27,630 --> 00:46:29,686
Chairman , thank you Senator Wally . 

1140
00:46:29,686 --> 00:46:32,380
Senator Rosen , please thank you . Mr 

1141
00:46:32,380 --> 00:46:34,560
Chairman . And uh I would really like 

1142
00:46:34,560 --> 00:46:36,616
to thank Generals Richardson and and 

1143
00:46:36,616 --> 00:46:38,727
Van Herk for testifying today and for 

1144
00:46:38,727 --> 00:46:41,060
your service to our country . Thank you . 

1145
00:46:41,060 --> 00:46:43,171
Um I want to speak a little bit about 

1146
00:46:43,171 --> 00:46:44,893
Iran's presence in the western 

1147
00:46:44,893 --> 00:46:46,782
hemisphere and General Richardson 

1148
00:46:46,782 --> 00:46:48,893
during your confirmation hearing . We 

1149
00:46:48,893 --> 00:46:50,838
discussed Iran's presence in latin 

1150
00:46:50,838 --> 00:46:52,949
America through its proxy Hezbollah . 

1151
00:46:53,480 --> 00:46:55,369
Its involvement in the tri border 

1152
00:46:55,369 --> 00:46:57,591
region of Paraguay Argentina and brazil 

1153
00:46:57,591 --> 00:46:59,930
and . its exchange of arms for oil with 

1154
00:46:59,940 --> 00:47:02,620
of course Venezuela . Over a year ago 

1155
00:47:02,620 --> 00:47:04,740
Brazilian authorities extradited a 

1156
00:47:04,740 --> 00:47:06,650
leading Hezbollah finance er to 

1157
00:47:06,650 --> 00:47:08,860
Paraguay which dealt a blow of course 

1158
00:47:08,860 --> 00:47:10,971
to the terrorist group . However , we 

1159
00:47:10,971 --> 00:47:13,193
don't often receive the same support in 

1160
00:47:13,193 --> 00:47:15,360
combating Iran or its proxy activities 

1161
00:47:15,360 --> 00:47:17,416
from other countries in the region . 

1162
00:47:17,416 --> 00:47:19,416
Just a little over two months ago , 

1163
00:47:19,416 --> 00:47:22,220
Iranian official Mohsen uh Mohsen Rezai 

1164
00:47:22,330 --> 00:47:25,000
was wanted by Interpol for his role as 

1165
00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:27,000
leader of the Iranian Revolutionary 

1166
00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:29,350
Guard Corps in the 1990 for a me a 

1167
00:47:29,350 --> 00:47:31,294
jewish community center bombing in 

1168
00:47:31,294 --> 00:47:33,350
Argentina . He made an appearance at 

1169
00:47:33,350 --> 00:47:35,072
the inauguration of Nicaraguan 

1170
00:47:35,072 --> 00:47:38,410
President Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua to 

1171
00:47:38,410 --> 00:47:40,410
hold Iran accountable and Hezbollah 

1172
00:47:40,410 --> 00:47:42,410
accountable for their activities in 

1173
00:47:42,410 --> 00:47:44,632
latin America , Senator Blackburn and I 

1174
00:47:44,632 --> 00:47:46,854
introduced Hezbollah and Latin american 

1175
00:47:46,854 --> 00:47:49,021
account of latin America , excuse me , 

1176
00:47:49,021 --> 00:47:51,243
accountability act . So general , could 

1177
00:47:51,243 --> 00:47:53,300
you please update the committee on 

1178
00:47:53,300 --> 00:47:55,550
Hezbollah's recent activity in Latin 

1179
00:47:55,550 --> 00:47:57,780
America . Are we effectively disrupting 

1180
00:47:57,780 --> 00:48:00,420
their agenda And to your knowledge is 

1181
00:48:00,420 --> 00:48:03,000
Hezbollah continuing to exchange arms 

1182
00:48:03,000 --> 00:48:06,000
for oil with Venezuela . So thank you 

1183
00:48:06,000 --> 00:48:08,056
for the question Senator and I think 

1184
00:48:08,056 --> 00:48:10,167
the uh quite honestly , thank you for 

1185
00:48:10,167 --> 00:48:12,860
the for the act and the um and the work 

1186
00:48:12,860 --> 00:48:15,027
that we do partnering with our partner 

1187
00:48:15,027 --> 00:48:17,020
nations . It's so important to the 

1188
00:48:17,020 --> 00:48:19,390
security cooperation training equipped 

1189
00:48:19,390 --> 00:48:21,501
triple three funding . That's my main 

1190
00:48:21,501 --> 00:48:23,980
level to work with these militaries and 

1191
00:48:23,980 --> 00:48:26,290
these defense forces to counter our 

1192
00:48:26,290 --> 00:48:28,346
competitors encounter are threats in 

1193
00:48:28,346 --> 00:48:31,140
the region . And just as you listed off , 

1194
00:48:31,150 --> 00:48:33,990
you know what what Iran does and has 

1195
00:48:33,990 --> 00:48:37,470
done uh in our in our in my A . O . R . 

1196
00:48:37,480 --> 00:48:41,400
Uh is very concerning and obviously um 

1197
00:48:41,670 --> 00:48:44,670
to impact that and when I uh secretary 

1198
00:48:44,680 --> 00:48:47,480
defense uses the integrated deterrence 

1199
00:48:47,480 --> 00:48:49,370
and and as I look at that and you 

1200
00:48:49,370 --> 00:48:51,490
partner with all of the capabilities 

1201
00:48:51,490 --> 00:48:53,720
that are in the region uh it's so 

1202
00:48:53,720 --> 00:48:55,942
important that the partner nations that 

1203
00:48:55,942 --> 00:48:57,960
are dealing with this internally be 

1204
00:48:57,960 --> 00:48:59,627
able to have the capacity and 

1205
00:48:59,627 --> 00:49:02,390
capability to do that too . Um I just 

1206
00:49:02,390 --> 00:49:04,810
request that I'm able to continue with 

1207
00:49:04,810 --> 00:49:07,090
that triple three funding so I am there 

1208
00:49:07,100 --> 00:49:09,267
because they want to partner with us , 

1209
00:49:09,267 --> 00:49:11,489
they want a partner , they look to us , 

1210
00:49:11,489 --> 00:49:13,433
they look for help , they look for 

1211
00:49:13,433 --> 00:49:15,544
assistance , they look for coaching , 

1212
00:49:15,544 --> 00:49:17,544
teaching , mentoring , they want to 

1213
00:49:17,544 --> 00:49:19,711
come to our schools and this is how we 

1214
00:49:19,711 --> 00:49:21,878
make them stronger to handle their own 

1215
00:49:21,878 --> 00:49:23,989
uh their issues internally as we work 

1216
00:49:23,989 --> 00:49:26,211
together to counter the threats . Thank 

1217
00:49:26,211 --> 00:49:28,322
you . I want to continue on this line 

1218
00:49:28,322 --> 00:49:30,433
of questioning questioning because we 

1219
00:49:30,433 --> 00:49:32,600
know there's also chinese surveillance 

1220
00:49:32,600 --> 00:49:35,270
technology um in south America . And so 

1221
00:49:35,270 --> 00:49:37,492
I asked you at the confirmation hearing 

1222
00:49:37,492 --> 00:49:40,190
about uh chinese state companies 

1223
00:49:40,190 --> 00:49:42,600
deploying that smart city safe city 

1224
00:49:42,610 --> 00:49:45,280
technology in latin America . And of 

1225
00:49:45,280 --> 00:49:47,650
course you said countries don't I don't 

1226
00:49:47,650 --> 00:49:50,480
like that in the region . So I'm 

1227
00:49:50,480 --> 00:49:52,591
concerned about the national security 

1228
00:49:52,591 --> 00:49:54,591
ramifications of this . So I know I 

1229
00:49:54,591 --> 00:49:56,536
have a short time left but can you 

1230
00:49:56,536 --> 00:49:58,647
provide us an update on the countries 

1231
00:49:58,647 --> 00:50:00,480
who are trying to get rid of the 

1232
00:50:00,480 --> 00:50:02,258
technology implemented in their 

1233
00:50:02,258 --> 00:50:04,480
countries by china . And uh what can we 

1234
00:50:04,480 --> 00:50:07,780
do to help stop this widespread chinese 

1235
00:50:07,780 --> 00:50:09,840
surveillance ? So we do our best . I 

1236
00:50:09,840 --> 00:50:12,560
mean not just the D . O . D . But but 

1237
00:50:12,560 --> 00:50:14,282
also Department of State as we 

1238
00:50:14,282 --> 00:50:16,950
consistently work with them . I senior 

1239
00:50:16,950 --> 00:50:19,780
defense officials and my senior co uh 

1240
00:50:19,790 --> 00:50:22,370
cooperation officials that are 

1241
00:50:22,370 --> 00:50:24,592
downrange that are actually embedded in 

1242
00:50:24,592 --> 00:50:26,537
the embassies and working with our 

1243
00:50:26,537 --> 00:50:28,592
partner nations to advise them about 

1244
00:50:28,592 --> 00:50:30,481
the technology , the surveillance 

1245
00:50:30,481 --> 00:50:32,970
technology , a backdoor of getting into 

1246
00:50:32,970 --> 00:50:35,026
the defense networks and things like 

1247
00:50:35,026 --> 00:50:37,930
that . Certainly uh the possibility of 

1248
00:50:37,930 --> 00:50:40,830
five G . And if if nations get five G 

1249
00:50:40,830 --> 00:50:42,663
then our inability to be able to 

1250
00:50:42,663 --> 00:50:44,774
continue to work with them because of 

1251
00:50:44,774 --> 00:50:47,190
that cyber threat . Thank you . I want 

1252
00:50:47,190 --> 00:50:49,412
to kind of keep on the cyber threat and 

1253
00:50:49,412 --> 00:50:51,523
I move over to General Van Herk about 

1254
00:50:51,523 --> 00:50:54,450
missile defense cybersecurity as MD A 

1255
00:50:54,450 --> 00:50:56,672
works to rapidly deploy missile defense 

1256
00:50:56,672 --> 00:50:58,839
systems to stay ahead of threats . I'm 

1257
00:50:58,839 --> 00:51:00,950
concerned that we might not be taking 

1258
00:51:00,950 --> 00:51:02,728
potential cyber vulnerabilities 

1259
00:51:02,728 --> 00:51:04,783
seriously enough before fielding new 

1260
00:51:04,783 --> 00:51:06,617
systems . So on the 2019 missile 

1261
00:51:06,617 --> 00:51:08,894
defense review a software is mentioned . 

1262
00:51:08,894 --> 00:51:11,270
Software is mentioned only once . This 

1263
00:51:11,270 --> 00:51:14,490
is a key way hackers get in even more 

1264
00:51:14,490 --> 00:51:17,210
alarming . Gos May 2021 reports 

1265
00:51:17,220 --> 00:51:20,190
highlights that none none of em D A 17 

1266
00:51:20,190 --> 00:51:22,412
operational cybersecurity tests planned 

1267
00:51:22,412 --> 00:51:25,960
for fiscal year 2020 were conducted And 

1268
00:51:25,960 --> 00:51:28,690
that cybersecurity testing since 2017 

1269
00:51:28,690 --> 00:51:31,310
has revealed vulnerabilities . I will 

1270
00:51:31,310 --> 00:51:34,900
take my answer off the record but um I 

1271
00:51:34,900 --> 00:51:37,011
just like to know what steps NORAD is 

1272
00:51:37,011 --> 00:51:39,011
taking to address the cybersecurity 

1273
00:51:39,011 --> 00:51:41,290
vulnerabilities . I I see my time is up 

1274
00:51:41,290 --> 00:51:43,900
so I'll yield to my next question . 

1275
00:51:43,910 --> 00:51:45,966
We'll take it for the record . Thank 

1276
00:51:45,966 --> 00:51:48,077
you . Thank you both generals . Thank 

1277
00:51:48,077 --> 00:51:49,854
you . Senator Roseman . Senator 

1278
00:51:49,854 --> 00:51:52,077
Tuberville please . Good morning . Save 

1279
00:51:52,077 --> 00:51:54,960
the best for last . Glad ceo uh General 

1280
00:51:54,960 --> 00:51:58,070
Van Herrick . We're here in Title 42 is 

1281
00:51:58,070 --> 00:52:00,510
gonna expire March the 30th . Are we 

1282
00:52:00,510 --> 00:52:03,960
prepared for it ? I would defer to the 

1283
00:52:03,960 --> 00:52:06,480
DHS that's their mission . We we are 

1284
00:52:06,850 --> 00:52:09,190
actively planning based at the request 

1285
00:52:09,190 --> 00:52:11,590
of Dhs I don't have a task to do that 

1286
00:52:11,600 --> 00:52:13,670
at this time but I understand the 

1287
00:52:13,670 --> 00:52:15,892
department is working through that with 

1288
00:52:15,892 --> 00:52:18,480
DHS , one of my favorite movies is what 

1289
00:52:18,490 --> 00:52:20,601
I think we were soldiers . Mel Gibson 

1290
00:52:20,601 --> 00:52:23,880
uh played Colonel Hal moore who is a 

1291
00:52:23,880 --> 00:52:25,824
friend of mine a few years ago and 

1292
00:52:25,824 --> 00:52:28,280
since passed away in that movie , 

1293
00:52:28,280 --> 00:52:31,030
they're getting run over and the code 

1294
00:52:31,030 --> 00:52:33,240
was broken Arrow . In other words , 

1295
00:52:33,240 --> 00:52:35,910
they're up there on top of us . I saw a 

1296
00:52:35,920 --> 00:52:39,380
facebook page this morning from from 

1297
00:52:39,950 --> 00:52:42,370
border patrol hollering Broken Arrow . 

1298
00:52:43,050 --> 00:52:45,161
We got huge problems and I know we've 

1299
00:52:45,161 --> 00:52:47,328
got huge problems all over the world . 

1300
00:52:47,328 --> 00:52:49,439
It doesn't seem like we're addressing 

1301
00:52:49,439 --> 00:52:51,439
this enough and we're gonna have to 

1302
00:52:51,439 --> 00:52:53,439
sooner or later because it's really 

1303
00:52:53,439 --> 00:52:55,494
gonna affect and it is affecting our 

1304
00:52:55,494 --> 00:52:57,661
country as we speak but With the drugs 

1305
00:52:57,661 --> 00:52:57,600
and all that ? But I just wanted to 

1306
00:52:57,600 --> 00:52:59,810
bring that up . Given your 3200 hours 

1307
00:52:59,810 --> 00:53:02,050
of flight time you've flown about 

1308
00:53:02,050 --> 00:53:04,217
everything I guess . Is there anything 

1309
00:53:04,217 --> 00:53:06,383
you haven't flown ? There's plenty . I 

1310
00:53:06,383 --> 00:53:08,606
haven't flown what ? General Richardson 

1311
00:53:08,606 --> 00:53:11,480
flies helicopters . Um A former 

1312
00:53:11,480 --> 00:53:13,740
Thunderbird Squadron Commander J . V . 

1313
00:53:13,740 --> 00:53:15,851
Venable recently wrote that a fighter 

1314
00:53:15,851 --> 00:53:18,570
pilot needs at least 200 hours 

1315
00:53:19,650 --> 00:53:22,550
A year or four sorties a week and coach 

1316
00:53:22,550 --> 00:53:26,490
and we call it practice . But the Air 

1317
00:53:26,490 --> 00:53:28,810
Force and Navy flight hours have fallen 

1318
00:53:28,810 --> 00:53:32,270
to historic lows . Is that concerning 

1319
00:53:34,250 --> 00:53:36,170
from a readiness perspective from 

1320
00:53:36,170 --> 00:53:38,281
somebody who receives forces from the 

1321
00:53:38,281 --> 00:53:40,337
service . It is concerning to ensure 

1322
00:53:40,337 --> 00:53:42,430
that every force that we receive is 

1323
00:53:42,430 --> 00:53:44,597
ready to execute the missions that I'm 

1324
00:53:44,597 --> 00:53:46,640
tasked to do best answered by the 

1325
00:53:46,640 --> 00:53:48,529
services specific to their actual 

1326
00:53:48,529 --> 00:53:50,640
training . But it would be concerning 

1327
00:53:50,640 --> 00:53:52,751
if the trend continues to drop on the 

1328
00:53:52,751 --> 00:53:55,029
flight hours . Thank you . Mr Chairman , 

1329
00:53:55,029 --> 00:53:56,973
I would like to submit mr venables 

1330
00:53:56,973 --> 00:53:59,410
report on Air Force readiness and the 

1331
00:53:59,410 --> 00:54:01,243
Wall Street Journal article that 

1332
00:54:01,243 --> 00:54:03,132
references his assessment for the 

1333
00:54:03,132 --> 00:54:05,021
record police without objection . 

1334
00:54:05,021 --> 00:54:07,270
General Richardson uh last week I met 

1335
00:54:07,270 --> 00:54:09,326
with the Colombian ambassador . Good 

1336
00:54:09,326 --> 00:54:13,250
guy . They're huge allies . 

1337
00:54:14,040 --> 00:54:15,984
What inroads have you made done of 

1338
00:54:15,984 --> 00:54:18,096
relationships have you made ? Because 

1339
00:54:18,096 --> 00:54:20,262
we've got even from my state we've got 

1340
00:54:20,262 --> 00:54:22,429
a lot of input down in what goes on in 

1341
00:54:22,429 --> 00:54:24,651
Colombia , you know with their business 

1342
00:54:24,651 --> 00:54:26,873
dealings minerals , those things . What 

1343
00:54:26,873 --> 00:54:29,096
what have you , what have you seen from 

1344
00:54:29,096 --> 00:54:31,270
Colombia . Our number one security 

1345
00:54:31,270 --> 00:54:33,440
partner . Uh And I looked to them as 

1346
00:54:33,440 --> 00:54:35,790
like a key linchpin to the security and 

1347
00:54:35,790 --> 00:54:37,679
the stability of the region quite 

1348
00:54:37,679 --> 00:54:40,220
honestly . Uh if you just look over you 

1349
00:54:40,230 --> 00:54:42,452
it's really hard in this ao are to take 

1350
00:54:42,452 --> 00:54:45,640
a snapshot in time of of of a country . 

1351
00:54:45,640 --> 00:54:48,410
But if you look for when when they in 

1352
00:54:48,410 --> 00:54:50,830
1999 and where they were then to where 

1353
00:54:50,830 --> 00:54:53,390
they are now . Uh It's just really 

1354
00:54:53,390 --> 00:54:55,223
tremendous . I have the Chief of 

1355
00:54:55,223 --> 00:54:57,223
Defense General Navarro visiting on 

1356
00:54:57,223 --> 00:54:59,900
monday . Uh We had our staff talks 

1357
00:54:59,910 --> 00:55:02,710
South . Com Columbia . Uh staff talks 

1358
00:55:02,710 --> 00:55:05,380
in january . Uh We have that was first 

1359
00:55:05,380 --> 00:55:08,210
country I visited uh in the A . O . R . 

1360
00:55:08,220 --> 00:55:11,200
Um when I came into command of South 

1361
00:55:11,200 --> 00:55:14,550
com . So our relationship is excellent . 

1362
00:55:14,550 --> 00:55:17,510
It's strong . It's we share information , 

1363
00:55:17,510 --> 00:55:20,310
we're constantly communicating again as 

1364
00:55:20,310 --> 00:55:22,750
coaching , teaching , mentoring . I 

1365
00:55:22,760 --> 00:55:24,760
look at our partners . I mean there 

1366
00:55:24,760 --> 00:55:26,593
there on the ground they see the 

1367
00:55:26,593 --> 00:55:28,538
threats , they're dealing with the 

1368
00:55:28,538 --> 00:55:30,538
threats every day . We have to have 

1369
00:55:30,538 --> 00:55:32,649
those good relationships with them uh 

1370
00:55:32,649 --> 00:55:34,427
in order to increase our domain 

1371
00:55:34,427 --> 00:55:36,538
awareness to make up for what I don't 

1372
00:55:36,538 --> 00:55:38,816
have in domain awareness and I . S . R . 

1373
00:55:38,816 --> 00:55:40,538
And things like that . But the 

1374
00:55:40,538 --> 00:55:42,704
partnership gets you the trust and the 

1375
00:55:42,704 --> 00:55:44,593
access and the presence with your 

1376
00:55:44,593 --> 00:55:46,704
partner nation . It's obviously gonna 

1377
00:55:46,704 --> 00:55:48,871
be a big key for us . Yeah in your A . 

1378
00:55:48,871 --> 00:55:51,460
O . R . But thanks to you all I'll cut 

1379
00:55:51,460 --> 00:55:55,040
my time short . Thank you very much . 

1380
00:55:55,040 --> 00:55:57,318
Senator over Real Senator kelly please . 

1381
00:55:57,540 --> 00:56:00,460
Thank you . Mr . Chairman and General 

1382
00:56:00,460 --> 00:56:02,682
Van Herk and General Richardson . Thank 

1383
00:56:02,682 --> 00:56:04,849
you for being here . Today . Yesterday 

1384
00:56:04,849 --> 00:56:06,904
I held a hearing in this committee's 

1385
00:56:06,904 --> 00:56:09,730
panel on emerging threats to focus on 

1386
00:56:09,730 --> 00:56:11,674
how our military can work with our 

1387
00:56:11,674 --> 00:56:13,674
partner nations to improve security 

1388
00:56:13,674 --> 00:56:15,890
conditions in our hemisphere . That in 

1389
00:56:15,890 --> 00:56:18,940
turn impact the U . S . Border and our 

1390
00:56:18,940 --> 00:56:21,690
national security throughout south and 

1391
00:56:21,690 --> 00:56:24,710
central America criminal elements china 

1392
00:56:24,710 --> 00:56:26,821
and Russia are seeking to destabilize 

1393
00:56:26,821 --> 00:56:29,043
the region for their own gain . This is 

1394
00:56:29,043 --> 00:56:31,510
a national security challenge and we 

1395
00:56:31,510 --> 00:56:34,350
need to treat it as a national security 

1396
00:56:34,350 --> 00:56:37,410
challenge . With that context in mind , 

1397
00:56:37,830 --> 00:56:39,886
I would like to touch on North comms 

1398
00:56:39,886 --> 00:56:41,719
First North comms mission at the 

1399
00:56:41,719 --> 00:56:44,380
southwest border . Uh The National 

1400
00:56:44,380 --> 00:56:47,360
Guard plays a critical role in this 

1401
00:56:47,360 --> 00:56:49,950
mission providing much needed relief 

1402
00:56:50,330 --> 00:56:52,570
too overstretched border Patrol agents 

1403
00:56:52,570 --> 00:56:55,190
and local law enforcement . I've been 

1404
00:56:55,190 --> 00:56:57,750
to the border um many times and I stay 

1405
00:56:57,750 --> 00:56:59,910
in close contact with local elected 

1406
00:57:00,170 --> 00:57:02,470
leaders and law enforcement . I've also 

1407
00:57:02,470 --> 00:57:04,750
delivered additional federal resources 

1408
00:57:04,760 --> 00:57:08,120
and the and the Assistant Secretary of 

1409
00:57:08,120 --> 00:57:10,350
Defense for Homeland Defense and 

1410
00:57:10,360 --> 00:57:13,420
hemispheric affairs committed to me 

1411
00:57:13,430 --> 00:57:15,541
earlier this year that National Guard 

1412
00:57:15,541 --> 00:57:18,180
troops would be well resourced during 

1413
00:57:18,180 --> 00:57:21,390
these missions . So General Van Herk in 

1414
00:57:21,390 --> 00:57:23,612
your view is the National Guards border 

1415
00:57:23,612 --> 00:57:26,510
mission properly resourced to 

1416
00:57:26,510 --> 00:57:29,100
significantly assist in addressing the 

1417
00:57:29,100 --> 00:57:32,780
crisis at the border Senator First I 

1418
00:57:32,780 --> 00:57:34,891
share your assessment of the National 

1419
00:57:34,891 --> 00:57:37,058
security imperative a challenge for us 

1420
00:57:37,058 --> 00:57:39,113
with what's going on at the border . 

1421
00:57:39,113 --> 00:57:41,058
The National Guard forces that are 

1422
00:57:41,058 --> 00:57:43,113
working for us in entitled 10 status 

1423
00:57:43,113 --> 00:57:45,224
are not only resources by D . O . D . 

1424
00:57:45,224 --> 00:57:47,447
But they're provided resources by DHS . 

1425
00:57:47,447 --> 00:57:49,558
And and my assessment is for the most 

1426
00:57:49,558 --> 00:57:51,780
part their resources to where they need 

1427
00:57:51,780 --> 00:57:53,891
to be . Uh they could have additional 

1428
00:57:53,891 --> 00:57:56,500
resources for observation , detection 

1429
00:57:56,500 --> 00:57:58,556
and monitoring those kinds of things 

1430
00:57:58,556 --> 00:58:01,290
from DHS . I I think long term this is 

1431
00:58:01,290 --> 00:58:03,012
not an enduring mission of the 

1432
00:58:03,012 --> 00:58:04,960
Department of Defense . We need to 

1433
00:58:04,960 --> 00:58:07,530
fully fund and resource DHS to do their 

1434
00:58:07,530 --> 00:58:10,350
mission . Uh And uh the D . O . D . 

1435
00:58:10,350 --> 00:58:13,270
Should be used in extremist times for 

1436
00:58:13,280 --> 00:58:15,560
the support on the border mission . I'd 

1437
00:58:15,560 --> 00:58:18,170
like to just make sure that our mission 

1438
00:58:18,170 --> 00:58:20,059
is understood . We're not they're 

1439
00:58:20,059 --> 00:58:22,114
enforcing the laws that DHS can do , 

1440
00:58:22,114 --> 00:58:23,948
we're supporting them to free up 

1441
00:58:23,948 --> 00:58:26,003
capacity so they can do that mission 

1442
00:58:26,003 --> 00:58:28,060
and we provide support detection and 

1443
00:58:28,060 --> 00:58:30,280
monitoring aviation support to help 

1444
00:58:30,280 --> 00:58:32,680
them and also the intel analysis . Well , 

1445
00:58:32,680 --> 00:58:35,950
until DHS is fully resourced to do this , 

1446
00:58:35,950 --> 00:58:38,510
let's make sure that uh the guard and 

1447
00:58:38,510 --> 00:58:40,732
reserve have the resources they need in 

1448
00:58:40,732 --> 00:58:42,788
their interim there um General , are 

1449
00:58:42,788 --> 00:58:45,270
you in regular communication with uh 

1450
00:58:45,280 --> 00:58:47,690
CBP with Customs and border Protection 

1451
00:58:47,700 --> 00:58:50,260
and local law enforcement partners on 

1452
00:58:50,260 --> 00:58:54,010
this issue . Me personally . Uh 

1453
00:58:54,020 --> 00:58:56,690
Yes , not not daily or anything like 

1454
00:58:56,690 --> 00:58:58,912
that . I've been to the border multiple 

1455
00:58:58,912 --> 00:59:01,079
times . I was at the border last month 

1456
00:59:01,079 --> 00:59:03,190
as well and met with both uh customs 

1457
00:59:03,200 --> 00:59:05,610
and Border Patrol agents and discussed . 

1458
00:59:05,610 --> 00:59:07,666
We had eight in the room as well . I 

1459
00:59:07,666 --> 00:59:10,310
visited in your your state as well in 

1460
00:59:10,310 --> 00:59:12,860
Nogales and been to the border . So we 

1461
00:59:12,860 --> 00:59:15,640
do that . I have multiple liaisons from 

1462
00:59:15,640 --> 00:59:17,820
40 government agencies that work in my 

1463
00:59:17,820 --> 00:59:20,160
headquarters to include from DHS and 

1464
00:59:20,160 --> 00:59:22,860
the border . Well , that's good to hear . 

1465
00:59:22,860 --> 00:59:25,760
We need to uh you know , this is a 

1466
00:59:25,770 --> 00:59:27,881
comprehensive and challenging problem 

1467
00:59:27,881 --> 00:59:30,470
and we need to all have all agencies 

1468
00:59:30,470 --> 00:59:32,750
working together to try to deal with 

1469
00:59:32,750 --> 00:59:36,090
this crisis . Um General Richardson . 

1470
00:59:36,620 --> 00:59:39,430
Um in your posture statement , you 

1471
00:59:39,430 --> 00:59:42,430
mentioned The insecurity and 

1472
00:59:42,440 --> 00:59:44,940
instability that's been exacerbated by 

1473
00:59:44,950 --> 00:59:46,960
COVID-19 . You know , we know that 

1474
00:59:46,960 --> 00:59:49,016
transnational criminal organizations 

1475
00:59:49,016 --> 00:59:52,030
routinely exploit poverty and stability 

1476
00:59:52,030 --> 00:59:54,086
and corruption to gain political and 

1477
00:59:54,086 --> 00:59:57,210
criminal power . This is bad for 

1478
00:59:57,220 --> 00:59:59,510
stability . It's bad for our partners 

1479
00:59:59,510 --> 01:00:01,970
who are trying to sustain democratic 

1480
01:00:01,970 --> 01:00:04,560
societies and it's bad for our own 

1481
01:00:04,560 --> 01:00:07,670
interests . Um when we spoke earlier 

1482
01:00:07,680 --> 01:00:09,847
this week , you specifically mentioned 

1483
01:00:09,847 --> 01:00:11,958
that criminal organizations are using 

1484
01:00:11,958 --> 01:00:14,060
the instability brought about by the 

1485
01:00:14,060 --> 01:00:16,890
economic impacts of COVID-19 to create 

1486
01:00:16,890 --> 01:00:19,450
a wedge that Russia and China are 

1487
01:00:19,450 --> 01:00:21,770
taking advantage of . Can you elaborate 

1488
01:00:21,770 --> 01:00:24,940
on the relationship between Russia 

1489
01:00:25,110 --> 01:00:27,332
china and criminal organizations in the 

1490
01:00:27,332 --> 01:00:29,443
region ? And how does the instability 

1491
01:00:29,443 --> 01:00:31,830
caused by criminal groups and 

1492
01:00:32,210 --> 01:00:34,720
opportunism of countries like china 

1493
01:00:34,720 --> 01:00:38,080
allowed them to expand their reach . So 

1494
01:00:38,090 --> 01:00:40,640
overall Senator , I just look at the 

1495
01:00:40,650 --> 01:00:43,240
the insecurity and instability . The 

1496
01:00:43,240 --> 01:00:45,660
cycle of vicious threats this wedge 

1497
01:00:45,660 --> 01:00:48,030
that the T . C . O . S . Can create , 

1498
01:00:48,040 --> 01:00:51,480
which allows the our competitors , you 

1499
01:00:51,480 --> 01:00:53,790
know the PRC and Russia to flourish and 

1500
01:00:53,790 --> 01:00:55,980
look like the the heroes of the day 

1501
01:00:55,990 --> 01:00:58,046
right ? When they come in with their 

1502
01:00:58,046 --> 01:00:59,823
projects and their money and or 

1503
01:00:59,823 --> 01:01:01,823
equipment and capability and things 

1504
01:01:01,823 --> 01:01:04,410
like that . And so uh and uh as we 

1505
01:01:04,410 --> 01:01:06,780
talked about as well , uh the chinese 

1506
01:01:06,780 --> 01:01:09,180
money launderers that take the money 

1507
01:01:09,180 --> 01:01:11,513
from these T . C . O . S . When these T . 

1508
01:01:11,513 --> 01:01:13,900
C . O . S . Have all this cash , huge 

1509
01:01:13,910 --> 01:01:17,740
$310 billion a year , annual revenue 

1510
01:01:18,010 --> 01:01:20,270
uh and move it back and turn it around 

1511
01:01:20,270 --> 01:01:22,790
into goods that they that they send 

1512
01:01:22,790 --> 01:01:24,901
back for the T . C . O . S to be able 

1513
01:01:24,901 --> 01:01:28,260
to sell and it's all cleaned cleaned uh 

1514
01:01:28,270 --> 01:01:31,010
money if you will . Um And so we have 

1515
01:01:31,010 --> 01:01:34,210
to uh you know this isn't just A A . D . 

1516
01:01:34,210 --> 01:01:36,432
O . D . Or A . D . H . S . We also have 

1517
01:01:36,432 --> 01:01:39,090
to I think get after this money . And 

1518
01:01:39,090 --> 01:01:42,260
uh and in terms of what our whole of 

1519
01:01:42,260 --> 01:01:44,316
government approach is to follow the 

1520
01:01:44,316 --> 01:01:46,482
money and then be able to crack down . 

1521
01:01:46,482 --> 01:01:48,593
But I know that it's very difficult . 

1522
01:01:48,593 --> 01:01:50,371
These are complex cases uh that 

1523
01:01:50,371 --> 01:01:52,649
Treasury and Justice have to deal with . 

1524
01:01:52,650 --> 01:01:54,706
But until I think we get it out , we 

1525
01:01:54,706 --> 01:01:57,180
get out , we get after that specific 

1526
01:01:57,180 --> 01:01:59,236
problem . We can't interdict our way 

1527
01:01:59,236 --> 01:02:01,347
out of this . We're not gonna be able 

1528
01:02:01,347 --> 01:02:03,291
to do that . We gotta go after and 

1529
01:02:03,291 --> 01:02:05,680
follow the money . Well um I want to 

1530
01:02:05,680 --> 01:02:08,050
thank you for the comprehensive answers 

1531
01:02:08,050 --> 01:02:10,217
from our phone call the other day that 

1532
01:02:10,217 --> 01:02:12,272
your staff sent sent over . I really 

1533
01:02:12,272 --> 01:02:14,494
appreciate that . And uh and those were 

1534
01:02:14,494 --> 01:02:16,850
really helpful . I also want to make 

1535
01:02:16,850 --> 01:02:19,280
sure that you have the resources you 

1536
01:02:19,280 --> 01:02:21,169
know that you need to tackle this 

1537
01:02:21,169 --> 01:02:23,224
challenge . So I'm interested to see 

1538
01:02:23,224 --> 01:02:25,280
you know what the president's budget 

1539
01:02:25,280 --> 01:02:27,900
looks like um For for south com north 

1540
01:02:27,900 --> 01:02:31,090
calm as well . Um And since 

1541
01:02:31,090 --> 01:02:34,330
I'm over , thank you Mr Chairman . 

1542
01:02:34,340 --> 01:02:38,170
Um and I have some additional questions 

1543
01:02:38,170 --> 01:02:40,337
for the record . Thank you very much . 

1544
01:02:40,337 --> 01:02:42,392
Senator kelly . And let me thank you 

1545
01:02:42,392 --> 01:02:44,614
General Van Herk and General Richardson 

1546
01:02:44,614 --> 01:02:46,503
for your thoughtful and very very 

1547
01:02:46,503 --> 01:02:48,392
responsive testimony . Uh at this 

1548
01:02:48,392 --> 01:02:50,550
juncture I will adjourn the open 

1549
01:02:50,550 --> 01:02:54,440
hearing and we will reconvene at 11 45 

1550
01:02:54,440 --> 01:02:57,540
approximately 15 minutes in S . V . C . 

1551
01:02:57,540 --> 01:03:00,640
To 17 for a closed session . Thank you 

1552
01:03:00,640 --> 01:03:01,320
very much .