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the gentleman yields back . Now yield 

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five minutes to the gentleman from 

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pennsylvania . Mr Smucker . Thank you . 

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Mr Chairman Mr McCord . Good to see you . 

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You know , I listened very carefully to 

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Mr Higgins questions and I thought he 

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hit the nail on the head in regards to 

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the impact of energy policies on what's 

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happening in Ukraine . Uh and I just 

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wondered if you agree with that , do 

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you agree that energy policies were in 

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many ways are are linked to what's 

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happening in Ukraine ? I would , I 

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would say it's undeniable that that 

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that the politics and the policies of 

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energies are very important from I 

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think if you look at Putin's history , 

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he tends to make a move in winter when 

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he can , when he knows that his 

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european western european neighbors are 

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probably most sensitive to his ability 

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to cut off their natural gas or to 

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threaten to do so . And and that the 

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revenue that he gets from oil is hugely 

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important to the economy . Yeah , thank 

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you . The fact of the matter is that I 

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support , I think eventually we will be 

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moving to cleaner sources of energy . 

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But the fact of the matter is today , 

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The world uses about 100 close to 100 

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million barrels of oil per day and 

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disrupting that supply would have 

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devastating consequences in many ways 

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across the world . Do you believe that 

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uh whether or not our nation is energy 

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independent is important for our future 

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security . It is uh , 

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and under the previous administration , 

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it was widely seen that the , that we 

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were as a country . Energy independent . 

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Do you agree with that ? Ah I am not an 

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expert in this field . I I don't know 

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that we've ever been energy energy 

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independent in in in the industrial era . 

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But do you agree that some of the first 

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actions that President biden has taken , 

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reduced our energy production and our 

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energy independence a little bit 

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outside my area of expertise ? I 

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couldn't comment on that . Well , I 

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mean , clearly he did on the in the 

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first week of his presidency , he 

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stopped uh he reduced production , 

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he has slowed up the permitting for 

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a new production of oil and 

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gas . Uh and um you know , it just it 

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makes no sense . Does that make any 

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sense to you if the President is making 

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those kinds of decisions ? Well , I I 

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know that for example , the keystone 

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pipeline was a controversial decision 

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under under every administration over 

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several years . So I think there was 

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arguments on both . But but don't you 

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think the President should be at this 

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point , particularly as we're seeing 

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and you already said you agree that 

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energy is linked to what's happening in 

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Ukraine . Don't you think it would make 

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sense for President ? Do everything 

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that you can to produce our to boost 

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our production right now ? Well , there 

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would be boosting production and 

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boosting our climate resilience and 

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boosting our our our our electric 

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vehicle ? Another , I mean , there 

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there's multiple ways you would want to 

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attack this problem . I think , you 

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know , I think it's I think it's very 

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difficult to look at the policies of 

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this administration and not see how 

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they are linked to what's happening in 

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Ukraine . Even Smolinski and his 

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advisers have said that our energy 

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policies and policies of energy 

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production in europe have given the 

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Putin the opening to to do he thought 

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he had the leverage we gave him 

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leverage to do that . And then as mr 

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Higgins said , we helped to fund that 

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war fund what he's doing by continuing 

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to buy oil from them and then the other 

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part of the energy policies , it has 

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resulted in the inflation that that 

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we've seen today . Uh and earlier this 

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month , the House Armed Services before 

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the House Armed Services Committee , 

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chairman of the joint chiefs of staff , 

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Mark Milley said this budget assumes an 

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inflation rate of 2.2% . Which is 

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obviously now incorrect when we've seen 

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inflation of 8.5% , far outpacing 

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that what was predicted in this budget . 

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Uh Why do you think the budget has 

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missed the mark in so many ways in 

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regards to rising prices ? Well , I 

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want to distinguish the the inflation 

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rate for of in the 23 budget is for 

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FY23 , which hasn't started yet and 

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won't end for a year and a half from 

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now . So no one can conclude that that 

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we know that it's right or wrong . I 

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would conceive that inflation today is 

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higher than higher than what it was 

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when we when we were locking the budget . 

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Yeah . So you agree that they were 

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wrong in the prediction of the budget 

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in regards to inflation ? I would I 

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would I would yes , I would agree that 

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that anyone who predicts inflation in 

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advance is going to be wrong and I know 

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that we're going to get more data . 

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Former chairman of the joint chiefs of 

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staff , Admiral Michael Mullen said 

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back in 2010 that the most significant 

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threat to our national security is our 

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debt . At that point , our debt was 

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13.5 trillion . And now , as you know , 

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it's over 30 trillion . One of the 

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consequences of rising inflation that 

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it's now forcing the Federal Reserve to 

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raise interest rates which also raises 

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the cost for the US to pay the interest 

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on our debt . Uh How do you think 

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additional spending on interest which 

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will absolutely be required as a as a 

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result of policies that have led to 

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inflation ? How will that additional 

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spending affect our perhaps undermine 

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our national defense ? Well , that 

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would be a question that is , you know , 

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obviously primarily in your wheelhouse 

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here in the Budget committee as to 

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whether how how you would assess 

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whether mandatory spending on debt is 

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going to change your decisions on 

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discretionary spending or discretionary 

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spending caps should should caps exist . 

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But it's it's it's it's an issue for 

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for all of us and especially for for 

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those of you on the budget committee as 

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to whether the mandatory side , 

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mandatory spending such as interest on 

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the debt is going to change what we 

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think we can afford . On the 

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discretionary side , Gentleman's time 

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has expired now recognize the gentleman 

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from massachusetts mr moulton for five 

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minutes . Thank you . Mr Chairman Mr 

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McCord . I'd like to like to start by 

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expressing my agreement with my 

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colleague here and my shared concern 

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for the impact of the deficit on our 

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ability to provide for our national 

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defense . And that is one of many 

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reasons why I voted against the trump 

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tax cut that provided millions for 

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millionaires at the expense of our 

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national security and ballooned the 

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deficit to epic proportions ? I think 

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that your budget here strikes the 

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balance right ? I agree with your top 

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line . I think that the administration 

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is finding a way to balance the needs 

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of the military with also the the 

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importance of diplomacy as a marine 

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veteran myself . I saw every single day 

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in Iraq the impact that diplomacy had 

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on saving the lives of our troops . I 

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align myself strongly with Secretary 

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Mattis who as Mr trump's Secretary of 

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Defense emphasized how important it is 

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to fund our diplomatic establishment , 

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our State Department or else he said 

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you'll have to buy me more ammunition . 

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Can you talk for a minute about how 

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your budget supports our allies in 

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europe meets the pacing threat with 

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china and balances all these things 

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with the needs of the National security 

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establishment today . Thank you . Mr 

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bolton I would let me let me start with 

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with china . Um as you know , we don't 

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have we don't have the alliance 

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framework of multilateralism in in Asia 

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that we do in europe . So we continue 

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to do a lot of bilateral work there . 

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But but we in both theaters , we lead 

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by example and the investments that 

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we're making in this budget are are 

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designed to show designed to keep us 

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in an overmatched position versus china 

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on the high end . I think a number of 

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members have commented that that what's 

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happening in Ukraine obviously has 

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lessons depending how this comes out 

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for for calculations that President XI 

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may make . We we are very cognizant of 

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that as well in europe . We've talked a 

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number a little bit this morning about 

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energy . I think that's a great example 

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of sanctions , whether and whether 

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sanctions should extend to two Russian 

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energy and how much they should extend . 

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There are something that you have to go 

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together with your allies on . It 

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doesn't doesn't work very well . 

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Obviously sanctions that are the 

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unilateral . So I think that is 

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something that that is a good example 

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of of the the steps that that Secretary 

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Blinken and Secretary Austin have taken 

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to move together has been enormously 

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helpful in europe . I think many of us , 

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I I you may have better foresight than 

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many , many of us were were surprised 

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and heartened how responsive the 

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Germans for example have been on North 

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Stream and on their defense spending 

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increase things that I think would not 

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have happened had we not taken the time 

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to try and bring everybody together . 

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So I think , I think that as you say , 

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these uh , how we do this system is 

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very important and we've tried to move 

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together with it with and lead the pack . 

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Well , the fact that the administration 

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has been able to coalesce our allies 

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around this uh mission is actually 

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quite extraordinary and of course trump 

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was working at cross purposes to that 

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every single day that he undermined 

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NATO thinking about the future . When I 

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co led the bipartisan future defense 

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task force , we spent a lot of time 

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thinking about how the department can 

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get the best equipment and newest 

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technologies into the hands of the war 

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fighter at the speed of relevance . 

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That means they need to get the stuff 

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today . We can't wait until it becomes 

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outdated . Do you think the D . O . D . 

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Acquisition system is efficient enough 

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to address these challenges and compete 

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with china . I think that all of us are 

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looking for a way that we can be more 

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agile but still be accountable and 

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transparent enough and and your your 

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your your committee in the NBA created 

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a PPB commissions planning programming 

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budgeting execution , which is the D . 

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O . D centric part of the larger 

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federal budget process that commission 

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is now underway , co chaired by a 

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former comptroller and by a former 18 L . 

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S . Executive , that was my amendment 

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and I certainly hope it will be 

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successful . I mean one of our 

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conclusions on the task force is that 

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the system that we have today is not 

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sufficient that we have to reform it . 

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But one of the other things we 

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determined is that in the meantime we 

274
00:10:13,601 --> 00:10:16,010
can empower , reinforce the programs 

275
00:10:16,010 --> 00:10:18,600
that are working . Um . Deputy 

276
00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:20,656
Secretary Hicks has openly discussed 

277
00:10:20,656 --> 00:10:22,710
concerns with shrinking defense 

278
00:10:22,710 --> 00:10:24,877
industrial base and the department has 

279
00:10:24,877 --> 00:10:26,988
taken funding away from programs that 

280
00:10:26,988 --> 00:10:29,043
are delivering critical capabilities 

281
00:10:29,043 --> 00:10:31,043
such as the defense innovation unit 

282
00:10:31,043 --> 00:10:32,932
unit . Now D IU in particular has 

283
00:10:32,932 --> 00:10:34,988
leveraged $25 billion in private R . 

284
00:10:34,988 --> 00:10:37,520
And D introduced 100 new suppliers to D . 

285
00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:40,070
O . D . From 37 states in the face of a 

286
00:10:40,070 --> 00:10:42,860
shrinking industrial base . And yet 

287
00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:45,570
shockingly the department has cut its 

288
00:10:45,570 --> 00:10:48,040
funding . So I agree with your top line , 

289
00:10:48,050 --> 00:10:50,610
I agree with your strategy , I'm very 

290
00:10:50,610 --> 00:10:52,610
proud of what the administration is 

291
00:10:52,610 --> 00:10:54,499
doing in Ukraine and yet I cannot 

292
00:10:54,499 --> 00:10:56,610
understand why on earth you would cut 

293
00:10:56,610 --> 00:10:59,380
the budget for D . I . U . I'll have to 

294
00:10:59,380 --> 00:11:02,300
get you a good answer for that one . Mr 

295
00:11:02,300 --> 00:11:04,467
Malone . Okay , well I hope the answer 

296
00:11:04,467 --> 00:11:06,633
is that we will restore they also that 

297
00:11:06,633 --> 00:11:08,633
we have as you know , build a plant 

298
00:11:08,633 --> 00:11:10,800
just on board for a little more than a 

299
00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:12,967
week . So we now a full house in terms 

300
00:11:12,967 --> 00:11:15,022
of our leadership in the acquisition 

301
00:11:15,022 --> 00:11:17,189
and sustainment world to go along with 

302
00:11:17,189 --> 00:11:19,411
with undersecretary shoe on the R and B 

303
00:11:19,411 --> 00:11:21,633
side to help move us forward ? Well , I 

304
00:11:21,633 --> 00:11:21,290
certainly hope it was just an oversight . 

305
00:11:21,290 --> 00:11:23,290
Mr Chairman . Thank you . Alright , 

306
00:11:23,290 --> 00:11:25,346
gentleman's time has expired and now 

307
00:11:25,346 --> 00:11:27,457
recognize the gentleman from Virginia 

308
00:11:27,457 --> 00:11:29,679
Mr Klein for five minutes . Thank you . 

309
00:11:29,679 --> 00:11:29,660
Mr Chairman . I'm gonna go back to 

310
00:11:29,660 --> 00:11:32,530
china and your assertion that this 

311
00:11:32,530 --> 00:11:35,160
budget provides us with with an 

312
00:11:35,170 --> 00:11:38,850
overmatched position vis a vis china 

313
00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:42,073
according to china's Ministry of 

314
00:11:42,073 --> 00:11:43,962
Finance , They've increased their 

315
00:11:43,962 --> 00:11:46,420
defense spending by 7.1% this year . 

316
00:11:46,580 --> 00:11:49,220
Its highest level since 2019 . While we 

317
00:11:49,220 --> 00:11:51,331
truly don't know what china spends on 

318
00:11:51,331 --> 00:11:53,442
its military could be even higher . I 

319
00:11:53,442 --> 00:11:55,498
think folks in the national security 

320
00:11:55,498 --> 00:11:57,609
community are concerned about china's 

321
00:11:57,609 --> 00:11:59,720
military ambitions . Um as you said , 

322
00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:02,750
you consider china to be a threat on 

323
00:12:02,750 --> 00:12:05,840
par with with climate . Is that an 

324
00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:08,960
accurate assessment of your judgment ? 

325
00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:12,473
Yeah , I would say . And I would 

326
00:12:12,473 --> 00:12:14,529
actually , what the secretary Austin 

327
00:12:14,529 --> 00:12:16,751
said . We have we have threats that are 

328
00:12:16,751 --> 00:12:18,807
that are very important that are not 

329
00:12:18,807 --> 00:12:21,029
identical in nature . So , so , Covid , 

330
00:12:21,029 --> 00:12:22,918
for example , was was a near term 

331
00:12:22,918 --> 00:12:25,084
threat to the health of our force into 

332
00:12:25,084 --> 00:12:27,140
the country . China is a longer term 

333
00:12:27,140 --> 00:12:29,140
threat . More of a military centric 

334
00:12:29,140 --> 00:12:31,307
threat . Climate is a more existential 

335
00:12:31,307 --> 00:12:33,140
threat to our whole society . So 

336
00:12:33,140 --> 00:12:32,700
they're they're they're important 

337
00:12:32,700 --> 00:12:35,250
threats that are not identical threats . 

338
00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:38,580
So you're considering china a long term 

339
00:12:38,580 --> 00:12:40,790
threat . Let me Quote , the former 

340
00:12:40,790 --> 00:12:43,012
commander of the Indo Pacific Command , 

341
00:12:43,012 --> 00:12:45,179
Admiral Philip Davidson , who stressed 

342
00:12:45,179 --> 00:12:47,346
that China might try to forcibly annex 

343
00:12:47,346 --> 00:12:49,500
Taiwan before 2027 . That timeline 

344
00:12:49,500 --> 00:12:51,722
reflects china's massive investments in 

345
00:12:51,722 --> 00:12:53,889
naval power in its recent expansion of 

346
00:12:53,889 --> 00:12:55,944
nuclear weapons . Are you aware of a 

347
00:12:55,944 --> 00:12:57,833
report to Congress in 2020 titled 

348
00:12:57,833 --> 00:12:59,778
military and security developments 

349
00:12:59,778 --> 00:13:01,722
involving the People's Republic of 

350
00:13:01,722 --> 00:13:03,722
China ? Are is this a department of 

351
00:13:03,722 --> 00:13:05,889
defense report you're referring to ? I 

352
00:13:05,889 --> 00:13:07,778
believe there's there's an annual 

353
00:13:07,778 --> 00:13:09,944
report that has been instituted in the 

354
00:13:09,944 --> 00:13:09,830
last couple of years that I don't I 

355
00:13:09,830 --> 00:13:12,052
don't know if that's the title , but it 

356
00:13:12,052 --> 00:13:14,108
sounds like this is a regular report 

357
00:13:14,108 --> 00:13:17,040
submitted for the last 20 years . The 

358
00:13:17,050 --> 00:13:18,939
2020 report states that China has 

359
00:13:18,939 --> 00:13:20,994
already achieved parity with or even 

360
00:13:20,994 --> 00:13:23,161
exceeded the United States and several 

361
00:13:23,161 --> 00:13:25,439
military modernization areas , correct ? 

362
00:13:27,630 --> 00:13:29,908
I don't have the report in front of me , 

363
00:13:29,908 --> 00:13:31,908
but I don't dispute that . It might 

364
00:13:31,908 --> 00:13:31,520
have might have said that . So you 

365
00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:33,409
don't know which areas the report 

366
00:13:33,409 --> 00:13:36,160
stated . We're most concerned . I 

367
00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:38,271
wasn't in the department in 2020 , so 

368
00:13:38,271 --> 00:13:40,493
I'm not familiar with the 2020 report . 

369
00:13:40,493 --> 00:13:42,660
Okay . The report states that China is 

370
00:13:42,660 --> 00:13:44,716
ahead in the areas of shipbuilding , 

371
00:13:44,716 --> 00:13:46,938
land based , conventional ballistic and 

372
00:13:46,938 --> 00:13:48,882
cruise missiles and integrated air 

373
00:13:48,882 --> 00:13:51,940
defense systems . So do you think that 

374
00:13:51,950 --> 00:13:55,700
a budget That would decommission 24 

375
00:13:55,700 --> 00:13:59,180
ships Just this year while 

376
00:13:59,180 --> 00:14:02,060
building nine and 

377
00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:04,662
Projected that in the next five years , 

378
00:14:04,670 --> 00:14:06,892
our naval fleet would shrink further to 

379
00:14:06,892 --> 00:14:10,530
only 280 ships Not meeting the legal 

380
00:14:10,530 --> 00:14:12,820
requirement to field a fleet of 355 

381
00:14:12,820 --> 00:14:15,042
battleships . You think that would meet 

382
00:14:15,042 --> 00:14:18,860
the needs of are our 

383
00:14:18,860 --> 00:14:21,020
position versus china . That that is 

384
00:14:21,020 --> 00:14:23,187
exactly the intent that the ships that 

385
00:14:23,187 --> 00:14:25,020
the , that the navy proposed the 

386
00:14:25,020 --> 00:14:27,187
commissioner or ones that would not be 

387
00:14:27,187 --> 00:14:29,131
capable in a high end contest with 

388
00:14:29,131 --> 00:14:28,880
china , whereas the ones that we're 

389
00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:31,640
investing in would be right . And at 

390
00:14:31,640 --> 00:14:35,310
the same time We're proposing to spend 

391
00:14:35,310 --> 00:14:37,650
3.1 billion on climate programs . 

392
00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:42,110
Well , uh , Cutting funding for ships , 

393
00:14:42,110 --> 00:14:44,221
troops and aircraft , two billion for 

394
00:14:44,221 --> 00:14:45,999
climate resiliency and military 

395
00:14:45,999 --> 00:14:48,250
installations . 247 million Operational 

396
00:14:48,250 --> 00:14:50,417
energy and buying power and 28 million 

397
00:14:50,417 --> 00:14:54,360
for contingency preparedness . I would 

398
00:14:55,540 --> 00:14:57,670
argue that this budget prioritizes 

399
00:14:57,670 --> 00:14:59,800
green new deal initiatives over our 

400
00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:02,050
military readiness vis a vis china , 

401
00:15:02,050 --> 00:15:04,550
which as I stated , is a near threat , 

402
00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:08,150
not a long term threat as 

403
00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:11,180
earlier stated . Would you care to 

404
00:15:11,180 --> 00:15:14,760
comment on that ? Sure . First of all , 

405
00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:16,871
just on the climate side , the half a 

406
00:15:16,871 --> 00:15:18,982
percent that's in our budget for this 

407
00:15:18,982 --> 00:15:20,927
does not detract from our military 

408
00:15:20,927 --> 00:15:22,593
capabilities . Uh , these are 

409
00:15:22,593 --> 00:15:22,560
investments that we need to make anyway , 

410
00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:24,671
we're always going to be investing in 

411
00:15:24,671 --> 00:15:26,782
our facilities and we're always going 

412
00:15:26,782 --> 00:15:26,500
to be investing in our , in our 

413
00:15:26,510 --> 00:15:28,454
vehicles especially are non combat 

414
00:15:28,454 --> 00:15:30,566
vehicles . So we want to be investing 

415
00:15:30,566 --> 00:15:32,621
in , ones that are , that are in the 

416
00:15:32,621 --> 00:15:34,788
same direction the market is moving um 

417
00:15:34,788 --> 00:15:38,720
where there's oh with respect to china 

418
00:15:38,730 --> 00:15:41,620
again , china is china is a long term 

419
00:15:41,620 --> 00:15:43,940
threat or or now now in future threat . 

420
00:15:43,940 --> 00:15:46,107
So when I say long term , I don't mean 

421
00:15:46,107 --> 00:15:48,051
to the exclusion of they're not of 

422
00:15:48,051 --> 00:15:50,410
concern today . Just that that they are 

423
00:15:50,410 --> 00:15:52,577
going to be with us , they're going to 

424
00:15:52,577 --> 00:15:54,632
be an influential economic power and 

425
00:15:54,632 --> 00:15:56,799
influential military power for decades 

426
00:15:56,799 --> 00:15:58,799
to come . So it is not a short term 

427
00:15:58,799 --> 00:16:01,021
issue . It is a longer term issue , but 

428
00:16:01,021 --> 00:16:02,910
that doesn't mean it doesn't , it 

429
00:16:02,910 --> 00:16:02,620
hasn't already , it's not already in 

430
00:16:02,620 --> 00:16:04,842
the window of being a concern of ours . 

431
00:16:04,842 --> 00:16:06,842
And I'm sorry if I didn't make that 

432
00:16:06,842 --> 00:16:09,009
clear , I appreciate that . And as you 

433
00:16:09,009 --> 00:16:12,370
said , uh Chairman G is watching and 

434
00:16:12,380 --> 00:16:14,436
watching how we conduct ourselves in 

435
00:16:14,436 --> 00:16:16,150
Ukraine and is prepared to 

436
00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:20,960
act if we are not showing strength . So 

437
00:16:21,340 --> 00:16:23,920
I believe a stronger military budget 

438
00:16:24,030 --> 00:16:28,010
focused on ships would be 

439
00:16:28,010 --> 00:16:30,470
appropriate . And send the right 

440
00:16:30,470 --> 00:16:32,692
message to the chinese . So with that I 

441
00:16:32,692 --> 00:16:34,914
yield back Gentleman's time has expired 

442
00:16:34,914 --> 00:16:37,137
and now recognizes the gentlewoman from 

443
00:16:37,137 --> 00:16:39,081
Washington , Miss Jayapal for five 

444
00:16:39,081 --> 00:16:41,192
minutes . Thank you Mr Chairman . And 

445
00:16:41,192 --> 00:16:43,248
and thank you Under Secretary McCord 

446
00:16:43,248 --> 00:16:45,137
for your service to our country . 

447
00:16:45,137 --> 00:16:47,414
Deeply appreciated um to my colleagues . 

448
00:16:47,414 --> 00:16:49,414
I wish we were spending more within 

449
00:16:49,414 --> 00:16:51,303
this budget on addressing climate 

450
00:16:51,303 --> 00:16:53,470
change is a national security threat . 

451
00:16:53,470 --> 00:16:52,960
I'm glad there's at least a little 

452
00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:55,290
piece in here that recognizes that 

453
00:16:55,290 --> 00:16:57,123
because certainly it's extremely 

454
00:16:57,123 --> 00:16:59,179
important . Mr McCord . You probably 

455
00:16:59,179 --> 00:17:01,234
know I'm not a fan of the ballooning 

456
00:17:01,234 --> 00:17:03,346
Department of Defense budget . Um You 

457
00:17:03,346 --> 00:17:05,401
probably know that I think there's a 

458
00:17:05,401 --> 00:17:07,623
lot of waste fraud and abuse and if the 

459
00:17:07,623 --> 00:17:09,123
pentagon were to undergo a 

460
00:17:09,123 --> 00:17:11,300
comprehensive audit as every other 

461
00:17:11,300 --> 00:17:13,610
agency has done that would make an 

462
00:17:13,610 --> 00:17:15,832
enormous difference and it might get me 

463
00:17:15,832 --> 00:17:18,590
more interested in putting more money 

464
00:17:18,590 --> 00:17:20,701
into the defense budget . But at this 

465
00:17:20,701 --> 00:17:22,868
point the Department of Defense budget 

466
00:17:22,868 --> 00:17:25,870
has ballooned $2,740 billion 2020 to 

467
00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:27,991
more than double the defense spending 

468
00:17:28,060 --> 00:17:30,500
in 2000 . Our defense spending makes up 

469
00:17:30,500 --> 00:17:32,900
about half of all federal discretionary 

470
00:17:32,900 --> 00:17:35,220
spending even as we question our 

471
00:17:35,220 --> 00:17:37,690
ability to pay pay for critical 

472
00:17:37,690 --> 00:17:41,010
investments like childcare or housing 

473
00:17:41,010 --> 00:17:42,954
or things that families across the 

474
00:17:42,954 --> 00:17:45,121
country need . But I want to dive into 

475
00:17:45,121 --> 00:17:46,899
one of the factors driving that 

476
00:17:46,899 --> 00:17:48,843
spending and that is the statutory 

477
00:17:48,843 --> 00:17:51,066
requirement that D . O . D . Provide an 

478
00:17:51,066 --> 00:17:53,840
unfunded priorities list . A wish list 

479
00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:56,062
of items that would be nice for D . O . 

480
00:17:56,062 --> 00:17:58,062
D . To have but are not required to 

481
00:17:58,062 --> 00:18:00,610
carry out its duties . This is on top 

482
00:18:00,620 --> 00:18:03,720
of the 773 billion requested by the 

483
00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:07,230
White House for fiscal 2023 . Secretary 

484
00:18:07,230 --> 00:18:09,397
of Defense Lloyd Austin said last year 

485
00:18:09,397 --> 00:18:11,619
that the president's budget request for 

486
00:18:11,619 --> 00:18:13,350
fiscal 2022 met D . O . D . 

487
00:18:13,350 --> 00:18:15,406
Requirements . And yet the law still 

488
00:18:15,406 --> 00:18:17,950
requires D . O . D . To provide this 

489
00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:20,570
unfunded priorities list and that's why 

490
00:18:20,570 --> 00:18:22,292
I have persistently offered an 

491
00:18:22,292 --> 00:18:24,181
amendment to the National Defense 

492
00:18:24,181 --> 00:18:26,181
authorization Act to eliminate this 

493
00:18:26,181 --> 00:18:28,181
wasteful practice . Mr McCord . How 

494
00:18:28,181 --> 00:18:30,440
does D . O . D determine what goes into 

495
00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:33,270
the White House budget request versus 

496
00:18:33,270 --> 00:18:36,500
the unfunded priorities list ? Thank 

497
00:18:36,500 --> 00:18:39,320
you . The uh the budget process is 

498
00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:41,487
something that that has lead from lead 

499
00:18:41,487 --> 00:18:43,598
from the top down with input from the 

500
00:18:43,598 --> 00:18:46,810
service is up . And we're especially 

501
00:18:46,820 --> 00:18:48,876
this year when we had a new strategy 

502
00:18:48,876 --> 00:18:51,042
under development . We were looking at 

503
00:18:51,042 --> 00:18:53,153
all through the lens of what the lens 

504
00:18:53,153 --> 00:18:55,376
of what supports our strategy . So what 

505
00:18:55,376 --> 00:18:57,209
goes in the budget ? Our highest 

506
00:18:57,209 --> 00:18:59,320
priorities . I want to be clear about 

507
00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:01,542
nothing in an unfunded priority list is 

508
00:19:01,542 --> 00:19:01,370
a higher priority than anything in our 

509
00:19:01,370 --> 00:19:03,710
budget . So I know that they sometimes 

510
00:19:03,710 --> 00:19:06,430
get misunderstood as somehow a service 

511
00:19:06,430 --> 00:19:08,430
chief for a combat commander saying 

512
00:19:08,430 --> 00:19:10,541
this is more important than what's in 

513
00:19:10,541 --> 00:19:12,763
the budget . That is not the case . The 

514
00:19:12,763 --> 00:19:14,986
law , as you said , I think for they've 

515
00:19:14,986 --> 00:19:17,152
been a practice for about 25 years and 

516
00:19:17,152 --> 00:19:16,960
they've been codified in law more 

517
00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:19,060
recently than that . Um 

518
00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:23,100
They are they are the opinions of 

519
00:19:23,100 --> 00:19:26,480
senior military people . They are not 

520
00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:28,369
vetted by civilians including the 

521
00:19:28,369 --> 00:19:30,350
secretary or myself or the service 

522
00:19:30,350 --> 00:19:32,870
chiefs . So they are they are the best 

523
00:19:32,870 --> 00:19:35,000
professional military advice if of a 

524
00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,056
particular senior officer . If in my 

525
00:19:37,056 --> 00:19:39,056
area , there were more funds , what 

526
00:19:39,056 --> 00:19:41,167
would I choose to spend them on . But 

527
00:19:41,167 --> 00:19:43,389
they should not be confused with saying 

528
00:19:43,389 --> 00:19:45,611
that the budget is not adequate or that 

529
00:19:45,611 --> 00:19:47,833
there are things in the budget are less 

530
00:19:47,833 --> 00:19:47,210
important than the things on those 

531
00:19:47,210 --> 00:19:49,099
lists , but I think that they are 

532
00:19:49,099 --> 00:19:51,266
easily misunderstood to be saying that 

533
00:19:51,266 --> 00:19:53,377
that they are must haves that somehow 

534
00:19:53,377 --> 00:19:55,377
trump the budget , which is not the 

535
00:19:55,377 --> 00:19:57,210
case . That is such an important 

536
00:19:57,210 --> 00:19:59,377
explanation . These are just basically 

537
00:19:59,377 --> 00:20:01,377
wish I had this . Nobody has really 

538
00:20:01,377 --> 00:20:03,543
looked at it . We haven't looked at it 

539
00:20:03,543 --> 00:20:03,510
in the context of the entire department . 

540
00:20:03,510 --> 00:20:05,566
They're completely separate From the 

541
00:20:05,566 --> 00:20:07,399
process that you go through as a 

542
00:20:07,399 --> 00:20:09,621
department approved by the secretary to 

543
00:20:09,621 --> 00:20:11,843
say these are the most important things 

544
00:20:11,843 --> 00:20:13,899
that we need and must have . So in a 

545
00:20:13,899 --> 00:20:16,020
June 2021 hearing before the Armed 

546
00:20:16,020 --> 00:20:17,853
Services Committee , House Armed 

547
00:20:17,853 --> 00:20:20,020
Services Committee General Milley said 

548
00:20:20,020 --> 00:20:22,140
of unfunded priorities . If they were 

549
00:20:22,140 --> 00:20:24,360
critical , then they need to be higher 

550
00:20:24,370 --> 00:20:26,537
on the priority list . And in the base 

551
00:20:26,537 --> 00:20:28,314
budget . Do you agree with that 

552
00:20:28,314 --> 00:20:31,430
statement ? Mr McCord . Thank you . And 

553
00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:34,440
um these unfunded priorities again are 

554
00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:36,662
just a wish list that don't reflect the 

555
00:20:36,662 --> 00:20:38,662
true needs of the United States . I 

556
00:20:38,662 --> 00:20:40,496
understand that we are living in 

557
00:20:40,496 --> 00:20:40,450
uncertain times with increasing global 

558
00:20:40,450 --> 00:20:42,920
tensions because of the war in Ukraine . 

559
00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:45,150
I think the president and his team have 

560
00:20:45,150 --> 00:20:47,810
done a phenomenal job of really 

561
00:20:47,810 --> 00:20:49,980
building a diplomatic coalition across 

562
00:20:49,990 --> 00:20:52,570
the world . In response , Congress has 

563
00:20:52,570 --> 00:20:54,680
authorized $1.35 billion 

564
00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:58,490
3.5 billion to the 

565
00:20:58,490 --> 00:21:00,490
Defense Department to replenish its 

566
00:21:00,490 --> 00:21:02,212
equipment stock is an unfunded 

567
00:21:02,212 --> 00:21:04,101
priorities list even necessary to 

568
00:21:04,101 --> 00:21:05,879
provide flexibility in military 

569
00:21:05,879 --> 00:21:09,790
spending . I would say the purpose 

570
00:21:09,790 --> 00:21:11,623
of unfunded prior to list is not 

571
00:21:11,623 --> 00:21:13,568
generally about flexibility . It's 

572
00:21:13,568 --> 00:21:15,734
about in the scene in the opinion of a 

573
00:21:15,734 --> 00:21:17,568
senior military personnel . That 

574
00:21:17,568 --> 00:21:19,623
Congress presumably by virtue of the 

575
00:21:19,623 --> 00:21:21,790
answer is no , no , no . The answer is 

576
00:21:21,790 --> 00:21:23,679
no flexibility . Flexibility is a 

577
00:21:23,679 --> 00:21:25,901
process that we have to go through with 

578
00:21:25,901 --> 00:21:27,512
the Congress . And Ukraine's 

579
00:21:27,512 --> 00:21:29,734
appropriate example of how flexible the 

580
00:21:29,734 --> 00:21:31,957
process can be when there's an emergent 

581
00:21:31,957 --> 00:21:31,930
need that everybody agrees is important 

582
00:21:31,930 --> 00:21:34,620
to address . Uh , the the evacuation of 

583
00:21:34,620 --> 00:21:36,620
Afghan interpreters was another one 

584
00:21:36,620 --> 00:21:38,898
just in my , in my time back in office , 

585
00:21:38,898 --> 00:21:40,731
our own processes sadly far less 

586
00:21:40,731 --> 00:21:42,231
flexible and we we get our 

587
00:21:42,231 --> 00:21:44,910
appropriation bills months late . Uh , 

588
00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:46,976
you know every year something I know 

589
00:21:46,976 --> 00:21:49,087
the chairman has been has been making 

590
00:21:49,087 --> 00:21:50,920
sure our side is not part of the 

591
00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:53,142
problem here . But I thank you for um I 

592
00:21:53,142 --> 00:21:55,253
thank you for that undersecretary now 

593
00:21:55,253 --> 00:21:57,198
yield back mister mister Gentleman 

594
00:21:57,198 --> 00:21:59,364
yields back and now yield five minutes 

595
00:21:59,364 --> 00:22:01,364
to the gentlewoman from Colorado MS 

596
00:22:01,364 --> 00:22:03,364
Probert . Thank you mr Chairman and 

597
00:22:03,364 --> 00:22:05,860
thanks again Under Secretary McCord for 

598
00:22:05,860 --> 00:22:08,027
taking the time today to talk about MR 

599
00:22:08,027 --> 00:22:10,740
biden's defense budget proposal . Um 

600
00:22:10,740 --> 00:22:13,760
sadly this budget is a continuation of 

601
00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:15,950
the woken ng and weakening of our 

602
00:22:15,950 --> 00:22:18,050
military and I wish I could say that 

603
00:22:18,050 --> 00:22:20,490
I'm surprised but I'm really not . Um , 

604
00:22:20,490 --> 00:22:23,240
somehow we are spending more on defense 

605
00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:25,407
than we ever have , but we're ignoring 

606
00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:28,680
Real national security threats like 

607
00:22:28,690 --> 00:22:32,660
China Iran the complete invasion 

608
00:22:32,670 --> 00:22:34,892
at our southern border with two million 

609
00:22:34,892 --> 00:22:36,614
people coming into our country 

610
00:22:36,614 --> 00:22:39,080
illegally . More than two million . So 

611
00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:41,410
let's take a look at what MR biden 

612
00:22:41,420 --> 00:22:44,450
would like to spend this money on Under 

613
00:22:44,450 --> 00:22:46,561
Secretary McCord . Would you say that 

614
00:22:46,561 --> 00:22:48,506
this budget makes investments into 

615
00:22:48,506 --> 00:22:50,890
making our military more green meaning 

616
00:22:50,890 --> 00:22:52,834
does this budget allocate funds to 

617
00:22:52,834 --> 00:22:54,950
reduce greenhouse gas emissions ? 

618
00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:00,040
The investments that we have in our 

619
00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:02,207
budget on on on climate resilience are 

620
00:23:02,207 --> 00:23:04,318
not are not the primary metric is not 

621
00:23:04,318 --> 00:23:06,484
greenhouse gas emissions . It's making 

622
00:23:06,484 --> 00:23:08,207
us it's making us more climate 

623
00:23:08,207 --> 00:23:10,040
resilient to the extreme extreme 

624
00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:12,096
weather events . More green electric 

625
00:23:12,096 --> 00:23:13,984
vehicles and whatnot the electric 

626
00:23:13,984 --> 00:23:15,596
vehicles part . Yes that the 

627
00:23:15,596 --> 00:23:17,318
installation part is is not an 

628
00:23:17,318 --> 00:23:19,262
emissions based . Thank you . Mr . 

629
00:23:19,262 --> 00:23:21,429
Under Secretary Mr biden has said that 

630
00:23:21,429 --> 00:23:23,540
all federal agencies should be at net 

631
00:23:23,540 --> 00:23:26,470
zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 . 

632
00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:28,530
Does this budget make investments 

633
00:23:28,530 --> 00:23:31,550
towards getting there ? Mhm . 

634
00:23:32,140 --> 00:23:35,500
This budget makes investments in in all 

635
00:23:35,500 --> 00:23:37,500
all of the president's priorities . 

636
00:23:38,540 --> 00:23:40,596
Okay , thank you . There's there's a 

637
00:23:40,596 --> 00:23:42,818
long time between now and 2050 . So But 

638
00:23:42,818 --> 00:23:45,640
but there there was a mission put in 

639
00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:48,400
place by your commander in chief and 

640
00:23:48,410 --> 00:23:51,020
this budget um certainly gets the ball 

641
00:23:51,020 --> 00:23:53,950
rolling on that goal to be at net zero 

642
00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:56,990
greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050 . This 

643
00:23:56,990 --> 00:23:58,990
puts that plan by your commander in 

644
00:23:58,990 --> 00:24:01,157
chief into action , correct ? We would 

645
00:24:01,157 --> 00:24:03,268
want to be moving in that direction . 

646
00:24:03,268 --> 00:24:05,379
But again , again , mr well , frankly 

647
00:24:05,379 --> 00:24:07,379
mr undersecretary , it sounds to me 

648
00:24:07,379 --> 00:24:09,740
like you're burning the tax dollars at 

649
00:24:09,750 --> 00:24:13,100
the altar of environmental extremists 

650
00:24:13,100 --> 00:24:15,590
because in this report that I have here 

651
00:24:15,590 --> 00:24:17,590
that I would like to seek unanimous 

652
00:24:17,590 --> 00:24:19,423
consent to enter into the record 

653
00:24:19,423 --> 00:24:21,646
without objection . Thank you . Um This 

654
00:24:21,646 --> 00:24:24,530
report issued by your agency is not 

655
00:24:24,540 --> 00:24:26,707
quote technically feasible for the D . 

656
00:24:26,707 --> 00:24:29,460
O . D . To achieve net zero greenhouse 

657
00:24:29,460 --> 00:24:31,680
gas emissions . End quote . This is 

658
00:24:31,690 --> 00:24:34,250
your report and it provides an example 

659
00:24:34,260 --> 00:24:36,260
of the impacts woke green New deal 

660
00:24:36,260 --> 00:24:39,460
policies would have an action saying 

661
00:24:39,460 --> 00:24:42,220
quote , the dog cannot for instance , 

662
00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:45,120
risk and armored brigade in combat 

663
00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:47,231
running out of fuel because it's only 

664
00:24:47,231 --> 00:24:50,190
allowed to acquire net zero fuel and 

665
00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:52,770
none is readily available . End quote . 

666
00:24:52,780 --> 00:24:55,070
So Mr Under secretary , why are we 

667
00:24:55,070 --> 00:24:57,930
proposing to spend billions and some 

668
00:24:57,930 --> 00:24:59,652
estimates from this report say 

669
00:24:59,652 --> 00:25:01,486
trillions of tax dollars towards 

670
00:25:01,486 --> 00:25:03,319
reaching net zero greenhouse gas 

671
00:25:03,319 --> 00:25:05,263
emissions when the D . O . D . Has 

672
00:25:05,263 --> 00:25:07,541
already said that this is not feasible . 

673
00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:10,384
Well , again , Net , net zero is a 

674
00:25:10,384 --> 00:25:12,329
policy for the for a country or an 

675
00:25:12,329 --> 00:25:15,340
agency is is one thing Our budget is 

676
00:25:15,340 --> 00:25:17,460
not a budget to 2050 . We could not 

677
00:25:17,460 --> 00:25:19,627
possibly predict what kind of vehicles 

678
00:25:19,627 --> 00:25:21,960
the aircraft we're gonna be using in 24 . 

679
00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:24,127
You're certainly setting forward those 

680
00:25:24,127 --> 00:25:26,127
goals to reach that in 2050 when we 

681
00:25:26,127 --> 00:25:26,120
know that it's not feasible and I'm 

682
00:25:26,120 --> 00:25:28,342
sorry to cut you off . My time is short 

683
00:25:28,342 --> 00:25:30,350
here , according to this report ? I 

684
00:25:30,350 --> 00:25:32,461
mean , it says trillions of dollars . 

685
00:25:32,461 --> 00:25:35,880
But um instead of wasting our time and 

686
00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:37,880
tax dollars on turning our military 

687
00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:39,824
green Let's talk about what really 

688
00:25:39,824 --> 00:25:41,824
should be focused on . Earlier this 

689
00:25:41,824 --> 00:25:43,713
year , I joined my colleagues and 

690
00:25:43,713 --> 00:25:45,769
sending a letter to Secretary Austin 

691
00:25:45,769 --> 00:25:47,880
asking for the congressional required 

692
00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:50,280
report on us equipment left in 

693
00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:53,540
destroyed or removed from Afghanistan 

694
00:25:53,550 --> 00:25:55,670
during the disastrous withdrawal . We 

695
00:25:55,670 --> 00:25:57,892
sent this letter two weeks after it was 

696
00:25:57,892 --> 00:26:00,059
already due to Congress . And we still 

697
00:26:00,059 --> 00:26:02,170
have not received the complete report 

698
00:26:02,170 --> 00:26:04,392
or virtually any accountability for the 

699
00:26:04,392 --> 00:26:06,559
surrender and the total failure . That 

700
00:26:06,559 --> 00:26:08,670
was Afghanistan Mr Under Secretary is 

701
00:26:08,670 --> 00:26:10,337
the D . O . D . Aware of this 

702
00:26:10,337 --> 00:26:12,280
congressional request for the way 

703
00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:14,280
overdue report on the Afghanistan 

704
00:26:14,290 --> 00:26:18,280
debacle on the on the issue of 

705
00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:20,790
equipment that was left behind . I my 

706
00:26:20,790 --> 00:26:22,790
understanding that I've I know I've 

707
00:26:22,790 --> 00:26:24,790
seen draft reports , I believe that 

708
00:26:24,790 --> 00:26:27,012
those reports have been submitted , but 

709
00:26:27,012 --> 00:26:29,290
there may have been different requests . 

710
00:26:29,290 --> 00:26:29,280
Can you tell me how many tanks are 

711
00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:32,360
currently in Afghanistan ? No . 

712
00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:35,218
With all due respect . Mr Under 

713
00:26:35,218 --> 00:26:37,218
Secretary , I've asked for a peanut 

714
00:26:37,218 --> 00:26:39,384
butter and jelly sandwich and I'm kind 

715
00:26:39,384 --> 00:26:41,384
of getting bread here . We don't we 

716
00:26:41,384 --> 00:26:43,384
don't have the full and complete uh 

717
00:26:43,540 --> 00:26:46,290
answers that we need . Uh this is a 

718
00:26:46,290 --> 00:26:48,680
congressional mandate that we get this 

719
00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:50,900
report . Um can you tell me how many 

720
00:26:50,900 --> 00:26:53,480
rifles are in Afghanistan ? If there's 

721
00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:55,690
been reports that have been made . Can 

722
00:26:55,690 --> 00:26:57,746
you tell me how many rifles are left 

723
00:26:57,746 --> 00:26:59,801
behind ? I would have to get for the 

724
00:26:59,801 --> 00:27:02,023
record for you that the the the reports 

725
00:27:02,023 --> 00:27:04,357
that I've seen , Do you know how much U . 

726
00:27:04,357 --> 00:27:06,301
S . Military ammunition is left in 

727
00:27:06,301 --> 00:27:08,634
Afghanistan at the hands of the taliban ? 

728
00:27:08,740 --> 00:27:11,360
I'm sorry munitions . Yes . Again I 

729
00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:13,638
would have to refer you to the reports . 

730
00:27:13,638 --> 00:27:15,693
I don't prepare those reports much . 

731
00:27:15,693 --> 00:27:17,804
How many night vision gear ? How much 

732
00:27:17,804 --> 00:27:19,804
fire night vision equipment is left 

733
00:27:19,804 --> 00:27:22,027
there ? So Mr Mr Under Secretary of the 

734
00:27:22,027 --> 00:27:24,082
point that I'm getting at here is we 

735
00:27:24,082 --> 00:27:26,220
can't tell the american taxpayers how 

736
00:27:26,230 --> 00:27:28,452
we have spent their money , how we have 

737
00:27:28,452 --> 00:27:31,820
funded and equipped the taliban and now 

738
00:27:31,820 --> 00:27:35,520
we're asking for more money . Mr Under 

739
00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:37,687
Secretary , do you think that Congress 

740
00:27:37,687 --> 00:27:39,909
deserves gentlewoman's time has expired 

741
00:27:40,140 --> 00:27:42,830
and but you're entitled to submit 

742
00:27:42,830 --> 00:27:45,070
questions for the record . Thank you 

743
00:27:45,070 --> 00:27:46,792
very much . And may I also ask 

744
00:27:46,792 --> 00:27:48,959
unanimous consent to enter this letter 

745
00:27:48,959 --> 00:27:51,014
into the record . I apologize that I 

746
00:27:51,014 --> 00:27:54,830
had 39 seconds now without 

747
00:27:54,830 --> 00:27:57,052
objection , you may submit that for the 

748
00:27:57,052 --> 00:27:59,108
record . Thank you . Mr Chairman . I 

749
00:27:59,108 --> 00:28:01,330
now yield five minutes to the gentleman 

750
00:28:01,330 --> 00:28:03,552
from Nevada . Mr . Horse furred . Thank 

751
00:28:03,552 --> 00:28:05,497
you . Mr Chairman for holding this 

752
00:28:05,497 --> 00:28:07,274
hearing . I want to thank Under 

753
00:28:07,274 --> 00:28:09,052
Secretary McCord and all of the 

754
00:28:09,052 --> 00:28:11,290
leadership um with the Department of 

755
00:28:11,290 --> 00:28:14,370
Defense uh and particularly our service 

756
00:28:14,370 --> 00:28:17,530
members and their family members for 

757
00:28:17,540 --> 00:28:20,550
their service every single day and 

758
00:28:20,550 --> 00:28:23,610
protecting our national security too 

759
00:28:23,610 --> 00:28:26,240
often in these hearings we tend to get 

760
00:28:26,250 --> 00:28:29,880
uh wound up in partisan talking points 

761
00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:32,000
and and for some reason we we don't 

762
00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:34,056
focus on the very people that we are 

763
00:28:34,056 --> 00:28:36,710
here to pass a budget to serve and 

764
00:28:36,710 --> 00:28:38,877
that's the american people and in this 

765
00:28:38,877 --> 00:28:41,430
case our service members who need the 

766
00:28:41,430 --> 00:28:44,760
resources to be successful when they 

767
00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:47,970
need it . So I'm I'm sure I don't have 

768
00:28:47,970 --> 00:28:50,040
to remind Under Secretary McCord 

769
00:28:50,050 --> 00:28:52,480
Department of Defense acquisition and 

770
00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:54,580
modernization programs take years of 

771
00:28:54,580 --> 00:28:57,370
planning and development . They require 

772
00:28:57,370 --> 00:29:00,730
consistent and reliable funding and and 

773
00:29:00,730 --> 00:29:02,674
follow follow on years to meet the 

774
00:29:02,674 --> 00:29:04,897
needs of war fighters . Funding for our 

775
00:29:04,897 --> 00:29:07,063
national defense is not some political 

776
00:29:07,063 --> 00:29:09,740
prop that can be held up to score cheap 

777
00:29:09,740 --> 00:29:12,050
political points . And yet for all the 

778
00:29:12,050 --> 00:29:14,272
bluster that we're hearing from some of 

779
00:29:14,272 --> 00:29:16,383
my colleagues about the D . O . D . S 

780
00:29:16,383 --> 00:29:18,383
top line , it was their side of the 

781
00:29:18,383 --> 00:29:21,050
aisle that held up the omnibus spending 

782
00:29:21,050 --> 00:29:23,920
package for fiscal year 22 for nearly 

783
00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:27,090
six months . They delay put putting 

784
00:29:27,090 --> 00:29:29,590
critical important major acquisition 

785
00:29:29,590 --> 00:29:32,820
programs at risk prevented new programs 

786
00:29:32,820 --> 00:29:35,660
from starting and delayed pay raises 

787
00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:38,200
for service members . Additionally , 

788
00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:41,420
they degraded readiness at an extremely 

789
00:29:41,430 --> 00:29:44,570
dangerous moment . And for the record , 

790
00:29:44,580 --> 00:29:47,760
joe biden is the commander in chief 

791
00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:51,280
and when our allies needed us most , 

792
00:29:51,290 --> 00:29:54,350
he's the one who helped to bring them 

793
00:29:54,350 --> 00:29:56,290
together to make sure that we're 

794
00:29:56,290 --> 00:29:57,960
holding Russia accountable , 

795
00:29:58,540 --> 00:30:01,180
inconsistent funding . Emboldens our 

796
00:30:01,190 --> 00:30:04,030
adversaries and undermines the trust of 

797
00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:06,840
our allies , a trust that we have had 

798
00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:10,130
to fight hard to restore after the 

799
00:30:10,140 --> 00:30:12,350
previous administration . So I want to 

800
00:30:12,350 --> 00:30:16,000
be clear that the tactics are are not 

801
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,200
just partisan employees . They have 

802
00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:20,960
real life effects for my district , for 

803
00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:23,500
my constituents and for service members 

804
00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:26,220
around the world . Now , last year I 

805
00:30:26,220 --> 00:30:29,260
supported an increase top line for DLD 

806
00:30:29,260 --> 00:30:31,371
spending . And this year , like every 

807
00:30:31,371 --> 00:30:34,130
year I will work hard in a nonpartisan 

808
00:30:34,130 --> 00:30:37,240
way to ensure that the capabilities and 

809
00:30:37,250 --> 00:30:39,730
and systems included in the pentagon's 

810
00:30:39,730 --> 00:30:42,770
budget request are reviewed 

811
00:30:43,540 --> 00:30:45,710
only after a careful assessment of the 

812
00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:48,053
threat environment and our capabilities . 

813
00:30:48,053 --> 00:30:50,460
Can we decide if an increase is again 

814
00:30:50,460 --> 00:30:52,590
necessary to meet the complex 

815
00:30:52,590 --> 00:30:55,210
challenges of our ever evolving 

816
00:30:55,220 --> 00:30:58,700
strategic environment under Secretary 

817
00:30:58,700 --> 00:31:02,430
McCord um in my 

818
00:31:02,430 --> 00:31:04,597
previous discussion with Department of 

819
00:31:04,597 --> 00:31:06,819
Defense leaders , they have stressed to 

820
00:31:06,819 --> 00:31:08,940
me that continuing resolutions do far 

821
00:31:08,940 --> 00:31:11,650
more damage to readiness and the well 

822
00:31:11,650 --> 00:31:13,850
being of our service members than any 

823
00:31:13,850 --> 00:31:15,930
of the hollow complaints we've heard 

824
00:31:15,980 --> 00:31:18,640
here today . Could you please speak to 

825
00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:22,610
the impacts that CRS have on military 

826
00:31:22,610 --> 00:31:24,390
readiness and the importance of 

827
00:31:24,390 --> 00:31:26,570
consistent funding for our most 

828
00:31:26,570 --> 00:31:30,450
critical modernization programs . Thank 

829
00:31:30,450 --> 00:31:32,672
you for that question . Yes , this this 

830
00:31:32,672 --> 00:31:34,783
is something I think that is not well 

831
00:31:34,783 --> 00:31:36,617
understood and it's been hard to 

832
00:31:36,617 --> 00:31:38,617
translate to the public because the 

833
00:31:38,617 --> 00:31:40,561
organism that is the Department of 

834
00:31:40,561 --> 00:31:42,783
Defense has adapted to perpetual CRS in 

835
00:31:42,783 --> 00:31:44,728
a way that therefore you don't see 

836
00:31:44,728 --> 00:31:46,950
contracts expiring because nobody tries 

837
00:31:46,950 --> 00:31:48,783
to write a contract in the first 

838
00:31:48,783 --> 00:31:50,950
quarter of fiscal year anymore because 

839
00:31:50,950 --> 00:31:53,117
they know that you're gonna be under a 

840
00:31:53,117 --> 00:31:55,283
c are not gonna be able to to to enter 

841
00:31:55,283 --> 00:31:57,172
into new contracts . So there's , 

842
00:31:57,172 --> 00:31:59,172
there's the issue , first of all of 

843
00:31:59,172 --> 00:32:01,620
delayed resources , especially when 

844
00:32:01,620 --> 00:32:03,509
there's inflation . But even when 

845
00:32:03,509 --> 00:32:05,620
there's not , you know , time time is 

846
00:32:05,620 --> 00:32:07,731
money and we lose , we lose , when we 

847
00:32:07,731 --> 00:32:10,064
lose time , we lose ability to be agile , 

848
00:32:10,064 --> 00:32:12,350
we lose , we lose resources . Uh The 

849
00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:14,582
this year was particularly bad . As you 

850
00:32:14,582 --> 00:32:16,749
say , it's sort of the , the threat to 

851
00:32:16,749 --> 00:32:18,749
have a full year cr which has never 

852
00:32:18,749 --> 00:32:20,971
happened to the department . Defense in 

853
00:32:20,971 --> 00:32:23,193
history was particularly troublesome to 

854
00:32:23,193 --> 00:32:22,900
us . And we , we had a hearing , I had 

855
00:32:22,900 --> 00:32:24,789
a hearing with the service Chiefs 

856
00:32:24,789 --> 00:32:26,567
before the House appropriations 

857
00:32:26,567 --> 00:32:28,678
committee that spoke to this issue in 

858
00:32:28,678 --> 00:32:30,733
some detail in january in january to 

859
00:32:30,733 --> 00:32:32,789
lay out the problems . Um As you may 

860
00:32:32,789 --> 00:32:35,650
know , we we had a history of beginning 

861
00:32:35,650 --> 00:32:37,650
with sort of the fall of the Berlin 

862
00:32:37,650 --> 00:32:39,770
wall uh for about 20 years where the 

863
00:32:39,780 --> 00:32:41,891
the department defense appropriations 

864
00:32:41,891 --> 00:32:43,947
bill got enacted on average about 25 

865
00:32:43,947 --> 00:32:45,947
days into the fifth gear , which is 

866
00:32:45,947 --> 00:32:48,113
reasonable . Uh But beginning with the 

867
00:32:48,113 --> 00:32:50,650
with with the the threat of default in 

868
00:32:50,650 --> 00:32:52,872
2011 that led to the budget control act 

869
00:32:52,872 --> 00:32:54,720
continuing since that day , That 

870
00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:56,887
average has ballooned to 120 days into 

871
00:32:56,887 --> 00:32:58,998
the fiscal year , on average over the 

872
00:32:58,998 --> 00:33:01,280
last dozen years compared to 25 Days 

873
00:33:01,290 --> 00:33:03,568
for the , for the 20 years before that . 

874
00:33:03,568 --> 00:33:05,790
So we have definitely gotten into a bad 

875
00:33:05,790 --> 00:33:07,846
pattern that needs to be broken ? It 

876
00:33:07,846 --> 00:33:10,480
does cost money . It does it does make 

877
00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:12,360
us less agile . When a number of 

878
00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:14,360
members have pointed out that China 

879
00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:16,471
does move fast and we need to be able 

880
00:33:16,471 --> 00:33:18,582
to we can't afford to give away 34 or 

881
00:33:18,582 --> 00:33:20,638
five months of the fiscal year every 

882
00:33:20,638 --> 00:33:22,304
year to our adversaries by by 

883
00:33:22,304 --> 00:33:24,820
hamstringing ourselves . Thank you . I 

884
00:33:24,820 --> 00:33:26,931
know my time is expired . I just hope 

885
00:33:26,931 --> 00:33:29,290
that all of us can come together and 

886
00:33:29,290 --> 00:33:32,710
make sure that America succeeds by 

887
00:33:32,710 --> 00:33:34,821
helping our service members and their 

888
00:33:34,821 --> 00:33:37,099
families in this budget . I yield back . 

889
00:33:37,099 --> 00:33:39,154
Gentleman's time has expired and now 

890
00:33:39,154 --> 00:33:41,377
recognize the gentleman from Virginia . 

891
00:33:41,377 --> 00:33:43,543
Mr Good for five minutes . Thank you . 

892
00:33:43,543 --> 00:33:45,710
Mr Chairman . Thank you . Mr Secretary 

893
00:33:45,710 --> 00:33:47,766
for being here . Mr Secretary , your 

894
00:33:47,766 --> 00:33:49,932
former boss . Defense Secretary robert 

895
00:33:49,932 --> 00:33:51,710
Gates said a few years ago that 

896
00:33:51,710 --> 00:33:53,877
President biden quote , has been wrong 

897
00:33:53,877 --> 00:33:55,950
on nearly every major foreign policy 

898
00:33:55,950 --> 00:33:58,260
and national security issue over the 

899
00:33:58,260 --> 00:34:01,690
past four decades . End quote . Even 

900
00:34:01,700 --> 00:34:03,840
former President Obama tried to warn 

901
00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:06,007
people during the 2020 campaign and he 

902
00:34:06,007 --> 00:34:07,980
said , don't underestimate Joe's 

903
00:34:07,980 --> 00:34:10,850
ability to screw things up . 

904
00:34:12,240 --> 00:34:14,330
Americans seem to agree as a gallup 

905
00:34:14,330 --> 00:34:17,020
poll in february showed that only 40% 

906
00:34:17,030 --> 00:34:18,980
of americans approve of the way 

907
00:34:19,020 --> 00:34:21,380
President biden is handling foreign 

908
00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:24,690
policy affairs and only 36% approve of 

909
00:34:24,690 --> 00:34:26,357
the way he's handling . Links 

910
00:34:26,357 --> 00:34:28,412
specifically the Russian invasion of 

911
00:34:28,412 --> 00:34:31,850
Ukraine . I think this is a budget is 

912
00:34:31,850 --> 00:34:34,017
further proof of this administration's 

913
00:34:34,017 --> 00:34:36,072
misguided priorities . Would you say 

914
00:34:36,072 --> 00:34:38,072
that Americans are safer today than 

915
00:34:38,072 --> 00:34:40,520
they were in January of 2021 ? I would 

916
00:34:40,530 --> 00:34:43,490
On what basis ? I think we we have 

917
00:34:43,500 --> 00:34:45,556
strengthened our alliances and and I 

918
00:34:45,556 --> 00:34:47,556
think the the unified response that 

919
00:34:47,556 --> 00:34:49,500
we've seen in europe to to Russian 

920
00:34:49,500 --> 00:34:51,444
aggression has has shown kind of a 

921
00:34:51,444 --> 00:34:55,000
revitalized uh Western Western response 

922
00:34:55,010 --> 00:34:58,630
of democracies . Um if I may 

923
00:34:58,790 --> 00:35:01,220
let me thank . Thank you . Mr Secretary , 

924
00:35:01,220 --> 00:35:03,553
thank you . Thank you . Reclaim my time . 

925
00:35:03,553 --> 00:35:05,498
Can you explain why the department 

926
00:35:05,498 --> 00:35:07,609
defense wants to spend 3.1 billion on 

927
00:35:07,609 --> 00:35:10,910
climate programs Or four times what the 

928
00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:13,087
602 million allocated for Ukraine ? So 

929
00:35:13,087 --> 00:35:15,309
3.1 billion on climate programs in this 

930
00:35:15,309 --> 00:35:17,476
budget , which is more than four times 

931
00:35:17,476 --> 00:35:19,698
the 602 million allocated for Ukraine . 

932
00:35:20,240 --> 00:35:22,462
First , I would say that we are in this 

933
00:35:22,462 --> 00:35:24,573
fiscal year spending more on spending 

934
00:35:24,573 --> 00:35:26,740
more than that on Ukraine . And we are 

935
00:35:26,740 --> 00:35:28,851
about to ask for another supplemental 

936
00:35:28,851 --> 00:35:28,310
to increase to make sure that the 

937
00:35:28,310 --> 00:35:30,199
Ukrainians have what they need to 

938
00:35:30,199 --> 00:35:32,532
continue the from a military standpoint , 

939
00:35:32,532 --> 00:35:34,699
what's the 3.1 billion four on climate 

940
00:35:34,699 --> 00:35:36,754
programs that is both on that ? That 

941
00:35:36,754 --> 00:35:38,921
has two basic parts , its installation 

942
00:35:38,921 --> 00:35:41,143
side , our facilities , our buildings , 

943
00:35:41,143 --> 00:35:41,080
our , you know , our our our bases . 

944
00:35:41,090 --> 00:35:43,312
And then how does how does investing in 

945
00:35:43,312 --> 00:35:45,146
climate programs help ? Military 

946
00:35:45,146 --> 00:35:47,146
preparedness , military readiness , 

947
00:35:47,146 --> 00:35:49,840
military effectiveness . Well on the , 

948
00:35:49,840 --> 00:35:51,896
on the , on the facility side of the 

949
00:35:51,896 --> 00:35:53,673
resilience , it is to be better 

950
00:35:53,673 --> 00:35:55,673
prepared for extreme weather events 

951
00:35:55,673 --> 00:35:57,729
which are increasing in frequency on 

952
00:35:57,729 --> 00:35:59,618
the vehicle side , the idea is to 

953
00:35:59,618 --> 00:36:01,896
reduce our logistic footprints to , to , 

954
00:36:01,896 --> 00:36:03,951
to be have more capability to be not 

955
00:36:03,951 --> 00:36:06,960
tethered to a logistic train of , of 

956
00:36:06,970 --> 00:36:09,900
fuel . This president , 

957
00:36:10,740 --> 00:36:12,890
thank you . This President told our 

958
00:36:12,890 --> 00:36:15,120
troops of all people , our troops back 

959
00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:17,120
in june that the greatest threat to 

960
00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:19,120
America is climate change . He even 

961
00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:21,398
added his typical , this is not a joke . 

962
00:36:22,230 --> 00:36:24,286
I guess he needed to add the , hey , 

963
00:36:24,286 --> 00:36:26,508
this is not a joke because the soldiers 

964
00:36:26,508 --> 00:36:28,397
were probably , I have to presume 

965
00:36:28,397 --> 00:36:28,100
surprised to hear from the commander in 

966
00:36:28,100 --> 00:36:30,100
chief of the greatest threat to the 

967
00:36:30,100 --> 00:36:32,156
country and telling them as military 

968
00:36:32,156 --> 00:36:34,267
personnel that the greatest threat is 

969
00:36:34,267 --> 00:36:36,267
climate change . Uh , and then just 

970
00:36:36,267 --> 00:36:38,322
last week and you kind of alluded to 

971
00:36:38,322 --> 00:36:40,322
already , the President stated that 

972
00:36:40,322 --> 00:36:42,378
we're going to spend billions making 

973
00:36:42,378 --> 00:36:44,711
every military vehicle climate friendly . 

974
00:36:44,711 --> 00:36:46,878
I think that makes us the amusement of 

975
00:36:46,878 --> 00:36:49,100
our adversaries around the world . That 

976
00:36:49,100 --> 00:36:51,322
that's what we're focused on . Uh , you 

977
00:36:51,322 --> 00:36:51,280
know , it's , it's as embarrassing as 

978
00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:53,550
it was to send john Kerry to , to , you 

979
00:36:53,550 --> 00:36:55,717
know , essentially begged the Russians 

980
00:36:55,717 --> 00:36:57,828
to consider the climate impact of the 

981
00:36:57,828 --> 00:36:59,994
invasion if they were going to do that 

982
00:36:59,994 --> 00:37:01,939
just just before the invasion took 

983
00:37:01,939 --> 00:37:04,050
place even days before . Uh , but the 

984
00:37:04,050 --> 00:37:06,217
president said , quote , every vehicle 

985
00:37:06,217 --> 00:37:08,439
is going to be climate friendly , every 

986
00:37:08,439 --> 00:37:07,820
vehicle ? I mean , it we're spending 

987
00:37:07,820 --> 00:37:10,100
billions of dollars to do it , Do you 

988
00:37:10,100 --> 00:37:12,156
think that climate concern should be 

989
00:37:12,156 --> 00:37:14,489
the main priority for military vehicles ? 

990
00:37:14,830 --> 00:37:17,340
It is not the primary concern . Their 

991
00:37:17,340 --> 00:37:19,118
their effectiveness is what the 

992
00:37:19,118 --> 00:37:21,062
president said that we're going to 

993
00:37:21,062 --> 00:37:23,284
spend billions to do that . This , this 

994
00:37:23,284 --> 00:37:25,451
budget switching gears . Another topic 

995
00:37:25,451 --> 00:37:27,507
contains 34 million to address quote 

996
00:37:27,507 --> 00:37:29,960
concerning behaviors and extremism . 

997
00:37:30,330 --> 00:37:32,163
What does this mean ? What's the 

998
00:37:32,163 --> 00:37:35,120
purpose of that funding ? As the 

999
00:37:35,120 --> 00:37:37,430
Secretary Austin has has stated , uh , 

1000
00:37:37,610 --> 00:37:39,499
the incidence of extremism in the 

1001
00:37:39,499 --> 00:37:41,920
military is low , but any any amount is 

1002
00:37:41,920 --> 00:37:44,410
not acceptable . And so these efforts , 

1003
00:37:44,410 --> 00:37:46,410
well , I'm going to inject their on 

1004
00:37:46,410 --> 00:37:48,632
unprotected terry Austin . I'm glad you 

1005
00:37:48,632 --> 00:37:50,799
brought him up because he said when we 

1006
00:37:50,799 --> 00:37:52,743
were asked to give an exception to 

1007
00:37:52,743 --> 00:37:54,743
approve him in the House because he 

1008
00:37:54,743 --> 00:37:56,966
didn't meet the seven years of required 

1009
00:37:56,966 --> 00:37:56,830
retirement between military and 

1010
00:37:56,830 --> 00:37:59,160
civilian service , he said that his 

1011
00:37:59,290 --> 00:38:01,512
self proclaimed mission essentially was 

1012
00:38:01,512 --> 00:38:03,734
to root out racism in the military . Is 

1013
00:38:03,734 --> 00:38:05,790
that truly a significant problem ? I 

1014
00:38:05,790 --> 00:38:07,901
mean , for him to say that's what one 

1015
00:38:07,901 --> 00:38:07,840
of the reasons why he was there to root 

1016
00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:10,060
out racism in the military . It seems 

1017
00:38:10,060 --> 00:38:12,227
to me the military has been an example 

1018
00:38:12,227 --> 00:38:13,893
of integration of merit based 

1019
00:38:13,893 --> 00:38:16,230
performance and advancement , as 

1020
00:38:16,240 --> 00:38:18,420
evidenced by Secretary Austin and and 

1021
00:38:18,420 --> 00:38:21,250
and Secretary Powell before him on the , 

1022
00:38:21,250 --> 00:38:23,417
on the Secretary of State side is this 

1023
00:38:23,417 --> 00:38:25,417
truly a significant problem for our 

1024
00:38:25,417 --> 00:38:27,417
heroes , heroes in the military ? I 

1025
00:38:27,417 --> 00:38:30,760
would say first of all racism exists in 

1026
00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:32,871
society to exist in every institution 

1027
00:38:32,871 --> 00:38:34,927
were to spend $34 million dollars to 

1028
00:38:34,927 --> 00:38:37,760
address in the military . But racism 

1029
00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:40,038
and extremism are two different topics . 

1030
00:38:40,038 --> 00:38:42,260
And you were talking , I think you were 

1031
00:38:42,260 --> 00:38:41,580
citing a figure about , about 

1032
00:38:41,580 --> 00:38:44,200
addressing extremism , racism is a 

1033
00:38:44,210 --> 00:38:46,432
different issue . And I would certainly 

1034
00:38:46,432 --> 00:38:48,599
say Secretary Austin probably has more 

1035
00:38:48,599 --> 00:38:50,766
experience with this issue than I do . 

1036
00:38:50,766 --> 00:38:52,877
And so I certainly would not question 

1037
00:38:52,877 --> 00:38:55,099
his . His . Well , my time is expired . 

1038
00:38:55,099 --> 00:38:54,950
Thank you . MR sector . Gentlemen . 

1039
00:38:54,950 --> 00:38:57,006
Time has expired . And now recognize 

1040
00:38:57,006 --> 00:38:59,120
another gentleman from Virginia . Mr 

1041
00:38:59,120 --> 00:39:02,740
Scott . Thank you . Mr Chairman 

1042
00:39:03,420 --> 00:39:06,330
um MR record in the 

1043
00:39:06,920 --> 00:39:09,031
Reagan administration . We're talking 

1044
00:39:09,031 --> 00:39:12,070
about a 600 ship Navy without getting 

1045
00:39:12,070 --> 00:39:14,181
into classified information . Can you 

1046
00:39:14,181 --> 00:39:17,090
tell us with us ? Maybe we could expect 

1047
00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:19,860
this budget is approved and how that 

1048
00:39:19,860 --> 00:39:22,760
compares to the size of Nate of other 

1049
00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:26,710
nations navies . Mr scott ? I 

1050
00:39:26,710 --> 00:39:28,860
would say that that our navy , uh and 

1051
00:39:28,860 --> 00:39:30,916
there there are 30 year shipbuilding 

1052
00:39:30,916 --> 00:39:33,027
report was just sent to Congress . So 

1053
00:39:33,027 --> 00:39:34,916
you can you can look at different 

1054
00:39:34,916 --> 00:39:37,249
periods of , of years out to , you know , 

1055
00:39:37,249 --> 00:39:39,471
several decades out in the future . But 

1056
00:39:39,471 --> 00:39:39,390
we're in the 300 ship range right now , 

1057
00:39:39,390 --> 00:39:41,390
we were not in the 600 ship range . 

1058
00:39:41,390 --> 00:39:43,557
Before we were There was talk of a 600 

1059
00:39:43,557 --> 00:39:45,612
ship Navy , not not the reality of a 

1060
00:39:45,612 --> 00:39:47,501
600 ship Navy before , but we are 

1061
00:39:47,501 --> 00:39:50,590
looking to to have a very capable force , 

1062
00:39:50,840 --> 00:39:52,951
the most capable navy in the world by 

1063
00:39:52,951 --> 00:39:54,620
far At about 300 ships . 

1064
00:39:56,940 --> 00:39:59,051
And how does that compare to the size 

1065
00:39:59,051 --> 00:40:01,740
of the navies of other countries . 

1066
00:40:04,010 --> 00:40:06,010
I don't have the figures of all the 

1067
00:40:06,010 --> 00:40:07,677
navies around the world at my 

1068
00:40:07,677 --> 00:40:09,732
fingertips , we can get you , we can 

1069
00:40:09,732 --> 00:40:11,788
get you the most capable navy in the 

1070
00:40:11,788 --> 00:40:15,440
world . Um , 

1071
00:40:15,910 --> 00:40:18,021
If we're gonna build ships , you have 

1072
00:40:18,021 --> 00:40:20,243
to maintain them . What are we doing to 

1073
00:40:20,243 --> 00:40:22,860
upgrade the ship repair facilities at 

1074
00:40:22,860 --> 00:40:25,430
public yards ? How's that ? How's that 

1075
00:40:25,430 --> 00:40:28,300
coming ? But we have , we have some 

1076
00:40:28,300 --> 00:40:30,189
major investments in our shipyard 

1077
00:40:30,189 --> 00:40:32,411
capability , primarily on the submarine 

1078
00:40:32,411 --> 00:40:34,189
side . You're probably probably 

1079
00:40:34,189 --> 00:40:36,522
familiar with so called psyop S . I . O . 

1080
00:40:36,522 --> 00:40:38,411
P . A Navy acronym for a shipyard 

1081
00:40:38,411 --> 00:40:40,633
investment plan . That's basically a 20 

1082
00:40:40,633 --> 00:40:42,930
year plan , $20 billion.20 year plan 

1083
00:40:42,940 --> 00:40:45,107
for probably the four public shipyards 

1084
00:40:45,107 --> 00:40:47,330
that have not been seeing the kind of 

1085
00:40:47,330 --> 00:40:49,441
maintenance they need for a century . 

1086
00:40:49,441 --> 00:40:51,730
Uh , So these are addressing our 

1087
00:40:51,730 --> 00:40:53,897
ability primarily to , to take care of 

1088
00:40:53,897 --> 00:40:55,952
our nuclear force . In addition , we 

1089
00:40:55,952 --> 00:40:57,841
have investments in the submarine 

1090
00:40:57,841 --> 00:41:01,620
workforce . Uh , and uh , those are 

1091
00:41:01,620 --> 00:41:03,842
probably the primary , the primary ship 

1092
00:41:03,842 --> 00:41:05,787
investments we have is to keep our 

1093
00:41:05,787 --> 00:41:08,180
submarine uh industrial base and our 

1094
00:41:08,180 --> 00:41:10,250
submarine yard and our shipyards 

1095
00:41:10,260 --> 00:41:12,371
capable of moving through this period 

1096
00:41:12,371 --> 00:41:14,427
where we're buying both Columbia and 

1097
00:41:14,427 --> 00:41:16,538
the Virginia Class at the same time , 

1098
00:41:16,538 --> 00:41:18,760
which puts some additional stress on on 

1099
00:41:18,760 --> 00:41:20,927
that part of our industrial base . And 

1100
00:41:20,927 --> 00:41:23,038
what kind of priority is made to make 

1101
00:41:23,038 --> 00:41:25,850
sure that the private repair yards to 

1102
00:41:25,850 --> 00:41:27,961
get enough work to stay in business , 

1103
00:41:28,210 --> 00:41:30,154
well in the private on the private 

1104
00:41:30,154 --> 00:41:31,988
repair yards and in minority and 

1105
00:41:31,988 --> 00:41:35,250
minority owned shipyards . Yes , sir . 

1106
00:41:35,250 --> 00:41:37,139
The private yards , as you know , 

1107
00:41:37,139 --> 00:41:38,972
focused focused much more on the 

1108
00:41:38,972 --> 00:41:41,139
surface side . And there , I think one 

1109
00:41:41,139 --> 00:41:43,194
of the best things we can do is have 

1110
00:41:43,194 --> 00:41:43,020
stable , predictable funding . Getting 

1111
00:41:43,020 --> 00:41:45,131
to the point of the previous question 

1112
00:41:45,131 --> 00:41:47,409
about perpetual continuing resolutions , 

1113
00:41:47,409 --> 00:41:49,576
stable , predictable funding will be a 

1114
00:41:49,576 --> 00:41:51,576
great benefit to the private sector 

1115
00:41:51,576 --> 00:41:53,687
yards because they have always as you 

1116
00:41:53,687 --> 00:41:55,576
know , have always had to be more 

1117
00:41:55,576 --> 00:41:57,742
flexible than the public yards because 

1118
00:41:57,742 --> 00:41:57,470
because they flex up and down when 

1119
00:41:57,470 --> 00:41:59,680
funding is unpredictable . So that I 

1120
00:41:59,680 --> 00:42:01,902
think is probably the best thing we can 

1121
00:42:01,902 --> 00:42:04,170
do . In addition , we need to get we 

1122
00:42:04,170 --> 00:42:06,281
need to get our our private Secretary 

1123
00:42:06,281 --> 00:42:08,448
yards producing the ships on time . So 

1124
00:42:08,448 --> 00:42:10,670
we we have been putting more money into 

1125
00:42:10,670 --> 00:42:13,320
say , buying destroyers at two a year , 

1126
00:42:13,320 --> 00:42:15,542
but not they're not able to produce two 

1127
00:42:15,542 --> 00:42:17,542
a year . That leads to all kinds of 

1128
00:42:17,542 --> 00:42:19,876
problems in terms of maintenance cycles . 

1129
00:42:19,876 --> 00:42:21,987
If you can't get the ships out of the 

1130
00:42:21,987 --> 00:42:24,209
yard and we all know that the uh , this 

1131
00:42:24,209 --> 00:42:26,376
is the ship industrial base . Shipyard 

1132
00:42:26,376 --> 00:42:28,487
workers are one of the areas that has 

1133
00:42:28,487 --> 00:42:30,598
been , you know , supply demand issue 

1134
00:42:30,598 --> 00:42:32,598
right now , in terms of getting the 

1135
00:42:32,598 --> 00:42:34,598
skilled workers , you need is a big 

1136
00:42:34,598 --> 00:42:36,653
challenge for the navy , is the Army 

1137
00:42:36,653 --> 00:42:38,542
Corps of Engineers budget in your 

1138
00:42:38,542 --> 00:42:41,120
portfolio . It is not the Army Corps of 

1139
00:42:41,120 --> 00:42:43,810
Engineers is part of the department but 

1140
00:42:43,810 --> 00:42:46,980
the their budget is on the Civil side 

1141
00:42:46,990 --> 00:42:49,046
and does not come through . Does not 

1142
00:42:49,046 --> 00:42:52,090
come through me . Um If you fail to do , 

1143
00:42:52,100 --> 00:42:54,800
we've had disparaging remarks made 

1144
00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:56,911
about climate change . If you fail to 

1145
00:42:56,911 --> 00:43:00,550
invest uh in resilience to 

1146
00:43:00,550 --> 00:43:03,100
protect against sea level rise , what 

1147
00:43:03,100 --> 00:43:05,430
will happen to military assets like the 

1148
00:43:05,430 --> 00:43:08,410
naval station in Norfolk ? Well , that 

1149
00:43:08,410 --> 00:43:10,632
that is one of the things that concerns 

1150
00:43:10,632 --> 00:43:12,632
us is the Navy and the Marine Corps 

1151
00:43:12,632 --> 00:43:14,743
particularly are are vulnerable to uh 

1152
00:43:14,743 --> 00:43:16,799
to the impacts of of extreme weather 

1153
00:43:16,799 --> 00:43:19,010
and and and see change . Uh 

1154
00:43:20,400 --> 00:43:22,511
we alone as the Department of Defense 

1155
00:43:22,511 --> 00:43:24,844
to be clear , cannot prevent , you know , 

1156
00:43:24,844 --> 00:43:26,550
climate change and we are not 

1157
00:43:26,550 --> 00:43:28,772
attempting to prevent it by ourselves . 

1158
00:43:28,772 --> 00:43:30,828
We are trying to be responsive to it 

1159
00:43:30,828 --> 00:43:32,828
and look ahead and get out ahead of 

1160
00:43:32,828 --> 00:43:34,939
changes so that our installations are 

1161
00:43:34,939 --> 00:43:34,780
more capable of dealing with these 

1162
00:43:34,780 --> 00:43:37,002
events and doing what we can to be part 

1163
00:43:37,002 --> 00:43:39,169
of the solution . But we are not going 

1164
00:43:39,169 --> 00:43:41,770
to solve the problem by ourselves . And 

1165
00:43:41,770 --> 00:43:43,990
I introduced legislation as signed in 

1166
00:43:43,990 --> 00:43:47,520
the law as part of the recent N . B . A . 

1167
00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:50,810
To allow mitigation of storm water 

1168
00:43:50,810 --> 00:43:53,800
flooding around military bases . House 

1169
00:43:53,800 --> 00:43:56,850
that can be implemented Mr scott . I 

1170
00:43:56,850 --> 00:43:58,794
would have to get you that for the 

1171
00:43:58,794 --> 00:44:01,128
record from our installations community . 

1172
00:44:01,128 --> 00:44:03,239
I I I can't speak to that from my own 

1173
00:44:03,239 --> 00:44:05,600
expertise . Thank you . Mr Chairman , I 

1174
00:44:05,610 --> 00:44:07,990
yield back . Gentleman yields back and 

1175
00:44:07,990 --> 00:44:10,212
now yield five minutes to the gentleman 

1176
00:44:10,212 --> 00:44:12,490
from California . Mr Albano over Nolte . 

1177
00:44:12,690 --> 00:44:15,720
Thank you . Mr Chair Secretary McCord . 

1178
00:44:16,190 --> 00:44:18,380
I'd like to continue Linus questioning 

1179
00:44:18,380 --> 00:44:21,000
regarding inflation . Obviously that's 

1180
00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:23,167
been front of mine for many members of 

1181
00:44:23,167 --> 00:44:24,944
congress and I mentioned in the 

1182
00:44:24,944 --> 00:44:27,056
Department of Defense as well in your 

1183
00:44:27,056 --> 00:44:29,880
testimony you mentioned that the in 

1184
00:44:29,880 --> 00:44:32,160
preparing the budget , you used a chain 

1185
00:44:32,160 --> 00:44:35,230
weighted inflation index as a benchmark 

1186
00:44:35,230 --> 00:44:37,397
rather than consumer price index . Can 

1187
00:44:37,397 --> 00:44:39,563
you talk a little bit more about about 

1188
00:44:39,563 --> 00:44:41,674
the the assumptions that were made in 

1189
00:44:41,674 --> 00:44:43,786
preparing the budget and what rate of 

1190
00:44:43,786 --> 00:44:45,952
inflation for the chain weighted price 

1191
00:44:45,952 --> 00:44:48,980
index that you're assuming ? Yes sir . 

1192
00:44:48,990 --> 00:44:52,790
The the reason that we use uh the the 

1193
00:44:52,800 --> 00:44:55,022
rate that we use is that it is first of 

1194
00:44:55,022 --> 00:44:57,520
all uh in U . S . Code that that's what 

1195
00:44:57,520 --> 00:44:59,631
we're supposed to be using . But also 

1196
00:44:59,631 --> 00:45:01,798
because the biggest single category of 

1197
00:45:01,798 --> 00:45:03,853
what we do is purchases of goods and 

1198
00:45:03,853 --> 00:45:06,020
services from the private sector . And 

1199
00:45:06,020 --> 00:45:08,131
that's a pretty good metric for a GDP 

1200
00:45:08,131 --> 00:45:10,510
deflator to measure . So so what what 

1201
00:45:11,190 --> 00:45:13,246
what number did you use in preparing 

1202
00:45:13,246 --> 00:45:15,590
the budget for the budget for for ? 

1203
00:45:15,600 --> 00:45:18,700
What we did was the Fy 20 if I can walk 

1204
00:45:18,700 --> 00:45:21,010
one step back the fy 22 budget was 

1205
00:45:21,010 --> 00:45:23,830
prepared assuming about 2.2% inflation 

1206
00:45:23,830 --> 00:45:25,997
for for the year that we're in . Now , 

1207
00:45:25,997 --> 00:45:28,219
what we did was we looked looked at the 

1208
00:45:28,219 --> 00:45:30,330
data it was it had doubled to four by 

1209
00:45:30,330 --> 00:45:32,163
the time we were wrapping up our 

1210
00:45:32,163 --> 00:45:34,274
assumptions in december . So we built 

1211
00:45:34,274 --> 00:45:36,660
that price increase into Our budget for 

1212
00:45:36,660 --> 00:45:40,170
23 . So based on what was happening in 

1213
00:45:40,170 --> 00:45:42,392
count in the calendar year that just in 

1214
00:45:42,392 --> 00:45:45,190
a calendar year , 21 for the budget for 

1215
00:45:45,190 --> 00:45:47,940
fy 23 we use like as with every 

1216
00:45:47,940 --> 00:45:50,940
administration , Oh and be produces one 

1217
00:45:50,940 --> 00:45:52,662
side of economic assumptions , 

1218
00:45:52,662 --> 00:45:54,884
assumptions that every agency uses that 

1219
00:45:54,884 --> 00:45:57,550
inflation rate is 2.2% . And so that 

1220
00:45:57,550 --> 00:45:59,661
the question is the question that has 

1221
00:45:59,661 --> 00:46:01,772
been discussed this morning and other 

1222
00:46:01,772 --> 00:46:03,994
venues , is is whether that's the right 

1223
00:46:03,994 --> 00:46:03,620
assumption for the fiscal year , that's 

1224
00:46:03,620 --> 00:46:06,000
going to start this September , uh . 

1225
00:46:06,380 --> 00:46:08,602
you know , based on , based on the fact 

1226
00:46:08,602 --> 00:46:10,824
that it's higher than that right now We 

1227
00:46:10,824 --> 00:46:12,991
don't , we don't get to decide what to 

1228
00:46:12,991 --> 00:46:15,550
use for 23 . We use , we use consistent 

1229
00:46:15,550 --> 00:46:17,661
assumptions across the administration 

1230
00:46:17,661 --> 00:46:19,772
as every administration does for 22 . 

1231
00:46:19,772 --> 00:46:21,939
We did our best working with O M . B . 

1232
00:46:21,939 --> 00:46:23,994
And working with the president to up 

1233
00:46:23,994 --> 00:46:25,994
our price basing across this across 

1234
00:46:25,994 --> 00:46:27,828
this five years that we were not 

1235
00:46:27,828 --> 00:46:29,994
falling behind what was happening last 

1236
00:46:29,994 --> 00:46:32,161
year . But the situation has continued 

1237
00:46:32,161 --> 00:46:34,383
to change as most primarily again , the 

1238
00:46:34,383 --> 00:46:36,217
spike in energy prices since the 

1239
00:46:36,217 --> 00:46:36,040
Russian invasion of Ukraine was 

1240
00:46:36,040 --> 00:46:38,040
something that is not in our budget 

1241
00:46:38,040 --> 00:46:40,207
could not have been on our budget . We 

1242
00:46:40,207 --> 00:46:42,262
were already done with our budget by 

1243
00:46:42,262 --> 00:46:44,151
then . So there there there there 

1244
00:46:44,151 --> 00:46:44,140
remains something we need to work with 

1245
00:46:44,140 --> 00:46:46,500
with you and I appreciate that you said 

1246
00:46:46,500 --> 00:46:48,500
that you were prepared to work with 

1247
00:46:48,500 --> 00:46:51,380
Congress to address those impacts on a 

1248
00:46:51,380 --> 00:46:54,500
historical basis . If you look at 

1249
00:46:54,980 --> 00:46:57,036
our investment and the Department of 

1250
00:46:57,036 --> 00:46:59,036
Defense in real dollars , how do we 

1251
00:46:59,036 --> 00:47:01,590
compare historically right now to where 

1252
00:47:01,590 --> 00:47:04,250
we've been in the past ? We're at a 

1253
00:47:04,250 --> 00:47:06,472
relatively high level . Especially when 

1254
00:47:06,472 --> 00:47:08,583
you consider that the that the number 

1255
00:47:08,583 --> 00:47:10,806
of people in our forces smaller . So we 

1256
00:47:10,806 --> 00:47:10,630
have a smaller , highly compensated 

1257
00:47:10,630 --> 00:47:12,797
force which has been true for a number 

1258
00:47:12,797 --> 00:47:15,019
of years and it's true today . So we're 

1259
00:47:15,019 --> 00:47:17,297
we're we're on somewhat the higher end . 

1260
00:47:17,297 --> 00:47:19,463
And of course you could always ah have 

1261
00:47:19,463 --> 00:47:21,574
debates with people about do you take 

1262
00:47:21,574 --> 00:47:23,519
the cost of something like Iraq or 

1263
00:47:23,519 --> 00:47:25,630
Afghanistan ? Do you include those of 

1264
00:47:25,630 --> 00:47:27,686
you exclude those as unique events . 

1265
00:47:27,686 --> 00:47:29,797
But our budget is on the high side in 

1266
00:47:29,797 --> 00:47:32,019
real terms right now . Okay , so I I've 

1267
00:47:32,019 --> 00:47:34,670
seen measures , other measures that 

1268
00:47:34,670 --> 00:47:36,870
disagree with that assessment and I 

1269
00:47:36,870 --> 00:47:39,037
don't think it's fair to measure it in 

1270
00:47:39,037 --> 00:47:41,092
terms of the number of people in our 

1271
00:47:41,092 --> 00:47:43,460
armed forces because as you as you have 

1272
00:47:43,460 --> 00:47:45,820
described , the number of people is 

1273
00:47:45,830 --> 00:47:49,420
declining . But our need for a 

1274
00:47:49,430 --> 00:47:52,770
robust Department of Defense is is 

1275
00:47:52,770 --> 00:47:55,040
certainly still very high and I'm 

1276
00:47:55,040 --> 00:47:57,262
concerned that we can't fall behind the 

1277
00:47:57,262 --> 00:48:00,310
curve there on a real dollar basis . Um , 

1278
00:48:00,320 --> 00:48:02,209
but with the time I have left , I 

1279
00:48:02,209 --> 00:48:04,153
wanted to ask about something on a 

1280
00:48:04,153 --> 00:48:06,580
different topic . So I understand that 

1281
00:48:07,070 --> 00:48:09,400
there's been a uh debate in the 

1282
00:48:09,400 --> 00:48:11,511
Department of Defense about change in 

1283
00:48:11,511 --> 00:48:14,660
philosophy from a counterinsurgency 

1284
00:48:14,660 --> 00:48:16,570
point of view towards more of a 

1285
00:48:16,580 --> 00:48:18,747
response to near peers like Russia and 

1286
00:48:18,747 --> 00:48:20,900
china . As geopolitical events have 

1287
00:48:21,270 --> 00:48:23,850
have shifted in the last few years , I 

1288
00:48:23,860 --> 00:48:26,380
represent Some of the largest training 

1289
00:48:26,380 --> 00:48:28,750
bases in the country . A monitor 

1290
00:48:28,750 --> 00:48:31,870
represent for her when the marine air 

1291
00:48:31,870 --> 00:48:34,092
to ground training center in 29 Palms . 

1292
00:48:34,100 --> 00:48:37,370
Does this budget make the necessary 

1293
00:48:37,370 --> 00:48:40,700
investments to shift our training 

1294
00:48:40,710 --> 00:48:43,800
philosophy in response to the shift in 

1295
00:48:43,800 --> 00:48:45,800
D . O . D . Philosophy from counter 

1296
00:48:45,800 --> 00:48:49,560
insurgency to near pier . I would say 

1297
00:48:49,560 --> 00:48:51,782
that's the intent but but certainly our 

1298
00:48:51,782 --> 00:48:53,949
army and Marine corps leadership could 

1299
00:48:53,949 --> 00:48:55,782
probably give you better and you 

1300
00:48:55,782 --> 00:48:58,004
probably already have better specific , 

1301
00:48:58,004 --> 00:49:00,116
specific information about the combat 

1302
00:49:00,116 --> 00:49:01,949
training centers and how the how 

1303
00:49:01,949 --> 00:49:01,490
they're adapting . But yes , we are 

1304
00:49:01,490 --> 00:49:03,546
trying to move our focus of our both 

1305
00:49:03,546 --> 00:49:05,700
our modernization and our training to 

1306
00:49:05,700 --> 00:49:07,590
to the near pier or high end 

1307
00:49:07,600 --> 00:49:09,656
competitions . Exactly as you said . 

1308
00:49:09,656 --> 00:49:11,767
All right , well thank you . I see my 

1309
00:49:11,767 --> 00:49:13,989
time is expired on your back . Mr Chair 

1310
00:49:13,989 --> 00:49:16,400
Gentleman yields back and now recognize 

1311
00:49:16,410 --> 00:49:18,466
the gentleman from Georgia Mr carter 

1312
00:49:18,466 --> 00:49:22,320
for five minutes . He's not . Is he 

1313
00:49:22,320 --> 00:49:26,280
virtual ? Is he not ? Okay ? I'm sorry 

1314
00:49:27,470 --> 00:49:30,490
skip a friend . MR growth Now you have 

1315
00:49:30,490 --> 00:49:32,434
five minutes to the gentleman from 

1316
00:49:32,434 --> 00:49:34,434
Wisconsin . Mr Grossman , thank you 

1317
00:49:34,434 --> 00:49:36,546
very much . Um , looking through some 

1318
00:49:36,546 --> 00:49:39,270
articles about your department . Um , I 

1319
00:49:39,270 --> 00:49:41,790
notice here's an article that was 

1320
00:49:42,570 --> 00:49:46,170
written last week And the 

1321
00:49:46,180 --> 00:49:49,490
plan is to decommission two littoral 

1322
00:49:49,490 --> 00:49:52,630
combat ships . They were kind of big 

1323
00:49:52,630 --> 00:49:54,630
ships and those ships are about 100 

1324
00:49:54,630 --> 00:49:56,963
yards long . Big stuff . I've seen them . 

1325
00:49:57,370 --> 00:50:01,250
One was built in , 

1326
00:50:02,360 --> 00:50:05,670
Um , I believe 2015 and one was built 

1327
00:50:05,670 --> 00:50:08,880
in 2016 . So these are rather large 

1328
00:50:08,880 --> 00:50:11,270
ships , I'm sure very expensive to 

1329
00:50:11,270 --> 00:50:14,920
build an over 100 yard ship And we plan 

1330
00:50:14,920 --> 00:50:18,690
on declassifying him , 

1331
00:50:20,260 --> 00:50:23,380
Um , less than 10 years in . 

1332
00:50:24,860 --> 00:50:26,916
I'm glad you're doing it . If it's a 

1333
00:50:26,916 --> 00:50:29,138
waste of money , I'm just , do you have 

1334
00:50:29,138 --> 00:50:31,360
any comments on how that could happen ? 

1335
00:50:31,360 --> 00:50:33,416
How we could build a big ship and 10 

1336
00:50:33,416 --> 00:50:35,638
years later we want to scrap it . Thank 

1337
00:50:35,638 --> 00:50:37,582
you . Yeah . The , the , the , the 

1338
00:50:37,582 --> 00:50:39,638
issue with those particular ships is 

1339
00:50:39,638 --> 00:50:42,490
that the first of all that as as the 

1340
00:50:42,490 --> 00:50:44,630
strategies have focused more as was 

1341
00:50:44,630 --> 00:50:46,852
just discussed toward the high end peer 

1342
00:50:46,852 --> 00:50:48,852
competitors . Both both the matters 

1343
00:50:48,852 --> 00:50:51,130
strategy and Secretary Austin strategy . 

1344
00:50:51,130 --> 00:50:53,352
These ships are , are not as consistent 

1345
00:50:53,352 --> 00:50:55,352
with with with these new strategies 

1346
00:50:55,352 --> 00:50:57,519
that focus on a high end fight against 

1347
00:50:57,519 --> 00:50:59,574
a very capable military like china . 

1348
00:50:59,574 --> 00:51:01,630
Secondarily on the , on the littoral 

1349
00:51:01,630 --> 00:51:03,574
combat ships . Several of them the 

1350
00:51:03,574 --> 00:51:06,240
mission packages for these ships never 

1351
00:51:06,240 --> 00:51:08,690
delivered in correcting usable form . 

1352
00:51:08,690 --> 00:51:10,857
So the ships basically do not have the 

1353
00:51:10,857 --> 00:51:12,968
capability they were supposed to have 

1354
00:51:12,968 --> 00:51:15,134
even on top of the question of whether 

1355
00:51:15,134 --> 00:51:17,134
that's the right capability for the 

1356
00:51:17,134 --> 00:51:16,860
okay , would you say it's accurate if I 

1357
00:51:16,860 --> 00:51:19,970
say we wasted money building the USS 

1358
00:51:19,970 --> 00:51:23,190
Jackson and the USs Montgomery the 

1359
00:51:23,220 --> 00:51:25,276
moral combat ships that we , that we 

1360
00:51:25,276 --> 00:51:27,640
are Decommissioning . Uh , I would say 

1361
00:51:27,640 --> 00:51:29,751
we're not , we're not our best use of 

1362
00:51:29,751 --> 00:51:32,270
funds . Okay . So I think a goal we 

1363
00:51:32,270 --> 00:51:34,326
should have is to make sure we don't 

1364
00:51:34,326 --> 00:51:37,000
make any more mistakes like these two 

1365
00:51:37,000 --> 00:51:39,630
big 100 yard ships that we're 

1366
00:51:39,630 --> 00:51:41,852
Decommissioning almost right after they 

1367
00:51:41,852 --> 00:51:43,852
were built . Do you think they were 

1368
00:51:43,852 --> 00:51:47,650
built ? Well , I don't know at the 

1369
00:51:47,650 --> 00:51:49,817
time , were the things that were built 

1370
00:51:50,260 --> 00:51:52,427
because of pressure from Congress when 

1371
00:51:52,427 --> 00:51:54,538
the navy didn't want him that much in 

1372
00:51:54,538 --> 00:51:56,649
their own right . I think at the time 

1373
00:51:56,649 --> 00:51:58,982
there were , there was a desire to , to , 

1374
00:51:58,982 --> 00:52:01,149
to have ships that would be more agile 

1375
00:52:01,149 --> 00:52:03,093
for a wider range of missions that 

1376
00:52:03,093 --> 00:52:05,204
maybe wouldn't be so much on the high 

1377
00:52:05,204 --> 00:52:07,204
end . But again , as the strategies 

1378
00:52:07,204 --> 00:52:09,316
have shifted to , we do want to focus 

1379
00:52:09,316 --> 00:52:11,649
on the high end . Ah , they , they have , 

1380
00:52:11,649 --> 00:52:13,982
they have a bit of a strategic mismatch . 

1381
00:52:13,982 --> 00:52:16,093
And then there's a particular problem 

1382
00:52:16,093 --> 00:52:18,260
of , of these ships , mission packages 

1383
00:52:18,260 --> 00:52:20,371
did not deliver . I'm afraid we don't 

1384
00:52:20,371 --> 00:52:22,427
have enough missile defense , enough 

1385
00:52:22,427 --> 00:52:24,482
cyber defense . And there are things 

1386
00:52:24,482 --> 00:52:26,649
that we aren't looking at because to a 

1387
00:52:26,649 --> 00:52:28,704
degree , we may be fighting the last 

1388
00:52:28,704 --> 00:52:30,927
war , maybe going back about six wars , 

1389
00:52:30,927 --> 00:52:33,190
five wars . Um , I remember reading 

1390
00:52:33,190 --> 00:52:35,412
about , you know , the battle of Midway 

1391
00:52:35,412 --> 00:52:37,634
in World War Two and at the time , some 

1392
00:52:37,634 --> 00:52:39,634
people felt it showed that aircraft 

1393
00:52:39,634 --> 00:52:41,690
carriers were overrated and that was 

1394
00:52:41,690 --> 00:52:45,190
proven in 19 41 , was it 40 to 40 to 

1395
00:52:45,660 --> 00:52:48,920
42 . Okay . Now , I've had people tell 

1396
00:52:48,920 --> 00:52:51,530
me that aircraft carriers , well , 

1397
00:52:51,530 --> 00:52:53,530
there is nothing more beautiful and 

1398
00:52:53,530 --> 00:52:55,530
impressive looking than an aircraft 

1399
00:52:55,530 --> 00:52:58,960
carrier against a country like china or 

1400
00:52:58,960 --> 00:53:01,910
north Korea In War Games , they may 

1401
00:53:01,910 --> 00:53:05,440
last a day or two days . Are there 

1402
00:53:05,440 --> 00:53:07,662
smart people who believe that against a 

1403
00:53:07,662 --> 00:53:09,773
country like Russia or china or North 

1404
00:53:09,773 --> 00:53:11,880
Korea ? An aircraft carrier may only 

1405
00:53:11,880 --> 00:53:15,210
last one or two days ? Uh , I would say 

1406
00:53:15,210 --> 00:53:17,043
that there absolutely that there 

1407
00:53:17,043 --> 00:53:19,266
absolutely are our analysts who believe 

1408
00:53:19,266 --> 00:53:21,770
that carriers are are , are have 

1409
00:53:21,770 --> 00:53:23,826
questionable survivability in a high 

1410
00:53:23,826 --> 00:53:25,881
end fight and the navy would , would 

1411
00:53:25,881 --> 00:53:27,826
strongly dispute that . So that is 

1412
00:53:27,826 --> 00:53:30,048
something you could have an entire good 

1413
00:53:30,048 --> 00:53:32,020
classified debate on . There are 

1414
00:53:32,020 --> 00:53:34,187
definitely people who believe as you , 

1415
00:53:34,187 --> 00:53:36,298
as you state . Yeah , I run into them 

1416
00:53:36,298 --> 00:53:38,298
and it kind of bothers me because I 

1417
00:53:38,298 --> 00:53:40,353
think we're short of missile defense 

1418
00:53:40,353 --> 00:53:42,520
and short of cyber defense and we keep 

1419
00:53:42,520 --> 00:53:44,742
these big aircraft care groups out here 

1420
00:53:44,742 --> 00:53:46,798
and um , like I said , it was a very 

1421
00:53:46,798 --> 00:53:48,853
different time , but we were able to 

1422
00:53:48,853 --> 00:53:50,909
sink some Japanese aircraft carriers 

1423
00:53:50,909 --> 00:53:53,680
very quickly In 1942 . And they do 

1424
00:53:54,250 --> 00:53:58,150
compared to missiles . Um , are 

1425
00:53:58,150 --> 00:54:01,470
very slow . I would also say that the 

1426
00:54:01,470 --> 00:54:03,637
Navy would say that compared to a base 

1427
00:54:03,637 --> 00:54:05,470
on land that can't move at all , 

1428
00:54:05,470 --> 00:54:07,581
carriers are much more agile than any 

1429
00:54:07,581 --> 00:54:09,803
other way to project power . So again , 

1430
00:54:09,803 --> 00:54:12,026
there are , there are some , I've heard 

1431
00:54:12,026 --> 00:54:14,137
that argument that by that standard , 

1432
00:54:14,137 --> 00:54:16,359
nothing is worthwhile . All right . Not 

1433
00:54:16,359 --> 00:54:15,700
only would they sink an aircraft care 

1434
00:54:15,700 --> 00:54:19,090
right away . They destroy it , uh , an 

1435
00:54:19,090 --> 00:54:23,060
air force base right away . But um , 

1436
00:54:24,040 --> 00:54:28,010
do you feel in your heart That if we 

1437
00:54:28,010 --> 00:54:30,120
went to 10 aircraft carriers or nine 

1438
00:54:30,120 --> 00:54:32,231
aircraft carriers and used that money 

1439
00:54:32,231 --> 00:54:34,398
for missile defense or cyber defense , 

1440
00:54:34,740 --> 00:54:38,200
we would be more in tune with the 

1441
00:54:38,200 --> 00:54:40,460
times if our real our real goal is to 

1442
00:54:40,460 --> 00:54:42,627
protect the United States of America . 

1443
00:54:44,040 --> 00:54:46,207
What we tried to do in this budget and 

1444
00:54:46,207 --> 00:54:48,460
and to the gets exactly at the point 

1445
00:54:48,470 --> 00:54:50,526
that you're doing is try and address 

1446
00:54:50,526 --> 00:54:52,637
our challenges on a number of friends 

1447
00:54:52,637 --> 00:54:54,748
and not say we can only do a maritime 

1448
00:54:54,748 --> 00:54:56,914
threat or only do missile defense only 

1449
00:54:56,914 --> 00:54:59,081
to cyber we , we tried to put chips on 

1450
00:54:59,081 --> 00:55:01,137
a number of , of places we wanted to 

1451
00:55:01,137 --> 00:55:03,192
put bets , I think it's a continuing 

1452
00:55:03,192 --> 00:55:05,137
question . What what the future of 

1453
00:55:05,137 --> 00:55:07,710
surface warfare is ? Uh , certainly the 

1454
00:55:07,710 --> 00:55:09,766
movement on in maritime borders more 

1455
00:55:09,766 --> 00:55:11,670
toward moving eventually toward 

1456
00:55:11,670 --> 00:55:13,392
unmanned , moving towards more 

1457
00:55:13,392 --> 00:55:16,530
distributed uh , sets of naval 

1458
00:55:16,530 --> 00:55:18,830
architecture . But we we we are , it's 

1459
00:55:18,830 --> 00:55:21,052
not at the expense of missile defense . 

1460
00:55:21,052 --> 00:55:22,886
Missile defense tends to be , if 

1461
00:55:22,886 --> 00:55:25,052
anything , technological limit of what 

1462
00:55:25,052 --> 00:55:27,163
of what is Technologically capable to 

1463
00:55:27,163 --> 00:55:29,330
be done as quickly as you'd like to be 

1464
00:55:29,330 --> 00:55:31,497
done rather than funding constrained . 

1465
00:55:31,497 --> 00:55:31,440
Okay , well I'd like to thank the 

1466
00:55:31,450 --> 00:55:33,617
chairman for indulging me , I'll point 

1467
00:55:33,617 --> 00:55:35,728
out if one of those aircraft carriers 

1468
00:55:35,728 --> 00:55:37,894
get sunk in addition to the huge waste 

1469
00:55:37,894 --> 00:55:39,894
of money . There are 5000 people on 

1470
00:55:39,894 --> 00:55:42,006
each of them who die . So you want to 

1471
00:55:42,006 --> 00:55:44,228
take that into account ? I don't know . 

1472
00:55:44,228 --> 00:55:43,260
But thank you for giving me a 

1473
00:55:43,260 --> 00:55:45,316
gentleman's time has expired and now 

1474
00:55:45,316 --> 00:55:47,427
recognize the gentleman from texas mr 

1475
00:55:47,427 --> 00:55:50,560
dr burgess for five minutes . I thank 

1476
00:55:50,560 --> 00:55:52,850
the chair . Thanks the undersecretary 

1477
00:55:52,850 --> 00:55:55,840
for being here today . Um Mr Under 

1478
00:55:55,840 --> 00:55:58,130
secretary , you're familiar with , 

1479
00:55:58,140 --> 00:56:00,029
familiar with the position of the 

1480
00:56:00,029 --> 00:56:02,890
controller at the at the pentagon , is 

1481
00:56:02,890 --> 00:56:05,540
that correct ? Yes , sir . This is my , 

1482
00:56:05,550 --> 00:56:07,661
my second time , I've been back since 

1483
00:56:07,661 --> 00:56:09,772
one June and I served in the position 

1484
00:56:09,772 --> 00:56:13,560
previously . So for several years I've 

1485
00:56:13,560 --> 00:56:17,130
tried to get the Pentagon to audit as 

1486
00:56:17,130 --> 00:56:19,980
it's every agency was required to do 

1487
00:56:19,990 --> 00:56:22,540
what 20 years ago and to get the audit 

1488
00:56:22,540 --> 00:56:25,570
undertaken at the pentagon Fiscal year 

1489
00:56:25,660 --> 00:56:28,120
2018 , the first audit was finally 

1490
00:56:28,120 --> 00:56:31,870
undertaken . Um No , great surprise 

1491
00:56:31,880 --> 00:56:34,460
it wasn't passed . Um 

1492
00:56:35,430 --> 00:56:39,200
And What we have been told is 

1493
00:56:39,200 --> 00:56:43,120
that by 2027 the clean audit will in 

1494
00:56:43,120 --> 00:56:46,360
fact be done , is that still four , 

1495
00:56:46,360 --> 00:56:48,416
that's four years from now . Is that 

1496
00:56:48,416 --> 00:56:51,240
still the glide path you're envisioning 

1497
00:56:51,240 --> 00:56:53,360
for the for the clean audit for the 

1498
00:56:53,360 --> 00:56:55,830
pentagon ? I think that I think that is 

1499
00:56:55,830 --> 00:56:57,997
still the best estimate that we have . 

1500
00:56:57,997 --> 00:57:01,880
Yes . Are you able to implement any 

1501
00:57:01,880 --> 00:57:04,240
improvements of problems that you find 

1502
00:57:04,240 --> 00:57:06,710
along the way like in a in a business , 

1503
00:57:06,710 --> 00:57:08,590
there'd be continuous quality 

1504
00:57:08,590 --> 00:57:11,860
improvement in any lean manufacturing 

1505
00:57:11,860 --> 00:57:13,971
process . Are you able to incorporate 

1506
00:57:13,971 --> 00:57:15,916
any of those things that you're as 

1507
00:57:15,916 --> 00:57:17,971
you're encountering them ? Yes . The 

1508
00:57:17,971 --> 00:57:20,138
main things that we're trying to focus 

1509
00:57:20,138 --> 00:57:22,193
on are the systems controls and uh , 

1510
00:57:22,193 --> 00:57:24,416
probably the hardest thing that we that 

1511
00:57:24,416 --> 00:57:26,527
we have to do is trying to get rid of 

1512
00:57:26,527 --> 00:57:28,527
older systems that we still rely on 

1513
00:57:28,527 --> 00:57:30,416
every day to do our many business 

1514
00:57:30,416 --> 00:57:32,249
processes . But but yes , we are 

1515
00:57:32,249 --> 00:57:33,916
implementing control . We are 

1516
00:57:33,916 --> 00:57:36,082
implementing as we go . We are finding 

1517
00:57:36,082 --> 00:57:38,138
that some of the notices we get from 

1518
00:57:38,138 --> 00:57:40,304
our auditors are now more complex than 

1519
00:57:40,304 --> 00:57:42,638
than the first , the first round or two . 

1520
00:57:42,638 --> 00:57:44,860
So they're not easy that there are more 

1521
00:57:44,860 --> 00:57:46,916
difficult to get through . But we we 

1522
00:57:46,916 --> 00:57:49,082
are we are making progress , but it is 

1523
00:57:49,082 --> 00:57:51,249
not fast enough . Well , I want you to 

1524
00:57:51,249 --> 00:57:53,582
continue to , to keep the focus on that . 

1525
00:57:53,730 --> 00:57:55,952
Let me just ask you also in the process 

1526
00:57:55,952 --> 00:57:58,740
of working on the NBA several years ago 

1527
00:57:59,130 --> 00:58:03,120
In 2020 , um , Severe problems with , 

1528
00:58:03,130 --> 00:58:05,680
with base housing were uncovered . The 

1529
00:58:05,690 --> 00:58:07,920
privatization of base housing that 

1530
00:58:07,920 --> 00:58:09,950
occurred back in the 1990s 

1531
00:58:13,020 --> 00:58:15,530
trying to offload that appropriation 

1532
00:58:15,530 --> 00:58:17,363
from uh , from the Department of 

1533
00:58:17,363 --> 00:58:20,540
Defense and uh , and , and farming it 

1534
00:58:20,540 --> 00:58:23,770
out 20 years later , 30 years later , 

1535
00:58:23,770 --> 00:58:25,826
some of those properties now are are 

1536
00:58:25,826 --> 00:58:27,770
suffering and maintenance has been 

1537
00:58:27,770 --> 00:58:30,220
deferred . So , NBC news is reporting 

1538
00:58:30,220 --> 00:58:32,276
on the Senate report from the Senate 

1539
00:58:32,276 --> 00:58:35,040
Homeland Security Committee that have 

1540
00:58:35,720 --> 00:58:38,720
the problems that still exist in base 

1541
00:58:38,720 --> 00:58:41,680
housing . So , can you do anything to 

1542
00:58:41,680 --> 00:58:43,680
assure us that that is still a high 

1543
00:58:43,680 --> 00:58:45,902
priority for the pentagon to bring that 

1544
00:58:45,902 --> 00:58:49,740
base housing up to standard ? Ah yes 

1545
00:58:49,740 --> 00:58:51,720
sir , I'm familiar with . I read a 

1546
00:58:51,720 --> 00:58:53,831
report of the of the hearing that you 

1547
00:58:53,831 --> 00:58:55,831
describe on on the Senate side this 

1548
00:58:55,831 --> 00:58:58,300
week and um I would say that well , all 

1549
00:58:58,300 --> 00:59:00,467
that directly under my purview , we do 

1550
00:59:00,467 --> 00:59:02,689
have a nominee pending for that . Would 

1551
00:59:02,689 --> 00:59:04,189
that would really own that 

1552
00:59:04,189 --> 00:59:06,189
responsibility ? The tenant bill of 

1553
00:59:06,189 --> 00:59:08,411
rights , which I'm sure you're familiar 

1554
00:59:08,411 --> 00:59:10,578
with in the N . D . A . I would say if 

1555
00:59:10,578 --> 00:59:12,830
if it is not proving if there's enough 

1556
00:59:12,830 --> 00:59:14,941
time to determine that it still needs 

1557
00:59:14,941 --> 00:59:16,774
further improvement then that is 

1558
00:59:16,774 --> 00:59:18,830
something the department should work 

1559
00:59:18,830 --> 00:59:20,941
with the Congress on . I know that it 

1560
00:59:20,941 --> 00:59:23,163
had I believe over 30 different aspects 

1561
00:59:23,163 --> 00:59:25,386
to it , some of which may not have been 

1562
00:59:25,386 --> 00:59:27,386
completely rolled in yet but as you 

1563
00:59:27,386 --> 00:59:29,330
describe , I remember when housing 

1564
00:59:29,330 --> 00:59:31,219
privatization started um , it was 

1565
00:59:31,219 --> 00:59:33,480
always a bit of , it was a by pentagon 

1566
00:59:33,480 --> 00:59:35,480
standards . It was a bold move into 

1567
00:59:35,480 --> 00:59:37,702
privatization and the rubber was always 

1568
00:59:37,702 --> 00:59:39,924
going to meet the road not upfront when 

1569
00:59:39,924 --> 00:59:42,036
the houses were being built but later 

1570
00:59:42,036 --> 00:59:44,258
on in the middle of the deal , which is 

1571
00:59:44,258 --> 00:59:46,202
where we are now and I think it is 

1572
00:59:46,202 --> 00:59:46,120
important is it is important that we 

1573
00:59:46,120 --> 00:59:48,740
work with the Congress to to make sure 

1574
00:59:48,740 --> 00:59:50,907
that we stay on top of this within the 

1575
00:59:50,907 --> 00:59:53,018
within the within the realm of things 

1576
00:59:53,018 --> 00:59:55,240
that are privatized and you know having 

1577
00:59:55,240 --> 00:59:57,073
duty have it's appropriate share 

1578
00:59:57,073 --> 00:59:58,962
responsibility in the contract or 

1579
00:59:58,962 --> 01:00:01,184
having there's I mean I'm just going to 

1580
01:00:01,184 --> 01:00:00,360
reclaim my time because I'm gonna run 

1581
01:00:00,360 --> 01:00:02,582
out . Let me just ask you , we're gonna 

1582
01:00:02,582 --> 01:00:04,950
be we're gonna be asked to provide a 

1583
01:00:04,960 --> 01:00:08,050
good deal more in the way of military 

1584
01:00:08,050 --> 01:00:10,580
assistance to Ukraine . They've got a 

1585
01:00:10,580 --> 01:00:12,636
terrible problem and it's horrifying 

1586
01:00:12,636 --> 01:00:15,210
what is going on over there . But can 

1587
01:00:15,210 --> 01:00:17,432
you share with us as the administration 

1588
01:00:17,432 --> 01:00:19,488
kind of have an overarching strategy 

1589
01:00:19,488 --> 01:00:23,150
about where they are going with this . 

1590
01:00:23,360 --> 01:00:25,527
We keep hearing about stinger missiles 

1591
01:00:25,527 --> 01:00:27,471
going over . We keep hearing about 

1592
01:00:27,471 --> 01:00:29,693
javelin missiles going over . Are these 

1593
01:00:29,693 --> 01:00:31,916
coming from our existing stock ? Are we 

1594
01:00:31,916 --> 01:00:34,270
replacing those ? How how is that all 

1595
01:00:34,280 --> 01:00:37,010
working together right now ? Yeah , 

1596
01:00:37,020 --> 01:00:39,242
thank you for that question . Um , what 

1597
01:00:39,242 --> 01:00:42,170
we have done is worked in concert with 

1598
01:00:42,170 --> 01:00:44,281
our with our allies but it's about 30 

1599
01:00:44,281 --> 01:00:46,503
countries that are helping Ukraine . So 

1600
01:00:46,503 --> 01:00:48,392
it's not all on us to help them . 

1601
01:00:48,392 --> 01:00:51,060
Although we are as as is often the case 

1602
01:00:51,070 --> 01:00:53,181
leading the coalition and leading the 

1603
01:00:53,181 --> 01:00:55,403
effort . Yes , we are donating from our 

1604
01:00:55,403 --> 01:00:57,860
own stocks . We are also looking to 

1605
01:00:57,860 --> 01:00:59,840
find from any place that we can . 

1606
01:00:59,850 --> 01:01:01,850
Secretary Austin and General Milley 

1607
01:01:01,850 --> 01:01:03,906
spend basically part of every day on 

1608
01:01:03,906 --> 01:01:05,739
the phone with people from other 

1609
01:01:05,739 --> 01:01:07,517
countries trying to get them to 

1610
01:01:07,517 --> 01:01:09,700
contribute as well . Um , especially 

1611
01:01:09,700 --> 01:01:11,867
Russian type equipment that Ukrainians 

1612
01:01:11,867 --> 01:01:13,922
are more familiar with . So there is 

1613
01:01:13,922 --> 01:01:16,144
both the U . S . Side of equipment , us 

1614
01:01:16,144 --> 01:01:18,200
NATO standard equipment that's being 

1615
01:01:18,200 --> 01:01:20,256
delivered to them and and especially 

1616
01:01:20,256 --> 01:01:22,422
from eastern europe european countries 

1617
01:01:22,422 --> 01:01:24,311
that have more familiar with it , 

1618
01:01:24,311 --> 01:01:26,589
Russian style ammunition and equipment . 

1619
01:01:26,589 --> 01:01:28,533
So we're doing both . We have done 

1620
01:01:28,533 --> 01:01:30,311
eight drawdown packages , eight 

1621
01:01:30,311 --> 01:01:32,422
packages where we have drawn down our 

1622
01:01:32,422 --> 01:01:34,422
own supplies and given to Ukraine . 

1623
01:01:34,422 --> 01:01:36,533
Congress gave us funding to replenish 

1624
01:01:36,533 --> 01:01:38,644
those and we have sent out to notices 

1625
01:01:38,644 --> 01:01:40,533
so far . So we've sent About $3.2 

1626
01:01:40,533 --> 01:01:42,930
billion dollars out the door . We have 

1627
01:01:42,930 --> 01:01:44,930
started the clock on two billion of 

1628
01:01:44,930 --> 01:01:47,097
that to start replenishing our own and 

1629
01:01:47,097 --> 01:01:49,319
get our industrial basement up to start 

1630
01:01:49,319 --> 01:01:51,097
replenishing those missiles for 

1631
01:01:51,097 --> 01:01:53,152
ourselves . We are we are now to the 

1632
01:01:53,152 --> 01:01:55,374
point of expanding all of the authority 

1633
01:01:55,374 --> 01:01:57,152
congress gave us and if Ukraine 

1634
01:01:57,152 --> 01:01:59,208
supplemental attached to the omnibus 

1635
01:01:59,208 --> 01:02:01,374
appropriations bill from six weeks ago 

1636
01:02:01,374 --> 01:02:03,263
and we anticipate sending another 

1637
01:02:03,263 --> 01:02:05,430
supplemental to Congress probably this 

1638
01:02:05,430 --> 01:02:07,652
week to ask to continue to show that we 

1639
01:02:07,652 --> 01:02:09,819
are in this with the Ukrainians to get 

1640
01:02:09,819 --> 01:02:11,597
them what they need to fight to 

1641
01:02:11,597 --> 01:02:13,930
continue the fight to defend themselves . 

1642
01:02:13,930 --> 01:02:15,986
So I think the overall message is we 

1643
01:02:15,986 --> 01:02:18,152
are not letting up on the gas uh , the 

1644
01:02:18,152 --> 01:02:20,319
Ukrainians are fighting hard for their 

1645
01:02:20,319 --> 01:02:19,940
own country . What we want to continue 

1646
01:02:19,940 --> 01:02:21,940
to do what we can to support them . 

1647
01:02:21,940 --> 01:02:23,996
Yeah . We'd love to see the strategy 

1648
01:02:23,996 --> 01:02:25,920
though that the administration is 

1649
01:02:25,920 --> 01:02:28,260
pursuing right now . It just seems on 

1650
01:02:28,260 --> 01:02:30,640
it as the need comes up . We feel it is 

1651
01:02:30,640 --> 01:02:32,696
the need comes up . We fill it . But 

1652
01:02:32,696 --> 01:02:34,696
where are we going ? Where where is 

1653
01:02:34,696 --> 01:02:36,918
where is this going to end up ? Because 

1654
01:02:36,918 --> 01:02:39,029
remember it was these gentlemen folks 

1655
01:02:39,029 --> 01:02:41,307
that gentleman's time has long expired . 

1656
01:02:41,307 --> 01:02:43,362
Underestimated the resiliency of the 

1657
01:02:43,362 --> 01:02:45,196
resolve . The Ukrainian people . 

1658
01:02:45,196 --> 01:02:47,251
Everyone said it'll be over in three 

1659
01:02:47,251 --> 01:02:49,362
days . Well , it wasn't . And I can't 

1660
01:02:49,362 --> 01:02:51,362
believe that the geniuses in charge 

1661
01:02:51,362 --> 01:02:53,529
couldn't anticipate that . Thank you . 

1662
01:02:53,529 --> 01:02:52,910
Mr . Chairman on your gentleman's time 

1663
01:02:52,910 --> 01:02:55,132
has expired . Now you have five minutes 

1664
01:02:55,132 --> 01:02:57,021
to the gentleman from new york Mr 

1665
01:02:57,021 --> 01:02:56,940
Jacobs .