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The defense subcommittee will come to 

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order today . The subcommittee will 

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receive testimony from the honorable 

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Lloyd Austin , Secretary of Defense 

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General Mark Milley , chairman of the 

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Joint Chiefs of Staff and 

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undersecretary Mike mccord , the 

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Department's Comptroller and CFO The 

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Department of Defense is requesting 825 

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billion with the subcommittees uh in 

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the subcommittee's jurisdiction , A 

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modest increase from fiscal year 23 , 

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particularly as we enter the middle of 

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a decisive decade for security and 

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prosperity of our nation and the world . 

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In many ways , the Biden administration 

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has put the United States at a serious 

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disadvantage . First , a short sighted 

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political decision got a hasty 

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withdrawal from Afghanistan resulting 

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in a rapid resumption of power by the 

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Taliban . The return of a permissive 

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operating space for Al Qaeda . A 

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strategic failure of geopolitical 

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competition and ultimately the tragic 

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loss of 13 us service members at Abbey 

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Gate , one of the brave Americans lost 

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that day was Lance Corporal Kareem , 

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my constituents . He shouldn't have , 

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he , he should never have happened . 

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I'm still waiting for a sliver of 

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accountability from this president and 

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an answer to when the people who 

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orchestrated this attack will be 

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brought to justice . This is to say 

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nothing to the thousands of unvetted 

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Afghans allowed to depart the country 

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for us and allied soil . Some of which 

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may be the thousands of terrorists 

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released from the prison at Bagram 

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Airfield , Secretary Austin . These 

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events have made the world a more 

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dangerous place . Moreover , the 

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administration's concept of integrated 

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deterrence failed to deter Putin from 

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invading Ukraine and waging the largest 

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conflict in Europe since World War II . 

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It's well documented that President 

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Biden and his national security team 

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knew that Russia would invade months in 

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advance . Frankly , there was an open 

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source information that foreshadowed 

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the invasion . The administration had 

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an opportunity before a single shot was 

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fired to rally NATO arm Ukraine and 

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make clear to Putin and his thugs that 

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Russia aggression toward a sovereign . 

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Ukraine would come at a tremendous cost 

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to them . But the Biden national 

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security team failed to act quickly and 

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today they continued to compound this 

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air by giving Ukraine just enough 

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assistance to survive but not enough to 

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win even today . As Russia and Ukraine 

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prepare for spring offensive . The 

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administration has testified that it's 

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not requesting additional funding By 

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our assessment . However , your 

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remaining presidential drawdown 

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authority for security assistance will 

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only last another 2-3 months . I want 

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to be clear . Congress will not be 

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writing blank checks . It's important 

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that you communicate future requests 

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for funding for Ukraine clearly 

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thoroughly and early Congress will need 

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sufficient time to review and ask 

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questions on any request submitted in 

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isolation . The failings I detailed are 

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unconscionable but events do not happen 

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in a vacuum . The administration's 

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continued failure to anticipate and 

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implement a coherent geopolitical 

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strategy that is now compounded by 

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China's rapid modernization and 

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preparations to attempt to reclaim 

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Taiwan in this decade . Weakness is 

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provocative and this administration 

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weakness has emboldened authoritarians 

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around the world . Today , China , not 

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the United States is brokering peace 

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negotiations in the Middle East . The 

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US is losing influence as the world's 

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partner of choice . And the reason is 

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all too clear in terms of our own 

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modernization , too many of our weapon 

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systems are delayed due to the status 

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quo risk , adverse mindset , the 

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bureaucracy of the procurement 

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process and the lack of consistency for 

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our defense industrial base By the 

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assessment of some senior defense 

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officials and military leaders , a 

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modernized us force in 2030 will arrive 

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too late to deter a forced 

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reunification of Taiwan by the Chinese 

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Communist Party as General Douglas 

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macarthur famously said the history of 

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failure in war can be summed up in two 

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words , too late , too late and 

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comprehending the deadly purpose of a 

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potential enemy , too late in realizing 

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the mortal danger , too late in 

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preparing too late in uniting all 

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possible forces of resistance . two 

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words too late , we must be ready to 

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fight tonight and rapidly modernized to 

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maintain the world's greatest fighting 

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force to pick one over the other is a 

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false choice . I did not want to be the 

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chairman presiding over World War Three . 

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I hope to hear how this budget changes . 

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China's increasingly aggressive 

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behavior today , not tomorrow or in 

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2030 With a budget of over 

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$800 billion , 3.4 million employees 

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and a fiscal presence of over 4000 

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sites in 160 countries . The Department 

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of Defense is also the world's largest 

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business . I expect the department to 

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implement efficiencies and identify 

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cost saving measures in its business 

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operations . Today . The dod relies on 

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too many antiquated systems that cannot 

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talk to each other and too many manual 

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processes . These outdated systems and 

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processes lead to unsuccessful 

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financial audits , duplication of 

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effort , a frustrated workforce where 

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top talent is difficult to retain an 

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unsustainable trajectory for personnel 

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costs . And this year You are 

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requesting 3500 net more uh more 

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people for what the same department 

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that developed six generation fighters 

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is running a second generation I T 

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system and the resulting inefficiencies 

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are eating into the department's 

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ability to invest in the future 

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regardless of the challenges we face 

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internally and externally . I will 

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ensure that our service members and 

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their families have the best quality of 

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life we can afford and they have the 

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best equipment possible . So if we do 

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get into a fight , we win , they lose . 

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That's it . Before we hear from our 

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witnesses , I would like to recognize 

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the distinguished ranking member M 

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mccollum for any opening comments . 

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Thank you very much , Mr Chairman for 

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the courtesy . I would too like to 

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welcome Secretary Austin and General 

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Milley and undersecretary mccord 

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General Milley . This could be your 

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last appearance before the subcommittee . 

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So I'd like to take this opportunity on 

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behalf of the families of Minnesota's 

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fourth congressional district and 

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myself to thank you and your family for 

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your 43 years of dedicated service to 

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our nation . For fiscal year 2024 , the 

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president has proposed $825.3 billion 

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dollars within our subcommittee's 

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jurisdiction . That is a 3.2% 

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increase above what was enacted in 

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fiscal year 2023 . This budget request 

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builds on the work of the last Congress 

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that ensured America meets our pacing 

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threats and meets the needs of our 

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servicemen and women and their families . 

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This modest increase proposal for 

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fiscal year 2024 is consistent with the 

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National Defense Strategy . I would 

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like to point out That if we review the 

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growth of the defense bill over the 

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past two fiscal years , we see a nearly 

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$100 billion 

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11.8% . 

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Each one of these dollars represents an 

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increased effort to defend detour 

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threats to our nation . But I would 

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argue that we have more than adequately 

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resourced the Department of Defense in 

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recent years . We must be both 

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realistic and careful about the 

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continuing trend of inflation , defense 

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spending . Well beyond this 

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administration's request , Congress 

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must be better about making the hard 

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choices when it comes to the defense 

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budget , we can no longer continue to 

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fund out of date legacy systems that 

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are no longer relevant , not survivable 

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or too costly to maintain in both 

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dollars and cents . And the personnel 

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required to maintain them could be 

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better used in our modernization 

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efforts . Instead , we must prioritize 

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the modernization of our force and the 

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investments in emerging technologies 

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like quantum computing , artificial 

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intelligence that will drive decision 

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making and the future of modern Combat . 

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The Appropriations Committee must also 

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remember we're only as strong abroad as 

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we are here at home . The previous 

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Congress and the Biden administration 

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made two years of key investments in 

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the American people , transportation , 

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clean energy , health care , education , 

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and workforce development . If we fail 

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to continue investing in the American 

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people , then will we not only fail the 

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next generation of Americans , but we 

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will be unable to capitalize in the 

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investments in our defense budget that 

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require a strong American workforce . 

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If we want to support the continued 

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investments in our shipyards , 

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aerospace industry , our micro 

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electronics industry base , we must be 

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sure that we are investing in the 

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inputs and support those industrial 

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efforts . And that simply is our people . 

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To put it plainly , we cannot afford to 

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fund the defense bill at on the backs 

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of the 11 other appropriation bills . 

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And speaking of here at home , I want 

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to commend Secretary Austin and the 

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department for the recent reproductive 

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health care policy decision . The 

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department's policy is legal . It's 

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fair and it will provide our service , 

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women and their families , the health 

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care that they are entitled to . 

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Turning back to the F Y 24 defense 

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budget . I was encouraged to see the 

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increase for climate change efforts . 

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Resiliency at our installations is 

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vital to our ability to train and to 

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win as this request 

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works to track industry trends and 

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standards . I look forward to hearing 

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how the funds will empower our military 

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in the future . And finally , you know 

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how concerned I am about your efforts 

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in the Arctic and the challenges we 

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face from our adversaries there . I 

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look forward to hearing how this budget 

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will support the strategies not only in 

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Europe , in the Indo Pacific , but how 

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we'll address threats in the Arctic . 

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Mr Chair , I know how deeply impacted 

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you were by the loss of your 

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constituent in Abby Gate , but I have 

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to point out it was the Trump 

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administration , not President Biden 

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that negotiated the deal with the 

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Taliban to withdraw the forces , our 

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forces from Afghanistan . And I 

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personally believe that if President 

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Trump had been reelected , that there 

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was little doubt he would have pulled 

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our troops out early in 2021 . Mr Chair , 

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I look forward to working with you once 

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again . I thank Secretary Austin 

278
00:11:19,095 --> 00:11:20,983
General Milley and undersecretary 

279
00:11:20,983 --> 00:11:23,206
mccord for your service to this country 

280
00:11:23,206 --> 00:11:25,372
and for appearing here today . I thank 

281
00:11:25,372 --> 00:11:27,539
you again for the courtesy and I yield 

282
00:11:27,539 --> 00:11:29,761
back . Thank you , Miss mccollum . It's 

283
00:11:29,761 --> 00:11:31,928
my pleasure now to recognize the chair 

284
00:11:31,928 --> 00:11:35,530
of the committee , Miss Granger . Thank 

285
00:11:35,539 --> 00:11:37,761
you , Chairman Calvert . Uh I'd like to 

286
00:11:37,761 --> 00:11:39,650
thank the witnesses for appearing 

287
00:11:39,650 --> 00:11:41,761
before us today . Every year , senior 

288
00:11:41,761 --> 00:11:43,706
defense officials testify that the 

289
00:11:43,706 --> 00:11:45,928
world is the most dangerous it has ever 

290
00:11:45,928 --> 00:11:47,960
been . Unfortunately , that trend 

291
00:11:47,969 --> 00:11:50,559
continues today . Our enemies have 

292
00:11:50,570 --> 00:11:52,792
become more bold and in many cases more 

293
00:11:52,792 --> 00:11:56,669
capable Russia is waging an all out war 

294
00:11:56,679 --> 00:11:59,219
against the people of Ukraine . China 

295
00:11:59,229 --> 00:12:02,909
continues to take provocative steps in 

296
00:12:02,919 --> 00:12:05,219
the Pacific and spread its influence 

297
00:12:05,229 --> 00:12:08,270
around the world . Iran is reportedly 

298
00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:09,947
making significant strides in 

299
00:12:09,947 --> 00:12:12,450
developing a nuclear weapon and just 

300
00:12:12,460 --> 00:12:14,599
last week , North Korea tested what 

301
00:12:14,609 --> 00:12:16,799
they say is their largest 

302
00:12:17,109 --> 00:12:19,760
intercontinental ballistic missile to 

303
00:12:19,770 --> 00:12:22,479
send a message to the United States and 

304
00:12:22,489 --> 00:12:25,859
our allies . The events over the past 

305
00:12:25,869 --> 00:12:28,036
year emphasize why it's essential that 

306
00:12:28,036 --> 00:12:30,520
Congress provide the funds to ensure 

307
00:12:30,530 --> 00:12:32,880
we're ready for war . However , just 

308
00:12:32,890 --> 00:12:35,179
putting money toward a problem is not 

309
00:12:35,190 --> 00:12:37,619
going to be enough . The funds must be 

310
00:12:37,630 --> 00:12:41,010
spent and invested thoroughly . We must 

311
00:12:41,020 --> 00:12:43,242
do everything possible to break through 

312
00:12:43,242 --> 00:12:44,964
the red tape and create a more 

313
00:12:44,964 --> 00:12:47,530
responsive military to do that . We 

314
00:12:47,539 --> 00:12:49,372
need to remove the barriers that 

315
00:12:49,372 --> 00:12:51,599
prevent us from quickly developing and 

316
00:12:51,609 --> 00:12:54,390
implementing cutting edge technology . 

317
00:12:54,929 --> 00:12:57,040
We owe it to the men and women of our 

318
00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:59,207
military . To give them the tools they 

319
00:12:59,207 --> 00:13:01,373
need to deter our enemies and to enter 

320
00:13:01,373 --> 00:13:04,469
the fight when necessary . Most 

321
00:13:04,479 --> 00:13:07,559
importantly , we need leadership . As 

322
00:13:07,570 --> 00:13:10,840
Chairman Culvert mentioned , the 

323
00:13:10,849 --> 00:13:13,071
actions of this administration have put 

324
00:13:13,071 --> 00:13:16,229
our national security at risk . Have 

325
00:13:16,239 --> 00:13:18,406
our allies wondering if they can trust 

326
00:13:18,406 --> 00:13:20,295
us and have shown weakness in our 

327
00:13:20,295 --> 00:13:23,580
enemies to close . I think each of you 

328
00:13:23,590 --> 00:13:25,880
for your service . We look forward to 

329
00:13:25,890 --> 00:13:27,834
hearing your testimony today and I 

330
00:13:27,834 --> 00:13:30,630
thank you , Chairman , I yield back . 

331
00:13:32,549 --> 00:13:34,438
Uh Thank you , Chair Granger . Uh 

332
00:13:34,438 --> 00:13:36,660
Gentlemen , your full testimony will be 

333
00:13:36,660 --> 00:13:38,771
placed in the record . Members of the 

334
00:13:38,771 --> 00:13:40,605
subcommittee are eager to get to 

335
00:13:40,605 --> 00:13:42,549
questions . So please , you have a 

336
00:13:42,549 --> 00:13:44,493
brief summary of your statements . 

337
00:13:44,493 --> 00:13:46,716
Secretary Austin , the floor is yours ? 

338
00:13:46,716 --> 00:13:48,605
Well , thank you , sir . Uh chair 

339
00:13:48,605 --> 00:13:50,605
Granger , uh Chairman Cal Calvert , 

340
00:13:50,900 --> 00:13:53,169
ranking member mccollum , distinguished 

341
00:13:53,179 --> 00:13:55,809
members of the committee . Uh I'm glad 

342
00:13:55,820 --> 00:13:57,820
to be with you today to testify and 

343
00:13:57,820 --> 00:13:59,987
support the president's budget request 

344
00:13:59,987 --> 00:14:03,380
for fiscal year 2024 . I'm joined as 

345
00:14:03,390 --> 00:14:05,501
always by General Milley and I remain 

346
00:14:05,501 --> 00:14:08,140
grateful for his leadership . I'm also 

347
00:14:08,150 --> 00:14:10,261
glad to be joined by the Department's 

348
00:14:10,261 --> 00:14:14,059
Comptroller and CFO Mike mccoy . This 

349
00:14:14,070 --> 00:14:16,340
is a budget aimed squarely at keeping 

350
00:14:16,349 --> 00:14:19,190
America secure in the world of the 21st 

351
00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:22,890
century At $842 billion . 

352
00:14:23,250 --> 00:14:26,640
It is a 3.2% increase over fiscal year 

353
00:14:26,650 --> 00:14:28,900
23 enacted And a 

354
00:14:28,909 --> 00:14:32,419
13.4% and it is 13.4% 

355
00:14:32,429 --> 00:14:35,340
higher than fiscal year 22 enacted . 

356
00:14:36,299 --> 00:14:38,500
This is a strategy driven budget and 

357
00:14:38,510 --> 00:14:41,349
one driven by the seriousness of our 

358
00:14:41,359 --> 00:14:44,059
strategic competition with the People's 

359
00:14:44,070 --> 00:14:46,710
Republic of China . This budget will 

360
00:14:46,719 --> 00:14:49,219
help us continue to implement our 2022 

361
00:14:49,229 --> 00:14:51,340
National Defense Strategy and the 

362
00:14:51,349 --> 00:14:53,627
President's National Security Strategy . 

363
00:14:54,510 --> 00:14:56,566
Now , I have three key priorities at 

364
00:14:56,566 --> 00:14:59,719
the Pentagon to defend our nation , to 

365
00:14:59,729 --> 00:15:01,951
take care of our outstanding people and 

366
00:15:01,951 --> 00:15:04,679
to succeed through teamwork . And the 

367
00:15:04,690 --> 00:15:07,700
PR C is our pacing challenge and we're 

368
00:15:07,710 --> 00:15:10,400
driving hard to meet it . Our budget 

369
00:15:10,409 --> 00:15:12,520
builds on our previous investments to 

370
00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:14,950
deter aggression by increasing our edge . 

371
00:15:15,719 --> 00:15:17,719
We're investing in a more resilient 

372
00:15:17,719 --> 00:15:20,130
force posture in the Indo Pacific and 

373
00:15:20,140 --> 00:15:22,619
increasing the scale and scope of our 

374
00:15:22,630 --> 00:15:25,580
exercises with our partners . And this 

375
00:15:25,590 --> 00:15:28,369
budget includes a 40% increase over 

376
00:15:28,380 --> 00:15:31,039
last year's for the Pacific Deterrence 

377
00:15:31,049 --> 00:15:33,940
Initiative and it's an all time high of 

378
00:15:33,950 --> 00:15:37,429
$9.1 billion dollars that will fund a 

379
00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:40,030
stronger force pre force posture , uh 

380
00:15:40,039 --> 00:15:43,229
better defenses for Hawaii and Guam and 

381
00:15:43,239 --> 00:15:45,406
deeper cooperation with our allies and 

382
00:15:45,406 --> 00:15:48,729
partners . Now , this budget also makes 

383
00:15:48,739 --> 00:15:50,710
the department's largest ever 

384
00:15:50,719 --> 00:15:52,900
investments in both R and D and 

385
00:15:52,909 --> 00:15:56,700
procurement . We're requesting 

386
00:15:56,710 --> 00:15:58,250
more than $61 billion 

387
00:15:58,260 --> 00:16:05,299
B-21 

388
00:16:05,309 --> 00:16:08,099
strategic bomber that I helped unveil 

389
00:16:08,409 --> 00:16:11,750
last December . We're also seeking more 

390
00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:15,020
than $48 billion in sea power including 

391
00:16:15,030 --> 00:16:17,780
new construction of nine battle force 

392
00:16:17,789 --> 00:16:21,090
ships and we're boosting capacity at 

393
00:16:21,099 --> 00:16:24,070
America's shipyards to build the ships 

394
00:16:24,309 --> 00:16:26,969
that our strategy demands And we're 

395
00:16:26,979 --> 00:16:29,080
investing a total of $1.2 billion 

396
00:16:29,090 --> 00:16:31,090
dollars in the submarine industrial 

397
00:16:31,090 --> 00:16:33,469
base and we're buying two Virginia 

398
00:16:33,479 --> 00:16:35,289
class attack submarines and one 

399
00:16:35,299 --> 00:16:37,190
Columbia class ballistic missile 

400
00:16:37,479 --> 00:16:40,669
submarine on land . We're investing in 

401
00:16:40,679 --> 00:16:42,669
air and missile defense and we're 

402
00:16:42,679 --> 00:16:44,512
investing in defenses to counter 

403
00:16:44,512 --> 00:16:47,150
unmanned aerial vehicles . We're also 

404
00:16:47,159 --> 00:16:49,150
requesting $11 billion dollars to 

405
00:16:49,159 --> 00:16:51,299
deliver the mix of long range fires 

406
00:16:51,309 --> 00:16:53,880
that our security demands including 

407
00:16:53,890 --> 00:16:56,950
major investments in hypersonic . We 

408
00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:58,960
will also continue to modernize all 

409
00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:01,330
three legs of our nuclear triad and 

410
00:17:01,340 --> 00:17:04,099
bolster our strategic deterrence And we 

411
00:17:04,109 --> 00:17:07,219
put forward the largest space budget in 

412
00:17:07,229 --> 00:17:09,910
Pentagon history . We've requested 

413
00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:13,150
$33.3 billion dollars to improve our 

414
00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:15,271
capabilities , our resilience and our 

415
00:17:15,271 --> 00:17:19,050
command and control in space . Now let 

416
00:17:19,060 --> 00:17:21,282
me again . Thank Congress for providing 

417
00:17:21,282 --> 00:17:22,949
the department with multiyear 

418
00:17:22,949 --> 00:17:24,790
procurement authorities and 

419
00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:27,260
appropriations for critical munitions . 

420
00:17:28,020 --> 00:17:31,170
This helps send a consistent demand 

421
00:17:31,180 --> 00:17:34,189
signal to industry In this budget . 

422
00:17:34,199 --> 00:17:36,079
We're requesting more multi-year 

423
00:17:36,089 --> 00:17:38,989
procurement authority and we're asking 

424
00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:41,056
for more than $30 billion dollars to 

425
00:17:41,056 --> 00:17:43,839
invest in the industrial base and to 

426
00:17:43,849 --> 00:17:45,859
buy the maximum number of munitions 

427
00:17:45,869 --> 00:17:47,925
that American industry can produce . 

428
00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:51,060
This budget also moves us away from 

429
00:17:51,069 --> 00:17:53,291
aging capabilities that aren't relevant 

430
00:17:53,291 --> 00:17:56,089
to future conflicts so we can focus on 

431
00:17:56,099 --> 00:17:58,770
the advances that war fighters will 

432
00:17:58,780 --> 00:18:02,000
need going forward . Now , our national 

433
00:18:02,010 --> 00:18:04,630
defense strategy calls , calls Putin's 

434
00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:07,209
highly aggressive Russia as an acute 

435
00:18:07,219 --> 00:18:09,400
threat and under President Biden's 

436
00:18:09,410 --> 00:18:11,354
leadership , the United States has 

437
00:18:11,354 --> 00:18:14,160
rallied the world to help help Ukraine 

438
00:18:14,170 --> 00:18:16,280
fight Russia's unprovoked and 

439
00:18:16,290 --> 00:18:19,739
indefensible invasion . And our allies 

440
00:18:19,750 --> 00:18:21,972
and partners have stepped up to provide 

441
00:18:21,972 --> 00:18:25,040
crucial security assistance coordinated 

442
00:18:25,050 --> 00:18:27,050
through the Ukraine defense contact 

443
00:18:27,050 --> 00:18:29,550
group that I lead and we will support 

444
00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:31,560
Ukraine's defense for as long as it 

445
00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:33,719
takes . Meanwhile , the department 

446
00:18:33,729 --> 00:18:35,451
remains vigilant against other 

447
00:18:35,489 --> 00:18:37,849
persistent threats including Iran , 

448
00:18:38,079 --> 00:18:40,412
North Korea and global terrorist groups . 

449
00:18:40,959 --> 00:18:43,292
And we're investing in over the horizon , 

450
00:18:43,292 --> 00:18:45,515
counterterrorism capabilities as well . 

451
00:18:46,140 --> 00:18:48,251
This budget also invests in improving 

452
00:18:48,251 --> 00:18:50,251
our readiness and resilience in the 

453
00:18:50,251 --> 00:18:52,489
face of climate change and other 21st 

454
00:18:52,500 --> 00:18:54,890
century threats that don't care about 

455
00:18:54,900 --> 00:18:57,199
borders . Mr Chairman , we're going to 

456
00:18:57,209 --> 00:18:59,265
remain the strongest military in the 

457
00:18:59,265 --> 00:19:01,320
world and that's because we have the 

458
00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:03,550
best team in the world And as we mark 

459
00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:05,338
the 50th anniversary of our all 

460
00:19:05,338 --> 00:19:07,599
volunteer force , I'm enormously proud 

461
00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:09,871
of the brave men and women who choose 

462
00:19:09,871 --> 00:19:11,989
to wear the cloth of our nation . We 

463
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,056
owe it to them and their families to 

464
00:19:14,056 --> 00:19:16,167
take the best possible care of all of 

465
00:19:16,167 --> 00:19:18,339
our people . And over the past two 

466
00:19:18,349 --> 00:19:20,979
years , we've made moves easier . We've 

467
00:19:20,989 --> 00:19:23,130
cut commissary prices . We've made 

468
00:19:23,140 --> 00:19:25,640
childcare more affordable and expanded 

469
00:19:25,650 --> 00:19:27,928
job opportunities for military spouses . 

470
00:19:28,510 --> 00:19:30,810
And this budget funds other key steps 

471
00:19:31,109 --> 00:19:33,331
to increase the quality of life for our 

472
00:19:33,331 --> 00:19:35,650
teammates , including the largest 

473
00:19:35,660 --> 00:19:38,030
military and civilian pay raises in 

474
00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:41,140
decades . Now , we're also pushing hard 

475
00:19:41,150 --> 00:19:43,150
to eliminate suicide in our ranks , 

476
00:19:43,150 --> 00:19:45,329
including immediate steps to hire more 

477
00:19:45,339 --> 00:19:47,599
mental health professionals and improve 

478
00:19:47,609 --> 00:19:49,900
access to mental health care . And 

479
00:19:49,910 --> 00:19:51,854
meanwhile , we're working toward a 

480
00:19:51,854 --> 00:19:54,132
military that's free of sexual assault . 

481
00:19:54,132 --> 00:19:56,243
We've worked with Congress to improve 

482
00:19:56,243 --> 00:19:58,466
the , to improve the response to sexual 

483
00:19:58,466 --> 00:20:00,521
assault and related crimes under the 

484
00:20:00,521 --> 00:20:02,688
uniform code of military justice . And 

485
00:20:02,688 --> 00:20:04,910
those reforms will be fully implemented 

486
00:20:04,910 --> 00:20:06,869
by the end of this year . And the 

487
00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:08,769
department is also investing in a 

488
00:20:08,769 --> 00:20:11,239
specialized workforce to combat sexual 

489
00:20:11,250 --> 00:20:13,670
assault , harassment , suicide and more 

490
00:20:14,339 --> 00:20:16,117
and on many installations we're 

491
00:20:16,117 --> 00:20:18,420
conducting on site evaluations that 

492
00:20:18,430 --> 00:20:20,541
tell us what's working and where more 

493
00:20:20,541 --> 00:20:22,910
support is urgently needed . Now , the 

494
00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:24,739
department's third priority is 

495
00:20:24,750 --> 00:20:26,880
succeeding through teamwork and our 

496
00:20:26,890 --> 00:20:28,849
network of allies and partners 

497
00:20:29,079 --> 00:20:31,619
magnifies our power and expands our 

498
00:20:31,630 --> 00:20:34,209
security and no other country on earth 

499
00:20:34,219 --> 00:20:36,410
has anything like it . And over the 

500
00:20:36,420 --> 00:20:38,531
past few months in the Indo Pacific , 

501
00:20:38,531 --> 00:20:40,640
our friends have taken major steps 

502
00:20:40,650 --> 00:20:43,780
forward . The Philippines has agreed to 

503
00:20:43,790 --> 00:20:46,390
nearly double the number of sites where 

504
00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:49,270
we cooperate together Japan committed 

505
00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:51,660
to double its defense spending And 

506
00:20:51,670 --> 00:20:54,430
we're going to fort station , the 12th 

507
00:20:54,439 --> 00:20:56,495
Marine Electoral Regiment , which is 

508
00:20:56,495 --> 00:20:58,661
one of the most advanced uh formations 

509
00:20:58,661 --> 00:21:01,000
in the corps in Okinawa so that we can 

510
00:21:01,010 --> 00:21:03,599
better deter conflict in the first 

511
00:21:03,609 --> 00:21:06,530
island chain . We've also made history 

512
00:21:06,540 --> 00:21:09,030
with the Aus Partnership . It is a 

513
00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:10,949
generational initiative with our 

514
00:21:10,959 --> 00:21:13,599
Australian and British allies to build 

515
00:21:13,609 --> 00:21:16,079
game changing defense advantages that 

516
00:21:16,089 --> 00:21:18,089
will deter aggression and promote a 

517
00:21:18,089 --> 00:21:20,430
free and open and open Indo Pacific and 

518
00:21:20,439 --> 00:21:22,989
boost our defense industrial capability 

519
00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:26,022
and you can also see the profound power 

520
00:21:26,022 --> 00:21:28,930
of our alliances in today's United NATO . 

521
00:21:29,770 --> 00:21:31,992
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine , we 

522
00:21:31,992 --> 00:21:34,479
further strengthened nato's defense and 

523
00:21:34,489 --> 00:21:36,989
deterrence on its eastern flank . And 

524
00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:38,778
congressional leadership on the 

525
00:21:38,778 --> 00:21:41,209
European deterrence initiative and our 

526
00:21:41,219 --> 00:21:44,099
investment since 2014 helped us react 

527
00:21:44,109 --> 00:21:46,229
quickly and boldly to Russia's cruel 

528
00:21:46,239 --> 00:21:48,459
war of choice and made our deterrence 

529
00:21:48,469 --> 00:21:50,880
even stronger . And so Mr Chairman , 

530
00:21:50,890 --> 00:21:53,057
this is the budget that will meet this 

531
00:21:53,057 --> 00:21:55,569
moment and I respectfully ask for your 

532
00:21:55,579 --> 00:21:58,010
support and the single most effective 

533
00:21:58,020 --> 00:22:00,242
way that this committee can support the 

534
00:22:00,242 --> 00:22:02,353
department and our outstanding troops 

535
00:22:02,359 --> 00:22:04,219
is with an on time , full year 

536
00:22:04,229 --> 00:22:06,285
appropriation . So I look forward to 

537
00:22:06,285 --> 00:22:08,439
working with everyone so that we can 

538
00:22:08,449 --> 00:22:10,819
continue to defend our democracy and 

539
00:22:10,829 --> 00:22:13,310
support the forces of freedom in this 

540
00:22:13,319 --> 00:22:15,097
hour challenge . Thank you , Mr 

541
00:22:15,097 --> 00:22:17,430
Chairman . Thank you , Secretary Austin . 

542
00:22:17,430 --> 00:22:19,597
I now recognize General Milley for his 

543
00:22:19,597 --> 00:22:22,040
remarks . Chair Granger and Chair 

544
00:22:22,050 --> 00:22:24,300
Calvert , ranking member McCollum and 

545
00:22:24,310 --> 00:22:26,588
distinguished members of the committee . 

546
00:22:26,588 --> 00:22:28,421
Thank you for the opportunity to 

547
00:22:28,421 --> 00:22:30,532
testify before you today . And I have 

548
00:22:30,532 --> 00:22:32,588
been distinctly privileged to defend 

549
00:22:32,588 --> 00:22:34,699
this country for 43 consecutive years 

550
00:22:34,699 --> 00:22:36,866
in uniform . And this will maybe be my 

551
00:22:36,866 --> 00:22:38,977
last set of posture hearings . I want 

552
00:22:38,977 --> 00:22:41,199
to thank the Congress up front for your 

553
00:22:41,199 --> 00:22:43,421
continued support to our military , not 

554
00:22:43,421 --> 00:22:45,532
only this year but every year for the 

555
00:22:45,532 --> 00:22:47,421
last four decades . And I am very 

556
00:22:47,421 --> 00:22:49,588
privileged to represent the soldiers , 

557
00:22:49,588 --> 00:22:49,469
sailors , airmen , marines , guardians , 

558
00:22:49,479 --> 00:22:51,701
and families of the United States Joint 

559
00:22:51,701 --> 00:22:54,150
Force alongside Secretary Ausin and 

560
00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:56,049
Mike mccord , who I want to thank 

561
00:22:56,049 --> 00:22:58,349
personally for their leadership . Our 

562
00:22:58,390 --> 00:23:00,334
joint force is the most lethal and 

563
00:23:00,334 --> 00:23:02,334
capable military in the world . Our 

564
00:23:02,334 --> 00:23:04,557
troops are the best led , best equipped 

565
00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:06,633
and best trained for us anywhere 

566
00:23:06,729 --> 00:23:09,069
because of your support . So thank you 

567
00:23:09,079 --> 00:23:11,357
for what you have done . And yet again , 

568
00:23:11,357 --> 00:23:13,301
I ask that you support this year's 

569
00:23:13,301 --> 00:23:15,635
request with an on time budget approval . 

570
00:23:15,780 --> 00:23:17,613
Our mission , the mission of the 

571
00:23:17,613 --> 00:23:20,250
uniformed military and our purpose is 

572
00:23:20,260 --> 00:23:22,160
very simple . It is to defend the 

573
00:23:22,170 --> 00:23:24,770
United States of America . And our task 

574
00:23:24,969 --> 00:23:27,770
is to fight and win in all domains of 

575
00:23:27,780 --> 00:23:30,040
combat . In order to do that . Our 

576
00:23:30,050 --> 00:23:32,880
priorities are simple , maintain high 

577
00:23:32,890 --> 00:23:35,112
state of readiness while simultaneously 

578
00:23:35,112 --> 00:23:37,168
modernizing for the future operating 

579
00:23:37,168 --> 00:23:39,112
environment and taking care of our 

580
00:23:39,112 --> 00:23:41,279
people and their families while always 

581
00:23:41,279 --> 00:23:43,390
sustaining our values . Our end state 

582
00:23:43,739 --> 00:23:46,000
is that America's secure and great 

583
00:23:46,010 --> 00:23:48,979
power , war is prevented In order to 

584
00:23:48,989 --> 00:23:51,180
protect the American people readiness 

585
00:23:51,189 --> 00:23:53,411
now and readiness in the future through 

586
00:23:53,411 --> 00:23:55,189
modernization is our number one 

587
00:23:55,189 --> 00:23:57,420
priority and there is no other . # one 

588
00:23:58,170 --> 00:23:59,781
The joint force will deliver 

589
00:23:59,781 --> 00:24:02,420
modernization of our armed forces and 

590
00:24:02,430 --> 00:24:04,486
security to the people of the United 

591
00:24:04,486 --> 00:24:06,597
States . At the FY- 24 budget request 

592
00:24:06,597 --> 00:24:08,819
of 842 billion and we will be good 

593
00:24:08,829 --> 00:24:11,162
stewards of the American people's money , 

594
00:24:11,162 --> 00:24:14,030
trust and confidence . Right now , the 

595
00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:16,096
international system is under stress 

596
00:24:16,469 --> 00:24:18,413
for the first time in the nation's 

597
00:24:18,413 --> 00:24:20,525
history . The United States is facing 

598
00:24:20,525 --> 00:24:22,580
two major nuclear powers whose vital 

599
00:24:22,580 --> 00:24:24,525
national security interests are in 

600
00:24:24,525 --> 00:24:26,580
competition with the United States . 

601
00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:29,142
Both the People's Republic of China and 

602
00:24:29,142 --> 00:24:31,253
Russia have the means to threaten our 

603
00:24:31,253 --> 00:24:33,476
interests and our way of life . But war 

604
00:24:33,476 --> 00:24:35,819
with Russia or China is neither 

605
00:24:35,829 --> 00:24:38,939
inevitable nor imminent . Great Power 

606
00:24:38,949 --> 00:24:40,949
War has not happened in the last 80 

607
00:24:40,949 --> 00:24:43,569
years . In large part because of the 

608
00:24:43,579 --> 00:24:45,746
rules put in place at the end of World 

609
00:24:45,746 --> 00:24:47,801
War Ii , and the capabilities of the 

610
00:24:47,801 --> 00:24:49,912
United States military along with our 

611
00:24:49,912 --> 00:24:52,135
allies and partners , the United States 

612
00:24:52,135 --> 00:24:54,357
military was able to do that because we 

613
00:24:54,357 --> 00:24:56,412
were and still are the most powerful 

614
00:24:56,412 --> 00:24:58,301
military in the world and we must 

615
00:24:58,301 --> 00:25:00,357
remain . So if Great power war is to 

616
00:25:00,357 --> 00:25:02,468
continue , great power of peace is to 

617
00:25:02,468 --> 00:25:04,357
continue to hold . This budget is 

618
00:25:04,357 --> 00:25:06,750
driven by our strategy and deters war . 

619
00:25:07,140 --> 00:25:09,569
This budget maintains our capabilities . 

620
00:25:09,849 --> 00:25:12,119
It maintains our strengths and our high 

621
00:25:12,130 --> 00:25:14,459
levels of readiness now and it prepares 

622
00:25:14,469 --> 00:25:16,729
us for the future . The People's 

623
00:25:16,739 --> 00:25:19,400
Republic of China remains our number 

624
00:25:19,410 --> 00:25:21,709
one , long term geostrategic security 

625
00:25:21,719 --> 00:25:23,959
challenge , so called pacing threat . 

626
00:25:23,969 --> 00:25:26,630
In our strategy . The PR C intends to 

627
00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:28,807
be the regional hegemon in the Western 

628
00:25:28,807 --> 00:25:30,890
Pacific and Asia within the next 10 

629
00:25:30,900 --> 00:25:33,140
years and exceed the United States 

630
00:25:33,150 --> 00:25:36,130
overall military capability by 2049 . 

631
00:25:36,189 --> 00:25:38,989
According to their open source speeches , 

632
00:25:39,829 --> 00:25:41,662
the People's Republic of China's 

633
00:25:41,662 --> 00:25:43,551
actions , moving it down the path 

634
00:25:43,551 --> 00:25:45,773
towards its confrontation and potential 

635
00:25:45,773 --> 00:25:47,551
conflict with its neighbors and 

636
00:25:47,551 --> 00:25:49,829
possibly the United States . But again , 

637
00:25:49,829 --> 00:25:51,940
I say China war with China is neither 

638
00:25:51,940 --> 00:25:55,449
inevitable nor imminent . Additionally , 

639
00:25:55,750 --> 00:25:58,219
Russia is an acute threat and remains 

640
00:25:58,229 --> 00:26:00,285
very dangerous . Over one year ago , 

641
00:26:00,290 --> 00:26:02,068
Russia undertook an illegal and 

642
00:26:02,068 --> 00:26:03,901
unprovoked war against Ukraine , 

643
00:26:03,901 --> 00:26:05,790
threatening peace on the European 

644
00:26:05,790 --> 00:26:08,012
continent and global stability . We are 

645
00:26:08,012 --> 00:26:09,957
supporting Ukraine in its fight to 

646
00:26:09,957 --> 00:26:12,123
protect its sovereignty and supporting 

647
00:26:12,123 --> 00:26:14,290
our NATO allies with the United States 

648
00:26:14,290 --> 00:26:16,401
force presence in every single nation 

649
00:26:16,401 --> 00:26:18,623
on nato's eastern flank . This fight is 

650
00:26:18,623 --> 00:26:20,790
not just in Ukraine's interest , it is 

651
00:26:20,790 --> 00:26:22,679
in the US interest to protect the 

652
00:26:22,679 --> 00:26:24,790
system that has prevented great power 

653
00:26:24,790 --> 00:26:27,390
war for eight decades . Additionally , 

654
00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:29,567
Iran threatens to push the Middle East 

655
00:26:29,567 --> 00:26:31,789
into regional instability by continuing 

656
00:26:31,789 --> 00:26:33,789
its support to terrorists and proxy 

657
00:26:33,789 --> 00:26:36,030
forces . Also , Iran is taking actions 

658
00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:38,207
to approve its capabilities to produce 

659
00:26:38,207 --> 00:26:40,318
a nuclear weapon . Should it make the 

660
00:26:40,318 --> 00:26:42,429
decision to do so while continuing to 

661
00:26:42,429 --> 00:26:44,429
build its missile forces ? From the 

662
00:26:44,429 --> 00:26:46,540
time of the Iranian decision . As you 

663
00:26:46,540 --> 00:26:48,651
have heard in previous testimony from 

664
00:26:48,651 --> 00:26:50,707
members of Os D , Iran could produce 

665
00:26:50,707 --> 00:26:52,818
fissile material for a nuclear weapon 

666
00:26:52,818 --> 00:26:54,929
in less than two weeks and would only 

667
00:26:54,929 --> 00:26:57,096
take several more months to produce an 

668
00:26:57,096 --> 00:26:59,262
actual nuclear weapon . But the United 

669
00:26:59,262 --> 00:27:01,484
States remains committed as a matter of 

670
00:27:01,484 --> 00:27:03,318
policy that Iran will not have a 

671
00:27:03,318 --> 00:27:05,318
fielded nuclear weapon . And we the 

672
00:27:05,318 --> 00:27:07,429
United States military have developed 

673
00:27:07,429 --> 00:27:09,318
multiple options for our national 

674
00:27:09,318 --> 00:27:11,484
leadership to consider if or when Iran 

675
00:27:11,484 --> 00:27:13,373
ever decides to develop an actual 

676
00:27:13,373 --> 00:27:15,219
nuclear weapon . North Korea's 

677
00:27:15,229 --> 00:27:17,451
continued ballistic missile testing and 

678
00:27:17,451 --> 00:27:19,562
nuclear weapons development pose real 

679
00:27:19,562 --> 00:27:21,729
threats to our homeland as well as our 

680
00:27:21,729 --> 00:27:23,951
allies and partners in the Indo Pacific 

681
00:27:23,951 --> 00:27:26,062
terrorists continue to operate around 

682
00:27:26,062 --> 00:27:25,939
the globe threaten the United States 

683
00:27:25,949 --> 00:27:28,116
and our allies and partners . But this 

684
00:27:28,116 --> 00:27:30,282
budget supports both our prevention of 

685
00:27:30,282 --> 00:27:32,359
war on the Korean Peninsula and our 

686
00:27:32,369 --> 00:27:34,479
continued worldwide counterterrorism 

687
00:27:34,489 --> 00:27:36,880
efforts In concert with other elements 

688
00:27:36,890 --> 00:27:39,001
of national power . The United States 

689
00:27:39,001 --> 00:27:41,057
military stands ready to protect our 

690
00:27:41,057 --> 00:27:43,057
nation's interests and the American 

691
00:27:43,057 --> 00:27:45,223
people . And right now today as we sit 

692
00:27:45,223 --> 00:27:47,390
here , we are currently standing watch 

693
00:27:47,390 --> 00:27:49,390
on freedom's frontier with nearly a 

694
00:27:49,390 --> 00:27:51,849
quarter of a million troops , 250,000 

695
00:27:51,859 --> 00:27:54,530
troops in Europe , Asia , Africa , the 

696
00:27:54,540 --> 00:27:56,989
Middle East and South America . The 

697
00:27:57,000 --> 00:27:59,056
United States never fights alone . A 

698
00:27:59,056 --> 00:28:01,222
key source of our strength to keep the 

699
00:28:01,222 --> 00:28:03,333
peace and prevail in war is our large 

700
00:28:03,333 --> 00:28:05,111
global network of alliances and 

701
00:28:05,111 --> 00:28:07,278
partnerships . For example , just this 

702
00:28:07,278 --> 00:28:10,209
month , we conducted 63 operations and 

703
00:28:10,219 --> 00:28:12,380
joint and combined exercises globally 

704
00:28:12,410 --> 00:28:14,299
with our allies and partners . In 

705
00:28:14,299 --> 00:28:16,299
addition to that , we are currently 

706
00:28:16,299 --> 00:28:18,410
training over 5000 Ukrainian soldiers 

707
00:28:18,410 --> 00:28:20,466
in neighboring countries on a weekly 

708
00:28:20,466 --> 00:28:22,577
basis . Our transportation command is 

709
00:28:22,577 --> 00:28:24,299
moving a small city's worth of 

710
00:28:24,299 --> 00:28:26,188
logistics to enable our continued 

711
00:28:26,188 --> 00:28:28,299
global operations or one third of our 

712
00:28:28,299 --> 00:28:30,760
navy , 100 ships is on patrol , 

713
00:28:30,770 --> 00:28:33,319
ensuring freedom of maritime navigation 

714
00:28:33,469 --> 00:28:35,939
and our air force secures our skies . 

715
00:28:36,530 --> 00:28:39,010
And lastly , our operational readiness 

716
00:28:39,020 --> 00:28:41,187
rates are higher now than they've been 

717
00:28:41,187 --> 00:28:43,131
in many , many years . Our minimum 

718
00:28:43,131 --> 00:28:45,298
standard is about a third of the force 

719
00:28:45,298 --> 00:28:47,353
of the highest states of readiness . 

720
00:28:47,353 --> 00:28:49,409
There are 10,330 units in the United 

721
00:28:49,409 --> 00:28:52,589
States military . 4680 of them are 

722
00:28:52,599 --> 00:28:55,800
active duty . 60% of our active duty 

723
00:28:55,810 --> 00:28:57,643
force is at the highest state of 

724
00:28:57,643 --> 00:28:59,866
readiness right now and could deploy to 

725
00:28:59,866 --> 00:29:02,349
combat in less than 30 days . 10% could 

726
00:29:02,359 --> 00:29:04,637
deploy to combat in less than 96 hours . 

727
00:29:04,770 --> 00:29:07,239
This military is ready . We are 

728
00:29:07,250 --> 00:29:09,139
prepared to fight now and we will 

729
00:29:09,139 --> 00:29:11,361
continue to be prepared to fight in the 

730
00:29:11,361 --> 00:29:13,472
future . And this budget supports the 

731
00:29:13,472 --> 00:29:15,694
programs and exercises at the service , 

732
00:29:15,694 --> 00:29:17,930
joint and combined levels to keep our 

733
00:29:17,939 --> 00:29:20,050
military ready to defend the nation . 

734
00:29:20,479 --> 00:29:22,535
Furthermore , the joint forces at an 

735
00:29:22,535 --> 00:29:24,590
important inflection point , we must 

736
00:29:24,590 --> 00:29:26,646
balance current operations readiness 

737
00:29:26,646 --> 00:29:28,868
with future modernization . We must not 

738
00:29:28,868 --> 00:29:30,868
allow ourselves to create the false 

739
00:29:30,868 --> 00:29:32,923
trap that we can either modernize or 

740
00:29:32,923 --> 00:29:35,790
focus only on today . We must do both . 

741
00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:37,744
We must fully integrate developing 

742
00:29:37,744 --> 00:29:39,856
technologies including precision long 

743
00:29:39,856 --> 00:29:41,800
range fires , hypersonic weapons , 

744
00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:43,522
quantum computing , artificial 

745
00:29:43,522 --> 00:29:45,411
intelligence , robotics , and the 

746
00:29:45,411 --> 00:29:47,633
pervasive all domain sensors . The time 

747
00:29:47,633 --> 00:29:49,689
is now we have very little margin to 

748
00:29:49,689 --> 00:29:52,300
wait and the common thread critical to 

749
00:29:52,310 --> 00:29:54,477
accomplish all of this is our people . 

750
00:29:54,477 --> 00:29:56,754
We must continue investing in training , 

751
00:29:56,754 --> 00:29:58,921
education , talent management in order 

752
00:29:58,921 --> 00:30:01,032
to be prepared for a future operating 

753
00:30:01,032 --> 00:30:03,088
environment . Additionally , we must 

754
00:30:03,088 --> 00:30:05,199
ensure that we are taking care of our 

755
00:30:05,199 --> 00:30:07,532
troops and the family's quality of life . 

756
00:30:07,532 --> 00:30:07,000
I urge Congress to support this 

757
00:30:07,010 --> 00:30:08,989
budget's significant pay raises , 

758
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:11,000
health care , housing and childcare 

759
00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:13,167
initiatives . This budget sustains our 

760
00:30:13,167 --> 00:30:15,333
current readiness and adapts the joint 

761
00:30:15,333 --> 00:30:17,219
force to the future war fighting 

762
00:30:17,229 --> 00:30:19,173
requirements . This is a matter of 

763
00:30:19,173 --> 00:30:20,840
significant national security 

764
00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:22,840
importance . We must act with clear 

765
00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:25,510
eyed urgency by doing so . No adversary 

766
00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:27,631
should ever underestimate the resolve 

767
00:30:27,631 --> 00:30:29,742
of our nation and the strength of our 

768
00:30:29,742 --> 00:30:31,689
military preparation for war and 

769
00:30:31,699 --> 00:30:33,650
deterring war is extraordinarily 

770
00:30:33,660 --> 00:30:35,930
expensive , but it's not as expensive 

771
00:30:35,939 --> 00:30:37,989
as fighting a war and this budget 

772
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:40,290
prevents war and prepares us to fight 

773
00:30:40,300 --> 00:30:42,356
it if necessary . Thank you for your 

774
00:30:42,356 --> 00:30:44,300
support and I look forward to your 

775
00:30:44,300 --> 00:30:46,760
questions . Uh Thank you for your 

776
00:30:46,770 --> 00:30:50,380
comments . Uh Secretary uh Austin uh 

777
00:30:51,250 --> 00:30:54,609
China is building 20 ships a year 

778
00:30:56,239 --> 00:30:58,930
And has a fleet of now over 400 vessels . 

779
00:30:59,270 --> 00:31:01,329
Uh and as I understand , capable 

780
00:31:01,339 --> 00:31:03,880
vessels . Meanwhile , the department's 

781
00:31:03,890 --> 00:31:06,300
budget request proposes to decommission 

782
00:31:06,310 --> 00:31:09,020
11 ships this year . While procuring 

783
00:31:09,030 --> 00:31:11,729
nine , The request will shrink the 

784
00:31:11,739 --> 00:31:15,579
Navy's fleet to 291 ships By fiscal 

785
00:31:15,589 --> 00:31:19,500
year 2 28 . Uh despite having a goal 

786
00:31:19,510 --> 00:31:23,229
of 373 ships . Mr Secretary , how does 

787
00:31:23,239 --> 00:31:25,989
having fewer ships deter Chinese 

788
00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:29,670
aggression in the Indo Pacific ? Well , 

789
00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:32,199
thanks chairman . Um let me begin by 

790
00:31:32,209 --> 00:31:35,189
saying we , we have the most 

791
00:31:35,199 --> 00:31:38,319
powerful and dominant uh navy in the 

792
00:31:38,329 --> 00:31:41,910
world uh in We will 

793
00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:44,031
continue to make sure that it remains 

794
00:31:44,031 --> 00:31:46,969
that way as we look to invest in 

795
00:31:46,979 --> 00:31:49,035
capabilities . We're looking for the 

796
00:31:49,035 --> 00:31:51,550
right mix of capabilities that can 

797
00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:54,209
support our war fighting concepts and 

798
00:31:54,219 --> 00:31:56,219
we'll continue to remain focused on 

799
00:31:56,219 --> 00:31:58,386
that . And as you know , Mr Chairman , 

800
00:31:58,386 --> 00:32:01,339
this budget , we're asking for $48 

801
00:32:01,349 --> 00:32:04,709
billion dollars to invest in effective 

802
00:32:04,719 --> 00:32:07,780
naval forces . So uh from our 

803
00:32:07,790 --> 00:32:09,846
perspective , it's about making sure 

804
00:32:09,846 --> 00:32:12,699
that we have uh the right capabilities 

805
00:32:12,709 --> 00:32:14,939
uh to uh to support our war fighting 

806
00:32:14,949 --> 00:32:17,150
concepts . And I'm comfortable that we 

807
00:32:17,160 --> 00:32:18,993
are , we are moving in the right 

808
00:32:18,993 --> 00:32:21,979
direction . I , I understand the , the 

809
00:32:21,989 --> 00:32:24,170
need for increased capability . I uh 

810
00:32:24,180 --> 00:32:26,402
but you , you know , they're all saying 

811
00:32:26,402 --> 00:32:28,513
you can't , you can't catch a ball in 

812
00:32:28,513 --> 00:32:30,569
left field if you only have a guy in 

813
00:32:30,569 --> 00:32:33,119
right field . So numbers do matter . 

814
00:32:33,130 --> 00:32:34,686
And your budget proposes to 

815
00:32:34,686 --> 00:32:36,989
decommission eight ships before the end 

816
00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:39,099
of their service life and ship Count 

817
00:32:39,109 --> 00:32:42,979
Matters , As I said earlier . Um when 

818
00:32:42,989 --> 00:32:45,045
are we gonna see the department's 30 

819
00:32:45,045 --> 00:32:48,699
year ship building plan ? Well , uh the 

820
00:32:48,709 --> 00:32:50,820
uh the navy continues to work on that 

821
00:32:50,820 --> 00:32:53,630
plan and , and it , it will uh it as 

822
00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:55,362
soon as they are uh complete . 

823
00:32:55,362 --> 00:32:57,251
Certainly we'll uh we'll bring it 

824
00:32:57,251 --> 00:33:01,209
forward to Congress . Um We look , we 

825
00:33:01,219 --> 00:33:03,949
look forward to seeing that last week . 

826
00:33:03,959 --> 00:33:06,126
Uh I led a congressional delegation of 

827
00:33:06,126 --> 00:33:09,560
members to uh Asia in Taiwan , nearly 

828
00:33:09,569 --> 00:33:12,069
every single leader we met with 

829
00:33:12,079 --> 00:33:15,349
remarked at the extremely slow pace of 

830
00:33:15,359 --> 00:33:18,810
us defense uh articles . Unfortunately , 

831
00:33:18,819 --> 00:33:20,986
this is not a familiar theme which was 

832
00:33:20,986 --> 00:33:22,819
highlighted last month uh in our 

833
00:33:22,819 --> 00:33:25,670
Ukraine hearing , uh Secretary Austin , 

834
00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:28,050
what are Ukraine and Taiwan's most 

835
00:33:28,060 --> 00:33:30,300
critical defense needs ? And what steps 

836
00:33:30,310 --> 00:33:32,060
are you taking to expedite and 

837
00:33:32,069 --> 00:33:34,729
prioritize the delivery of these items ? 

838
00:33:35,780 --> 00:33:38,359
Two things first , in , in terms of F 

839
00:33:38,369 --> 00:33:41,140
MS , uh we all recognize that there's 

840
00:33:41,150 --> 00:33:43,760
been uh we faced some headwinds as a 

841
00:33:43,770 --> 00:33:46,459
result of uh two years of COVID and , 

842
00:33:46,469 --> 00:33:48,869
and pressure on supply chains and , and 

843
00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:51,239
the inability of industry to , to 

844
00:33:51,250 --> 00:33:53,139
really move at the pace that they 

845
00:33:53,139 --> 00:33:55,472
wanted to move at . And I think uh well , 

846
00:33:55,479 --> 00:33:57,979
industry will catch up uh in terms of 

847
00:33:57,989 --> 00:34:00,969
that backlog . Uh But I have put 

848
00:34:00,979 --> 00:34:03,430
together , I put together a tiger team 

849
00:34:03,439 --> 00:34:06,439
uh months ago to really dig down into 

850
00:34:06,449 --> 00:34:09,620
the F MS uh issues and , and identify 

851
00:34:09,629 --> 00:34:12,540
uh log jams and work through those log 

852
00:34:12,550 --> 00:34:14,772
jams to try to expedite , do everything 

853
00:34:14,772 --> 00:34:17,239
we can to help expedite uh deli the uh 

854
00:34:17,250 --> 00:34:20,679
delivery of key platforms . Uh And I've 

855
00:34:20,689 --> 00:34:23,300
also put together a uh a group of 

856
00:34:23,310 --> 00:34:26,330
senior leaders in the uh department uh 

857
00:34:26,340 --> 00:34:29,129
to focus on this on a weekly monthly 

858
00:34:29,139 --> 00:34:32,070
basis uh to make sure that we are 

859
00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:34,302
providing the right kinds of capability 

860
00:34:34,302 --> 00:34:36,524
that , that Taiwan needs . So , so this 

861
00:34:36,524 --> 00:34:39,110
is , this remains a uh an area of focus 

862
00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:42,040
for the department . Uh Thank you , 

863
00:34:43,668 --> 00:34:46,459
uh Mr mccallum Correctness . 

864
00:34:48,620 --> 00:34:51,919
Thank you um Mr Chair . Um I think the , 

865
00:34:51,929 --> 00:34:53,909
the discussion about the number of 

866
00:34:53,919 --> 00:34:57,409
ships uh is , is interesting , but as 

867
00:34:57,419 --> 00:34:59,709
uh general uh me said , we don't go to 

868
00:34:59,719 --> 00:35:03,149
war alone . So if we include uh 

869
00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:05,989
Australia , Canada , 

870
00:35:06,649 --> 00:35:10,120
NATO , you know , all , all the great 

871
00:35:10,129 --> 00:35:13,090
powers uh that , that we work with , um 

872
00:35:13,100 --> 00:35:15,629
we would , we would have a multiplying 

873
00:35:15,639 --> 00:35:18,350
effect that neither China or Russia has , 

874
00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:20,638
would , would that be a fair statement ? 

875
00:35:20,638 --> 00:35:22,840
Um Secretary um Austin or General 

876
00:35:22,850 --> 00:35:25,310
Milley , that that is in fact uh 

877
00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:28,389
correct uh a ranking member of mccollum . 

878
00:35:28,399 --> 00:35:31,810
We uh we always uh fight as uh with our 

879
00:35:31,820 --> 00:35:34,790
allies and partners . Uh And uh and 

880
00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:36,800
again , their , the capability that 

881
00:35:36,800 --> 00:35:39,090
they bring to the table uh magnifies 

882
00:35:39,100 --> 00:35:41,929
our , our overall capability . So , uh 

883
00:35:41,939 --> 00:35:44,159
you , you could expect that in any 

884
00:35:44,169 --> 00:35:46,336
instance , uh we would be able to draw 

885
00:35:46,336 --> 00:35:48,558
upon some of their capability as well . 

886
00:35:48,558 --> 00:35:50,669
So we work on a routine basis to make 

887
00:35:50,669 --> 00:35:53,399
sure that we're interoperable . Uh And 

888
00:35:53,409 --> 00:35:55,465
uh and make sure that uh thank you . 

889
00:35:56,750 --> 00:36:00,020
Thank you . I would like you to um a 

890
00:36:00,030 --> 00:36:03,699
little of uh go into more importance 

891
00:36:03,709 --> 00:36:07,310
on the recent um on uh on 

892
00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:09,431
February 2nd , the agreement that you 

893
00:36:09,431 --> 00:36:11,653
signed with the Philippines , whichever 

894
00:36:11,653 --> 00:36:13,653
one of you gentlemen want to answer 

895
00:36:13,653 --> 00:36:16,199
that . Um uh President uh Marco seems 

896
00:36:16,209 --> 00:36:18,376
to have made some deliberate decisions 

897
00:36:18,376 --> 00:36:20,487
to align more closely with the United 

898
00:36:20,487 --> 00:36:22,542
States interest away from China . Um 

899
00:36:22,542 --> 00:36:24,610
Could you um kind of tell the , the 

900
00:36:24,620 --> 00:36:26,830
committee more about this agreement 

901
00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:29,062
with the Philippines and how you see it 

902
00:36:29,062 --> 00:36:31,173
enhancing our efforts in the region ? 

903
00:36:31,173 --> 00:36:33,284
Because I think this goes back to the 

904
00:36:33,284 --> 00:36:33,110
whole question of the multiplying 

905
00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:36,479
effect of , of having resources that , 

906
00:36:36,489 --> 00:36:38,969
that China and Russia do not have . And 

907
00:36:38,979 --> 00:36:41,201
if there's any other uh nations in , in 

908
00:36:41,739 --> 00:36:44,750
um that you uh see wanting to align 

909
00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:46,871
more closely with the United States , 

910
00:36:46,871 --> 00:36:49,179
uh with , with China , with , as these 

911
00:36:49,189 --> 00:36:51,133
new relationships that you've been 

912
00:36:51,133 --> 00:36:53,360
working so hard along the state uh to 

913
00:36:53,370 --> 00:36:53,959
foster . 

914
00:36:57,810 --> 00:37:00,370
Well , i it's , I was uh as a matter of 

915
00:37:00,379 --> 00:37:02,323
fact out in the Philippines and uh 

916
00:37:02,323 --> 00:37:05,689
engaged uh uh uh the president uh on 

917
00:37:05,699 --> 00:37:07,866
this particular issue and I was really 

918
00:37:07,866 --> 00:37:10,088
pleased that uh that the president made 

919
00:37:10,088 --> 00:37:11,921
the decision to move forward and 

920
00:37:11,921 --> 00:37:14,620
increase the number of uh of sites 

921
00:37:14,629 --> 00:37:17,750
where we could work uh along . So , 

922
00:37:17,760 --> 00:37:21,030
along with the Philippine forces uh to 

923
00:37:21,040 --> 00:37:23,810
increase interoperability and uh and 

924
00:37:23,820 --> 00:37:27,149
develop uh uh their skills as well . 

925
00:37:27,159 --> 00:37:29,270
And it , it , it's actually a benefit 

926
00:37:29,270 --> 00:37:32,060
to them uh as you know , uh so this , 

927
00:37:32,070 --> 00:37:35,199
this really uh is a , a 

928
00:37:35,209 --> 00:37:39,010
significant uh um move uh 

929
00:37:39,020 --> 00:37:41,449
significant movement forward . I think 

930
00:37:41,459 --> 00:37:43,939
uh we'll continue to build upon this as , 

931
00:37:43,949 --> 00:37:46,479
as our airmen and , and , and soldiers 

932
00:37:46,489 --> 00:37:49,080
and sailors rotate in and out uh and , 

933
00:37:49,090 --> 00:37:51,201
and work with the , with the uh the , 

934
00:37:51,201 --> 00:37:55,189
the Philippine military . Um So if you 

935
00:37:55,199 --> 00:37:57,088
take a look around the region , I 

936
00:37:57,088 --> 00:37:59,143
mentioned aus earlier , uh this is a 

937
00:37:59,143 --> 00:38:01,399
generational capability , uh you know , 

938
00:38:01,409 --> 00:38:05,080
as we develop a um conventionally 

939
00:38:05,090 --> 00:38:07,330
armed nuclear powered submarine 

940
00:38:07,340 --> 00:38:10,520
capability for uh for Australia , it 

941
00:38:10,530 --> 00:38:14,360
will help uh help us uh make sure that 

942
00:38:14,370 --> 00:38:17,290
we can do the right things to continue 

943
00:38:17,300 --> 00:38:20,479
to deter any uh any 

944
00:38:20,489 --> 00:38:22,719
adversary that would want to threaten 

945
00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:26,239
or challenge uh the free and , and open 

946
00:38:26,250 --> 00:38:28,528
Indo Pacific . So if you look at Japan , 

947
00:38:28,528 --> 00:38:30,472
as I mentioned earlier , Japan has 

948
00:38:30,472 --> 00:38:33,260
doubled its uh uh defense spending , uh 

949
00:38:33,270 --> 00:38:35,540
it's allowed us to position uh a , a 

950
00:38:35,610 --> 00:38:39,439
new um uh element uh in uh 

951
00:38:39,449 --> 00:38:42,959
in , in Japan and in Okinawa . Um If 

952
00:38:42,969 --> 00:38:46,550
you look at uh you know , a 

953
00:38:46,629 --> 00:38:48,851
number of the countries that uh that we 

954
00:38:48,851 --> 00:38:50,907
have partnerships with our alliances 

955
00:38:50,907 --> 00:38:53,270
with , uh we continue to work to build 

956
00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:55,058
and strengthen uh those , those 

957
00:38:55,058 --> 00:38:57,058
alliances and partnerships . And so 

958
00:38:57,058 --> 00:38:58,947
we've moved , moved the ball in a 

959
00:38:58,947 --> 00:39:00,969
significant distance down the field 

960
00:39:00,979 --> 00:39:02,923
here in the last uh last couple of 

961
00:39:02,923 --> 00:39:04,868
years . And I , I really feel good 

962
00:39:04,868 --> 00:39:07,379
about uh what we're doing uh to uh to 

963
00:39:07,389 --> 00:39:09,429
increase access and to strengthen 

964
00:39:09,439 --> 00:39:12,360
partnerships . Thank you . Uh Gentlemen . 

965
00:39:12,370 --> 00:39:14,592
Um If I could just make a quick comment 

966
00:39:14,592 --> 00:39:16,540
on , on that Mr Chair , if that's 

967
00:39:16,550 --> 00:39:19,100
allowed , thank you for the courtesy . 

968
00:39:19,169 --> 00:39:21,850
Uh Just two points . One is uh you're 

969
00:39:21,860 --> 00:39:24,020
correct on the allies and partners uh 

970
00:39:24,030 --> 00:39:26,310
Australia , Japan , but there's many 

971
00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:28,153
other countries there as well to 

972
00:39:28,153 --> 00:39:30,264
include European countries . Uh We've 

973
00:39:30,264 --> 00:39:32,376
done exercises with the Brits and the 

974
00:39:32,376 --> 00:39:32,280
French also in the Asia Pacific region . 

975
00:39:32,290 --> 00:39:34,234
So they are force multipliers . Uh 

976
00:39:34,234 --> 00:39:36,739
Secondly , is our sub force which is 

977
00:39:36,750 --> 00:39:38,750
rarely talked about . I'm not gonna 

978
00:39:38,750 --> 00:39:40,806
talk about in detail right now . But 

979
00:39:40,806 --> 00:39:42,917
our sub force is incredibly submarine 

980
00:39:42,917 --> 00:39:44,917
force , incredibly capable and very 

981
00:39:44,917 --> 00:39:46,917
deadly um and extremely lethal . So 

982
00:39:46,917 --> 00:39:49,083
those two pieces I think would uh make 

983
00:39:49,083 --> 00:39:51,139
a huge difference and help deter any 

984
00:39:51,139 --> 00:39:53,306
kind of aggression by China . The last 

985
00:39:53,306 --> 00:39:55,250
thing is the Philippines , but the 

986
00:39:55,250 --> 00:39:54,949
Philippines and other countries in that 

987
00:39:54,959 --> 00:39:57,629
region , they set aside the key sea 

988
00:39:57,639 --> 00:40:00,260
lines of communication uh that China 

989
00:40:00,270 --> 00:40:02,159
relies on for their international 

990
00:40:02,159 --> 00:40:04,214
access to the Middle East , oil , et 

991
00:40:04,214 --> 00:40:06,270
cetera , et cetera . So those allies 

992
00:40:06,270 --> 00:40:07,881
and partners of ours are are 

993
00:40:07,881 --> 00:40:09,714
fundamental and us being able to 

994
00:40:09,714 --> 00:40:11,826
conduct military operations or having 

995
00:40:11,826 --> 00:40:13,770
access basing over flight to those 

996
00:40:13,770 --> 00:40:15,992
countries in time of conflict or crisis 

997
00:40:15,992 --> 00:40:18,159
would be fundamental and it would give 

998
00:40:18,159 --> 00:40:20,340
us a decisive advantage . Thank you . 

999
00:40:20,350 --> 00:40:22,239
And hopefully we can speed up the 

1000
00:40:22,239 --> 00:40:24,239
acquisition of those Virginia class 

1001
00:40:24,239 --> 00:40:27,520
submarines , Miss Granger , Secretary 

1002
00:40:27,530 --> 00:40:29,641
Austin and our enemies are developing 

1003
00:40:29,641 --> 00:40:31,752
stronger ties with nations throughout 

1004
00:40:31,752 --> 00:40:34,060
the South America . While we need to 

1005
00:40:34,070 --> 00:40:36,237
focus on the growing threats in Europe 

1006
00:40:36,237 --> 00:40:38,348
and the Pacific , we can't ignore the 

1007
00:40:38,348 --> 00:40:40,770
threats to the South of us . So how , 

1008
00:40:40,780 --> 00:40:43,540
what particular things are in your , 

1009
00:40:43,770 --> 00:40:46,760
your what you're presenting ? Uh and 

1010
00:40:46,770 --> 00:40:48,992
what is our support for our partners in 

1011
00:40:48,992 --> 00:40:52,820
South uh 

1012
00:40:52,830 --> 00:40:56,810
this uh in , in strengthening our 

1013
00:40:56,820 --> 00:40:59,060
relationships and in maintaining access 

1014
00:40:59,070 --> 00:41:01,850
in uh in in the south comm area is a 

1015
00:41:01,860 --> 00:41:04,179
key area of focus for , for us and our 

1016
00:41:04,189 --> 00:41:06,300
South comm commander , our South comm 

1017
00:41:06,300 --> 00:41:08,189
commander , as you know , General 

1018
00:41:08,189 --> 00:41:10,189
Richardson is absolutely focused on 

1019
00:41:10,189 --> 00:41:12,510
this and active uh she's uh increasing 

1020
00:41:12,520 --> 00:41:14,520
the number of engagements and where 

1021
00:41:14,530 --> 00:41:17,889
possible uh exercising with uh with 

1022
00:41:17,899 --> 00:41:21,810
partners . Uh And uh and so I see this 

1023
00:41:21,820 --> 00:41:23,653
moving , continuing to move in a 

1024
00:41:23,653 --> 00:41:25,542
positive direction . We have some 

1025
00:41:25,542 --> 00:41:27,764
security force assistance , uh elements 

1026
00:41:27,764 --> 00:41:29,876
that are working with uh with various 

1027
00:41:29,876 --> 00:41:31,840
countries to , to strengthen their 

1028
00:41:31,850 --> 00:41:34,229
indigenous capability , to uh to be 

1029
00:41:34,239 --> 00:41:36,350
able to protect their , their , their 

1030
00:41:36,350 --> 00:41:38,572
sovereign territory . So , so this is , 

1031
00:41:38,572 --> 00:41:40,572
this is something that uh we remain 

1032
00:41:40,572 --> 00:41:42,572
focused on . And I , I applaud what 

1033
00:41:42,572 --> 00:41:44,795
General Richardson is doing uh in terms 

1034
00:41:44,795 --> 00:41:47,919
of uh continuing to uh develop uh 

1035
00:41:47,929 --> 00:41:50,719
additional access and to strengthen the 

1036
00:41:50,729 --> 00:41:52,729
relationships that are that already 

1037
00:41:52,729 --> 00:41:56,419
exist . Thank you . Uh 

1038
00:41:56,429 --> 00:41:58,879
Thank you , Chair woman uh Mr La . 

1039
00:42:00,639 --> 00:42:02,861
Thank you very much , Mr Chairman and I 

1040
00:42:02,861 --> 00:42:05,209
welcome our , our guest this morning 

1041
00:42:05,219 --> 00:42:08,300
and I thank you uh Mr Secretary 

1042
00:42:08,310 --> 00:42:11,679
undersecretary and uh Mr mccord . Thank 

1043
00:42:11,689 --> 00:42:13,760
you very , very much for being here 

1044
00:42:13,770 --> 00:42:16,110
this morning . I apologize for being 

1045
00:42:16,120 --> 00:42:18,287
late , but there are , I think there's 

1046
00:42:18,287 --> 00:42:21,040
six hearings , I'm gonna get to between 

1047
00:42:21,050 --> 00:42:24,500
now and the end of the day . Um uh so 

1048
00:42:24,510 --> 00:42:27,040
let me just um there , there has been 

1049
00:42:27,189 --> 00:42:29,800
the discussion of uh of , of , of the 

1050
00:42:29,810 --> 00:42:33,270
budget by uh some of my colleagues on 

1051
00:42:33,280 --> 00:42:35,502
the other side of the aisle . That what 

1052
00:42:35,502 --> 00:42:37,669
we ought to do with regard to the 2024 

1053
00:42:37,669 --> 00:42:41,000
budget is to apply the uh 2022 

1054
00:42:41,010 --> 00:42:43,300
numbers . And within that , there are a 

1055
00:42:43,310 --> 00:42:46,469
number of folks who believe that that 

1056
00:42:46,479 --> 00:42:50,280
may be true for non 

1057
00:42:50,290 --> 00:42:53,919
defense efforts . But that and that we 

1058
00:42:53,929 --> 00:42:56,479
should hold if you will defense 

1059
00:42:56,489 --> 00:42:59,629
harmless in that , in that effort . 

1060
00:43:00,300 --> 00:43:03,879
And I want to just briefly quote under 

1061
00:43:03,889 --> 00:43:06,330
Secretary mccord in a letter that you 

1062
00:43:06,340 --> 00:43:08,396
sent to the Appropriations Committee 

1063
00:43:08,396 --> 00:43:11,570
this week , you stated should , as some 

1064
00:43:11,580 --> 00:43:13,358
have suggested that the defense 

1065
00:43:13,358 --> 00:43:15,080
department be exempt from such 

1066
00:43:15,080 --> 00:43:18,290
reductions and the entire burden fall 

1067
00:43:18,300 --> 00:43:20,540
on non defense discretionary agencies . 

1068
00:43:20,729 --> 00:43:23,360
The cuts would be just as harmful even 

1069
00:43:23,370 --> 00:43:26,840
if distributed differently . 

1070
00:43:27,409 --> 00:43:30,689
Our whole of government response to 

1071
00:43:30,699 --> 00:43:33,020
Russia's aggression against Ukraine 

1072
00:43:33,030 --> 00:43:34,919
clearly demonstrates the value of 

1073
00:43:34,919 --> 00:43:36,808
integrating security assistance , 

1074
00:43:36,808 --> 00:43:38,752
economic assistance , humanitarian 

1075
00:43:38,752 --> 00:43:40,641
assistance , sanctions and export 

1076
00:43:40,641 --> 00:43:42,586
controls . No one agency could the 

1077
00:43:42,586 --> 00:43:44,780
effects we are producing as a team and 

1078
00:43:44,790 --> 00:43:46,846
deep cuts to any one of the agencies 

1079
00:43:46,846 --> 00:43:48,957
would undermine the effort as a whole 

1080
00:43:48,957 --> 00:43:51,012
for any of the witnesses . Could you 

1081
00:43:51,012 --> 00:43:52,989
please outline how the non defense 

1082
00:43:53,159 --> 00:43:55,199
funding affects the Department of 

1083
00:43:55,209 --> 00:43:57,179
Defense and our national security 

1084
00:44:02,090 --> 00:44:06,030
for any other witnesses ? Mr 

1085
00:44:06,040 --> 00:44:09,139
mccart , I quoted you uh 

1086
00:44:09,149 --> 00:44:12,550
thank you . Um Yes , 

1087
00:44:12,560 --> 00:44:14,504
Ukraine is probably the most vivid 

1088
00:44:14,504 --> 00:44:16,671
example as I said in the letter of the 

1089
00:44:16,671 --> 00:44:18,727
teamwork that we require with export 

1090
00:44:18,727 --> 00:44:20,893
control sanctions , every kind of tool 

1091
00:44:20,893 --> 00:44:23,116
and this goes across right ? We need an 

1092
00:44:23,116 --> 00:44:25,239
educated work , we need an educated 

1093
00:44:25,250 --> 00:44:27,540
workforce where it starts , you know , 

1094
00:44:27,550 --> 00:44:29,661
with , with the school system . So we 

1095
00:44:29,661 --> 00:44:31,919
have all kinds of needs . Uh Every time 

1096
00:44:31,929 --> 00:44:33,929
the Department of Homeland Security 

1097
00:44:33,929 --> 00:44:36,096
fails to get to the place they need to 

1098
00:44:36,096 --> 00:44:38,207
be to , we get called on to help . So 

1099
00:44:38,207 --> 00:44:40,207
there's so many connections of , of 

1100
00:44:40,207 --> 00:44:42,429
what we need to do . And as I think you 

1101
00:44:42,429 --> 00:44:44,429
are aware , if , uh , I'm certainly 

1102
00:44:44,429 --> 00:44:46,790
aware that that the , the Chair Granger 

1103
00:44:46,800 --> 00:44:48,856
and , and Chairman Coward have , are 

1104
00:44:48,856 --> 00:44:50,967
not advocating deep cuts to defense . 

1105
00:44:51,320 --> 00:44:53,669
Then there's the math problem . Right . 

1106
00:44:53,679 --> 00:44:55,760
There's the math problem that we all 

1107
00:44:55,770 --> 00:44:57,826
understand . Right . If you , if you 

1108
00:44:57,826 --> 00:44:59,937
have half the discretionary budget is 

1109
00:44:59,937 --> 00:45:01,881
exempt and , and that's what we're 

1110
00:45:01,881 --> 00:45:03,937
trying to , uh , to recognize in our 

1111
00:45:03,937 --> 00:45:05,992
response . Thank you . And I'm gonna 

1112
00:45:05,992 --> 00:45:07,881
look forward to your help in this 

1113
00:45:07,881 --> 00:45:10,103
effort . Yes . General . Uh , it , it , 

1114
00:45:10,103 --> 00:45:12,381
and as Mike has indicated , uh , it is , 

1115
00:45:12,381 --> 00:45:14,326
it is always a whole of government 

1116
00:45:14,326 --> 00:45:16,159
effort , uh , with these complex 

1117
00:45:16,159 --> 00:45:18,326
problem sets that we're dealing with . 

1118
00:45:18,326 --> 00:45:20,437
Uh , and the old saying that if you , 

1119
00:45:20,437 --> 00:45:22,548
you cut the state department's budget 

1120
00:45:22,548 --> 00:45:24,714
too much , then you , you need to need 

1121
00:45:24,714 --> 00:45:27,020
to buy more books , right ? Because , 

1122
00:45:27,030 --> 00:45:29,252
uh , what we wanna do is we wanna drive 

1123
00:45:29,252 --> 00:45:31,308
things towards greater stability and 

1124
00:45:31,308 --> 00:45:33,474
security around the globe . And , uh , 

1125
00:45:33,474 --> 00:45:35,479
and of course , uh , you know , the 

1126
00:45:35,489 --> 00:45:37,322
solution to every problem is not 

1127
00:45:37,322 --> 00:45:39,656
necessarily a milli a military solution , 

1128
00:45:39,656 --> 00:45:41,767
but , but we need to work together to 

1129
00:45:41,767 --> 00:45:43,939
provide access to other agencies so 

1130
00:45:43,949 --> 00:45:47,379
that they can , they can , uh reach the 

1131
00:45:47,389 --> 00:45:49,445
places they need to reach and do the 

1132
00:45:49,445 --> 00:45:51,556
things they need to do . But , but it 

1133
00:45:51,556 --> 00:45:53,722
is a whole , uh , typically a whole of 

1134
00:45:53,722 --> 00:45:55,833
government effort and I think we , we 

1135
00:45:55,833 --> 00:45:57,945
just need to remain mindful of that . 

1136
00:45:57,945 --> 00:46:00,167
Thank you . Thank you . If I if I might 

1137
00:46:00,167 --> 00:46:02,570
I have um if you will two parochial 

1138
00:46:02,580 --> 00:46:04,580
questions . Appreciate that . And I 

1139
00:46:04,580 --> 00:46:06,802
welcome your help as we move forward in 

1140
00:46:06,802 --> 00:46:08,858
terms of crafting the budget for for 

1141
00:46:08,858 --> 00:46:11,294
2020 2024 . And as I said , two 

1142
00:46:11,304 --> 00:46:14,225
parochial questions as we move to the 

1143
00:46:14,235 --> 00:46:16,824
future of army aviation , develop the 

1144
00:46:16,834 --> 00:46:18,985
future long range assault aircraft . 

1145
00:46:19,195 --> 00:46:22,989
The reconnaissance aircraft be very , 

1146
00:46:23,000 --> 00:46:25,222
very brief . The question is related to 

1147
00:46:25,222 --> 00:46:27,449
the Black Hawk even the eventual 

1148
00:46:27,459 --> 00:46:30,770
fielding of a new flora rotary aircraft . 

1149
00:46:30,780 --> 00:46:33,002
I am told the army will be still flying 

1150
00:46:33,002 --> 00:46:36,610
hundreds of U H 60 and Black Hawks for 

1151
00:46:36,620 --> 00:46:39,689
the next 40 years . Many are flying now . 

1152
00:46:39,790 --> 00:46:41,850
What are the dod's plans to preserve 

1153
00:46:41,860 --> 00:46:43,804
the industrial based suppliers and 

1154
00:46:43,804 --> 00:46:45,916
workforce that built the Black Hawk , 

1155
00:46:45,916 --> 00:46:47,749
Black Hawk and vital to the army 

1156
00:46:47,749 --> 00:46:49,989
aviation , the future . And I'll just 

1157
00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:52,111
add very , very quickly . This has to 

1158
00:46:52,111 --> 00:46:54,649
do with the 

1159
00:46:54,850 --> 00:46:57,899
F-35 . I'd like to give you an 

1160
00:46:57,909 --> 00:46:59,959
opportunity , Mr Secretary 

1161
00:47:01,929 --> 00:47:04,489
That there have been really conflicting 

1162
00:47:04,500 --> 00:47:07,080
statements regarding secretary 

1163
00:47:07,090 --> 00:47:09,389
Kendall's support for the upgrade . If 

1164
00:47:09,399 --> 00:47:11,620
you can just tell us what is the 

1165
00:47:11,629 --> 00:47:13,518
Department of Defense position on 

1166
00:47:13,518 --> 00:47:15,780
whether to upgrade the existing F- 135 

1167
00:47:15,800 --> 00:47:18,340
or develop a new engine for the f-35 ? 

1168
00:47:21,510 --> 00:47:22,510
Thanks 

1169
00:47:32,280 --> 00:47:35,379
water . Got you . Ok . 

1170
00:47:39,250 --> 00:47:41,959
That's fine . Might want to turn your 

1171
00:47:41,969 --> 00:47:45,689
mics on too and with regard to the 

1172
00:47:45,699 --> 00:47:48,870
Black Hawk Well , we , there's no 

1173
00:47:48,879 --> 00:47:50,990
question that uh that your home state 

1174
00:47:50,990 --> 00:47:53,320
provides a tremendous capability to uh 

1175
00:47:53,330 --> 00:47:56,540
our , our overall uh uh 

1176
00:47:56,550 --> 00:47:59,520
defense effort . Um You mentioned , uh 

1177
00:47:59,530 --> 00:48:02,820
the long range aviation uh piece that 

1178
00:48:02,830 --> 00:48:05,052
you as , you know , that that's still a 

1179
00:48:05,052 --> 00:48:07,163
work in progress that uh that's uh in 

1180
00:48:07,163 --> 00:48:10,139
dispute . And because it's uh 

1181
00:48:11,209 --> 00:48:13,979
at that stage , uh I'm not , I'm not 

1182
00:48:13,989 --> 00:48:16,370
able to make any comments but , but , 

1183
00:48:16,379 --> 00:48:18,323
uh , but again , I think that'll , 

1184
00:48:18,323 --> 00:48:20,490
that'll resolve itself going forward . 

1185
00:48:20,490 --> 00:48:22,601
And when it does , we'll , we'll make 

1186
00:48:22,601 --> 00:48:24,435
sure we come and brief you and a 

1187
00:48:24,435 --> 00:48:24,310
delegation . I've just meant , I 

1188
00:48:24,320 --> 00:48:26,560
understand what the out you know , that 

1189
00:48:26,570 --> 00:48:28,737
there is a dispute and there will be a 

1190
00:48:28,737 --> 00:48:32,159
resolve of that , but there's also the 

1191
00:48:32,169 --> 00:48:35,949
issue of the continued use of Black 

1192
00:48:35,959 --> 00:48:39,620
Hawk helicopters . And will you 

1193
00:48:39,629 --> 00:48:41,649
continue to be using the Black Hawk 

1194
00:48:41,659 --> 00:48:44,469
since it is many are flying right now 

1195
00:48:44,479 --> 00:48:47,229
and what will be , you know , the 

1196
00:48:47,239 --> 00:48:50,070
future ? It's a workhorse as you know , 

1197
00:48:50,080 --> 00:48:53,300
and uh and so it'll be around for , for 

1198
00:48:53,310 --> 00:48:55,580
some time to come and , and uh in the 

1199
00:48:55,590 --> 00:48:57,500
meantime , the army and the other 

1200
00:48:57,510 --> 00:49:00,199
services continue to look for uh 

1201
00:49:00,310 --> 00:49:02,310
greater capability in the future or 

1202
00:49:02,310 --> 00:49:04,421
additional capability in the future . 

1203
00:49:04,421 --> 00:49:06,254
And that , that work in terms of 

1204
00:49:06,254 --> 00:49:08,310
modernization will , will continue . 

1205
00:49:08,310 --> 00:49:10,532
But the Black Hawk has served us well . 

1206
00:49:10,532 --> 00:49:12,699
Uh I personally benefited from that uh 

1207
00:49:12,699 --> 00:49:14,921
that tremendous aircraft and I , I have 

1208
00:49:14,921 --> 00:49:17,143
every expectation that it will continue 

1209
00:49:17,143 --> 00:49:19,199
to do so . Going forward . Thank you 

1210
00:49:19,199 --> 00:49:18,899
and thank you for your courtesy Mr 

1211
00:49:18,979 --> 00:49:21,770
Chair . Uh Thank you , um Mr Cole , 

1212
00:49:23,000 --> 00:49:25,000
thank you very much , Mr Chairman . 

1213
00:49:25,000 --> 00:49:27,167
First of all , let me join many others 

1214
00:49:27,167 --> 00:49:29,167
and just thank all three of you for 

1215
00:49:29,167 --> 00:49:31,278
your service and your professionalism 

1216
00:49:31,278 --> 00:49:33,500
um had the opportunity to interact with 

1217
00:49:33,500 --> 00:49:35,500
you probably in ways you don't even 

1218
00:49:35,500 --> 00:49:37,667
remember in some cases , uh a lot over 

1219
00:49:37,667 --> 00:49:39,833
the course of your careers and uh just 

1220
00:49:39,833 --> 00:49:41,944
have always been impressed again with 

1221
00:49:41,944 --> 00:49:44,000
the professionalism and the absolute 

1222
00:49:44,000 --> 00:49:46,167
dedication all three of you have shown 

1223
00:49:46,167 --> 00:49:45,419
to the country . So it's much 

1224
00:49:45,429 --> 00:49:48,229
appreciated and we wish you well and uh 

1225
00:49:48,239 --> 00:49:50,350
General Milley and whatever your next 

1226
00:49:50,350 --> 00:49:52,461
endeavor is , but you certainly re an 

1227
00:49:52,461 --> 00:49:54,683
exceptional service to our country . So 

1228
00:49:54,683 --> 00:49:56,906
thank you for that . Um I'm gonna thank 

1229
00:49:56,906 --> 00:49:58,800
one other uh entity uh while I'm 

1230
00:49:59,030 --> 00:50:00,974
chatting here and , and that's the 

1231
00:50:00,974 --> 00:50:03,739
United States Congress because , uh uh 

1232
00:50:03,750 --> 00:50:06,199
as uh General Milley went through the 

1233
00:50:06,209 --> 00:50:08,431
higher state of operational readiness . 

1234
00:50:08,431 --> 00:50:10,431
We have and some of the things that 

1235
00:50:10,431 --> 00:50:12,653
have been accomplished and it struck me 

1236
00:50:12,653 --> 00:50:15,510
that Congress uh , has actually given 

1237
00:50:15,520 --> 00:50:17,687
the , uh , the Department of Defense . 

1238
00:50:17,687 --> 00:50:19,742
And there's some differences even on 

1239
00:50:19,742 --> 00:50:21,964
this panel about that , more money than 

1240
00:50:21,964 --> 00:50:23,909
President Trump asked for and more 

1241
00:50:23,909 --> 00:50:25,964
money than President Biden has asked 

1242
00:50:25,964 --> 00:50:28,020
for . So Congress is in , in a sense 

1243
00:50:28,020 --> 00:50:30,131
responsible for those higher rates of 

1244
00:50:30,131 --> 00:50:32,298
rights because we've used our judgment 

1245
00:50:32,298 --> 00:50:34,409
to say whatever the President's asked 

1246
00:50:34,409 --> 00:50:37,090
for may all be good . We think we need 

1247
00:50:37,100 --> 00:50:39,156
a little bit more . And I think that 

1248
00:50:39,156 --> 00:50:41,211
that comes out of some of the things 

1249
00:50:41,211 --> 00:50:43,267
that happened with sequester and the 

1250
00:50:43,267 --> 00:50:45,489
Budget Control Act during the uh during 

1251
00:50:45,489 --> 00:50:47,544
President Obama's era . But anyway , 

1252
00:50:47,544 --> 00:50:49,433
tho those things have led us to a 

1253
00:50:49,433 --> 00:50:51,489
better position and uh my hope is uh 

1254
00:50:51,489 --> 00:50:53,822
we'll do that again . Quite frankly . I , 

1255
00:50:53,822 --> 00:50:55,989
I think your budget , there's a lot of 

1256
00:50:55,989 --> 00:50:55,659
good things in here . I think it needs 

1257
00:50:55,669 --> 00:50:57,969
to be more , you know , 3.2% in , in an 

1258
00:50:57,979 --> 00:51:01,149
era of 6% . Inflation is effectively a 

1259
00:51:01,159 --> 00:51:03,510
cut in inflation adjusted dollars . 

1260
00:51:03,669 --> 00:51:05,830
There's two areas I want both ask you 

1261
00:51:05,840 --> 00:51:08,399
about and flag for you that uh and for 

1262
00:51:08,409 --> 00:51:10,298
the committee that I'll , I'll be 

1263
00:51:10,298 --> 00:51:12,242
working on and uh it's uh somewhat 

1264
00:51:12,242 --> 00:51:14,242
parochial , but I think it's in the 

1265
00:51:14,242 --> 00:51:17,100
national interest . Um The first is 

1266
00:51:17,110 --> 00:51:19,110
disappointing to see , particularly 

1267
00:51:19,110 --> 00:51:21,166
given the importance of artillery as 

1268
00:51:21,166 --> 00:51:24,120
we've seen in um uh the situation in 

1269
00:51:24,129 --> 00:51:26,296
Ukraine to see for the third year in a 

1270
00:51:26,296 --> 00:51:29,080
row , the army has cut the uh PM , the 

1271
00:51:29,090 --> 00:51:31,560
Patton Integrated Management program . 

1272
00:51:31,570 --> 00:51:33,699
We managed to restore those cuts last 

1273
00:51:33,709 --> 00:51:35,765
year . I think probably , you know , 

1274
00:51:35,765 --> 00:51:37,709
we're still furnishing that , that 

1275
00:51:37,709 --> 00:51:39,820
system to the active and the National 

1276
00:51:39,820 --> 00:51:41,987
Guard and we're now sending parts lots 

1277
00:51:41,987 --> 00:51:44,042
of it to our allies and , and to the 

1278
00:51:44,042 --> 00:51:47,060
Ukrainians as well . So uh I would just 

1279
00:51:47,070 --> 00:51:49,014
tell you there's not enough in the 

1280
00:51:49,014 --> 00:51:50,681
army's budget to maintain the 

1281
00:51:50,681 --> 00:51:53,260
production lines that exists there . So 

1282
00:51:53,270 --> 00:51:55,381
I would ask you to , you know why the 

1283
00:51:55,381 --> 00:51:57,699
cut and , and the answer may be that 

1284
00:51:57,709 --> 00:51:59,876
you just have too many other things to 

1285
00:51:59,876 --> 00:52:02,098
do . I get it . Your , your business is 

1286
00:52:02,098 --> 00:52:04,042
tough choices . That's , but I , I 

1287
00:52:04,042 --> 00:52:06,153
would argue that's a bad choice right 

1288
00:52:06,153 --> 00:52:08,320
now , particularly given the situation 

1289
00:52:08,320 --> 00:52:10,487
in Ukraine . The second is one that is 

1290
00:52:10,487 --> 00:52:09,860
something that we all want to 

1291
00:52:09,870 --> 00:52:11,814
accomplish together . I just worry 

1292
00:52:11,814 --> 00:52:14,020
about the rate of it . Um And that's 

1293
00:52:14,030 --> 00:52:16,729
the transition from the E three to E 

1294
00:52:16,739 --> 00:52:19,300
seven command and control platform . I 

1295
00:52:19,310 --> 00:52:21,143
have Tinker Air Force Base in my 

1296
00:52:21,143 --> 00:52:23,310
district . I have Fort Army Post in my 

1297
00:52:23,310 --> 00:52:26,199
district . Um and I'm all for 

1298
00:52:26,209 --> 00:52:28,590
transitioning from the E three to the E 

1299
00:52:28,600 --> 00:52:30,689
SEVEN . It's a good decision should 

1300
00:52:30,699 --> 00:52:32,921
have honestly been done some time ago , 

1301
00:52:32,989 --> 00:52:35,969
but the rate of retirement for those E 

1302
00:52:35,979 --> 00:52:38,419
threes is well ahead of the rate of 

1303
00:52:38,429 --> 00:52:41,030
acquisition . Uh And that's partly just 

1304
00:52:41,040 --> 00:52:43,340
a production problem . It takes a while 

1305
00:52:43,350 --> 00:52:45,406
to get a new aircraft up and running 

1306
00:52:45,406 --> 00:52:47,610
and I worry about that interim time 

1307
00:52:47,620 --> 00:52:49,453
because I think we are in a very 

1308
00:52:49,453 --> 00:52:51,676
dangerous world here where you're gonna 

1309
00:52:51,676 --> 00:52:53,898
lose capacity . I'm not for keeping the 

1310
00:52:53,898 --> 00:52:55,842
E threes . I just want to retire , 

1311
00:52:55,842 --> 00:52:58,649
bring on E Sevens as we retire E three 

1312
00:52:58,659 --> 00:53:01,379
so that we never put uh you in the 

1313
00:53:01,389 --> 00:53:03,333
situation where you have to deny a 

1314
00:53:03,333 --> 00:53:06,169
combatant commander some capability 

1315
00:53:06,179 --> 00:53:08,489
that he or she thinks they need . Uh 

1316
00:53:08,500 --> 00:53:10,750
And those are two , I would just flag 

1317
00:53:10,760 --> 00:53:12,989
for you and then ask for any response 

1318
00:53:13,000 --> 00:53:15,111
about , uh , about either of those uh 

1319
00:53:15,111 --> 00:53:16,939
those uh items I mentioned . 

1320
00:53:21,000 --> 00:53:23,610
Uh Well , first of all , let me thank 

1321
00:53:23,620 --> 00:53:27,139
you and , and the entire congress for , 

1322
00:53:27,649 --> 00:53:30,350
you know , your incredible support over 

1323
00:53:30,360 --> 00:53:32,582
the years . And I absolutely agree with 

1324
00:53:32,582 --> 00:53:34,749
you that , uh , we could not be who we 

1325
00:53:34,749 --> 00:53:36,971
are and do what we do without the , the 

1326
00:53:36,971 --> 00:53:38,749
tremendous support , tremendous 

1327
00:53:38,749 --> 00:53:40,638
congressional support that we are 

1328
00:53:40,638 --> 00:53:43,000
provided routinely . Uh So , uh uh 

1329
00:53:43,389 --> 00:53:46,550
thanks so much for that uh on the , 

1330
00:53:47,899 --> 00:53:50,870
um I , we continue to see the 

1331
00:53:50,879 --> 00:53:53,101
importance of artillery , you know , in 

1332
00:53:53,101 --> 00:53:55,323
the , in the war fighting . Of course , 

1333
00:53:55,323 --> 00:53:57,379
you've seen us really hustle to make 

1334
00:53:57,379 --> 00:53:59,657
sure that Ukrainians have not only the , 

1335
00:53:59,657 --> 00:54:01,768
the weapons systems but the munitions 

1336
00:54:01,768 --> 00:54:03,699
that they need to uh to remain 

1337
00:54:03,709 --> 00:54:06,830
effective uh in this fight . Um The 

1338
00:54:06,840 --> 00:54:10,310
army feels that uh uh the rate that 

1339
00:54:10,320 --> 00:54:12,209
they're , they're , they're being 

1340
00:54:12,209 --> 00:54:14,320
produced right now , uh that it meets 

1341
00:54:14,320 --> 00:54:16,320
their needs . Uh And it also allows 

1342
00:54:16,320 --> 00:54:18,790
them to invest in uh in future 

1343
00:54:18,800 --> 00:54:21,949
capabilities as well . And , and so as 

1344
00:54:21,959 --> 00:54:24,070
the needs change , then the army , of 

1345
00:54:24,070 --> 00:54:26,181
course , will just , just to make the 

1346
00:54:26,181 --> 00:54:28,292
point , Mr Secretary not to interrupt 

1347
00:54:28,292 --> 00:54:30,181
you , it meets your needs because 

1348
00:54:30,181 --> 00:54:32,403
Congress put more of them in there than 

1349
00:54:32,403 --> 00:54:34,292
you asked for last time and we're 

1350
00:54:34,292 --> 00:54:36,515
reverting back to the same number . And 

1351
00:54:36,515 --> 00:54:38,737
I would just suggest , look , you got a 

1352
00:54:38,737 --> 00:54:40,848
lot of stuff across a lot of areas to 

1353
00:54:40,848 --> 00:54:40,330
deal with and I respect that you have 

1354
00:54:40,340 --> 00:54:42,618
to make a lot of really hard decisions . 

1355
00:54:42,618 --> 00:54:45,739
This one I think is one that uh you run 

1356
00:54:45,750 --> 00:54:47,861
the risk of shutting down the line to 

1357
00:54:47,861 --> 00:54:49,669
some degree . So , I mean , we 

1358
00:54:49,679 --> 00:54:51,790
intervened the last two times and got 

1359
00:54:51,790 --> 00:54:53,901
it and , and again , you got what you 

1360
00:54:53,901 --> 00:54:56,068
need . Uh Maybe we can do that again , 

1361
00:54:56,068 --> 00:54:58,235
but uh I , I don't think they're being 

1362
00:54:58,235 --> 00:55:00,290
produced at the rate we need in your 

1363
00:55:00,290 --> 00:55:02,512
budget . They are being produced at the 

1364
00:55:02,512 --> 00:55:04,729
rate we need right now . So I 

1365
00:55:04,739 --> 00:55:06,906
interrupted you and I apologize , went 

1366
00:55:06,906 --> 00:55:08,969
overtime . You back . Thanks . And 

1367
00:55:08,979 --> 00:55:12,530
gentlemen , uh Mr Russ Russ . Excuse me , 

1368
00:55:12,540 --> 00:55:14,780
thank you . Thank you , Mr Chair a long 

1369
00:55:14,790 --> 00:55:16,901
time to get it right . But you did it 

1370
00:55:16,901 --> 00:55:19,179
well , thank you . Um First thing um I , 

1371
00:55:19,179 --> 00:55:21,520
I want to acknowledge the leadership of 

1372
00:55:21,530 --> 00:55:24,399
uh both of you uh throughout my years , 

1373
00:55:24,409 --> 00:55:26,131
I've worked with you in Iraq , 

1374
00:55:26,131 --> 00:55:28,600
Afghanistan and you are some of the uh 

1375
00:55:28,610 --> 00:55:30,800
the better leaders that I've worked 

1376
00:55:30,810 --> 00:55:32,866
with and uh you're doing a great job 

1377
00:55:32,866 --> 00:55:35,989
and I wanna acknowledge that . Um I'm 

1378
00:55:36,000 --> 00:55:38,222
gonna ask two questions , one of one of 

1379
00:55:38,222 --> 00:55:40,770
each . Uh first thing um I'm deeply 

1380
00:55:40,780 --> 00:55:43,419
concerned about uh and this is to 

1381
00:55:43,429 --> 00:55:45,649
generally , uh I'm deeply concerned 

1382
00:55:45,659 --> 00:55:48,040
about efforts to reduce our defense top 

1383
00:55:48,050 --> 00:55:50,219
line to previous years level , 

1384
00:55:50,310 --> 00:55:52,699
especially as China increases its own 

1385
00:55:52,709 --> 00:55:55,939
military spending uh each year , if we 

1386
00:55:55,949 --> 00:55:57,838
don't prioritize investing in our 

1387
00:55:57,838 --> 00:56:01,280
national security today , uh I fear we , 

1388
00:56:01,290 --> 00:56:04,070
we risk a much costlier fight with 

1389
00:56:04,080 --> 00:56:06,500
China down the road Whenever that may 

1390
00:56:06,510 --> 00:56:10,149
be uh whether it's 2025 , 10 years , 20 

1391
00:56:10,159 --> 00:56:12,810
years , 30 years General Milley , can 

1392
00:56:12,820 --> 00:56:15,560
you please describe the strategic uh 

1393
00:56:15,570 --> 00:56:18,439
advantages we would be handing over to 

1394
00:56:18,449 --> 00:56:21,810
the Chinese Communist Party if the 2024 

1395
00:56:21,820 --> 00:56:24,500
defense budget top line were to return 

1396
00:56:24,510 --> 00:56:28,280
to what it was in fiscal year 2022 or 

1397
00:56:28,370 --> 00:56:30,850
if we were to pass the budget a year 

1398
00:56:30,860 --> 00:56:34,800
late . Well , in , in both 

1399
00:56:34,810 --> 00:56:37,360
cases , we would have to , uh cut a 

1400
00:56:37,419 --> 00:56:39,530
significant amount of programs . Uh , 

1401
00:56:39,850 --> 00:56:41,794
uh Congressman Cole just mentioned 

1402
00:56:41,794 --> 00:56:43,961
artillery , for example , we know that 

1403
00:56:43,961 --> 00:56:45,628
artillery inflicts 70% of all 

1404
00:56:45,628 --> 00:56:47,850
casualties in , in warfare . Um We know 

1405
00:56:47,850 --> 00:56:49,961
that uh other things , shipbuilding , 

1406
00:56:49,961 --> 00:56:52,183
for example , F-35 , all these programs 

1407
00:56:52,183 --> 00:56:54,294
we're gonna have to , would have to , 

1408
00:56:54,294 --> 00:56:56,294
uh , get cut back . Um , and that's 

1409
00:56:56,294 --> 00:56:58,239
unfortunate . The other thing that 

1410
00:56:58,239 --> 00:57:00,406
would be cut is readiness . Uh We know 

1411
00:57:00,406 --> 00:57:00,100
that if budgets aren't passed on time , 

1412
00:57:00,110 --> 00:57:02,399
you can't do a multi year contracts . 

1413
00:57:02,409 --> 00:57:04,576
You can't give , uh , you can't , uh , 

1414
00:57:04,576 --> 00:57:06,649
lock in , uh for industry , uh , the 

1415
00:57:06,659 --> 00:57:08,881
amount of ammunition , the amount of uh 

1416
00:57:08,881 --> 00:57:11,048
platforms you need , etcetera . Uh And 

1417
00:57:11,048 --> 00:57:13,215
then for training and readiness , uh , 

1418
00:57:13,215 --> 00:57:15,326
we've gone through this drill several 

1419
00:57:15,326 --> 00:57:14,629
times . We've , we've got all kinds of 

1420
00:57:14,639 --> 00:57:16,699
analysis that shows , uh , that our 

1421
00:57:16,709 --> 00:57:19,260
training would be reduced significantly . 

1422
00:57:19,419 --> 00:57:21,419
Uh Our exercises la last year . For 

1423
00:57:21,429 --> 00:57:23,479
example , we did , like I said , 63 

1424
00:57:23,489 --> 00:57:25,656
just last month , month , 63 exercises 

1425
00:57:25,656 --> 00:57:27,878
around the world and we did 23 C T CS . 

1426
00:57:27,878 --> 00:57:29,878
We've got guys going through uh all 

1427
00:57:29,878 --> 00:57:31,989
kinds of uh aviation training . We're 

1428
00:57:31,989 --> 00:57:34,045
dropping a lot of bombs . Our pilots 

1429
00:57:34,045 --> 00:57:36,156
are flying a lot of hours . All those 

1430
00:57:36,156 --> 00:57:35,794
things would come down , all your 

1431
00:57:35,804 --> 00:57:37,693
readiness levels , all everything 

1432
00:57:37,693 --> 00:57:39,915
that's been achieved over the last 3456 

1433
00:57:39,915 --> 00:57:42,137
years , seven years , all of that would 

1434
00:57:42,137 --> 00:57:44,248
start going in the opposite direction 

1435
00:57:44,248 --> 00:57:46,471
uh with continued resolutions or if you 

1436
00:57:46,471 --> 00:57:48,693
went back and you , you went back uh to 

1437
00:57:48,693 --> 00:57:50,860
previous budgets . Uh I think it would 

1438
00:57:50,860 --> 00:57:50,145
be very significant and the risk would 

1439
00:57:50,155 --> 00:57:52,266
increase with China , it would be the 

1440
00:57:52,266 --> 00:57:54,709
wrong signal to send , send . Well , um 

1441
00:57:54,959 --> 00:57:57,181
I think there are a lot of people agree 

1442
00:57:57,181 --> 00:57:59,348
with you . There are others that don't 

1443
00:57:59,348 --> 00:58:01,292
and it's important that we get the 

1444
00:58:01,292 --> 00:58:03,403
facts out . And as I said before , uh 

1445
00:58:03,403 --> 00:58:05,459
you two have a tremendous , a lot of 

1446
00:58:05,459 --> 00:58:07,681
experience in this role and we're gonna 

1447
00:58:07,681 --> 00:58:09,403
have to rely on you a lot . Um 

1448
00:58:09,403 --> 00:58:13,320
Secretary Austin um And in building 

1449
00:58:13,330 --> 00:58:15,163
off of what I just talked to the 

1450
00:58:15,163 --> 00:58:17,659
general about , um my second question 

1451
00:58:17,669 --> 00:58:19,459
for you is about the impact of 

1452
00:58:19,469 --> 00:58:22,080
potentially reducing the department , 

1453
00:58:22,090 --> 00:58:25,199
civilian workforce to offset top line 

1454
00:58:25,209 --> 00:58:27,399
cuts . As you know , the department 

1455
00:58:27,409 --> 00:58:30,409
faces a lot of challenges in hiring and 

1456
00:58:30,419 --> 00:58:34,100
retaining a its civilian cyber security 

1457
00:58:34,110 --> 00:58:37,159
workforce due to attrition and loss of 

1458
00:58:37,169 --> 00:58:40,229
talent to the private sector . Um And I 

1459
00:58:40,239 --> 00:58:43,129
do represent NSA And I have for 20 

1460
00:58:43,139 --> 00:58:46,360
years um , how , how will cut the 

1461
00:58:46,370 --> 00:58:48,739
department's civilian cybersecurity , 

1462
00:58:48,750 --> 00:58:51,149
workforce further exacerbate this 

1463
00:58:51,159 --> 00:58:54,239
problem and make us more vulnerable to 

1464
00:58:54,250 --> 00:58:58,169
cyber attacks by foreign actors . Oh , 

1465
00:58:58,179 --> 00:59:01,120
it'll , it'll be , uh , it will have a 

1466
00:59:01,129 --> 00:59:03,659
significant impact , uh , as , you know , 

1467
00:59:03,760 --> 00:59:07,110
um , cyber threats , the , in this day 

1468
00:59:07,120 --> 00:59:09,600
and age are enormous and they come from 

1469
00:59:09,610 --> 00:59:12,590
every corner of the globe and , and so 

1470
00:59:12,600 --> 00:59:14,433
our , the , the force that we've 

1471
00:59:14,433 --> 00:59:16,489
developed , I think we've done a , a 

1472
00:59:16,489 --> 00:59:18,656
really good job of uh putting together 

1473
00:59:18,656 --> 00:59:20,878
a significant capability that allows us 

1474
00:59:20,878 --> 00:59:23,830
to protect our interests uh and support 

1475
00:59:23,840 --> 00:59:26,479
our , our overall uh uh national 

1476
00:59:26,489 --> 00:59:29,000
defense strategy . Um We need the right 

1477
00:59:29,010 --> 00:59:31,232
people . We need the talented people to 

1478
00:59:31,232 --> 00:59:33,949
your point , sir . Uh to be able to uh 

1479
00:59:34,030 --> 00:59:36,141
to continue to do the work that we're 

1480
00:59:36,141 --> 00:59:38,363
doing . Now , we , we've really pressed 

1481
00:59:38,363 --> 00:59:40,419
hard to make sure that uh you know , 

1482
00:59:40,419 --> 00:59:42,474
we're going after the right people . 

1483
00:59:42,474 --> 00:59:44,641
We're providing initiatives . Uh We're 

1484
00:59:44,641 --> 00:59:46,974
mindful of the fact that this is a very , 

1485
00:59:46,974 --> 00:59:49,141
very competitive uh field . And uh and 

1486
00:59:49,141 --> 00:59:51,308
so we have to do what we need to do to 

1487
00:59:51,308 --> 00:59:53,419
make sure we get the right people and 

1488
00:59:53,419 --> 00:59:55,641
we can retain the right people . But to 

1489
00:59:55,641 --> 00:59:57,752
your point , if we cut those kinds of 

1490
00:59:57,752 --> 00:59:59,752
people , and I think it will have a 

1491
00:59:59,752 --> 01:00:01,919
significant impact on our war fighting 

1492
01:00:01,919 --> 01:00:03,697
capability . Thank you for your 

1493
01:00:03,697 --> 01:00:06,090
testimony and I yield back . Thank you , 

1494
01:00:06,100 --> 01:00:08,267
Mr Roper's Burger . I gotta write that 

1495
01:00:08,267 --> 01:00:10,739
down , Mr Womack . Thank you , Mr 

1496
01:00:10,750 --> 01:00:12,917
Chairman , uh Secretary Austin General 

1497
01:00:12,917 --> 01:00:15,139
Milley . Great to have both of you here 

1498
01:00:15,139 --> 01:00:17,028
again . I echo the comments of my 

1499
01:00:17,028 --> 01:00:18,972
colleagues in appreciation of your 

1500
01:00:18,972 --> 01:00:21,139
service . General Milley personally to 

1501
01:00:21,139 --> 01:00:23,139
you . Thank you for all that you've 

1502
01:00:23,139 --> 01:00:25,194
done for this country . Um I'll miss 

1503
01:00:25,194 --> 01:00:27,139
working with you though . I'm sure 

1504
01:00:27,139 --> 01:00:29,306
you're not gonna miss sitting in these 

1505
01:00:29,306 --> 01:00:31,472
hearings in front of these panels . Uh 

1506
01:00:31,472 --> 01:00:33,806
When you , when you leave your position , 

1507
01:00:33,806 --> 01:00:37,360
um Secretary Austin , this , this is a 

1508
01:00:37,370 --> 01:00:40,399
question pretty much for you , but I'm 

1509
01:00:40,409 --> 01:00:42,631
a big believer as my colleagues know in 

1510
01:00:42,631 --> 01:00:44,853
the state Partnership program , I think 

1511
01:00:44,853 --> 01:00:47,076
they've added a lot of value around the 

1512
01:00:47,076 --> 01:00:48,965
globe where we have those . Um no 

1513
01:00:48,965 --> 01:00:50,576
better example than what the 

1514
01:00:50,576 --> 01:00:52,576
Californians did with Ukrainians uh 

1515
01:00:52,576 --> 01:00:56,060
over time and , and , and I just 

1516
01:00:56,070 --> 01:00:58,181
believe it , it brings a lot of value 

1517
01:00:58,181 --> 01:01:01,090
to uh not only the partner nations but 

1518
01:01:01,209 --> 01:01:03,350
for our own forces for , for the 

1519
01:01:03,360 --> 01:01:05,138
National Guard troops to get an 

1520
01:01:05,138 --> 01:01:07,193
opportunity to do some training with 

1521
01:01:07,193 --> 01:01:10,370
these partners . Um This is related to 

1522
01:01:10,379 --> 01:01:12,699
Taiwan and as Chairman Calvert said , a 

1523
01:01:12,709 --> 01:01:15,030
delegation of us just recently visited 

1524
01:01:15,040 --> 01:01:18,770
there . I I I wonder how 

1525
01:01:18,780 --> 01:01:21,379
best we can help our Taiwanese friends 

1526
01:01:21,760 --> 01:01:24,639
uh prepare for contingencies and is a 

1527
01:01:25,300 --> 01:01:27,560
state partnership or a modified program 

1528
01:01:27,570 --> 01:01:29,737
like the State Partnership program for 

1529
01:01:29,737 --> 01:01:33,179
Taiwan ? Is it advisable , practical uh 

1530
01:01:33,189 --> 01:01:35,760
possible ? Uh What would be your 

1531
01:01:35,770 --> 01:01:37,326
comments ? Why or why not ? 

1532
01:01:40,340 --> 01:01:42,451
I , I , I think it is and , and , and 

1533
01:01:42,459 --> 01:01:44,515
since you were just there , you know 

1534
01:01:44,515 --> 01:01:46,570
that we have a number of uh National 

1535
01:01:46,570 --> 01:01:48,500
Guard Elements uh that have been 

1536
01:01:48,510 --> 01:01:51,199
working with our , with uh with our 

1537
01:01:51,209 --> 01:01:53,649
partners in Taiwan and uh and , and 

1538
01:01:53,949 --> 01:01:57,409
increasing uh their um their 

1539
01:01:57,419 --> 01:02:00,030
proficiency in a number of areas . Uh 

1540
01:02:00,239 --> 01:02:03,590
to your point , this program adds value 

1541
01:02:03,600 --> 01:02:05,600
uh wherever we are , wherever we're 

1542
01:02:05,600 --> 01:02:07,929
partnered with uh with uh around the 

1543
01:02:07,939 --> 01:02:10,219
globe . Uh And , and , and I think the 

1544
01:02:10,229 --> 01:02:12,285
point that you , uh the example that 

1545
01:02:12,285 --> 01:02:14,285
you use is a great one . You know , 

1546
01:02:14,285 --> 01:02:16,340
Ukrainians uh benefited greatly from 

1547
01:02:16,340 --> 01:02:18,451
all the work that the , the guardsmen 

1548
01:02:18,451 --> 01:02:20,507
did , uh you know , over the years . 

1549
01:02:20,709 --> 01:02:23,469
But yes , I believe that uh that our 

1550
01:02:23,479 --> 01:02:26,020
continued work uh in with the guardsmen 

1551
01:02:26,030 --> 01:02:28,260
in uh in Taiwan , I think will be , 

1552
01:02:28,270 --> 01:02:30,492
will be very , very valuable . So we'll 

1553
01:02:30,492 --> 01:02:32,714
continue to , to , to work to structure 

1554
01:02:32,714 --> 01:02:34,889
this so that we optimize uh you know , 

1555
01:02:34,899 --> 01:02:37,239
the effort of the Guard and uh and it 

1556
01:02:37,250 --> 01:02:40,010
complements uh all the other things 

1557
01:02:40,020 --> 01:02:42,076
that we're doing with the , with the 

1558
01:02:42,076 --> 01:02:44,340
Taiwan's Mr Secretary , the Compacts of 

1559
01:02:44,350 --> 01:02:46,294
Free Association with the Marshall 

1560
01:02:46,294 --> 01:02:48,340
Islands and Micronesia are up for 

1561
01:02:48,350 --> 01:02:50,572
renewal in the coming months with Palau 

1562
01:02:50,572 --> 01:02:53,080
expiring next year . I understand the 

1563
01:02:53,090 --> 01:02:55,034
defense provisions of the existing 

1564
01:02:55,034 --> 01:02:57,959
compacts remain valid regardless of 

1565
01:02:57,969 --> 01:03:00,139
renewal . Uh That being said , the 

1566
01:03:00,149 --> 01:03:02,149
incentives of the freely associated 

1567
01:03:02,149 --> 01:03:03,927
states to continue the security 

1568
01:03:03,927 --> 01:03:06,093
relationships expire with the economic 

1569
01:03:06,093 --> 01:03:09,209
assistance because of their strategic 

1570
01:03:09,219 --> 01:03:12,090
location to our military assets present 

1571
01:03:12,100 --> 01:03:14,679
in the countries . These partner states 

1572
01:03:14,689 --> 01:03:16,745
seem to provide key terrain that can 

1573
01:03:16,745 --> 01:03:18,911
help advance our strategic goals as we 

1574
01:03:18,911 --> 01:03:21,209
concentrate on the Indo Pacific region . 

1575
01:03:21,810 --> 01:03:23,800
While at the same time helping us 

1576
01:03:23,810 --> 01:03:27,219
directly combat Chinese influence , can 

1577
01:03:27,229 --> 01:03:30,199
you uh articulate the importance of 

1578
01:03:30,209 --> 01:03:32,610
these compacts uh to the department 

1579
01:03:32,770 --> 01:03:36,139
extremely important ? Uh And uh and I , 

1580
01:03:36,149 --> 01:03:38,260
and I agree with the points that that 

1581
01:03:38,260 --> 01:03:40,427
you've made . Uh they , they , they do 

1582
01:03:40,427 --> 01:03:42,100
provide uh they 

1583
01:03:43,610 --> 01:03:46,969
magnify our efforts in terms of uh uh 

1584
01:03:46,979 --> 01:03:50,350
access presence . Uh And uh and I , so 

1585
01:03:50,360 --> 01:03:52,590
I think we will continue to do 

1586
01:03:52,600 --> 01:03:54,767
everything we can to make sure that uh 

1587
01:03:54,767 --> 01:03:56,878
we're strengthening our relationships 

1588
01:03:56,969 --> 01:03:59,520
and that uh we're , we're whatever a 

1589
01:03:59,550 --> 01:04:01,717
additional access we can we can gain . 

1590
01:04:01,717 --> 01:04:03,828
And uh we , we , we're gonna continue 

1591
01:04:03,828 --> 01:04:06,570
to do that . So um the department's 

1592
01:04:06,580 --> 01:04:08,580
budget this year includes requested 

1593
01:04:08,580 --> 01:04:10,802
multiyear procurement authorities . And 

1594
01:04:10,802 --> 01:04:12,858
we've already talked to in , in your 

1595
01:04:12,858 --> 01:04:15,024
opening statement about that . This is 

1596
01:04:15,024 --> 01:04:17,247
a question basically for Mr mccord . Uh 

1597
01:04:17,247 --> 01:04:19,469
these multiyear procurement authorities 

1598
01:04:19,469 --> 01:04:21,636
are not typical for munitions but have 

1599
01:04:21,636 --> 01:04:23,524
been used when procuring large uh 

1600
01:04:23,524 --> 01:04:25,747
systems such as aircraft and ships . Uh 

1601
01:04:25,747 --> 01:04:28,800
Mr mccord . Can you expound on why the 

1602
01:04:28,810 --> 01:04:31,189
dod went this route with munitions and 

1603
01:04:31,199 --> 01:04:34,010
how you selected the , the munitions 

1604
01:04:34,020 --> 01:04:36,310
that uh I should have mentioned in my 

1605
01:04:36,320 --> 01:04:38,487
uh the beginning of the question , the 

1606
01:04:38,487 --> 01:04:42,100
S M six M Ram Lara , this sort of thing . 

1607
01:04:42,110 --> 01:04:44,919
So can you expand on that ? Yes . Uh 

1608
01:04:44,929 --> 01:04:48,540
Thank , thank you , Mr Yes . The um the 

1609
01:04:48,550 --> 01:04:50,606
thought had been for many years that 

1610
01:04:50,606 --> 01:04:52,661
you buy missiles in , in , in enough 

1611
01:04:52,661 --> 01:04:54,717
quantities that a multi year isn't , 

1612
01:04:54,717 --> 01:04:56,939
wasn't necessary . But what we found uh 

1613
01:04:56,939 --> 01:04:59,050
clearly with Ukraine was was that the 

1614
01:04:59,050 --> 01:05:00,939
the industrial base there on more 

1615
01:05:00,939 --> 01:05:03,106
ground focused munitions was not agile 

1616
01:05:03,106 --> 01:05:05,217
enough . Uh Due to a number factors , 

1617
01:05:05,217 --> 01:05:07,217
the secretary has already mentioned 

1618
01:05:07,217 --> 01:05:09,550
supply chain issues , common components , 

1619
01:05:09,550 --> 01:05:11,780
um uh workforce issues in the COVID era 

1620
01:05:11,790 --> 01:05:13,846
that have , that have decreased that 

1621
01:05:13,846 --> 01:05:16,090
agility . So the effort that , that we 

1622
01:05:16,100 --> 01:05:18,044
undertook in the department really 

1623
01:05:18,044 --> 01:05:20,267
under Deputy Secretary Hicks leadership 

1624
01:05:20,267 --> 01:05:22,489
was to do , do the thinking about where 

1625
01:05:22,489 --> 01:05:24,656
would we like to be in a few years for 

1626
01:05:24,656 --> 01:05:26,600
the , for the more uh larger scale 

1627
01:05:26,600 --> 01:05:29,060
pacific contingencies and start taking 

1628
01:05:29,070 --> 01:05:31,126
those steps ? Now things that , that 

1629
01:05:31,126 --> 01:05:33,126
ideally maybe if you had known four 

1630
01:05:33,126 --> 01:05:35,237
years ago where you'd be in Ukraine , 

1631
01:05:35,237 --> 01:05:37,292
you could have done some of those on 

1632
01:05:37,292 --> 01:05:39,403
the ground side . And that's what led 

1633
01:05:39,403 --> 01:05:41,626
to what we're doing here is to expand , 

1634
01:05:41,626 --> 01:05:41,100
as you said , for the first time into 

1635
01:05:41,110 --> 01:05:44,479
the world . And also to we , we have a 

1636
01:05:44,489 --> 01:05:46,489
concept we've been working on in my 

1637
01:05:46,489 --> 01:05:48,489
team for some years of having multi 

1638
01:05:48,489 --> 01:05:50,545
years that overlapped and reinforced 

1639
01:05:50,545 --> 01:05:52,656
because so many of these missiles are 

1640
01:05:52,656 --> 01:05:54,989
produced in one by one or two companies . 

1641
01:05:54,989 --> 01:05:54,899
And so we brought that concept in as 

1642
01:05:54,909 --> 01:05:57,350
well . Um We , we do believe that this 

1643
01:05:57,360 --> 01:05:59,193
is going as the secretary said , 

1644
01:05:59,199 --> 01:06:02,080
provide more of a stability signal uh 

1645
01:06:02,090 --> 01:06:04,530
that companies rely on because this is 

1646
01:06:04,540 --> 01:06:06,540
a space in the budget where there's 

1647
01:06:06,540 --> 01:06:08,540
been a little more fluctuation than 

1648
01:06:08,540 --> 01:06:10,373
there has been on something like 

1649
01:06:10,373 --> 01:06:12,373
submarines where we also have multi 

1650
01:06:12,373 --> 01:06:14,429
years . And so we're trying to bring 

1651
01:06:14,429 --> 01:06:16,651
stability as one of the tools we need . 

1652
01:06:16,651 --> 01:06:18,818
It's not the , it's not the only thing 

1653
01:06:18,818 --> 01:06:18,709
that needs to happen in terms of the 

1654
01:06:18,719 --> 01:06:20,886
health of the industrial base , but we 

1655
01:06:20,886 --> 01:06:23,108
think it's gonna be a big thing that we 

1656
01:06:23,108 --> 01:06:25,441
can do to position ourselves better for , 

1657
01:06:25,441 --> 01:06:27,663
particularly for , for the larger scale 

1658
01:06:27,663 --> 01:06:29,886
uh contingencies . Sorry for going over 

1659
01:06:29,886 --> 01:06:33,030
Miss Chairman . Thank you uh Mr 

1660
01:06:34,060 --> 01:06:36,810
Thank you , Mr Chairman . Um I wanna 

1661
01:06:36,820 --> 01:06:39,169
thank all of y'all uh for your service . 

1662
01:06:39,179 --> 01:06:41,689
Uh General Billy . I'm glad you still 

1663
01:06:41,699 --> 01:06:44,199
have your Texas license uh as you look 

1664
01:06:44,209 --> 01:06:46,153
at the next phase . Uh but I wanna 

1665
01:06:46,153 --> 01:06:48,409
thank all of you uh Mr Secretary . I , 

1666
01:06:48,419 --> 01:06:51,110
I wanna ask you one question . Uh but 

1667
01:06:51,120 --> 01:06:54,649
let me just lay out uh the 

1668
01:06:54,659 --> 01:06:58,040
facts . Uh Do you believe that great 

1669
01:06:58,050 --> 01:06:59,899
power competition in the western 

1670
01:06:59,909 --> 01:07:02,770
hemisphere is a defense issue ? Now , 

1671
01:07:02,780 --> 01:07:04,780
we know the importance of the state 

1672
01:07:04,780 --> 01:07:06,836
department , us ID and Department of 

1673
01:07:06,836 --> 01:07:08,613
Commerce and everybody else . I 

1674
01:07:08,613 --> 01:07:10,224
understand all that . It's a 

1675
01:07:10,224 --> 01:07:12,447
comprehensive approach , but I listened 

1676
01:07:12,447 --> 01:07:14,959
to the answer that you gave um Miss 

1677
01:07:14,969 --> 01:07:17,810
Granger and you talked about what South 

1678
01:07:17,850 --> 01:07:20,017
comm is doing and all the work they're 

1679
01:07:20,017 --> 01:07:22,370
doing that . But I noticed you left 

1680
01:07:22,550 --> 01:07:26,010
North comm which has Mexico because 

1681
01:07:26,020 --> 01:07:28,520
right now you have south comm covers 

1682
01:07:28,530 --> 01:07:32,290
everything south of Mexico . Uh And if 

1683
01:07:32,300 --> 01:07:35,989
you look at what China is doing , um 

1684
01:07:36,560 --> 01:07:39,399
36% of their total food imports comes 

1685
01:07:39,409 --> 01:07:42,149
from Latin America and the Caribbean . 

1686
01:07:42,489 --> 01:07:45,610
Uh when you look at the um 

1687
01:07:45,719 --> 01:07:48,350
lithium reserves and all that , it's in 

1688
01:07:48,360 --> 01:07:50,959
that area of responsibility , you look 

1689
01:07:50,969 --> 01:07:53,025
at infrastructure projects . I don't 

1690
01:07:53,025 --> 01:07:55,191
wanna go through all of them , but you 

1691
01:07:55,191 --> 01:07:57,413
know , infrastructure projects , five G 

1692
01:07:57,413 --> 01:07:59,525
development , safe city projects , um 

1693
01:07:59,525 --> 01:08:01,840
space in infrastructure which is very 

1694
01:08:01,850 --> 01:08:03,850
important , what they're doing down 

1695
01:08:03,850 --> 01:08:06,260
there and so on and so on . Uh And 

1696
01:08:06,270 --> 01:08:10,120
that's China and Russia . But 

1697
01:08:10,129 --> 01:08:13,449
then if you look at , at um uh 

1698
01:08:13,459 --> 01:08:16,040
Mexico , which is right next door . Uh 

1699
01:08:16,049 --> 01:08:19,910
I'm concerned that north comm is 

1700
01:08:19,919 --> 01:08:22,419
not paying that much attention to them 

1701
01:08:22,430 --> 01:08:24,430
and I'm sure they're gonna say they 

1702
01:08:24,430 --> 01:08:26,430
disagree with me . I understand all 

1703
01:08:26,430 --> 01:08:29,500
that . Uh But we did ask uh follow up 

1704
01:08:29,509 --> 01:08:31,398
information . I think we're still 

1705
01:08:31,398 --> 01:08:33,398
waiting for that follow information 

1706
01:08:33,398 --> 01:08:35,565
after we had the North Commander . But 

1707
01:08:35,565 --> 01:08:37,565
just to give you , we just got back 

1708
01:08:37,565 --> 01:08:39,810
from a bipartisan in uh meeting in , in 

1709
01:08:39,819 --> 01:08:43,438
Mexico uh fentaNYL . Uh And you know , 

1710
01:08:43,449 --> 01:08:45,671
the problem how many people it kills in 

1711
01:08:45,671 --> 01:08:47,616
the United States uh that fentaNYL 

1712
01:08:47,688 --> 01:08:49,269
precursors will go into . 

1713
01:08:51,789 --> 01:08:54,338
Uh And then about 75% of all the 

1714
01:08:54,349 --> 01:08:56,460
fentaNYL and fake pills moved through 

1715
01:08:56,460 --> 01:08:59,028
the Tijuana San Diego area . If you 

1716
01:08:59,039 --> 01:09:01,964
look at the geography itself , uh when 

1717
01:09:01,975 --> 01:09:04,086
you look at the critical locations of 

1718
01:09:04,086 --> 01:09:06,845
the PR C investments , uh there , a lot 

1719
01:09:06,854 --> 01:09:08,975
of them are close to our northern 

1720
01:09:08,984 --> 01:09:11,935
border lithium and other areas . When 

1721
01:09:11,944 --> 01:09:13,944
you look at the investments they've 

1722
01:09:13,944 --> 01:09:16,975
done in and which is where they get 

1723
01:09:16,984 --> 01:09:19,165
their shipments from China , you look 

1724
01:09:19,174 --> 01:09:21,884
at the new is courier that Mexico is 

1725
01:09:21,895 --> 01:09:24,117
doing , which is their new Panama Canal 

1726
01:09:24,117 --> 01:09:27,009
on land . Uh who is doing the 

1727
01:09:27,020 --> 01:09:29,187
investment in those two areas into the 

1728
01:09:29,187 --> 01:09:31,353
Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific . A lot 

1729
01:09:31,353 --> 01:09:34,600
of it's the Chinese and there's some 

1730
01:09:34,609 --> 01:09:36,720
other space infrastructure , things I 

1731
01:09:36,720 --> 01:09:39,890
cannot talk here at this location , but 

1732
01:09:39,899 --> 01:09:42,330
it's very concerning what we're seeing . 

1733
01:09:42,339 --> 01:09:44,839
So my question is , is there a way ? 

1734
01:09:45,129 --> 01:09:47,129
And I think we did ask for y'all to 

1735
01:09:47,129 --> 01:09:49,296
study whether Mexico should be part of 

1736
01:09:49,296 --> 01:09:51,573
South comm and I understand , you know , 

1737
01:09:51,573 --> 01:09:53,950
Mexico , Canada part of North . I 

1738
01:09:53,959 --> 01:09:56,189
understand all that , but either that 

1739
01:09:56,200 --> 01:09:58,367
or we get them to work a little closer 

1740
01:09:58,367 --> 01:10:00,144
together because I don't see an 

1741
01:10:00,144 --> 01:10:02,339
alignment that we do all this great 

1742
01:10:02,350 --> 01:10:04,669
work and we need more resources in 

1743
01:10:04,680 --> 01:10:07,569
South , but we're leaving out Mexico 

1744
01:10:07,580 --> 01:10:10,290
and that's I live in Laredo . I live 

1745
01:10:10,299 --> 01:10:12,521
just a few miles away from the border , 

1746
01:10:12,521 --> 01:10:14,521
just literally a few miles . So I'm 

1747
01:10:14,521 --> 01:10:16,632
concerned about that . So my question 

1748
01:10:16,632 --> 01:10:19,160
after I laid all that , uh do you think 

1749
01:10:19,169 --> 01:10:21,770
that great power competition uh is 

1750
01:10:21,779 --> 01:10:25,600
important uh part of , of the 

1751
01:10:25,609 --> 01:10:28,879
defense in the western hemisphere ? I , 

1752
01:10:28,890 --> 01:10:31,370
I , I certainly do . Uh Sir , and I 

1753
01:10:31,379 --> 01:10:33,120
would also say that all of our 

1754
01:10:33,129 --> 01:10:35,296
combatant commanders feel the same way 

1755
01:10:35,709 --> 01:10:37,820
and I'm sure that if General Van . He 

1756
01:10:37,820 --> 01:10:39,931
was sitting here today . He would say 

1757
01:10:39,931 --> 01:10:41,931
that this is an area that uh that's 

1758
01:10:41,931 --> 01:10:44,098
important to him . Uh I would also say 

1759
01:10:44,098 --> 01:10:45,931
that uh our combatant commanders 

1760
01:10:45,931 --> 01:10:49,600
routinely uh uh coordinate with each 

1761
01:10:49,609 --> 01:10:52,180
other pass information uh and , and 

1762
01:10:52,189 --> 01:10:54,660
work with each other to ensure that 

1763
01:10:54,669 --> 01:10:56,970
there are no significant gaps and seas 

1764
01:10:56,979 --> 01:10:59,049
between the , between the combatant 

1765
01:10:59,060 --> 01:11:02,160
commander areas of responsibility . Um 

1766
01:11:02,350 --> 01:11:04,239
I do know that General Man has uh 

1767
01:11:04,239 --> 01:11:07,540
continues to engage uh the leadership 

1768
01:11:07,549 --> 01:11:09,919
uh in uh in Mexico . I mean , that's 

1769
01:11:09,930 --> 01:11:13,140
routinely uh and , and uh and I , I 

1770
01:11:13,149 --> 01:11:15,316
would say that this is important , but 

1771
01:11:15,316 --> 01:11:17,538
we can never do enough . I'll make sure 

1772
01:11:17,538 --> 01:11:19,705
by the way that you get the answers to 

1773
01:11:19,705 --> 01:11:21,816
your questions . Uh And , and this is 

1774
01:11:21,816 --> 01:11:23,927
something that we need to continue to 

1775
01:11:23,927 --> 01:11:25,927
focus on . Uh and you mentioned the 

1776
01:11:25,927 --> 01:11:27,760
fentaNYL uh problem . It's uh uh 

1777
01:11:27,760 --> 01:11:29,871
primarily a , a law enforcement issue 

1778
01:11:29,871 --> 01:11:31,919
but , but you know , dod does will 

1779
01:11:31,930 --> 01:11:34,152
continue to do what it , what it can to 

1780
01:11:34,152 --> 01:11:36,374
support the overall whole of government 

1781
01:11:36,374 --> 01:11:38,597
effort in this regard . And , and we'll 

1782
01:11:38,597 --> 01:11:40,874
work with you in any way that we uh do . 

1783
01:11:40,874 --> 01:11:42,763
Uh my time is up but uh there was 

1784
01:11:42,763 --> 01:11:45,370
another young Hispanic soldier that 

1785
01:11:45,379 --> 01:11:47,819
died in Fort Hood besides Vanessa 

1786
01:11:47,830 --> 01:11:49,386
Guillen . I know there's an 

1787
01:11:49,386 --> 01:11:51,497
investigation . I'm talking to the uh 

1788
01:11:51,497 --> 01:11:53,552
Secretary of the Army tomorrow , but 

1789
01:11:53,552 --> 01:11:55,552
just wanna bring that up to y'all . 

1790
01:11:55,552 --> 01:11:57,886
Also not , not lost on us , sir . And a , 

1791
01:11:57,886 --> 01:12:00,052
a very , you know , my , my heart goes 

1792
01:12:00,052 --> 01:12:02,052
out to her family and uh and to her 

1793
01:12:02,052 --> 01:12:04,390
teammates . Uh and again , this will 

1794
01:12:04,399 --> 01:12:06,799
remain an area of focus for us . Thank 

1795
01:12:06,810 --> 01:12:07,890
you , Mr Secretary .