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All right , the chair will now 

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recognize the gentleman from California , 

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Mr Carbajal . 

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Thank you , Mr Chairman and thank you 

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to all the witnesses here today . Um 

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answering the good questions and the 

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silly questions . I was pleased to see 

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the release of the department's 

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commercial Space integration strategy . 

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The strategy mentions working to ensure 

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a safe , secure , stable and 

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sustainable space Domain Secretary 

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Austin and General Brown , what is a 

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sustainable space domain look like to 

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you ? And why is this important to 

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achieve ? I know it's a bit general . 

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Well , first of all , it means that we 

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have the right uh capabilities there to 

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provide uh um capabilities to the 

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to the operators on the surface of the 

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plant . Um It also means that uh 

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that we are , we have a diverse 

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capability and , and that we're 

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resilient so that uh we can respond to 

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challenges if , if we are challenged . 

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Uh so , and that's been our , our goal 

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to make sure that uh that we build , we 

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continue to build uh uh agility and , 

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and , and uh and redundancy and , and 

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uh i into our , into our space force 

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capability so that uh so that we can 

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meet challenges going forward . Thank 

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you , General Brown . I mean , I would 

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add to not only for our , our military 

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capabilities for us to be able to do 

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military operations , but it's also how 

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we protect our national interest in 

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having that capability uh and , and 

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space to uh uh deter activity , but uh 

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also prevent and respond uh because it 

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impacts not just uh our military but uh 

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how we are able to communicate , how we 

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do our , our uh our economic uh 

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transactions and , and many other areas 

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that are important to our security and , 

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and the things that we , we do as a 

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nation . Thank you , Secretary Austin . 

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Within the commercial space integration 

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strategy , 13 mission areas in national 

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security space are identified , six are 

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identified as primarily government , 

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six is hybrid and just one is primarily 

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commercial , which is space access , 

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mobility and logistics . How do you see 

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opportunities within the hybrid and 

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primarily commercial mission areas 

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growing for commercial space companies ? 

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Well , in terms of uh opportunities in 

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the commercial sector for us to work 

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together with the commercial sector , 

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uh You know , we account for that in 

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our strategy and uh we need to do more 

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to , to , to leverage um um what's in 

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the commercial sector and , and to work 

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together with the uh commercial sector . 

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I think uh they've demonstrated ability 

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to scale and speed some things that I 

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think will be continue to be useful to 

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us . Uh And so I think that 

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relationship is really important . So , 

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Secretary Austin , I appreciate you 

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acknowledging in your written testimony , 

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the department's failure to generate a 

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clean audit opinion as an issue . You 

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said you directed senior leaders to tie 

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performance results to the 

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organization's audit objectives . Can 

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you elaborate on what that looks like 

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in practice and has the directive 

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produced any results or improvements in 

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the audit ? And what other steps are 

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you taking to provide oversight of 

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taxpayer dollars ? 

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Well , being good stewards of taxpayer 

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dollars is uh is really important to us . 

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Uh And uh we do have the uh the means 

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of mechanisms in place to make sure 

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that we are uh spending in accordance 

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with uh congressional intent . Uh And 

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we review our activities and actions uh 

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routinely . Um in October , I published 

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a uh a memo to uh uh to dod and 

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emphasize the importance of uh uh 

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reaching our goal of uh having a clean 

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audit uh in , in the future . And I rec 

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we recognize that there are a number of 

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things that we need to do between now 

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and then to uh to achieve that 

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objective . Uh But leaders need to be 

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uh need to be focused on this and 

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invested in this . And , and so for 

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that reason , I , I think it's 

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important that uh you know , as leaders 

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are rated going forward , uh we , they 

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get feedback from their supervisors on 

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whether or not uh they're , they're 

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being supportive of the overall 

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objective , you , you either are or 

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you're not . You know , it's uh it's , 

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it's , it's pretty clear , it's a fact 

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and uh if they're not , then we need to 

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design those , those steps that we need 

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to take to make sure that we're coming 

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close to meeting our objectives . But 

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this is really important to us under uh 

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under secretary uh mccord and I have uh 

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have uh worked together hand in hand on 

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this for some time and we're both 

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committed to making sure that we get a 

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clean audit uh uh going forward . So 

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thank you , Mr Chair . I'm out of time . 

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I yield back , Jared . Thanks the 

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gentleman , Jared . I recognize you 

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from Florida . Mr Waltz . Thank you , 

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Mr Chairman . Uh Mr Secretary , ma'am , 

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if you could just step aside there . 

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Thank you . Uh Mr Secretary , uh 

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can you confidently say , I mean with 

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the American people watching that the 

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world is safer now , three years under 

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President Biden and your leadership . 

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Yes , I can , Mr Secretary , 

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I have a list here . Uh Where would you 

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say that we're safer ? Would you say 

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we're safer in Afghanistan ? Would you 

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say we're safer in the Middle East ? 

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Would you say we're safer in Africa ? 

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The Red Sea , Israel , Europe , South 

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China Sea , the homeland with FBI 

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director , talking about 300 people on 

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the terrorist watch list that's come 

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over our southern border . Where would 

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you say we're safer ? Well , we , we 

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certainly have uh worked hard to move 

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things to , to Mr Secretary . I know 

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we've worked hard to move things where , 

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I mean , it should be a simple answer . 

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You said yes , you could comfortably 

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say we are safer after three years of 

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Europe in the presidency . Where are we 

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safer ? Take a look at Europe ? For 

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example , what if we , what if we were 

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not doing what we're doing in support 

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of Ukraine ? Uh where , where would you 

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be right now ? Mr Secretary Europe has 

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the largest land war on your watch 

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on the president's watch . Deterrent 

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failed . Do you agree that deterrent ? 

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Do you think the deterrence worked in 

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Europe ? Putin was , was not gonna be 

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Putin was intent on , on , he could not 

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be deterred . Putin was intent on , on , 

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on uh invading Ukraine . He's been so 

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for a long time , he didn't recognize 

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you take that same moniker to the , to 

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the Pacific that she who's openly 

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talking about preparing for war , he's 

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gonna invade no matter what and 

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therefore can't be deterred . I mean , 

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this is , but he has , he has done that 

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and our goal is to make sure that he 

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doesn't do it . Isis is back but you , 

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but we failed to do that . You failed 

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to do that in Europe . I mean , 

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deterrence failed . Let's at least 

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agree that we may take action if we 

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were not doing what we were . What 

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we're doing . Secretary , your answer 

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is Europe is the sa is safer after 

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three years So I'm talking Red Sea , 

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I'm talking our ally Israel . I'm ta 

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talking about Isis is back Afghanistan . 

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The , the , the next Saigon it is , it 

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is a complex , uh , environment . Uh , 

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but , but without our , uh , work , 

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without our intervention in a number of 

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cases , it would be far , far worse . 

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You know , we , we have not only kept 

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any of it , you know , if you look at 

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what's going on in the Indo Pacific , 

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uh you know , our relationships there 

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are , are stronger than they , than 

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they've ever been . Uh And uh and again , 

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with your help , we continue to invest 

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in the capability capacity to make sure 

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we make , we're gonna state this right 

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here . The second Thomas Shoal off the 

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coast of the Philippines could be the 

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next flashpoint to launch World War 

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Three , our enemies and our adversaries 

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no longer respect and fear us and that 

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has happened and deteriorated 

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precipitously in the last three years . 

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And I find it astounding that your 

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answer of what's safer is Europe with 

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the death and destruction that's going 

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on there . But let's switch , there's 

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no , no question that it's a 

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challenging uh uh and complex 

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environment . But a again , without our 

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work , without our uh I have another 

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important issue and I just want your , 

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your , your answer on this . So let's 

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let's talk about the state of our 

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military . I have here pictures of mold 

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feces uh leaks . This 

217
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is just a sample of 10 facilities out 

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of the 500 under your leadership . 

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Should our soldiers be living in ? This 

220
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is unacceptable . And I , I would hope 

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as a commander , you would think so as 

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well . Uh Our troops deserve the very 

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best uh uh living quarters . And that's 

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why we're investing one . We're asking 

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you to invest $1.1 billion towards uh 

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unaccompanied housing in this budget 

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request . Actually , you have cuts of 

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370 million to the FSRM family sustain 

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facility , sustainment , restoration 

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and modernization . You also have a cut 

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to military construction and family 

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housing in your budget , Mr Secretary . 

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So let me just ask you for the and the 

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mold and the feces who's been fired at 

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those installations who's been held 

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accountable because your assistant 

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secretary testified no one in , in 

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terms of that particular um um 

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incidental issue . Uh I don't know of 

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anybody that's uh that was fired . 

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That's the problem . We have a lot , we 

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have a lot of talk about responsibility . 

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You're sending the signal of no 

244
00:10:01,517 --> 00:10:03,517
accountability . No one's been held 

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00:10:03,517 --> 00:10:05,683
accountable . And when that happens as 

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00:10:05,690 --> 00:10:07,801
a leader , you're sending the message 

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that this is acceptable G times expired 

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chair , not recognized General Lady 

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from California , Miss Jacobs . Uh 

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Thank you , Mr Chairman uh Secretary 

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Austin General Brown . Thanks so much 

252
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for being here today . Um I , I wanted 

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to uh ask you about what's happening uh 

254
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in Israel and Gaza . I know many of my 

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colleagues have already expressed , um , 

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discomfort at the idea of a Rafah 

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invasion . I'd like to add my name to 

258
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those who think that it would be 

259
00:10:36,190 --> 00:10:38,580
disastrous . Uh , not only for 

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Palestinian civilians but also for 

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Israeli security . Um , but , but I , I 

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wanted to actually ask you about us 

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weapons in Gaza and , uh , you know , 

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what kind of oversight we're doing . I 

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know Secretary Austin , you have been a 

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real leader in holding our own military 

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to account on civilian casualties . Uh 

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I have been really grateful to work 

269
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with you uh and make sure that we in 

270
00:11:01,552 --> 00:11:03,663
Congress are giving you the tools you 

271
00:11:03,663 --> 00:11:05,663
need to implement the civilian harm 

272
00:11:05,663 --> 00:11:07,663
mitigation and response action plan 

273
00:11:07,663 --> 00:11:09,663
that you have championed . Um And I 

274
00:11:09,663 --> 00:11:11,386
know you answered to one of my 

275
00:11:11,386 --> 00:11:13,497
colleagues that , you know , as we've 

276
00:11:13,497 --> 00:11:15,219
seen in many places , civilian 

277
00:11:15,219 --> 00:11:17,274
casualties , human rights abuses can 

278
00:11:17,274 --> 00:11:19,386
actually lead to more recruitment and 

279
00:11:19,386 --> 00:11:21,497
violent extremist ideology . The very 

280
00:11:21,497 --> 00:11:23,497
thing that we're often trying to uh 

281
00:11:23,497 --> 00:11:25,608
address when we are doing these kinds 

282
00:11:25,608 --> 00:11:27,719
of counterterrorism operations . So , 

283
00:11:27,719 --> 00:11:29,886
so with that in mind , um I , I wanted 

284
00:11:29,886 --> 00:11:32,380
to ask you about uh some of the the 

285
00:11:32,390 --> 00:11:34,929
specific incidents we've seen . Um and 

286
00:11:34,940 --> 00:11:37,349
in particular just yesterday , Amnesty 

287
00:11:37,359 --> 00:11:39,415
International came out with a report 

288
00:11:39,415 --> 00:11:41,369
citing multiple examples of Israel 

289
00:11:41,380 --> 00:11:44,539
using us made weapons in violation of 

290
00:11:44,549 --> 00:11:47,010
International Humanitarian law . Um as 

291
00:11:47,020 --> 00:11:49,020
you know , as outlined in national 

292
00:11:49,030 --> 00:11:50,919
memorandum , uh National Security 

293
00:11:50,919 --> 00:11:53,141
Memorandum 20 both the State Department 

294
00:11:53,141 --> 00:11:55,030
and the Department of Defense are 

295
00:11:55,030 --> 00:11:56,974
required to conduct assessments of 

296
00:11:56,974 --> 00:11:59,030
whether us weapons are implicated in 

297
00:11:59,030 --> 00:12:00,974
such potential violations . Uh And 

298
00:12:00,974 --> 00:12:03,197
while I think we both agree that Israel 

299
00:12:03,197 --> 00:12:05,308
has a right to defend itself , how it 

300
00:12:05,308 --> 00:12:07,530
defends itself really matters . Um , so 

301
00:12:07,530 --> 00:12:09,752
I was wondering , has the Department of 

302
00:12:09,752 --> 00:12:11,919
Defense in coordinating with the State 

303
00:12:11,919 --> 00:12:13,974
Department or on its own , conducted 

304
00:12:13,974 --> 00:12:16,086
any such assessments of the use of us 

305
00:12:16,086 --> 00:12:18,789
weapons as required by NSM 20 ? Yeah . 

306
00:12:18,799 --> 00:12:20,910
So the State Department has a lead in 

307
00:12:20,910 --> 00:12:23,243
uh in , in providing the assessment and , 

308
00:12:23,243 --> 00:12:25,466
and we are work , we will work with the 

309
00:12:25,466 --> 00:12:27,630
State Department uh as a uh pull 

310
00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:30,280
together that assessment . So , ok , 

311
00:12:30,289 --> 00:12:32,619
well , I will um look forward to seeing 

312
00:12:32,630 --> 00:12:34,760
that assessment . I I think that , um 

313
00:12:35,270 --> 00:12:37,270
you know , a as the memorandum says 

314
00:12:37,270 --> 00:12:39,548
both departments have a responsibility , 

315
00:12:39,548 --> 00:12:41,603
I just wanna go through a few of the 

316
00:12:41,603 --> 00:12:43,714
specific incidents that they outlined 

317
00:12:43,714 --> 00:12:45,770
in the report and again , the report 

318
00:12:45,770 --> 00:12:47,881
just came out yesterday . So I'm sure 

319
00:12:47,881 --> 00:12:47,320
you haven't had the time to , to pour 

320
00:12:47,330 --> 00:12:49,441
through it yet . Um But , but I think 

321
00:12:49,441 --> 00:12:51,552
it's important uh to , to point these 

322
00:12:51,552 --> 00:12:53,497
out . So according to this Amnesty 

323
00:12:53,497 --> 00:12:55,441
International report that came out 

324
00:12:55,441 --> 00:12:57,441
yesterday , uh an Israeli strike on 

325
00:12:57,441 --> 00:13:00,210
January 9th , uh reportedly used a US 

326
00:13:00,219 --> 00:13:03,640
made us provided GB U 39 small diameter 

327
00:13:03,650 --> 00:13:06,059
bomb and killed 18 civilians . 

328
00:13:06,340 --> 00:13:08,562
According to this report , there was no 

329
00:13:08,562 --> 00:13:10,340
indication that the residential 

330
00:13:10,340 --> 00:13:12,284
building hit could be considered a 

331
00:13:12,284 --> 00:13:14,396
legitimate military objective or that 

332
00:13:14,396 --> 00:13:16,173
the people in the building were 

333
00:13:16,173 --> 00:13:18,229
military targets . Have we conducted 

334
00:13:18,229 --> 00:13:19,951
any sort of assessment on this 

335
00:13:19,951 --> 00:13:21,173
particular incident ? 

336
00:13:24,179 --> 00:13:26,068
I am not aware of that particular 

337
00:13:26,068 --> 00:13:29,590
incident , but certainly , um that is 

338
00:13:29,599 --> 00:13:31,679
one of the things that I , I will um 

339
00:13:31,690 --> 00:13:35,049
engage my , my uh counterpart on uh as 

340
00:13:35,059 --> 00:13:37,003
I have engaged them on a number of 

341
00:13:37,003 --> 00:13:39,226
other things uh before now , uh that uh 

342
00:13:39,226 --> 00:13:42,840
relate to um what we're doing to uh 

343
00:13:43,390 --> 00:13:45,501
ensure that we're being as precise as 

344
00:13:45,501 --> 00:13:47,880
possible in terms of our targeting in 

345
00:13:47,890 --> 00:13:50,001
what we're doing to protect civilians 

346
00:13:50,001 --> 00:13:52,330
in the battle space . But in terms of 

347
00:13:52,340 --> 00:13:54,284
that specific report that you just 

348
00:13:54,284 --> 00:13:56,507
mentioned , I've not seen that . Yeah , 

349
00:13:56,507 --> 00:13:58,618
I , I appreciate that . Um And like I 

350
00:13:58,618 --> 00:14:00,840
said , it came out yesterday , so I , I 

351
00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:03,062
didn't expect you to have read it yet . 

352
00:14:03,062 --> 00:14:02,989
Um One other incident I just wanted to 

353
00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:04,889
highlight that came out from that 

354
00:14:04,889 --> 00:14:07,755
report was an incident even earlier in 

355
00:14:07,765 --> 00:14:10,955
the conflict um in October of 

356
00:14:10,965 --> 00:14:14,315
2023 . Uh The report alleges that the 

357
00:14:14,325 --> 00:14:16,724
Israeli military used us , made joint 

358
00:14:16,734 --> 00:14:19,744
direct attack munitions , Jade Das uh 

359
00:14:19,755 --> 00:14:22,155
in two airstrikes on homes full of 

360
00:14:22,164 --> 00:14:24,155
civilians that killed 43 civilians 

361
00:14:24,164 --> 00:14:27,594
total 19 Children . Um Is this an 

362
00:14:27,604 --> 00:14:30,034
incident that you are aware of ? And , 

363
00:14:30,044 --> 00:14:32,854
and if so , have we done uh any sort of 

364
00:14:32,864 --> 00:14:35,690
assessment of it ? I , I am not aware 

365
00:14:35,700 --> 00:14:38,000
of that specific incident , but again , 

366
00:14:38,010 --> 00:14:41,760
I have encouraged Israeli leadership to 

367
00:14:42,229 --> 00:14:46,179
investigate thoroughly any uh any sort 

368
00:14:46,190 --> 00:14:49,070
of incident like this where there is a 

369
00:14:49,210 --> 00:14:53,000
report of a loss of life , civilian 

370
00:14:53,010 --> 00:14:55,590
loss of life . And , uh , you know , 

371
00:14:55,599 --> 00:14:57,543
the , uh , the Minister of Defense 

372
00:14:57,543 --> 00:14:59,543
assures me that , uh , number one , 

373
00:14:59,543 --> 00:15:01,599
they have the right , uh , they have 

374
00:15:01,599 --> 00:15:03,766
adequate targeting , uh , procedures . 

375
00:15:03,766 --> 00:15:05,821
And number two , they will follow up 

376
00:15:05,821 --> 00:15:08,043
and investigate if there is a , is an , 

377
00:15:08,043 --> 00:15:10,099
I appreciate that , um , I , I think 

378
00:15:10,099 --> 00:15:12,155
it's important that given that these 

379
00:15:12,155 --> 00:15:12,090
are us made weapons , we don't only 

380
00:15:12,099 --> 00:15:14,179
rely on us investigate on Israeli 

381
00:15:14,190 --> 00:15:16,412
investigations , but we actually do our 

382
00:15:16,412 --> 00:15:18,669
own assessments as well . Um So I will 

383
00:15:18,679 --> 00:15:20,790
look forward to following up with you 

384
00:15:20,790 --> 00:15:22,901
on this . And uh Mr Chairman , I will 

385
00:15:22,901 --> 00:15:25,179
yield back the time that I do not have . 

386
00:15:25,179 --> 00:15:27,235
I think the general Lady chair and I 

387
00:15:27,235 --> 00:15:29,123
recognize General from Texas , Mr 

388
00:15:29,123 --> 00:15:31,235
Jackson . Thank you , Mr Chairman and 

389
00:15:31,235 --> 00:15:33,290
thank you to our witnesses for being 

390
00:15:33,290 --> 00:15:33,099
here today . General Brown . It's great 

391
00:15:33,109 --> 00:15:35,331
to see you again , sir . I always enjoy 

392
00:15:35,331 --> 00:15:37,220
having , uh , a Texan here in the 

393
00:15:37,220 --> 00:15:39,276
committee before us , especially one 

394
00:15:39,276 --> 00:15:41,553
that's uh spend time out in West Texas , 

395
00:15:41,553 --> 00:15:41,530
uh Secretary Austin and General Brown . 

396
00:15:41,539 --> 00:15:43,372
Would you both please answer the 

397
00:15:43,372 --> 00:15:45,261
following questions as briefly as 

398
00:15:45,261 --> 00:15:47,372
possible from your perspective . What 

399
00:15:47,372 --> 00:15:49,261
is the role of Special Operations 

400
00:15:49,261 --> 00:15:51,372
Forces in the Department of Defense ? 

401
00:15:52,659 --> 00:15:55,099
Uh Special Operations Forces are 

402
00:15:55,109 --> 00:15:59,010
clearly , um , a 

403
00:16:01,030 --> 00:16:03,270
remarkable advantage uh for us , a 

404
00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:05,330
remarkable asset . They , they add 

405
00:16:05,340 --> 00:16:09,020
value uh in every uh , every endeavor 

406
00:16:09,030 --> 00:16:12,340
and , uh , and you know , they're very , 

407
00:16:12,700 --> 00:16:16,609
uh difficult to , uh um to train and 

408
00:16:16,619 --> 00:16:18,675
equip in terms of the amount of time 

409
00:16:18,675 --> 00:16:21,200
that it takes . And so , uh but having 

410
00:16:21,210 --> 00:16:23,840
said that they uh they provide value uh 

411
00:16:23,849 --> 00:16:25,793
uh in a number of ways . And so we 

412
00:16:25,799 --> 00:16:27,580
treasure their uh uh their 

413
00:16:27,590 --> 00:16:29,812
contributions in the interest of time . 

414
00:16:29,812 --> 00:16:32,090
General Brown . Do you agree with that ? 

415
00:16:32,090 --> 00:16:34,201
I do . Ok . Uh When you think about a 

416
00:16:34,201 --> 00:16:36,257
conflict in the Indo Pacific , uh is 

417
00:16:36,257 --> 00:16:38,090
there a unique role that special 

418
00:16:38,090 --> 00:16:40,146
operations forces might play there ? 

419
00:16:40,869 --> 00:16:43,147
You both either one of you ? Yes . Yes , 

420
00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:45,169
there is a unique , thank you . I 

421
00:16:45,169 --> 00:16:47,280
appreciate that . Uh , more broadly , 

422
00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:49,502
are there still threats to the American 

423
00:16:49,502 --> 00:16:51,669
interest in the Middle East and Africa 

424
00:16:51,669 --> 00:16:54,489
from our adversaries ? Yes . If you 

425
00:16:54,500 --> 00:16:56,556
certainly consider the transnational 

426
00:16:56,890 --> 00:16:58,723
terrorist threat and adversary , 

427
00:16:58,723 --> 00:17:00,946
certainly . Yes , sir . Ok . And , uh , 

428
00:17:00,946 --> 00:17:02,834
is it fair to assume that special 

429
00:17:02,834 --> 00:17:04,834
forces might be utilized to conduct 

430
00:17:04,834 --> 00:17:07,199
operations in Centcom , Africom and 

431
00:17:07,209 --> 00:17:09,320
Indo Paycom at some point in the near 

432
00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:12,479
future ? Yes . Do you agree ? 

433
00:17:13,229 --> 00:17:15,396
Yes . And I , I would say , uh , not , 

434
00:17:15,396 --> 00:17:17,507
not only uh special operations forces 

435
00:17:17,507 --> 00:17:19,673
but pretty much all of our joint force 

436
00:17:19,673 --> 00:17:21,507
can be expected to be engaged in 

437
00:17:21,507 --> 00:17:23,618
various uh forms uh depending on what 

438
00:17:23,618 --> 00:17:25,729
the threat or what the situation is ? 

439
00:17:25,729 --> 00:17:27,729
Thank you . Uh Would you both agree 

440
00:17:27,729 --> 00:17:27,280
that Special Operations Forces are a 

441
00:17:27,290 --> 00:17:29,457
critical component of any of our plans 

442
00:17:29,457 --> 00:17:32,310
in order to be successful uh against uh 

443
00:17:32,319 --> 00:17:34,099
our adversaries , uh our prime 

444
00:17:34,109 --> 00:17:37,109
adversaries in these areas ? Yes , I 

445
00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:40,489
would Y yes , they are and one of 

446
00:17:40,500 --> 00:17:42,833
several critical components . Thank you . 

447
00:17:42,833 --> 00:17:44,889
Uh Would you both say that generally 

448
00:17:44,889 --> 00:17:46,556
the demand signal for special 

449
00:17:46,556 --> 00:17:48,556
operations forces is extremely high 

450
00:17:48,556 --> 00:17:51,660
right now . It is high . Um And there , 

451
00:17:51,670 --> 00:17:54,270
it's a small force . So um it's a high 

452
00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:56,859
demand , low density uh resource . 

453
00:17:58,540 --> 00:18:00,707
I mean , I would agree but I would say 

454
00:18:00,707 --> 00:18:02,873
the mansion has changed uh because the 

455
00:18:02,873 --> 00:18:04,873
environment has changed a bit uh uh 

456
00:18:04,873 --> 00:18:07,040
particularly in the uh And do you both 

457
00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:08,762
think that uh that our Special 

458
00:18:08,762 --> 00:18:10,984
Operations Forces are more capable than 

459
00:18:10,984 --> 00:18:12,984
our , than their Chinese Russian or 

460
00:18:12,984 --> 00:18:16,160
Iranian counterparts ? I , I would tell 

461
00:18:16,170 --> 00:18:18,281
you that our special operations force 

462
00:18:18,281 --> 00:18:20,430
are the best in the world . Same 

463
00:18:20,459 --> 00:18:22,515
general . Uh Do you believe that our 

464
00:18:22,515 --> 00:18:24,626
Special operations forces provide our 

465
00:18:24,626 --> 00:18:26,626
military with an advantage over our 

466
00:18:26,626 --> 00:18:29,500
adversaries ? They do , they certainly 

467
00:18:29,510 --> 00:18:31,399
working in conjunction with uh uh 

468
00:18:31,399 --> 00:18:33,510
conventional forces . They absolutely 

469
00:18:33,510 --> 00:18:35,621
do . They do . OK . Uh Personally , I 

470
00:18:35,621 --> 00:18:37,677
believe that our special forces like 

471
00:18:37,677 --> 00:18:39,899
you , you stated are personally , are , 

472
00:18:39,899 --> 00:18:39,319
are the most skilled operators in the 

473
00:18:39,329 --> 00:18:41,440
world and provide one of the greatest 

474
00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:43,607
advantages uh when we look at possible 

475
00:18:43,607 --> 00:18:45,551
future conflicts . Unfortunately , 

476
00:18:45,551 --> 00:18:45,510
there are proposals out there that 

477
00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:47,409
right now that are looking to cut 

478
00:18:47,409 --> 00:18:49,409
thousands of personnel from special 

479
00:18:49,409 --> 00:18:51,631
operations community . And I personally 

480
00:18:51,631 --> 00:18:51,430
believe that this is a huge mistake . I 

481
00:18:51,439 --> 00:18:53,772
understand the budget realities that we , 

482
00:18:53,772 --> 00:18:55,939
that we're facing . But if we're gonna 

483
00:18:55,939 --> 00:18:58,161
be looking for ways to pay the bills in 

484
00:18:58,161 --> 00:18:57,739
the department surely we can find 

485
00:18:57,750 --> 00:18:59,417
better options out there than 

486
00:18:59,417 --> 00:19:01,417
intentionally degrading our special 

487
00:19:01,417 --> 00:19:03,472
operations capability . I would urge 

488
00:19:03,472 --> 00:19:05,583
each of you and my colleagues here on 

489
00:19:05,583 --> 00:19:07,528
the committee that cutting special 

490
00:19:07,528 --> 00:19:09,583
operations is not the answer that we 

491
00:19:09,583 --> 00:19:08,910
need to ensure that our special 

492
00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:10,750
operations forces capability is 

493
00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:12,982
adequately resourced and supported . So 

494
00:19:12,982 --> 00:19:14,871
I just wanted to go on the record 

495
00:19:14,871 --> 00:19:16,760
saying that I have one more quick 

496
00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:16,739
question . Uh The Texas Panhandle is 

497
00:19:16,750 --> 00:19:18,694
home to the Pantex plant uh in the 

498
00:19:18,694 --> 00:19:20,917
United States which is the only nuclear 

499
00:19:20,917 --> 00:19:22,750
weapons assembly and disassembly 

500
00:19:22,750 --> 00:19:25,028
facility . Most people don't know this . 

501
00:19:25,028 --> 00:19:27,083
But the Department of Defense relies 

502
00:19:27,083 --> 00:19:28,861
heavily on the National Nuclear 

503
00:19:28,861 --> 00:19:28,500
Security Administration and the 

504
00:19:28,510 --> 00:19:30,510
Department of Energy to provide the 

505
00:19:30,510 --> 00:19:32,788
nuclear portion of our nuclear weapons . 

506
00:19:32,788 --> 00:19:35,010
However , I'm constantly concerned that 

507
00:19:35,010 --> 00:19:37,121
the administration does not share the 

508
00:19:37,121 --> 00:19:39,177
urgency that each of us here in this 

509
00:19:39,177 --> 00:19:39,099
room do with regards to nuclear 

510
00:19:39,189 --> 00:19:41,300
modernization at the Pantex plant . A 

511
00:19:41,300 --> 00:19:43,300
Department of Energy Facility where 

512
00:19:43,300 --> 00:19:45,467
critical work is done to modernize the 

513
00:19:45,467 --> 00:19:47,633
nuclear triad . There's currently work 

514
00:19:47,633 --> 00:19:49,745
being done on the buildings that were 

515
00:19:49,745 --> 00:19:49,290
built in the 19 forties where the 

516
00:19:49,300 --> 00:19:51,300
ceiling is literally crumbling . My 

517
00:19:51,300 --> 00:19:53,133
concern on this is more with the 

518
00:19:53,133 --> 00:19:54,578
National Nuclear Security 

519
00:19:54,578 --> 00:19:56,244
Administration because of the 

520
00:19:56,244 --> 00:19:58,356
Department of Defense has been firmly 

521
00:19:58,356 --> 00:20:00,578
committed to nuclear modernization from 

522
00:20:00,578 --> 00:20:00,329
everything I am told and I have seen , 

523
00:20:00,459 --> 00:20:02,237
but we need our entire national 

524
00:20:02,237 --> 00:20:04,292
security apparatus to be on the same 

525
00:20:04,292 --> 00:20:06,515
page and working together to that point 

526
00:20:06,515 --> 00:20:08,570
this year . Uh The National Security 

527
00:20:08,570 --> 00:20:10,792
Administration requested $0 for two key 

528
00:20:10,792 --> 00:20:12,959
mission enabling construction projects 

529
00:20:12,959 --> 00:20:15,181
at Pantex including the new Analytic GA 

530
00:20:15,181 --> 00:20:17,292
gas lab uh to replace the current one 

531
00:20:17,292 --> 00:20:19,403
that was built in 1945 . We spend all 

532
00:20:19,403 --> 00:20:21,626
of our time talking about modernization 

533
00:20:21,626 --> 00:20:23,792
and quality of life issues , but there 

534
00:20:23,792 --> 00:20:25,959
appears to be somewhat of a disconnect 

535
00:20:25,959 --> 00:20:25,219
between the Department of Defense and 

536
00:20:25,229 --> 00:20:27,340
the rest of the executive branch when 

537
00:20:27,340 --> 00:20:29,451
it comes to these key investments for 

538
00:20:29,451 --> 00:20:31,618
nuclear modernization . So I'm running 

539
00:20:31,618 --> 00:20:31,250
out of time here . I just wanna make 

540
00:20:31,260 --> 00:20:33,482
sure that uh I got on the record saying 

541
00:20:33,482 --> 00:20:35,538
that I hope that you , that you guys 

542
00:20:35,538 --> 00:20:35,160
can continue to support us and work 

543
00:20:35,170 --> 00:20:37,337
with those other times expired chair . 

544
00:20:37,337 --> 00:20:39,226
And I recognize Jennifer from New 

545
00:20:39,226 --> 00:20:41,281
Mexico . Mr Vasquez . Thank you , Mr 

546
00:20:41,281 --> 00:20:43,503
Chairman and thank you Secretary Austin 

547
00:20:43,503 --> 00:20:45,559
General Brown for taking the time to 

548
00:20:45,559 --> 00:20:47,726
speak with us this morning . It's good 

549
00:20:47,726 --> 00:20:46,959
to see you again . I hope you're 

550
00:20:46,969 --> 00:20:49,025
feeling well , Mr Secretary , I have 

551
00:20:49,025 --> 00:20:50,913
the privilege of representing New 

552
00:20:50,913 --> 00:20:53,191
Mexico's second congressional district . 

553
00:20:53,191 --> 00:20:55,247
Home to white sands missile range in 

554
00:20:55,247 --> 00:20:57,413
the Trinity site , the location of the 

555
00:20:57,413 --> 00:20:59,636
first ever atomic weapons test . Uh Now 

556
00:20:59,636 --> 00:21:01,747
Secretary , you , you may be familiar 

557
00:21:01,747 --> 00:21:03,580
uh with what's been happening in 

558
00:21:03,580 --> 00:21:05,302
Congress uh over the last year 

559
00:21:05,302 --> 00:21:07,580
regarding Rica , uh and expanding Rica , 

560
00:21:07,580 --> 00:21:09,747
in particular , the Radiation Exposure 

561
00:21:09,747 --> 00:21:11,949
Compensation Act . Now in New Mexico , 

562
00:21:11,959 --> 00:21:14,126
uh we're unfortunately sometimes known 

563
00:21:14,126 --> 00:21:16,292
as the nation's nuclear dumping ground 

564
00:21:16,292 --> 00:21:18,348
and also the nuclear weapons testing 

565
00:21:18,348 --> 00:21:20,403
site of the Trinity site , the first 

566
00:21:20,403 --> 00:21:22,680
ever atomic bomb tested in New Mexico 

567
00:21:22,959 --> 00:21:25,109
by the federal government . Now we 

568
00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:27,175
haven't had the compensation for the 

569
00:21:27,175 --> 00:21:29,063
folks who have suffered and their 

570
00:21:29,063 --> 00:21:30,897
generations of families who have 

571
00:21:30,897 --> 00:21:33,063
suffered subsequently for that nuclear 

572
00:21:33,063 --> 00:21:34,952
bomb testing . We're also home to 

573
00:21:34,952 --> 00:21:37,008
places like the jack pile mine right 

574
00:21:37,008 --> 00:21:39,175
outside of Laguna Pueblo where uranium 

575
00:21:39,175 --> 00:21:41,008
mining has taken place for years 

576
00:21:41,008 --> 00:21:43,030
without proper remediation that has 

577
00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:45,262
contaminated water sources and that has 

578
00:21:45,262 --> 00:21:47,207
also impacted those miners . So we 

579
00:21:47,207 --> 00:21:49,609
desperately need help for the folks 

580
00:21:49,619 --> 00:21:51,452
that are in New Mexico that have 

581
00:21:51,452 --> 00:21:53,563
suffered from the impacts of what the 

582
00:21:53,563 --> 00:21:56,260
federal government caused . So without 

583
00:21:56,270 --> 00:21:58,270
warning , nearly half a million New 

584
00:21:58,270 --> 00:22:00,326
Mexicans without within a fif 100 50 

585
00:22:00,326 --> 00:22:02,381
mile radius of the trinity site were 

586
00:22:02,381 --> 00:22:04,849
exposed to deadly ionizing radiation 

587
00:22:04,859 --> 00:22:06,829
and given no information about the 

588
00:22:06,839 --> 00:22:08,895
dangers of radio radioactive effects 

589
00:22:08,895 --> 00:22:10,950
following the test . Let me say that 

590
00:22:10,950 --> 00:22:13,719
again . Secretary without warning . Now 

591
00:22:13,729 --> 00:22:15,396
that several of my Republican 

592
00:22:15,396 --> 00:22:17,507
colleagues have supported Rica Reform 

593
00:22:17,507 --> 00:22:19,507
folks like Senator Josh Hawley from 

594
00:22:19,507 --> 00:22:21,673
Missouri , Representative James Moylan 

595
00:22:21,673 --> 00:22:23,785
from Guam . I believe it's imperative 

596
00:22:23,785 --> 00:22:25,840
that we pass . Rica Reform Secretary 

597
00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:28,062
Austin , does the Department of Defense 

598
00:22:28,062 --> 00:22:30,170
apologize on the record for exposing 

599
00:22:30,180 --> 00:22:32,402
New Mexicans to deadly radiation during 

600
00:22:32,402 --> 00:22:35,449
the trinity test ? Well , let me just 

601
00:22:35,459 --> 00:22:37,570
say upfront that the safety and , and 

602
00:22:37,570 --> 00:22:39,626
health and welfare of our troops and 

603
00:22:39,626 --> 00:22:41,737
our family is very important to us uh 

604
00:22:41,737 --> 00:22:44,390
as well as uh uh health and welfare of 

605
00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:47,640
the community members . Um and , and So 

606
00:22:47,650 --> 00:22:49,372
this is something we take very 

607
00:22:49,372 --> 00:22:52,579
seriously . Um And , and of course , uh 

608
00:22:52,729 --> 00:22:55,420
you know , we , we would want to ensure 

609
00:22:55,430 --> 00:22:57,430
that everyone that's uh been 

610
00:22:57,439 --> 00:22:59,979
disadvantaged uh is , is compensated . 

611
00:22:59,989 --> 00:23:02,100
But I would point out to you that the 

612
00:23:02,100 --> 00:23:04,267
Department of Justice is a lead agency 

613
00:23:04,267 --> 00:23:06,920
for uh uh in terms of overseeing the 

614
00:23:06,930 --> 00:23:09,209
compensation program . So , and 

615
00:23:09,219 --> 00:23:11,275
secretary , uh do you believe that a 

616
00:23:11,275 --> 00:23:13,275
harm done by the federal government 

617
00:23:13,275 --> 00:23:14,997
should be fixed by the federal 

618
00:23:14,997 --> 00:23:17,489
government ? I , I do . Ok . Um Do you 

619
00:23:17,500 --> 00:23:19,556
think an apology is in order for all 

620
00:23:19,556 --> 00:23:21,667
those uh generations of families that 

621
00:23:21,667 --> 00:23:23,778
have not received proper compensation 

622
00:23:23,778 --> 00:23:25,889
for exposure to deadly radiation , if 

623
00:23:25,889 --> 00:23:29,199
there's something that uh uh you know , 

624
00:23:29,209 --> 00:23:32,300
community members have suffered because 

625
00:23:32,310 --> 00:23:34,421
of our action and certainly we should 

626
00:23:34,421 --> 00:23:36,588
apologize for that . Thank you . Uh So 

627
00:23:36,588 --> 00:23:38,754
would you support additional expansion 

628
00:23:38,754 --> 00:23:40,810
of Rica to compensate the victims of 

629
00:23:40,810 --> 00:23:42,977
radiation ? Oh , certainly . I'm , I'm 

630
00:23:42,977 --> 00:23:44,866
in favor of making sure that that 

631
00:23:44,866 --> 00:23:46,977
people who have been uh disadvantaged 

632
00:23:46,977 --> 00:23:50,119
are , are adequately compensated . So I 

633
00:23:50,130 --> 00:23:52,297
support that . Thank you , Secretary . 

634
00:23:52,297 --> 00:23:54,352
I appreciate it . And that's why I'm 

635
00:23:54,352 --> 00:23:56,574
fighting to reauthorize and expand Rica 

636
00:23:56,574 --> 00:23:58,686
in this year's NDA A to finally bring 

637
00:23:58,686 --> 00:24:00,908
justice to these communities like those 

638
00:24:00,908 --> 00:24:00,339
in New Mexico and beyond , who have 

639
00:24:00,349 --> 00:24:02,405
been suffering for far too long ? Uh 

640
00:24:02,405 --> 00:24:04,293
Thank you both for your dedicated 

641
00:24:04,293 --> 00:24:06,293
service uh General Secretary to our 

642
00:24:06,293 --> 00:24:08,405
country and for all you do to support 

643
00:24:08,405 --> 00:24:10,460
our brave service members in uniform 

644
00:24:10,460 --> 00:24:10,300
with that . Uh You'll back my time . 

645
00:24:10,310 --> 00:24:12,088
Thank you , chair . I thank the 

646
00:24:12,088 --> 00:24:14,143
gentleman chair and I recognize as a 

647
00:24:14,143 --> 00:24:16,199
gentle lady from South Carolina , MS 

648
00:24:16,199 --> 00:24:18,143
Mace . Thank you , Mr Chairman and 

649
00:24:18,143 --> 00:24:20,199
Secretary Austin and General Brown . 

650
00:24:20,199 --> 00:24:22,032
Thank you for being here today . 

651
00:24:22,032 --> 00:24:24,199
Secretary Austin . Under your COVID-19 

652
00:24:24,199 --> 00:24:26,477
vaccine mandate on our service members , 

653
00:24:26,477 --> 00:24:28,477
more than 8400 service members were 

654
00:24:28,477 --> 00:24:30,532
discharged for declining to take the 

655
00:24:30,532 --> 00:24:33,069
COVID-19 vaccine . Those 8400 men and 

656
00:24:33,079 --> 00:24:35,589
women served our country honorably . 

657
00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:37,902
And you turned each of these soldiers , 

658
00:24:37,902 --> 00:24:39,791
sailors and airmen and women into 

659
00:24:39,791 --> 00:24:41,859
veterans overnight . The fiscal year 

660
00:24:41,869 --> 00:24:44,709
2023 NDA A rescinded this mandate . But 

661
00:24:44,719 --> 00:24:46,719
eight months later , only , only 43 

662
00:24:46,719 --> 00:24:48,775
service members had sought to rejoin 

663
00:24:48,775 --> 00:24:52,099
just one half of 1% . That is why as 

664
00:24:52,109 --> 00:24:55,270
part of fiscal year 2024 NDA A congress 

665
00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:57,224
established a process to reinstate 

666
00:24:57,224 --> 00:24:59,660
service members who were discharged due 

667
00:24:59,670 --> 00:25:02,050
to your actions . How many of these 

668
00:25:02,060 --> 00:25:04,116
service members have been reinstated 

669
00:25:04,116 --> 00:25:07,699
since the passage of the 2024 NDA A ? 

670
00:25:09,430 --> 00:25:11,486
No , I , I don't have an , uh , that 

671
00:25:11,486 --> 00:25:13,597
number at my fingertips , but I would 

672
00:25:13,597 --> 00:25:16,290
tell you that , uh , um , each of the 

673
00:25:16,300 --> 00:25:19,119
services certainly have uh , procedures . 

674
00:25:19,130 --> 00:25:21,352
If somebody wants to reapply for , to , 

675
00:25:21,352 --> 00:25:23,574
to join , uh , join the military , then 

676
00:25:23,574 --> 00:25:25,797
they can , they can certainly do that . 

677
00:25:25,797 --> 00:25:27,963
And then , uh , why has the Department 

678
00:25:27,963 --> 00:25:30,074
of Defense failed to convince more of 

679
00:25:30,074 --> 00:25:32,297
these service members to rejoin ? You ? 

680
00:25:32,297 --> 00:25:34,519
Think again , it's a , it's a choice by 

681
00:25:34,519 --> 00:25:36,574
a personal choice by , by the former 

682
00:25:36,574 --> 00:25:38,463
service members to , to make that 

683
00:25:38,463 --> 00:25:40,797
decision . So if they want to come back , 

684
00:25:40,797 --> 00:25:42,908
there's a method to do that . Can you 

685
00:25:42,908 --> 00:25:45,074
describe the efforts of the dod , what 

686
00:25:45,074 --> 00:25:47,297
efforts they have made to recruit these 

687
00:25:47,297 --> 00:25:49,519
service members to rejoin ? I , I don't 

688
00:25:49,519 --> 00:25:51,741
know of any efforts that have been made 

689
00:25:51,741 --> 00:25:54,040
to , to recruit from that population . 

690
00:25:54,959 --> 00:25:56,792
Well , given our shortcomings or 

691
00:25:56,792 --> 00:25:58,848
shortfalls in recruiting , don't you 

692
00:25:58,848 --> 00:26:01,070
think that might be a group of pot of , 

693
00:26:01,070 --> 00:26:03,070
of folks that we would wanna try to 

694
00:26:03,070 --> 00:26:05,181
recruit back to rejoin or no ? Yeah . 

695
00:26:05,181 --> 00:26:07,348
As you may have heard me say earlier , 

696
00:26:07,348 --> 00:26:09,515
I think , uh , you know , our services 

697
00:26:09,515 --> 00:26:11,570
are doing well in terms of , uh , uh 

698
00:26:11,750 --> 00:26:14,119
turning the , the trend around and 

699
00:26:14,130 --> 00:26:17,020
really are , um , in , in most cases , 

700
00:26:17,030 --> 00:26:19,252
gonna make their recruiting goals , how 

701
00:26:19,252 --> 00:26:21,419
well to that end , uh , by how much of 

702
00:26:21,419 --> 00:26:23,641
the military services collectively miss 

703
00:26:23,641 --> 00:26:25,863
their recruiting goals in fiscal year ? 

704
00:26:25,863 --> 00:26:28,589
2023 . Well , let's talk about 2024 . 

705
00:26:28,599 --> 00:26:30,543
What the services are project ? My 

706
00:26:30,543 --> 00:26:32,543
question was about 2023 . How , how 

707
00:26:32,543 --> 00:26:34,766
badly did they miss their goals ? There 

708
00:26:34,766 --> 00:26:36,766
were a number of services that miss 

709
00:26:36,766 --> 00:26:36,550
miss their object . Approximately the 

710
00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:40,010
answer is approximately 41,000 could 

711
00:26:40,020 --> 00:26:42,076
retaining the 8400 . But having said 

712
00:26:42,076 --> 00:26:44,298
that , I know you've talked to the army 

713
00:26:44,298 --> 00:26:46,464
and to other services already and they 

714
00:26:46,464 --> 00:26:48,569
have probably told you that , uh , 

715
00:26:48,670 --> 00:26:50,892
their forecast is that they're going to 

716
00:26:50,892 --> 00:26:52,781
meet their recruiting goals . And 

717
00:26:52,781 --> 00:26:54,837
that's , that's because they've done 

718
00:26:54,837 --> 00:26:54,459
the right things and investing in the 

719
00:26:54,469 --> 00:26:56,380
right kind of advertisement , uh 

720
00:26:56,390 --> 00:26:58,168
investing in the right types of 

721
00:26:58,168 --> 00:27:00,329
recruiters , uh establishing contacts 

722
00:27:00,339 --> 00:27:02,506
with the right centers of influence uh 

723
00:27:02,506 --> 00:27:04,561
and telling the military story and , 

724
00:27:04,561 --> 00:27:06,672
and what the military , what military 

725
00:27:06,672 --> 00:27:08,728
service offers here . Yeah . And I , 

726
00:27:08,728 --> 00:27:10,895
and I hope you're right . I , I really 

727
00:27:10,895 --> 00:27:10,469
truly do . I come from a military 

728
00:27:10,479 --> 00:27:12,701
family where almost everyone serves and 

729
00:27:12,701 --> 00:27:14,646
I hope that we do meet those goals 

730
00:27:14,646 --> 00:27:16,868
sooner rather than later . Today is the 

731
00:27:16,868 --> 00:27:18,868
last day of April , the last day of 

732
00:27:18,868 --> 00:27:20,979
Sexual assault Awareness Month . So I 

733
00:27:20,979 --> 00:27:23,146
want to turn to a topic that is deeply 

734
00:27:23,146 --> 00:27:25,257
personal and deeply important to me . 

735
00:27:25,257 --> 00:27:27,201
Uh particularly as a woman . I was 

736
00:27:27,201 --> 00:27:27,015
deeply disturbed to learn last year , 

737
00:27:27,026 --> 00:27:29,082
the first Army special trial counsel 

738
00:27:29,082 --> 00:27:31,248
had to be fired because emails came to 

739
00:27:31,248 --> 00:27:33,505
light where he said things like sexual 

740
00:27:33,515 --> 00:27:35,645
assault , ridiculousness . The sexual 

741
00:27:35,656 --> 00:27:37,767
assault ridiculousness continues . He 

742
00:27:37,776 --> 00:27:39,609
also wrote that Congress and our 

743
00:27:39,609 --> 00:27:41,665
political masters are dancing by the 

744
00:27:41,665 --> 00:27:43,776
fire of misleading statistics and one 

745
00:27:43,776 --> 00:27:45,720
sided repetitive misinformation by 

746
00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:47,498
those with an agenda . He later 

747
00:27:47,498 --> 00:27:49,665
downplayed the issue of sexual assault 

748
00:27:49,665 --> 00:27:52,232
as sobriety regret and quote . So 

749
00:27:52,241 --> 00:27:54,391
Secretary Austin , how many vic , how 

750
00:27:54,401 --> 00:27:56,345
can victims of sexual assault like 

751
00:27:56,345 --> 00:27:58,722
myself have confidence in coming 

752
00:27:58,732 --> 00:28:01,112
forward when the army or military ? 

753
00:28:01,121 --> 00:28:03,177
Anyone hires someone that says these 

754
00:28:03,177 --> 00:28:05,343
things to lead the Special Division to 

755
00:28:05,343 --> 00:28:07,454
handle their cases ? And how the hell 

756
00:28:07,454 --> 00:28:09,510
did the dod miss this in the vetting 

757
00:28:09,510 --> 00:28:11,177
process . Well , I don't know 

758
00:28:11,177 --> 00:28:13,290
specifically how , how , uh , army 

759
00:28:13,300 --> 00:28:15,522
missed that , but I do , I can tell you 

760
00:28:15,522 --> 00:28:17,650
that once the Secretary of the Army , 

761
00:28:17,660 --> 00:28:20,449
uh , was aware of the , of the issue , 

762
00:28:20,459 --> 00:28:22,609
then she took action and , uh , what 

763
00:28:22,619 --> 00:28:24,786
you would expect her to do . And , and 

764
00:28:24,786 --> 00:28:26,841
again , that in and of itself proves 

765
00:28:26,841 --> 00:28:29,008
that , uh , that we're serious about , 

766
00:28:29,008 --> 00:28:30,952
uh , about , uh , sexual assault , 

767
00:28:30,952 --> 00:28:33,199
sexual abuse . And , and again , this 

768
00:28:33,209 --> 00:28:35,320
individual , as you pointed out would 

769
00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:37,542
have been in charge of uh ensuring that 

770
00:28:37,542 --> 00:28:39,765
uh we live up to our standards and make 

771
00:28:39,765 --> 00:28:42,449
making sure that that the cases are , 

772
00:28:42,459 --> 00:28:45,280
are appropriately referred and , and , 

773
00:28:45,290 --> 00:28:47,619
and tried and , and so a very important 

774
00:28:47,630 --> 00:28:49,741
person in the , in the chain . And so 

775
00:28:49,741 --> 00:28:51,852
the secretary of the army uh did what 

776
00:28:51,852 --> 00:28:54,074
she thought was best . And do you think 

777
00:28:54,074 --> 00:28:56,241
women um should have confidence in the 

778
00:28:56,241 --> 00:28:58,408
military to come forward when they are 

779
00:28:58,408 --> 00:28:58,339
assaulted ? Is the military doing 

780
00:28:58,349 --> 00:29:00,293
everything they can to ensure that 

781
00:29:00,293 --> 00:29:02,349
those women get justice when they've 

782
00:29:02,349 --> 00:29:04,516
been assaulted or raped ? I absolutely 

783
00:29:04,516 --> 00:29:06,405
believe that . And I know that uh 

784
00:29:06,405 --> 00:29:08,293
there's still a , in some cases a 

785
00:29:08,293 --> 00:29:10,780
reluctant , a reluctance to report uh 

786
00:29:10,790 --> 00:29:14,380
assault or , or a or uh 

787
00:29:17,550 --> 00:29:20,739
or abuse . And , and so we want to make 

788
00:29:20,750 --> 00:29:22,806
sure that everyone feels comfortable 

789
00:29:22,806 --> 00:29:24,917
that they can come forward report and 

790
00:29:24,917 --> 00:29:27,180
there will be J la's times expired . 

791
00:29:27,260 --> 00:29:29,770
You not Jen lady from Hawaii , Mr Kuda . 

792
00:29:30,449 --> 00:29:32,616
Thank you , Mr Chairman Mr Secretary . 

793
00:29:32,619 --> 00:29:34,619
When you came before this committee 

794
00:29:34,619 --> 00:29:36,619
last year , we briefly talked about 

795
00:29:36,619 --> 00:29:38,841
infrastructure investments . You stated 

796
00:29:38,841 --> 00:29:40,841
then that it's absolutely important 

797
00:29:40,841 --> 00:29:40,760
that the department does everything it 

798
00:29:40,770 --> 00:29:42,714
can to ensure that it continues to 

799
00:29:42,714 --> 00:29:44,780
update its infrastructure . Now , I 

800
00:29:44,790 --> 00:29:46,790
know that the department has had to 

801
00:29:46,790 --> 00:29:48,901
make some tough choices in its fiscal 

802
00:29:48,901 --> 00:29:50,846
year 2025 budget to align with the 

803
00:29:50,846 --> 00:29:52,846
Fiscal Responsibility Act , which I 

804
00:29:52,846 --> 00:29:54,734
regret imposes harsh caps on both 

805
00:29:54,734 --> 00:29:57,068
defense and domestic spending . However , 

806
00:29:57,068 --> 00:29:58,901
I am struck by the fact that the 

807
00:29:58,901 --> 00:30:00,846
department's fy 25 budget proposed 

808
00:30:00,846 --> 00:30:02,901
reductions in facilities sustainment 

809
00:30:02,901 --> 00:30:05,012
restoration and modernization funding 

810
00:30:05,012 --> 00:30:07,194
by $370 million and military 

811
00:30:07,204 --> 00:30:09,714
construction by 100 $17 million 

812
00:30:09,724 --> 00:30:11,915
compared to the fiscal 24 enacted 

813
00:30:11,925 --> 00:30:14,640
levels . Uh Indo pay com's unfunded 

814
00:30:14,650 --> 00:30:16,872
priorities list further identifies over 

815
00:30:16,872 --> 00:30:18,928
$3.3 billion in mcon priorities that 

816
00:30:18,928 --> 00:30:21,150
aren't included in this year's budget . 

817
00:30:21,150 --> 00:30:23,150
Given all that , Mr Secretary , how 

818
00:30:23,150 --> 00:30:25,094
confident are you that your budget 

819
00:30:25,094 --> 00:30:26,928
request includes and prioritizes 

820
00:30:26,928 --> 00:30:28,761
adequate funding that we need to 

821
00:30:28,761 --> 00:30:30,706
sustain and build infrastructure , 

822
00:30:30,706 --> 00:30:32,761
especially in the Indo Pacific where 

823
00:30:32,761 --> 00:30:34,872
our state is , is located where these 

824
00:30:34,872 --> 00:30:37,094
investments are critical to our posture 

825
00:30:37,094 --> 00:30:38,928
and force projection . Yeah , we 

826
00:30:38,928 --> 00:30:42,469
continue to um invest in infrastructure . 

827
00:30:42,479 --> 00:30:45,469
It is really important uh in some cases . 

828
00:30:45,479 --> 00:30:47,535
So we have to make up for , for lost 

829
00:30:47,535 --> 00:30:49,969
time and , and uh in , in terms of 

830
00:30:49,979 --> 00:30:52,146
investments that should have been made 

831
00:30:52,146 --> 00:30:53,979
uh years ago uh in , in terms of 

832
00:30:53,979 --> 00:30:55,868
restoration and other things that 

833
00:30:55,868 --> 00:30:57,923
weren't made uh in this budget we're 

834
00:30:57,923 --> 00:31:01,229
asking you for uh two point $2,000,000 

835
00:31:01,239 --> 00:31:03,760
billion for family housing . We're 

836
00:31:03,770 --> 00:31:06,380
asking you for a billion dollar , $1.1 

837
00:31:06,390 --> 00:31:10,180
billion for um uh unaccompanied 

838
00:31:10,189 --> 00:31:13,199
housing . And uh and , and in terms of 

839
00:31:13,209 --> 00:31:16,290
the in uh Indo Pacific and the Pacific 

840
00:31:16,300 --> 00:31:18,522
uh deterrent initiative that you , that 

841
00:31:18,522 --> 00:31:20,578
you mentioned , and we're asking for 

842
00:31:20,578 --> 00:31:22,578
$9.9 billion there and some of that 

843
00:31:22,578 --> 00:31:24,744
will go into infrastructure . And over 

844
00:31:24,744 --> 00:31:26,911
the last three years , we've asked you 

845
00:31:26,911 --> 00:31:30,250
for $20 billion in support of uh of 

846
00:31:30,260 --> 00:31:33,239
infrastructure and , and , and we were 

847
00:31:33,250 --> 00:31:35,472
very grateful for the , for the support 

848
00:31:35,472 --> 00:31:37,694
that you provided and we'll continue to 

849
00:31:37,694 --> 00:31:39,806
work at this . Thank you . Well , the 

850
00:31:39,806 --> 00:31:41,972
bottom line is we need numbers of that 

851
00:31:41,972 --> 00:31:43,583
sort if we continue to defer 

852
00:31:43,583 --> 00:31:45,250
investments in our repair and 

853
00:31:45,250 --> 00:31:47,417
maintenance in previous years . And so 

854
00:31:47,417 --> 00:31:49,639
if we are going to be true to investing 

855
00:31:49,639 --> 00:31:51,861
and supporting infrastructure , we have 

856
00:31:51,861 --> 00:31:53,806
to invest . Now we need to put our 

857
00:31:53,806 --> 00:31:56,028
money where our mouth is so that we can 

858
00:31:56,028 --> 00:31:58,139
better manage the risks and the costs 

859
00:31:58,139 --> 00:31:59,972
that comes with extreme deferred 

860
00:31:59,972 --> 00:32:02,139
infrastructure investments and we need 

861
00:32:02,139 --> 00:32:01,449
to make sure that we build and sustain 

862
00:32:01,459 --> 00:32:03,681
the infrastructure . We need to compete 

863
00:32:03,681 --> 00:32:05,792
with our adversaries and to take care 

864
00:32:05,792 --> 00:32:07,903
of our soldiers and their families as 

865
00:32:07,903 --> 00:32:10,126
well . I want to pivot right now to the 

866
00:32:10,126 --> 00:32:12,292
ongoing conflict in Gaza . I know many 

867
00:32:12,292 --> 00:32:12,214
of my colleagues have asked questions 

868
00:32:12,224 --> 00:32:14,168
about that today and I share their 

869
00:32:14,168 --> 00:32:16,614
concerns as to how US supplied weapons 

870
00:32:16,625 --> 00:32:18,625
are being used in the by the Israel 

871
00:32:18,625 --> 00:32:20,625
defense forces and whether adequate 

872
00:32:20,625 --> 00:32:22,458
steps are being taken to protect 

873
00:32:22,458 --> 00:32:24,458
civilian life , especially with the 

874
00:32:24,458 --> 00:32:26,347
looming operation in Rafah . This 

875
00:32:26,347 --> 00:32:28,347
includes reports of an October 31st 

876
00:32:28,347 --> 00:32:30,403
airstrike on the Jabalia refuge camp 

877
00:32:30,403 --> 00:32:32,569
that killed over 100 25 people and may 

878
00:32:32,569 --> 00:32:34,736
have involved a US provided bomb . The 

879
00:32:34,736 --> 00:32:36,736
possible use of white phosphorus in 

880
00:32:36,736 --> 00:32:36,680
areas populated by civilians on October 

881
00:32:36,689 --> 00:32:39,130
16th and the continuing use of us made 

882
00:32:39,140 --> 00:32:41,362
precision guided missiles and artillery 

883
00:32:41,362 --> 00:32:43,418
in Israel's defense . Mr Secretary . 

884
00:32:43,418 --> 00:32:45,084
Would you please describe the 

885
00:32:45,084 --> 00:32:47,307
department's efforts to conduct and use 

886
00:32:47,307 --> 00:32:49,362
monitoring of us provided weapons to 

887
00:32:49,362 --> 00:32:51,584
Israel in this conflict specifically to 

888
00:32:51,584 --> 00:32:53,418
determine the credibility of the 

889
00:32:53,418 --> 00:32:53,150
written assurances provided by the 

890
00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:55,839
Israeli government pursuant to NSM 20 

891
00:32:59,150 --> 00:33:01,660
the vast majority of equipment that the 

892
00:33:01,670 --> 00:33:04,310
Israelis use is provided by the United 

893
00:33:04,319 --> 00:33:06,319
States in terms of air , air ground 

894
00:33:06,319 --> 00:33:08,375
munitions . And I think everybody is 

895
00:33:08,375 --> 00:33:11,180
aware of that . Um the Israeli 

896
00:33:11,189 --> 00:33:13,189
military's professional force , our 

897
00:33:13,189 --> 00:33:15,339
expectation is that uh that they 

898
00:33:15,349 --> 00:33:18,010
conduct their operations as 

899
00:33:18,020 --> 00:33:19,939
professionals would and that they 

900
00:33:19,949 --> 00:33:21,949
account for civilians in the battle 

901
00:33:21,949 --> 00:33:24,119
space and make sure that they have , 

902
00:33:24,130 --> 00:33:26,297
they have good targeting processes and 

903
00:33:26,297 --> 00:33:28,699
they follow those processes um in , in 

904
00:33:28,709 --> 00:33:32,500
terms of um making sure that we're 

905
00:33:32,510 --> 00:33:35,099
engaging the Israelis on these issues . 

906
00:33:35,109 --> 00:33:37,660
I do that every week as I talk to my 

907
00:33:37,670 --> 00:33:40,550
counterpart in Israel . Uh this is one 

908
00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:42,338
of the things that I , I really 

909
00:33:42,338 --> 00:33:44,900
emphasize routinely . Uh , and , uh , 

910
00:33:44,910 --> 00:33:47,077
and again , it's been a tough battle , 

911
00:33:47,077 --> 00:33:48,966
Mr Secretary there , far too many 

912
00:33:48,966 --> 00:33:51,077
civilians that have been absolutely . 

913
00:33:51,077 --> 00:33:53,243
So , Mr Secretary , if I'm hearing you 

914
00:33:53,243 --> 00:33:55,466
right , then we're taking them on their 

915
00:33:55,466 --> 00:33:57,354
word that they are abiding by the 

916
00:33:57,354 --> 00:33:59,577
provisions in NSM 20 . Are we doing any 

917
00:33:59,577 --> 00:34:01,709
of our own monitoring and use 

918
00:34:01,719 --> 00:34:03,775
monitoring to make sure that we know 

919
00:34:03,775 --> 00:34:05,608
exactly how that's being done to 

920
00:34:05,608 --> 00:34:07,608
prevent the loss of life , civilian 

921
00:34:07,608 --> 00:34:09,608
civilian casualties . Well , as you 

922
00:34:09,608 --> 00:34:11,608
know , in in accordance with NSM 20 

923
00:34:11,608 --> 00:34:13,386
we'll have to provide the State 

924
00:34:13,386 --> 00:34:15,330
Department in conjunction with the 

925
00:34:15,330 --> 00:34:17,108
defense will have to provide an 

926
00:34:17,108 --> 00:34:19,163
assessment on whether or not uh they 

927
00:34:19,163 --> 00:34:21,330
are doing just that . And so in a , in 

928
00:34:21,330 --> 00:34:20,739
a week or so , when we are to get that 

929
00:34:20,750 --> 00:34:22,861
report , then it's gonna show us with 

930
00:34:22,861 --> 00:34:24,972
some credibility that you're not just 

931
00:34:24,972 --> 00:34:27,194
taking them on their word that you have 

932
00:34:27,194 --> 00:34:29,250
actually been able to show that . In 

933
00:34:29,250 --> 00:34:31,472
fact , these weapons have not been used 

934
00:34:31,472 --> 00:34:33,810
in ways that they should not be General 

935
00:34:33,820 --> 00:34:35,709
Lee's times expired chair . And I 

936
00:34:35,709 --> 00:34:37,709
recognize General from Alabama . Mr 

937
00:34:37,709 --> 00:34:39,764
Strong . Thank you , Chairman Rogers 

938
00:34:39,764 --> 00:34:41,876
Secretary , Austin , uh General Brown 

939
00:34:41,876 --> 00:34:43,876
Mr mccord . Thank you all for being 

940
00:34:43,876 --> 00:34:45,931
here today . Uh A phrase we've heard 

941
00:34:45,931 --> 00:34:48,153
routinely from senior leadership at the 

942
00:34:48,153 --> 00:34:50,376
Pentagon is production deterrence . The 

943
00:34:50,376 --> 00:34:52,542
Alabama way of saying this is we gotta 

944
00:34:52,542 --> 00:34:54,542
keep the clip full . Uh the missile 

945
00:34:54,542 --> 00:34:56,320
industrial base needs uh stable 

946
00:34:56,320 --> 00:34:58,879
production expectations , uh expanded 

947
00:34:58,889 --> 00:35:00,969
uh capability and resilient supply 

948
00:35:00,979 --> 00:35:03,035
chain I've been a licensed emergency 

949
00:35:03,035 --> 00:35:05,300
medical technician for almost 35 years 

950
00:35:05,310 --> 00:35:07,366
and one of the contractors back home 

951
00:35:07,366 --> 00:35:09,366
explained it to me like this . It's 

952
00:35:09,366 --> 00:35:11,477
hard to run a missile industrial base 

953
00:35:11,477 --> 00:35:13,532
when your demand signals look like a 

954
00:35:13,532 --> 00:35:15,532
heart monitor , ordering 100 and 51 

955
00:35:15,532 --> 00:35:17,643
year . None . The next 100 and 50 the 

956
00:35:17,643 --> 00:35:19,643
next year . None . The next , we've 

957
00:35:19,643 --> 00:35:21,699
been reminded in the past year , the 

958
00:35:21,699 --> 00:35:23,421
critic , uh the criticality of 

959
00:35:23,421 --> 00:35:25,588
increasing our air and missile defense 

960
00:35:25,588 --> 00:35:28,143
cap uh capacity , especially in Israel 

961
00:35:28,153 --> 00:35:30,042
and the Middle East . This uh the 

962
00:35:30,042 --> 00:35:32,153
Secretary of the Navy recently shared 

963
00:35:32,153 --> 00:35:34,353
that we have a uh expended a billion 

964
00:35:34,363 --> 00:35:36,643
dollars in missile uh inventories in 

965
00:35:36,653 --> 00:35:39,363
the Red Sea uh mission which included 

966
00:35:39,373 --> 00:35:41,353
the use of the SM three missile in 

967
00:35:41,363 --> 00:35:43,732
combat for the first time to defeat 

968
00:35:43,742 --> 00:35:46,153
Iranian ballistic missiles . Uh Just 

969
00:35:46,163 --> 00:35:48,363
last week , I uh went to the uh 

970
00:35:48,373 --> 00:35:50,206
groundbreaking in Huntsville for 

971
00:35:50,206 --> 00:35:52,865
facility expansion where 60% of the 

972
00:35:52,875 --> 00:35:56,706
work uh is for the SM 31 B . This 

973
00:35:56,716 --> 00:36:00,115
is uh initiated after uh demand signals 

974
00:36:00,125 --> 00:36:02,403
in recent years to crank up production . 

975
00:36:02,436 --> 00:36:04,625
Despite this , the department has now 

976
00:36:04,635 --> 00:36:08,365
proposed termination of the SCM 31 B . 

977
00:36:08,375 --> 00:36:10,208
I'm especially worried about the 

978
00:36:10,208 --> 00:36:13,145
workforce uh uh and what this is the 

979
00:36:13,156 --> 00:36:15,936
signal this is sent one , I understand 

980
00:36:15,946 --> 00:36:17,557
the constraint and Financial 

981
00:36:17,557 --> 00:36:19,613
Responsibility Act . So what I would 

982
00:36:19,613 --> 00:36:22,370
like to know from you is , was this 

983
00:36:22,379 --> 00:36:24,439
just a budget decision despite our 

984
00:36:24,449 --> 00:36:26,560
commitment over the last two years to 

985
00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:28,782
protect missile uh funding for critical 

986
00:36:28,782 --> 00:36:31,530
uh munitions . Uh Are we again using 

987
00:36:31,540 --> 00:36:33,800
missiles as a bill payer to meet the 

988
00:36:33,810 --> 00:36:37,800
priorities as 

989
00:36:37,810 --> 00:36:40,090
we , as we discussed earlier , we , we 

990
00:36:40,100 --> 00:36:42,219
certainly had to make tough choices . 

991
00:36:42,229 --> 00:36:45,899
Uh uh as we uh built our 

992
00:36:45,909 --> 00:36:48,370
budget request based upon the , the fr 

993
00:36:48,379 --> 00:36:51,520
A . Um But since Raytheon is a prime 

994
00:36:51,530 --> 00:36:54,280
vendor for this uh this weapon uh 

995
00:36:54,290 --> 00:36:57,600
weapons system , uh I'll take , uh I'll 

996
00:36:57,610 --> 00:36:59,666
take your question for the , for the 

997
00:36:59,666 --> 00:37:02,070
record out , out , out of an abundance 

998
00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:04,191
of caution there as you know , I used 

999
00:37:04,191 --> 00:37:07,570
to serve on the board of Raytheon . Uh 

1000
00:37:07,939 --> 00:37:10,106
Thank you , given the sudden change in 

1001
00:37:10,106 --> 00:37:12,290
plans . I'd like to ask that you 

1002
00:37:12,300 --> 00:37:14,078
provide this committee , the uh 

1003
00:37:14,078 --> 00:37:16,078
analysis supporting the termination 

1004
00:37:16,078 --> 00:37:18,300
decision , including analysis of the SM 

1005
00:37:18,300 --> 00:37:20,850
three capability uh against current and 

1006
00:37:20,860 --> 00:37:22,971
future threats risk to the industrial 

1007
00:37:22,971 --> 00:37:25,082
base and workforce and the ability of 

1008
00:37:25,082 --> 00:37:26,916
the Navy to meet missile defense 

1009
00:37:26,916 --> 00:37:29,209
requirements with significantly fewer 

1010
00:37:29,310 --> 00:37:32,044
um effectors . Uh Secretary A , I'd 

1011
00:37:32,054 --> 00:37:33,887
like to thank the department for 

1012
00:37:33,887 --> 00:37:36,235
sticking to the facts and doing uh what 

1013
00:37:36,245 --> 00:37:38,245
is best for national security as it 

1014
00:37:38,245 --> 00:37:40,412
conducts the inspector general and GAO 

1015
00:37:40,412 --> 00:37:42,614
investigation into the space command 

1016
00:37:42,625 --> 00:37:45,445
based decision . I'm confident uh that 

1017
00:37:45,455 --> 00:37:47,445
should the department continue in 

1018
00:37:47,455 --> 00:37:49,455
pursuit of the truth ? It will once 

1019
00:37:49,465 --> 00:37:51,187
again find Redstone arsenal in 

1020
00:37:51,187 --> 00:37:53,187
Huntsville , Alabama to be the best 

1021
00:37:53,187 --> 00:37:55,243
place for space command and best for 

1022
00:37:55,243 --> 00:37:57,354
national security . Uh With that Mr 

1023
00:37:57,364 --> 00:37:59,475
Chairman , I yield back the remainder 

1024
00:37:59,475 --> 00:38:01,531
of my time , I think the gentlemen , 

1025
00:38:01,531 --> 00:38:03,531
you now recognized the General Lady 

1026
00:38:03,531 --> 00:38:05,864
from Virginia MS mcclelland . Thank you , 

1027
00:38:05,864 --> 00:38:07,808
Mr Chair . I thank you , Secretary 

1028
00:38:07,808 --> 00:38:10,031
Austin and General Brown for being here 

1029
00:38:10,031 --> 00:38:12,253
today . Um I want to focus a little bit 

1030
00:38:12,253 --> 00:38:15,429
on uh child care um and I appreciate in 

1031
00:38:15,439 --> 00:38:17,830
your submitted remarks that you pointed 

1032
00:38:17,840 --> 00:38:21,370
out that the um fy 2025 

1033
00:38:21,379 --> 00:38:24,070
budget is focusing on efforts to make 

1034
00:38:24,080 --> 00:38:27,320
childcare more affordable . Um But for 

1035
00:38:27,330 --> 00:38:29,399
the past year , what I have been 

1036
00:38:29,409 --> 00:38:31,639
hearing as I visit installations across 

1037
00:38:31,649 --> 00:38:33,790
Virginia as late as Friday when I was 

1038
00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:36,649
at Fort Greg Adams is affordability is 

1039
00:38:36,659 --> 00:38:38,939
only part of the issue . And for , and 

1040
00:38:38,949 --> 00:38:41,239
for many of these installations is the 

1041
00:38:41,250 --> 00:38:43,399
lack of sufficient workforce to meet 

1042
00:38:43,510 --> 00:38:46,370
the demand . And so I wanted to ask if 

1043
00:38:46,379 --> 00:38:48,969
you could elaborate what , what the dod 

1044
00:38:48,979 --> 00:38:51,939
is doing to help increase the workforce , 

1045
00:38:51,949 --> 00:38:54,929
including uh making the ability to do 

1046
00:38:54,939 --> 00:38:57,090
background checks a little bit faster 

1047
00:38:57,100 --> 00:38:59,159
because I hear that seems to be the 

1048
00:38:59,169 --> 00:39:02,860
long pole in the tent . Uh We are doing 

1049
00:39:02,870 --> 00:39:06,330
things to speed up uh uh the amount of 

1050
00:39:06,340 --> 00:39:08,007
time that it takes to conduct 

1051
00:39:08,007 --> 00:39:10,118
background checks and you are right . 

1052
00:39:10,118 --> 00:39:12,300
That has been a um an issue of concern 

1053
00:39:12,310 --> 00:39:14,469
uh for a number of people for quite 

1054
00:39:14,479 --> 00:39:17,000
some time . Uh We're also doing things 

1055
00:39:17,010 --> 00:39:20,219
to incentivize uh workers uh working 

1056
00:39:20,229 --> 00:39:23,580
for uh for us and uh in the , in the uh 

1057
00:39:23,590 --> 00:39:27,209
childcare um arena . Uh If 

1058
00:39:27,219 --> 00:39:29,330
you're an employee , for example , uh 

1059
00:39:29,330 --> 00:39:32,989
we uh if you want your child to uh be 

1060
00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:35,278
enrolled in that childcare center . We , 

1061
00:39:35,278 --> 00:39:37,444
we've reduced the cost of the first uh 

1062
00:39:37,444 --> 00:39:39,629
uh for the first child by 50% . And 

1063
00:39:39,639 --> 00:39:41,861
there are other things that we're doing 

1064
00:39:41,861 --> 00:39:43,917
to try to make it more attractive uh 

1065
00:39:43,917 --> 00:39:46,850
for us to uh mo more attractive for 

1066
00:39:46,860 --> 00:39:48,971
people to come work for us . But this 

1067
00:39:48,971 --> 00:39:51,193
is uh there's comp stiff competition as 

1068
00:39:51,193 --> 00:39:53,416
you know , in this uh uh in this area . 

1069
00:39:53,416 --> 00:39:55,582
And uh we've just got to do , continue 

1070
00:39:55,582 --> 00:39:57,749
to do more to attract the right people 

1071
00:39:57,750 --> 00:40:00,360
uh to join us and , and stay with us . 

1072
00:40:00,590 --> 00:40:02,757
Uh And we've seen some improvement but 

1073
00:40:02,757 --> 00:40:04,812
there's more to be done . So , thank 

1074
00:40:04,812 --> 00:40:07,034
you . I know this is not just a problem 

1075
00:40:07,034 --> 00:40:09,034
for the dod , it's a problem in the 

1076
00:40:09,034 --> 00:40:11,146
civilian world as well . But if there 

1077
00:40:11,146 --> 00:40:12,923
are more resources or , or , or 

1078
00:40:12,923 --> 00:40:15,146
assistance that we can provide , please 

1079
00:40:15,146 --> 00:40:17,146
let us know um on mental health and 

1080
00:40:17,146 --> 00:40:19,146
suicide prevention . These are also 

1081
00:40:19,146 --> 00:40:21,368
difficult issues we continue to grapple 

1082
00:40:21,368 --> 00:40:23,850
with in September of 2023 you signed 

1083
00:40:23,860 --> 00:40:26,570
off on a memo with over 100 actions to 

1084
00:40:26,580 --> 00:40:29,409
prevent military suicide targeting five 

1085
00:40:29,419 --> 00:40:31,810
primary lines of effort . And can you 

1086
00:40:31,820 --> 00:40:33,987
uh tell us today how the department is 

1087
00:40:33,987 --> 00:40:36,209
beginning to implement those directives 

1088
00:40:36,209 --> 00:40:39,419
and how we can be supportive ? Well , 

1089
00:40:39,429 --> 00:40:41,651
we , we are implementing them and uh of 

1090
00:40:41,651 --> 00:40:43,790
course , I , I am personally involved 

1091
00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:45,744
in this because it's , it's really 

1092
00:40:45,744 --> 00:40:49,679
important to me . And um I uh uh 

1093
00:40:49,689 --> 00:40:52,399
I routinely engage the service 

1094
00:40:52,409 --> 00:40:55,330
leadership , uh , in , in terms of what 

1095
00:40:55,340 --> 00:40:58,310
they're doing and , uh , and , uh , and 

1096
00:40:58,320 --> 00:41:00,669
how they're , how they're , uh , making 

1097
00:41:00,679 --> 00:41:02,846
health care or mental health care more 

1098
00:41:02,846 --> 00:41:05,012
available to their , to their troops . 

1099
00:41:05,219 --> 00:41:07,219
Uh And , uh , and so this remains a 

1100
00:41:07,219 --> 00:41:09,330
focus for the department from the top 

1101
00:41:09,330 --> 00:41:11,560
to the bottom . Uh , but it's still a 

1102
00:41:11,570 --> 00:41:14,030
very , I mean , it's a competitive 

1103
00:41:14,040 --> 00:41:16,429
market . Uh , uh , it's , uh , there's 

1104
00:41:16,439 --> 00:41:18,661
just not enough health care providers , 

1105
00:41:18,661 --> 00:41:20,772
mental health care providers . Uh And 

1106
00:41:20,772 --> 00:41:22,995
the , the , the uh , demand is pretty , 

1107
00:41:22,995 --> 00:41:25,800
uh , pretty , uh , uh significant . Uh 

1108
00:41:25,870 --> 00:41:29,149
We've done some things like , uh , make , 

1109
00:41:29,159 --> 00:41:32,550
uh telehealth care uh available 

1110
00:41:32,679 --> 00:41:34,901
and , uh , that's helped the people who 

1111
00:41:34,901 --> 00:41:37,020
are uh working and living in remote 

1112
00:41:37,030 --> 00:41:40,659
areas . Uh And , uh , and again , there , 

1113
00:41:41,050 --> 00:41:43,161
there's much more that , uh , that we 

1114
00:41:43,161 --> 00:41:45,050
need to do but , uh , but it will 

1115
00:41:45,050 --> 00:41:47,510
remain a AAA very competitive uh uh 

1116
00:41:47,810 --> 00:41:50,469
market because there's just not enough 

1117
00:41:50,479 --> 00:41:52,479
providers out there in the civilian 

1118
00:41:52,479 --> 00:41:55,229
world or in the military . Thank you . 

1119
00:41:55,239 --> 00:41:57,461
Um We had the opportunity to speak with 

1120
00:41:57,461 --> 00:41:59,461
leadership for Africom in a posture 

1121
00:41:59,461 --> 00:42:01,709
hearing earlier , uh following the 

1122
00:42:01,719 --> 00:42:04,590
military coup in . And since then , we 

1123
00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:06,669
have seen a further weakening of the 

1124
00:42:06,679 --> 00:42:08,623
American position in Africa as our 

1125
00:42:08,623 --> 00:42:10,901
troops have been ordered to leave , uh , 

1126
00:42:10,901 --> 00:42:12,901
Chad as well as to nations that are 

1127
00:42:12,901 --> 00:42:14,290
vitally important to our 

1128
00:42:14,290 --> 00:42:16,610
counterterrorism efforts . Um And you 

1129
00:42:16,620 --> 00:42:18,731
may not have time to answer this . So 

1130
00:42:18,731 --> 00:42:20,842
for the record , if you could provide 

1131
00:42:20,842 --> 00:42:22,676
how the department is working to 

1132
00:42:22,676 --> 00:42:24,898
prevent uh similar troop evictions from 

1133
00:42:24,898 --> 00:42:26,898
our African partners . And what the 

1134
00:42:26,898 --> 00:42:29,064
department is doing to strengthen ties 

1135
00:42:29,064 --> 00:42:31,389
with our partners in Africa um would 

1136
00:42:31,399 --> 00:42:32,510
love to have that . 

1137
00:42:35,399 --> 00:42:37,566
Thank you . And finally , I would just 

1138
00:42:37,566 --> 00:42:39,788
say after my visit to Fort Greg Adams , 

1139
00:42:39,788 --> 00:42:41,949
um one of the challenges I think with 

1140
00:42:41,959 --> 00:42:44,070
meeting recruitment goals is the fact 

1141
00:42:44,070 --> 00:42:46,370
that particularly since COVID , uh the 

1142
00:42:46,379 --> 00:42:49,350
inability to be more further integrated 

1143
00:42:49,360 --> 00:42:51,360
in the communities . And , and Fort 

1144
00:42:51,360 --> 00:42:53,527
Grass is a good example where you have 

1145
00:42:53,527 --> 00:42:55,471
two military museums , a great new 

1146
00:42:55,471 --> 00:42:59,229
exhibit on the six triple eight . and , 

1147
00:42:59,239 --> 00:43:01,620
and uh black women who participated in 

1148
00:43:01,699 --> 00:43:03,755
and the war effort and yet civilians 

1149
00:43:03,755 --> 00:43:05,866
have a hard time getting on campus to 

1150
00:43:05,866 --> 00:43:07,977
see them . If there's anything we can 

1151
00:43:07,977 --> 00:43:09,810
do to help you meet that balance 

1152
00:43:09,810 --> 00:43:11,977
between providing security at the gate 

1153
00:43:12,649 --> 00:43:14,649
is more people from the chair , not 

1154
00:43:14,649 --> 00:43:16,982
recognized , General lady from Virginia . 

1155
00:43:16,982 --> 00:43:19,419
MS Gee . Thank you , Mr Chair and thank 

1156
00:43:19,429 --> 00:43:21,373
you to General Brown and Secretary 

1157
00:43:21,373 --> 00:43:23,596
Austin Mr mccord for being here with us 

1158
00:43:23,596 --> 00:43:25,485
and for your service to our great 

1159
00:43:25,485 --> 00:43:27,707
nation . I know we , we've had a lot of 

1160
00:43:27,707 --> 00:43:29,929
us speak today about the defense budget 

1161
00:43:29,929 --> 00:43:29,919
being inadequate and our concerns with 

1162
00:43:29,929 --> 00:43:33,209
that uh just noteworthy uh uh take away 

1163
00:43:33,219 --> 00:43:35,441
from a brief , I went to about the pier 

1164
00:43:35,441 --> 00:43:37,552
that that is being established off of 

1165
00:43:37,552 --> 00:43:39,775
Israel . $330 million was the price tag 

1166
00:43:39,775 --> 00:43:41,830
that we were given 1100 servicemen , 

1167
00:43:41,830 --> 00:43:43,886
men and women from Virginia , uh who 

1168
00:43:43,886 --> 00:43:46,108
are being sent there in my opinion , in 

1169
00:43:46,108 --> 00:43:48,386
harm's way . So that unilateral action , 

1170
00:43:48,386 --> 00:43:50,608
I , I sometimes question our priorities 

1171
00:43:50,608 --> 00:43:52,719
about how , how are we priority the , 

1172
00:43:52,719 --> 00:43:54,830
the inadequate defense budget that we 

1173
00:43:54,830 --> 00:43:54,784
do have . But that raises a lot of 

1174
00:43:54,794 --> 00:43:56,961
questions . I want to echo some of the 

1175
00:43:56,961 --> 00:43:59,264
words of my colleague uh about the F-35 

1176
00:43:59,274 --> 00:44:01,274
and had my staff print on our break 

1177
00:44:01,284 --> 00:44:04,094
about the the GAO report which is quite 

1178
00:44:04,104 --> 00:44:06,437
scathing if you haven't had a chance to , 

1179
00:44:06,437 --> 00:44:08,660
to read it . I was shocked to just hear 

1180
00:44:08,660 --> 00:44:10,715
about and read about the sustainment 

1181
00:44:10,715 --> 00:44:12,937
costs that have increased 44% . So they 

1182
00:44:12,937 --> 00:44:15,584
went from 1.1 trillion in 2018 to 1.58 

1183
00:44:15,594 --> 00:44:18,860
trillion 2023 . So since 2014 , they 

1184
00:44:18,870 --> 00:44:21,500
made 43 recommendations to improve the 

1185
00:44:21,510 --> 00:44:23,677
department's operations sustainment of 

1186
00:44:23,677 --> 00:44:25,750
the F-35 program . And that dod has 

1187
00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:28,870
implemented uh only , only uh a few of 

1188
00:44:28,879 --> 00:44:31,219
them . So 30% remain unimplemented . So 

1189
00:44:31,229 --> 00:44:33,570
about 70% of those recommendations 

1190
00:44:33,729 --> 00:44:35,951
remain unimplemented . Do you know what 

1191
00:44:35,951 --> 00:44:38,173
what the Department of Defense is going 

1192
00:44:38,173 --> 00:44:40,396
to be doing in order to get those F-35s 

1193
00:44:40,396 --> 00:44:42,655
off of the flight line uh at you know , 

1194
00:44:42,665 --> 00:44:44,665
in Texas , they're not doing us any 

1195
00:44:44,665 --> 00:44:46,665
good sitting on the flight line . I 

1196
00:44:46,665 --> 00:44:48,887
also want to put a shout out for places 

1197
00:44:48,887 --> 00:44:50,887
like Naval Air Station Oceana in my 

1198
00:44:50,887 --> 00:44:50,864
district , the East Coast Master Jet 

1199
00:44:50,875 --> 00:44:53,064
Base . We need those F-35 . Let's get 

1200
00:44:53,074 --> 00:44:55,296
them in the fleet . Let's get the , the 

1201
00:44:55,296 --> 00:44:57,407
pipelines going for maintenance , for 

1202
00:44:57,407 --> 00:44:59,574
operations , for manufacturing so that 

1203
00:44:59,574 --> 00:45:01,907
we can maybe reduce some costs that way . 

1204
00:45:01,907 --> 00:45:04,074
But , but do you have plans uh in mind 

1205
00:45:04,074 --> 00:45:06,185
for how we can , can get those , uh , 

1206
00:45:06,185 --> 00:45:08,130
30 fives into the fleet and reduce 

1207
00:45:08,130 --> 00:45:10,185
those costs ? Yeah , I will , uh , I 

1208
00:45:10,185 --> 00:45:12,296
can take part partly because , uh , I 

1209
00:45:12,296 --> 00:45:14,352
was uh as the air force chief that I 

1210
00:45:14,352 --> 00:45:16,407
was , uh , several months ago . Uh , 

1211
00:45:16,407 --> 00:45:18,463
part of the conversation here was to 

1212
00:45:18,463 --> 00:45:20,463
make sure that we , uh , we , we're 

1213
00:45:20,463 --> 00:45:22,685
getting what we pay for . And , uh , at 

1214
00:45:22,685 --> 00:45:24,796
that point , Lockheed Martin hadn't , 

1215
00:45:24,796 --> 00:45:26,796
would basically get into tr three , 

1216
00:45:26,796 --> 00:45:28,907
which is the truck refresh to get the 

1217
00:45:28,907 --> 00:45:28,260
block four , which is the capability 

1218
00:45:28,270 --> 00:45:30,820
required for our pacing threat was not 

1219
00:45:30,830 --> 00:45:33,052
on time . And that's what's driving the 

1220
00:45:33,052 --> 00:45:35,219
part of the , uh , the conversation of 

1221
00:45:35,219 --> 00:45:37,274
being able to get those , uh , those 

1222
00:45:37,274 --> 00:45:37,239
airplanes from Locke and Martin and 

1223
00:45:37,250 --> 00:45:39,361
getting them out to the field so they 

1224
00:45:39,361 --> 00:45:41,417
can , uh , be employed and why is it 

1225
00:45:41,417 --> 00:45:43,583
not on time ? And what are we doing to 

1226
00:45:43,583 --> 00:45:45,583
make sure that it will be on time ? 

1227
00:45:45,583 --> 00:45:47,750
Well , it's engaging with industry and 

1228
00:45:47,750 --> 00:45:49,861
I'll just tell you in my last role as 

1229
00:45:49,861 --> 00:45:49,830
the Chief of staff of the Air Force , I 

1230
00:45:49,840 --> 00:45:52,062
sat down with , uh , three of our CEO S 

1231
00:45:52,062 --> 00:45:54,173
from our industry partners . I have a 

1232
00:45:54,173 --> 00:45:56,396
key role in this to tell them we have a 

1233
00:45:56,396 --> 00:45:58,396
problem . We have a problem that we 

1234
00:45:58,396 --> 00:46:00,618
have to work together to make sure that 

1235
00:46:00,618 --> 00:46:02,840
we uh we provide the capability uh that 

1236
00:46:02,840 --> 00:46:05,007
we're paying for . Please provide that 

1237
00:46:05,007 --> 00:46:04,219
oversight and hold their feet to the 

1238
00:46:04,229 --> 00:46:06,340
fire because I hear from my friends , 

1239
00:46:06,340 --> 00:46:08,340
the F-18 pilots who are flying only 

1240
00:46:08,340 --> 00:46:10,229
F-18s out of Oceania that they're 

1241
00:46:10,229 --> 00:46:12,229
having to change their tactics on a 

1242
00:46:12,229 --> 00:46:14,062
weekly basis to keep up with the 

1243
00:46:14,062 --> 00:46:16,173
Chinese . If we have better equipment 

1244
00:46:16,173 --> 00:46:15,719
out there for them , let's get it in 

1245
00:46:15,729 --> 00:46:17,396
their hands so they can start 

1246
00:46:17,396 --> 00:46:19,451
practicing for it so we can be ready 

1247
00:46:19,451 --> 00:46:21,562
for that fight tonight . Also , I had 

1248
00:46:21,562 --> 00:46:21,510
the privilege of sitting on the 

1249
00:46:21,520 --> 00:46:23,576
recruitment , retention , quality of 

1250
00:46:23,576 --> 00:46:25,464
life task force , which I'm , I'm 

1251
00:46:25,464 --> 00:46:27,631
hoping that you all have a copy of the 

1252
00:46:27,631 --> 00:46:26,870
quality of life panel report that we 

1253
00:46:26,879 --> 00:46:29,360
put together with some great changes in 

1254
00:46:29,370 --> 00:46:31,592
there . I want to hear from you all how 

1255
00:46:31,592 --> 00:46:33,703
uh you know , we're gonna do our part 

1256
00:46:33,703 --> 00:46:35,926
in the NDAND a side and implement these 

1257
00:46:35,926 --> 00:46:38,037
changes in that . But how are you all 

1258
00:46:38,037 --> 00:46:39,814
gonna get these messages out to 

1259
00:46:39,814 --> 00:46:41,814
Americans that we hear you ? We are 

1260
00:46:41,814 --> 00:46:43,592
working on those things . We've 

1261
00:46:43,592 --> 00:46:43,360
improved pay . We , we've heard you 

1262
00:46:43,370 --> 00:46:45,537
about childcare , we're expanding that 

1263
00:46:45,537 --> 00:46:47,759
we're working on health care , spouse , 

1264
00:46:47,759 --> 00:46:49,870
employment housing . How are we gonna 

1265
00:46:49,870 --> 00:46:51,759
get that word out to the American 

1266
00:46:51,759 --> 00:46:53,981
people because it hurts my heart when I 

1267
00:46:53,981 --> 00:46:56,037
hear from parents in my district who 

1268
00:46:56,037 --> 00:46:55,489
are veterans like myself who are 

1269
00:46:55,500 --> 00:46:57,722
telling me , I'm telling my kids not to 

1270
00:46:57,722 --> 00:46:59,889
sign up to be in the military and as , 

1271
00:46:59,889 --> 00:47:02,056
as a mom of , of Children who do serve 

1272
00:47:02,056 --> 00:47:04,167
you , you know , I , I know what life 

1273
00:47:04,167 --> 00:47:06,278
looks like out there for them . So we 

1274
00:47:06,278 --> 00:47:06,080
need to get this message that we've 

1275
00:47:06,090 --> 00:47:08,257
heard them . We are putting good plans 

1276
00:47:08,257 --> 00:47:10,423
in place for change . But I don't know 

1277
00:47:10,423 --> 00:47:12,534
if there's a , a new pr , some of our 

1278
00:47:12,534 --> 00:47:14,590
money can go to a big pr campaign or 

1279
00:47:14,590 --> 00:47:16,701
what are we gonna do that to get that 

1280
00:47:16,701 --> 00:47:18,868
message to Americans ? Well , first of 

1281
00:47:18,868 --> 00:47:20,590
all , let me thank you for the 

1282
00:47:20,590 --> 00:47:22,646
tremendous work . And , you know , I 

1283
00:47:22,646 --> 00:47:24,868
have gone through the , uh , the report 

1284
00:47:24,868 --> 00:47:27,201
and my staff along with the joint staff , 

1285
00:47:27,201 --> 00:47:29,423
um , is looking at it to , to make sure 

1286
00:47:29,423 --> 00:47:31,534
that , uh , everything that we can do 

1287
00:47:31,534 --> 00:47:33,909
to , to implement , uh , the things 

1288
00:47:33,919 --> 00:47:36,197
that you guys have brought forward and , 

1289
00:47:36,197 --> 00:47:38,475
and certainly we're gonna take that on . 

1290
00:47:38,475 --> 00:47:40,586
But I will tell you that , uh , we've 

1291
00:47:40,586 --> 00:47:42,808
done a lot , you know , one of my , one 

1292
00:47:42,808 --> 00:47:44,863
of my , uh , um , areas of focus has 

1293
00:47:44,863 --> 00:47:46,975
been taking care of people and that's 

1294
00:47:46,975 --> 00:47:49,197
why again , I asked you for a pay raise 

1295
00:47:49,197 --> 00:47:53,120
in 23 or 4.6% last year or 24 . I asked 

1296
00:47:53,129 --> 00:47:56,399
you for a pay raise of , uh , 5.2% 

1297
00:47:56,409 --> 00:47:58,465
biggest pay raise in 20 years . Uh , 

1298
00:47:58,465 --> 00:48:00,687
and this , this year , we're asking you 

1299
00:48:00,687 --> 00:48:03,229
for 4.5% . I'm happy , happy to do 

1300
00:48:03,239 --> 00:48:05,295
those things . And I just have a few 

1301
00:48:05,295 --> 00:48:07,406
more seconds left . But I just wanted 

1302
00:48:07,406 --> 00:48:09,628
to show my Naval Academy son said , you 

1303
00:48:09,628 --> 00:48:08,360
know , they used to tell us that the 

1304
00:48:08,370 --> 00:48:10,481
Naval Academy might not have the best 

1305
00:48:10,481 --> 00:48:12,703
equipment or best uh best resources out 

1306
00:48:12,703 --> 00:48:14,926
there , but we have the best people out 

1307
00:48:14,926 --> 00:48:17,092
there . So those kids grow up thinking 

1308
00:48:17,092 --> 00:48:16,550
that we need to make sure we're taking 

1309
00:48:16,560 --> 00:48:18,449
care of those people . And I just 

1310
00:48:18,449 --> 00:48:20,782
really appreciate you prioritizing that . 

1311
00:48:20,782 --> 00:48:22,893
Thank you so much . My time's expired 

1312
00:48:22,893 --> 00:48:22,780
chair and I recognize a gentleman from 

1313
00:48:22,790 --> 00:48:25,139
North Carolina . Mr Davis . Thank you 

1314
00:48:25,149 --> 00:48:28,969
so much , Mr Chair and thank you um to 

1315
00:48:28,979 --> 00:48:32,570
our witnesses um to secretary um 

1316
00:48:32,969 --> 00:48:36,860
Austin uh to the General General 

1317
00:48:36,870 --> 00:48:39,169
Brown . And I want to thank you in 

1318
00:48:39,179 --> 00:48:41,610
particular for your service to our 

1319
00:48:41,620 --> 00:48:44,610
country and keeping the American people 

1320
00:48:44,620 --> 00:48:48,360
safe . Um Over uh 

1321
00:48:48,370 --> 00:48:51,429
two weeks ago , the fearless airmen of 

1322
00:48:51,439 --> 00:48:54,649
the 3 35th fighter squadron shut down 

1323
00:48:55,229 --> 00:48:58,469
uh 63 attack drones headed for Israel . 

1324
00:49:00,149 --> 00:49:02,810
The air force is planning to the vest 

1325
00:49:03,909 --> 00:49:06,260
an entire combat squadron of Strike 

1326
00:49:06,270 --> 00:49:08,439
Eagles next year in one of the most 

1327
00:49:08,449 --> 00:49:11,350
economically um distressed counties in 

1328
00:49:11,360 --> 00:49:13,989
all of North Carolina . Um if you look 

1329
00:49:14,000 --> 00:49:16,959
at the the region , um 

1330
00:49:18,000 --> 00:49:20,899
it rates extremely high 

1331
00:49:21,739 --> 00:49:24,280
by measurements economically distress . 

1332
00:49:24,709 --> 00:49:27,870
Um My question is uh Mr Secretary 

1333
00:49:28,699 --> 00:49:32,500
um Congress has um directed the 

1334
00:49:32,510 --> 00:49:35,520
Department of Defense to modernize . 

1335
00:49:36,590 --> 00:49:39,879
However , if we can still possibly 

1336
00:49:39,889 --> 00:49:42,209
uphold our national security interests 

1337
00:49:42,500 --> 00:49:46,189
while protecting local economies as 

1338
00:49:46,199 --> 00:49:48,760
it may have a devastating impact in 

1339
00:49:48,770 --> 00:49:51,479
communities . Um How do you see the 

1340
00:49:51,489 --> 00:49:54,560
department considering , then this 

1341
00:49:54,570 --> 00:49:57,159
local impact on communities 

1342
00:49:59,860 --> 00:50:01,971
with every change that we make . Uh , 

1343
00:50:01,979 --> 00:50:04,260
this is something that , uh , that we 

1344
00:50:04,270 --> 00:50:07,129
certainly consider . And we , uh , we 

1345
00:50:07,139 --> 00:50:09,719
try to work with uh uh local 

1346
00:50:09,729 --> 00:50:13,080
authorities where possible to , uh , to 

1347
00:50:13,409 --> 00:50:17,100
uh mitigate uh the , the impact 

1348
00:50:17,110 --> 00:50:19,110
if there's , if it's possible to do 

1349
00:50:19,110 --> 00:50:22,070
that . Um , I app I , I agree with you . 

1350
00:50:22,080 --> 00:50:24,330
By the way , I thank you for applauding 

1351
00:50:24,340 --> 00:50:26,770
the work of our , our tremendous uh 

1352
00:50:26,780 --> 00:50:28,613
fighter pilots . They , they did 

1353
00:50:28,613 --> 00:50:30,669
extraordinary work there a couple of 

1354
00:50:30,669 --> 00:50:33,709
weeks ago . Uh And uh but it just goes 

1355
00:50:33,719 --> 00:50:35,886
to show you the quality of people that 

1356
00:50:35,886 --> 00:50:38,290
we have uh in , in our ranks . I know 

1357
00:50:38,300 --> 00:50:40,467
uh General Brown was a part of that uh 

1358
00:50:40,949 --> 00:50:44,100
that those decisions to uh to 

1359
00:50:44,110 --> 00:50:46,949
modernize and uh and invest in a high , 

1360
00:50:46,959 --> 00:50:49,979
a different uh type of platform . And 

1361
00:50:51,419 --> 00:50:53,475
let me ask this question . I'm , I'm 

1362
00:50:53,475 --> 00:50:55,641
just trying to understand because it's 

1363
00:50:55,641 --> 00:50:58,219
come up now in terms of the engagement 

1364
00:50:58,229 --> 00:51:01,699
with the local community . And I'm 

1365
00:51:01,709 --> 00:51:03,699
trying to understand what level of 

1366
00:51:03,709 --> 00:51:06,479
engagement has taken place with the 

1367
00:51:06,489 --> 00:51:09,219
local community in North Carolina . 

1368
00:51:10,959 --> 00:51:13,237
Well , I can't speak for the Air Force , 

1369
00:51:13,237 --> 00:51:15,126
but I , I just know based on past 

1370
00:51:15,126 --> 00:51:17,181
experience when we uh as we start to 

1371
00:51:17,181 --> 00:51:19,181
make decisions of our basing and uh 

1372
00:51:19,181 --> 00:51:21,570
either modernization or uh divestment . 

1373
00:51:21,580 --> 00:51:23,580
Uh we , we do engage with the whole 

1374
00:51:23,580 --> 00:51:25,802
community because it , they , it , it's 

1375
00:51:25,802 --> 00:51:27,747
important to us that we maintain a 

1376
00:51:27,747 --> 00:51:27,709
positive relationship with the 

1377
00:51:27,719 --> 00:51:30,052
communities that we , uh , we live , uh , 

1378
00:51:30,052 --> 00:51:32,219
and , uh , operate in and around and , 

1379
00:51:32,219 --> 00:51:34,919
and so , uh , um , you know , I , I 

1380
00:51:34,929 --> 00:51:37,207
expect that the Air Force is , uh , uh , 

1381
00:51:37,207 --> 00:51:39,373
and they haven't , we make sure they , 

1382
00:51:39,373 --> 00:51:41,651
uh , do engage , but to your knowledge , 

1383
00:51:41,651 --> 00:51:44,379
you're not aware of personally , any 

1384
00:51:44,389 --> 00:51:46,699
level of engagement with Wayne County . 

1385
00:51:46,709 --> 00:51:49,149
I'm , I'm not because I've , I've been 

1386
00:51:49,159 --> 00:51:51,215
a bit separated from this particular 

1387
00:51:51,215 --> 00:51:53,437
topic for a number of months now . Ok . 

1388
00:51:53,750 --> 00:51:55,639
And during the time that you were 

1389
00:51:55,639 --> 00:51:57,806
engaged in this topic , were you aware 

1390
00:51:57,806 --> 00:52:00,199
of an engagement ? Well , at that time , 

1391
00:52:00,209 --> 00:52:02,376
this is before the decision was made . 

1392
00:52:02,376 --> 00:52:04,598
So , uh we , we , we don't get ahead of 

1393
00:52:04,598 --> 00:52:06,542
the decision to start engaging . I 

1394
00:52:06,542 --> 00:52:09,090
don't understand that . Let me ask this 

1395
00:52:09,100 --> 00:52:12,879
question when we think about 

1396
00:52:13,070 --> 00:52:16,159
um strike Eagles in particular , the 

1397
00:52:16,169 --> 00:52:19,330
unique capability um of this aircraft 

1398
00:52:19,340 --> 00:52:23,199
across uh combatant commands . Um Would 

1399
00:52:23,209 --> 00:52:26,760
we agree that this is a unique platform ? 

1400
00:52:27,939 --> 00:52:31,340
Yes . No , I mean , it 

1401
00:52:31,389 --> 00:52:34,729
is and we want the best uh variant of 

1402
00:52:34,739 --> 00:52:37,479
the F-15 that uh we can possibly get in 

1403
00:52:37,489 --> 00:52:39,656
our inventory . And we want one that's 

1404
00:52:39,656 --> 00:52:42,810
gonna be uh help us be decisive in the , 

1405
00:52:42,820 --> 00:52:45,709
in , in a future contest . With that 

1406
00:52:45,719 --> 00:52:48,149
understanding , it would appear to me 

1407
00:52:48,159 --> 00:52:50,739
too that we would be concerned about 

1408
00:52:50,750 --> 00:52:54,709
maybe um any gaps 

1409
00:52:54,719 --> 00:52:57,100
in delivery . And I would just be on 

1410
00:52:57,110 --> 00:52:59,949
record as sharing um that concern any 

1411
00:52:59,959 --> 00:53:03,739
gaps in delivery and taking any steps 

1412
00:53:04,324 --> 00:53:07,814
to avoid any devastating impact 

1413
00:53:08,114 --> 00:53:10,304
when we can still uphold our national 

1414
00:53:10,314 --> 00:53:12,824
security interests . So , uh thank you 

1415
00:53:12,834 --> 00:53:14,834
so much for being before us today . 

1416
00:53:14,834 --> 00:53:17,001
Thank you for what you all continue to 

1417
00:53:17,001 --> 00:53:19,223
do for the American people . Mr Chair . 

1418
00:53:19,223 --> 00:53:21,445
Yo , back . I thank the gentleman chair 

1419
00:53:21,445 --> 00:53:23,334
and I recognize general Lady from 

1420
00:53:23,334 --> 00:53:25,334
Michigan ms mclean . Thank you , Mr 

1421
00:53:25,334 --> 00:53:27,556
Chair and thank you , thank you all for 

1422
00:53:27,556 --> 00:53:29,778
being here today . Um at this important 

1423
00:53:29,778 --> 00:53:31,890
hearing Secretary Austin , you know , 

1424
00:53:31,890 --> 00:53:34,639
um in recently , um we passed a Ukraine 

1425
00:53:34,649 --> 00:53:37,219
aid supplemental . Um It was a little 

1426
00:53:37,229 --> 00:53:39,340
dicey , a little contentious , but at 

1427
00:53:39,340 --> 00:53:41,507
the end of the day , it passed . Now , 

1428
00:53:41,507 --> 00:53:43,507
I think comes some of the difficult 

1429
00:53:43,507 --> 00:53:45,179
conversations and that is 

1430
00:53:45,409 --> 00:53:48,409
accountability because something tells 

1431
00:53:48,419 --> 00:53:50,989
me that we'll probably ask for more in 

1432
00:53:51,000 --> 00:53:54,750
the future . So just as to try and be 

1433
00:53:54,760 --> 00:53:57,459
proactive , I would say section 504 

1434
00:53:57,469 --> 00:53:59,469
states that you as the Secretary of 

1435
00:53:59,469 --> 00:54:02,820
Defense and Secretary of State Blinken 

1436
00:54:02,870 --> 00:54:05,989
are required to report to Congress um 

1437
00:54:06,000 --> 00:54:09,949
on a concrete strategy for us support 

1438
00:54:09,959 --> 00:54:12,550
to Ukraine in their war with Russia . 

1439
00:54:13,270 --> 00:54:15,929
My question is simple and you have 45 

1440
00:54:15,939 --> 00:54:18,629
days to do it . I believe that report 

1441
00:54:18,639 --> 00:54:22,090
is due on June 8th . Do you believe 

1442
00:54:22,100 --> 00:54:24,469
that you will have that report by June 

1443
00:54:24,479 --> 00:54:25,479
8th ? 

1444
00:54:27,889 --> 00:54:30,300
We , we will do everything within our 

1445
00:54:30,310 --> 00:54:32,532
power to meet the meet the suspense and 

1446
00:54:32,532 --> 00:54:34,699
we have discussed this uh this issue a 

1447
00:54:34,699 --> 00:54:36,489
number of times uh in uh in our 

1448
00:54:36,500 --> 00:54:39,909
briefings So , uh , so we should look 

1449
00:54:39,919 --> 00:54:42,580
forward to it on the eighth . Ok . 

1450
00:54:42,760 --> 00:54:46,159
Confident on that again , we're gonna 

1451
00:54:46,169 --> 00:54:48,225
do everything possible to make the , 

1452
00:54:48,225 --> 00:54:50,669
make the suspense . I'm not sure what 

1453
00:54:50,679 --> 00:54:53,399
that means . Are we hedging our bets 

1454
00:54:54,070 --> 00:54:56,370
or does the deadline matter and we'll 

1455
00:54:56,379 --> 00:54:58,929
have it to us on June 8th ? That means 

1456
00:54:58,939 --> 00:55:01,106
yes , we're gonna , you know , we have 

1457
00:55:01,106 --> 00:55:03,328
a suspense to meet , we're gonna try to 

1458
00:55:03,328 --> 00:55:06,580
meet it . So what , what do you 

1459
00:55:06,590 --> 00:55:09,040
anticipate might be some of the delays 

1460
00:55:09,050 --> 00:55:10,830
in your trying to meet it ? 

1461
00:55:12,629 --> 00:55:14,851
I don't , right now , I don't see any , 

1462
00:55:14,851 --> 00:55:17,073
any delays . So we , you know , again , 

1463
00:55:17,520 --> 00:55:19,631
this , this is important . We'll make 

1464
00:55:19,631 --> 00:55:21,353
sure that uh that you have the 

1465
00:55:21,353 --> 00:55:23,464
information that uh that you've asked 

1466
00:55:23,464 --> 00:55:25,409
for . Thank , thank you . Have you 

1467
00:55:25,409 --> 00:55:27,520
begun the required consultations with 

1468
00:55:27,520 --> 00:55:29,520
Secretary Blinken on the strategy ? 

1469
00:55:30,070 --> 00:55:32,250
Have I uh conducted consultations with 

1470
00:55:32,260 --> 00:55:34,316
Secretary Lincoln on a strategy ? Uh 

1471
00:55:34,316 --> 00:55:37,649
We've discussed uh uh the Ukrainian uh 

1472
00:55:37,659 --> 00:55:41,169
the strategy for Ukraine uh in the uh 

1473
00:55:41,679 --> 00:55:43,780
with the National Security Council a 

1474
00:55:43,790 --> 00:55:46,179
number of times . So yes , as a part of 

1475
00:55:46,189 --> 00:55:48,689
a part of the uh the larger group . Yes , 

1476
00:55:48,739 --> 00:55:50,961
wonderful . Can you give this committee 

1477
00:55:50,961 --> 00:55:53,183
kind of a preview on what some of those 

1478
00:55:53,183 --> 00:55:55,419
concrete achievable objectives are ? 

1479
00:55:55,909 --> 00:55:57,798
And we've been consistent on this 

1480
00:55:57,798 --> 00:55:59,909
throughout our goal for Ukraine is to 

1481
00:55:59,909 --> 00:56:03,909
be uh a to make sure Ukraine is a um 

1482
00:56:04,699 --> 00:56:08,169
um a democratic independent um 

1483
00:56:08,540 --> 00:56:10,689
sovereign country with the ability to 

1484
00:56:10,699 --> 00:56:12,659
defend itself and , and deter 

1485
00:56:12,669 --> 00:56:15,649
aggression in the future and you're 

1486
00:56:15,659 --> 00:56:17,715
confident we're on track . Those are 

1487
00:56:17,715 --> 00:56:20,189
achievable goals . Yes , thank you , Mr 

1488
00:56:20,199 --> 00:56:22,421
Chairman . My constituents , you know , 

1489
00:56:22,421 --> 00:56:24,889
have , have concerns about , about this . 

1490
00:56:24,899 --> 00:56:27,459
Um And I hope that you'll work with 

1491
00:56:27,469 --> 00:56:30,709
this committee and our committee um to 

1492
00:56:30,719 --> 00:56:32,775
really ensure that one , this report 

1493
00:56:32,775 --> 00:56:35,500
comes in time and it lays out an actual 

1494
00:56:35,510 --> 00:56:39,229
legitimate measurable strategy for the , 

1495
00:56:39,239 --> 00:56:41,729
for the aid that we've given and any 

1496
00:56:41,739 --> 00:56:44,409
continued aid going forward . I think 

1497
00:56:44,419 --> 00:56:46,860
the American people need to know that , 

1498
00:56:47,149 --> 00:56:49,260
you know , at the end of the day , it 

1499
00:56:49,260 --> 00:56:51,482
is their their tax dollars . And I also 

1500
00:56:51,482 --> 00:56:53,593
think it would be much more palatable 

1501
00:56:53,593 --> 00:56:56,459
if we had these concrete objectives met 

1502
00:56:56,709 --> 00:56:58,542
in a measurable time . So I look 

1503
00:56:58,542 --> 00:57:00,598
forward to June 8th . Thank you very 

1504
00:57:00,598 --> 00:57:04,090
much . I yield back . Chair 

1505
00:57:04,489 --> 00:57:06,656
recognizes the gentleman from Nevada , 

1506
00:57:06,656 --> 00:57:09,850
Mr Horsford . Thank you , Chairman 

1507
00:57:09,860 --> 00:57:11,971
Rogers and to the ranking member . Uh 

1508
00:57:11,971 --> 00:57:14,209
Secretary Austin , Chairman Brown . Uh 

1509
00:57:14,219 --> 00:57:16,386
It's good to see you again and General 

1510
00:57:16,386 --> 00:57:18,600
Brown congratulations on a very well 

1511
00:57:18,610 --> 00:57:20,832
deserved appointment and I look forward 

1512
00:57:20,832 --> 00:57:22,721
to continuing continuing our work 

1513
00:57:22,721 --> 00:57:24,610
together . Uh Chairman Brown this 

1514
00:57:24,610 --> 00:57:26,832
year's budget request enables the US to 

1515
00:57:26,832 --> 00:57:29,719
plan train and exercise alongside our 

1516
00:57:29,729 --> 00:57:32,530
allies and partners worldwide . Last 

1517
00:57:32,540 --> 00:57:34,651
week , a new survey from Gallup found 

1518
00:57:34,651 --> 00:57:36,651
that the United States is no longer 

1519
00:57:36,651 --> 00:57:38,800
viewed as the most influential global 

1520
00:57:38,810 --> 00:57:41,479
power in Africa having been surpassed 

1521
00:57:41,489 --> 00:57:44,120
by China . This comes as China is 

1522
00:57:44,129 --> 00:57:46,530
Africa's biggest trading partner and 

1523
00:57:46,540 --> 00:57:48,762
continues to increase its investment in 

1524
00:57:48,762 --> 00:57:51,209
the continent . We know that the US is 

1525
00:57:51,219 --> 00:57:53,590
the partner of choice for many of these 

1526
00:57:53,600 --> 00:57:55,939
countries . How does this budget allow 

1527
00:57:55,949 --> 00:57:59,040
us to re engage with nations who are 

1528
00:57:59,050 --> 00:58:02,239
caught choosing between us and the PR C ? 

1529
00:58:02,250 --> 00:58:04,300
And what more can we be doing uh in 

1530
00:58:04,310 --> 00:58:07,379
this regard ? What , what , what the 

1531
00:58:07,389 --> 00:58:09,445
way this budget helps us is , uh you 

1532
00:58:09,445 --> 00:58:11,667
know , how we invest in our readiness , 

1533
00:58:11,667 --> 00:58:13,722
how we uh are able to uh work in our 

1534
00:58:13,722 --> 00:58:15,889
exercise program and our ability to uh 

1535
00:58:15,889 --> 00:58:18,780
engage um with uh the various nations , 

1536
00:58:18,790 --> 00:58:20,901
not , not only in Africa , but around 

1537
00:58:20,901 --> 00:58:23,123
the world . Uh And as you said , we are 

1538
00:58:23,123 --> 00:58:25,290
a uh uh the nation of choice in , in , 

1539
00:58:25,290 --> 00:58:28,739
in many cases . Um And uh for those 

1540
00:58:28,750 --> 00:58:30,861
nations that share our values , we're 

1541
00:58:30,861 --> 00:58:32,972
able to work very closely with them . 

1542
00:58:32,972 --> 00:58:32,340
That's something that we got to 

1543
00:58:32,350 --> 00:58:34,461
continue to engage and stay engaged . 

1544
00:58:34,461 --> 00:58:36,239
And this is where Africom uh in 

1545
00:58:36,239 --> 00:58:38,350
particular is working , having talked 

1546
00:58:38,350 --> 00:58:40,517
to General Langley on uh on this topic 

1547
00:58:40,517 --> 00:58:42,628
here uh several times over the course 

1548
00:58:42,628 --> 00:58:44,739
of the past several weeks . Thank you 

1549
00:58:44,739 --> 00:58:46,961
and Secretary Austin . How important is 

1550
00:58:46,961 --> 00:58:49,128
it to increase our competitive defense 

1551
00:58:49,128 --> 00:58:51,072
activities with our allies and our 

1552
00:58:51,072 --> 00:58:53,340
partners ? And what direct benefits 

1553
00:58:53,449 --> 00:58:55,116
will this have on our defense 

1554
00:58:55,116 --> 00:58:59,000
industrial base ? How 

1555
00:58:59,010 --> 00:59:00,788
important is it to increase our 

1556
00:59:00,788 --> 00:59:02,788
activity with allies and partners ? 

1557
00:59:02,788 --> 00:59:04,954
It's fundamental to our strategy ? All 

1558
00:59:04,954 --> 00:59:07,250
right . And uh if you take a look at 

1559
00:59:07,260 --> 00:59:09,520
our defense strategy , you know , our , 

1560
00:59:09,530 --> 00:59:12,459
our um strengthening our relationships 

1561
00:59:12,469 --> 00:59:14,691
with allies and partners is fundamental 

1562
00:59:14,691 --> 00:59:16,858
to that . And you've seen us do that , 

1563
00:59:16,858 --> 00:59:19,025
uh not only uh in the European theater 

1564
00:59:19,025 --> 00:59:21,830
but also most important uh in the uh uh 

1565
00:59:21,840 --> 00:59:23,896
in the Indo Pacific as well . If you 

1566
00:59:23,896 --> 00:59:26,229
take a look at the numbers of countries , 

1567
00:59:26,229 --> 00:59:28,396
uh that we strengthen our relationship 

1568
00:59:28,396 --> 00:59:30,284
with , I think it's , it's , it's 

1569
00:59:30,284 --> 00:59:33,790
really uh impressive . Uh and , and , 

1570
00:59:33,800 --> 00:59:36,239
uh in some cases , uh we've created uh 

1571
00:59:36,250 --> 00:59:39,100
a generational uh capability that uh 

1572
00:59:39,110 --> 00:59:41,620
that I think will add significant value 

1573
00:59:41,629 --> 00:59:43,851
to deterrence going forward . August is 

1574
00:59:43,851 --> 00:59:46,073
one of those , one of those things that 

1575
00:59:46,073 --> 00:59:48,296
uh I'm talking about . So , thank you , 

1576
00:59:48,296 --> 00:59:50,462
uh Secretary Austin , as you know , um 

1577
00:59:50,462 --> 00:59:52,462
my district includes Creature Force 

1578
00:59:52,462 --> 00:59:54,939
Base , Hawthorne Army Depot Depot and , 

1579
00:59:55,169 --> 00:59:57,429
and Nellis Air Force Base . I'm happy 

1580
00:59:57,439 --> 00:59:59,495
to see that there are investments in 

1581
00:59:59,495 --> 01:00:01,439
the construction , maintenance and 

1582
01:00:01,439 --> 01:00:03,439
cleanup of military housing and the 

1583
01:00:03,439 --> 01:00:05,495
department's commitment to resilient 

1584
01:00:05,495 --> 01:00:07,606
and healthy defense communities , but 

1585
01:00:07,606 --> 01:00:10,550
sometimes in rural communities uh that 

1586
01:00:10,560 --> 01:00:12,909
are often lacking basic services 

1587
01:00:12,919 --> 01:00:14,879
including housing . So how is the 

1588
01:00:14,889 --> 01:00:17,056
department applying that commitment to 

1589
01:00:17,056 --> 01:00:19,111
rural bases in particular , like the 

1590
01:00:19,111 --> 01:00:21,278
ones in my district to ensure that our 

1591
01:00:21,278 --> 01:00:23,500
service members and their families have 

1592
01:00:23,500 --> 01:00:25,611
the resources that they need to carry 

1593
01:00:25,611 --> 01:00:27,722
out their important missions . Well , 

1594
01:00:27,722 --> 01:00:29,833
all of our bases are important and uh 

1595
01:00:29,833 --> 01:00:31,889
we understand that , uh in , in many 

1596
01:00:31,889 --> 01:00:34,020
cases , uh um the , the , the rural 

1597
01:00:34,030 --> 01:00:36,800
areas are , are most challenged . And , 

1598
01:00:36,810 --> 01:00:38,989
uh and so , uh I think it's important 

1599
01:00:39,000 --> 01:00:41,167
to all of us , the service secretaries 

1600
01:00:41,167 --> 01:00:43,167
to make sure that they're doing the 

1601
01:00:43,167 --> 01:00:45,333
right things to apportion resources so 

1602
01:00:45,333 --> 01:00:47,556
that uh you know , we're taking care of 

1603
01:00:47,556 --> 01:00:49,444
our troops and taking care of our 

1604
01:00:49,444 --> 01:00:51,500
family . So , um that's a thing that 

1605
01:00:51,500 --> 01:00:53,444
will remain a priority for service 

1606
01:00:53,444 --> 01:00:55,389
secretaries and , and myself going 

1607
01:00:55,389 --> 01:00:55,270
forward , but you know , each service 

1608
01:00:55,280 --> 01:00:57,399
is a little different . So I'll 

1609
01:00:57,409 --> 01:00:59,629
continue to bring those priorities up 

1610
01:00:59,639 --> 01:01:01,472
and appreciate your leadership . 

1611
01:01:01,472 --> 01:01:03,750
Finally , Secretary Austin in December , 

1612
01:01:03,750 --> 01:01:05,861
Deputy Secretary Hicks tasked offices 

1613
01:01:05,861 --> 01:01:07,583
across the department with the 

1614
01:01:07,583 --> 01:01:09,583
developing with developing plans to 

1615
01:01:09,583 --> 01:01:11,739
implement the 17 recommendations from 

1616
01:01:11,750 --> 01:01:13,870
the internal review team on racial 

1617
01:01:13,879 --> 01:01:16,189
disparities in the investigative and 

1618
01:01:16,199 --> 01:01:18,820
military justice systems . These plans 

1619
01:01:18,830 --> 01:01:21,139
of action and milestones were due to 

1620
01:01:21,149 --> 01:01:24,459
the UN under Secretary for UN uh excuse 

1621
01:01:24,469 --> 01:01:26,540
me , they were due uh to the under 

1622
01:01:26,550 --> 01:01:28,772
secretary for personnel and readiness . 

1623
01:01:28,772 --> 01:01:31,370
Last week , the Deputy Secretary also 

1624
01:01:31,439 --> 01:01:34,149
initiated immediate policy changes to 

1625
01:01:34,159 --> 01:01:36,610
increase service member protections . 

1626
01:01:36,939 --> 01:01:38,883
Recently , a ran report found that 

1627
01:01:38,883 --> 01:01:41,169
black men in the Air force uh junior 

1628
01:01:41,179 --> 01:01:44,560
enlisted ranks are 86% more likely than 

1629
01:01:44,570 --> 01:01:46,689
their white counterparts to face non 

1630
01:01:46,699 --> 01:01:49,570
judicial punishment or court martial 

1631
01:01:49,870 --> 01:01:51,703
Secretary Austin every day , our 

1632
01:01:51,703 --> 01:01:53,592
military grows more diverse and I 

1633
01:01:53,592 --> 01:01:55,759
believe it is critical that we support 

1634
01:01:55,759 --> 01:01:57,830
policies that ensure our forces can 

1635
01:01:57,840 --> 01:02:00,050
work as a cohesive team . And that 

1636
01:02:00,060 --> 01:02:02,370
means addressing disparities that 

1637
01:02:02,379 --> 01:02:04,490
affect our military service members , 

1638
01:02:04,490 --> 01:02:06,435
particularly those of color . So I 

1639
01:02:06,435 --> 01:02:08,435
would like to work with you on this 

1640
01:02:08,435 --> 01:02:10,657
issue and would ask that you provide an 

1641
01:02:10,657 --> 01:02:12,546
overview on the plan of action to 

1642
01:02:12,546 --> 01:02:14,657
implement the recommendation and what 

1643
01:02:14,657 --> 01:02:16,768
immediate policy changes that will be 

1644
01:02:16,768 --> 01:02:18,879
needed . Gentleman's service member , 

1645
01:02:18,879 --> 01:02:20,935
but you now recognizes the gentleman 

1646
01:02:20,935 --> 01:02:23,157
from Texas . Mr Fallon . Thank you , Mr 

1647
01:02:23,157 --> 01:02:25,046
Chairman . Uh First , I'd like to 

1648
01:02:25,046 --> 01:02:27,046
address the recent crisis in our uh 

1649
01:02:27,046 --> 01:02:29,046
recruiting in our military and it's 

1650
01:02:29,046 --> 01:02:31,101
harding to see that the Marines have 

1651
01:02:31,101 --> 01:02:33,268
met the recruiting goals over the last 

1652
01:02:33,268 --> 01:02:35,323
three years in the Space Force since 

1653
01:02:35,323 --> 01:02:37,435
their inception . But unfortunately , 

1654
01:02:37,435 --> 01:02:37,040
it's not the case with the three 

1655
01:02:37,050 --> 01:02:39,106
largest branches . And uh , Chairman 

1656
01:02:39,106 --> 01:02:41,328
Brown , I would like to discuss it with 

1657
01:02:41,328 --> 01:02:40,840
you . I mean , the Air Force missed the 

1658
01:02:40,850 --> 01:02:43,729
recruiting goal by 11% in fy 23 the 

1659
01:02:43,739 --> 01:02:46,389
Navy in the last two years , 20% and 20 

1660
01:02:46,659 --> 01:02:49,290
fy 23 and 36% which is very alarming 

1661
01:02:49,300 --> 01:02:51,356
over a third , uh this year so far . 

1662
01:02:51,356 --> 01:02:53,522
And then the army missed over the last 

1663
01:02:53,522 --> 01:02:56,520
three years by 25% 23% and 16% . So , 

1664
01:02:56,530 --> 01:02:58,540
clearly , this is absolutely 

1665
01:02:58,550 --> 01:03:00,729
unsustainable . And would you agree 

1666
01:03:00,739 --> 01:03:02,628
that this is , uh this persistent 

1667
01:03:02,628 --> 01:03:04,906
recruiting shortfalls ? These are , uh , 

1668
01:03:04,906 --> 01:03:07,072
have reached crisis levels and it's an 

1669
01:03:07,072 --> 01:03:09,729
existential threat to our republic . Uh 

1670
01:03:09,739 --> 01:03:11,795
What I will tell you it , it , you , 

1671
01:03:11,795 --> 01:03:13,795
you're right , the numbers you said 

1672
01:03:13,795 --> 01:03:16,017
aren't sustainable , but uh as you look 

1673
01:03:16,017 --> 01:03:18,183
at the numbers for 24 um uh almost all 

1674
01:03:18,183 --> 01:03:20,461
the services are gonna meet their goal . 

1675
01:03:20,461 --> 01:03:22,461
Um The one service that's happening 

1676
01:03:22,461 --> 01:03:22,270
probably a bit more challenges the Navy , 

1677
01:03:22,280 --> 01:03:25,070
but uh they're all at 90% or above as 

1678
01:03:25,080 --> 01:03:27,060
far as uh uh to meet the goal for 

1679
01:03:27,070 --> 01:03:29,126
recruiting for , for this particular 

1680
01:03:29,126 --> 01:03:31,126
year . So I do see a positive trend 

1681
01:03:31,126 --> 01:03:33,126
line uh , based on our recruiting . 

1682
01:03:33,126 --> 01:03:35,348
You'd agree though general that if this 

1683
01:03:35,348 --> 01:03:37,770
is uh sustained , that we were in some 

1684
01:03:37,780 --> 01:03:39,947
serious trouble . Well , what , what I 

1685
01:03:39,947 --> 01:03:42,113
would tell you is what we , we need to 

1686
01:03:42,113 --> 01:03:44,336
stay in the path and continue the , the 

1687
01:03:44,336 --> 01:03:46,502
upward trend . So , with specificity , 

1688
01:03:46,502 --> 01:03:48,613
what new innovative approaches are we 

1689
01:03:48,613 --> 01:03:50,836
using in recruiting to ensure that this 

1690
01:03:50,836 --> 01:03:52,947
doesn't happen ? Well , part of it is 

1691
01:03:52,947 --> 01:03:51,830
that , you know , we , we've got to be 

1692
01:03:51,840 --> 01:03:54,173
out and , and able to engage and that's , 

1693
01:03:54,173 --> 01:03:56,007
you know , because of COVID , we 

1694
01:03:56,007 --> 01:03:57,896
weren't able to get into the high 

1695
01:03:57,896 --> 01:03:57,699
schools , but it's not just into the 

1696
01:03:57,709 --> 01:04:00,042
high schools but , but it's how we , uh , 

1697
01:04:00,042 --> 01:04:01,931
we do our marketing , it's how we 

1698
01:04:01,931 --> 01:04:04,098
engage with , uh , um , uh , our local 

1699
01:04:04,098 --> 01:04:06,209
communities . It's how we engage with 

1700
01:04:06,209 --> 01:04:08,098
the , uh , our influencers , uh , 

1701
01:04:08,098 --> 01:04:07,719
whether it's , uh , you know , coaches , 

1702
01:04:07,729 --> 01:04:10,709
parents , uh guidance counselors to 

1703
01:04:10,719 --> 01:04:12,830
talk about the value of service and I 

1704
01:04:12,830 --> 01:04:15,052
apologize is a limited time . But would 

1705
01:04:15,052 --> 01:04:14,949
you agree that if there's school 

1706
01:04:14,959 --> 01:04:17,126
systems out there that aren't allowing 

1707
01:04:17,126 --> 01:04:19,292
the military access , then they should 

1708
01:04:19,292 --> 01:04:20,903
be , uh , we should consider 

1709
01:04:20,903 --> 01:04:23,181
withholding federal funding . Well , I , 

1710
01:04:23,181 --> 01:04:25,292
I'm not gonna tell you how best to do 

1711
01:04:25,292 --> 01:04:27,459
it , but I think we should have access 

1712
01:04:27,459 --> 01:04:27,449
to those schools because as an all 

1713
01:04:27,459 --> 01:04:29,570
volunteer force and our service , our 

1714
01:04:29,570 --> 01:04:31,515
service members help protect their 

1715
01:04:31,515 --> 01:04:33,626
rights . So when , when I read , uh , 

1716
01:04:33,626 --> 01:04:33,199
you and the secretary's written 

1717
01:04:33,209 --> 01:04:35,209
statements and heard your testimony 

1718
01:04:35,209 --> 01:04:37,376
this , uh earlier today . Uh There are 

1719
01:04:37,376 --> 01:04:39,542
some really neat buzzwords , uh , most 

1720
01:04:39,542 --> 01:04:41,598
formal fighting force in history , a 

1721
01:04:41,598 --> 01:04:41,399
strategic approach . We're gonna 

1722
01:04:41,409 --> 01:04:43,610
strengthen our integrated deterrence . 

1723
01:04:43,639 --> 01:04:45,695
We're gonna confront threats . We're 

1724
01:04:45,695 --> 01:04:47,861
gonna fight and win . We're gonna hone 

1725
01:04:47,861 --> 01:04:50,028
war fighting skills . We're gonna have 

1726
01:04:50,028 --> 01:04:49,580
strategic imperatives . We're gonna 

1727
01:04:49,590 --> 01:04:51,534
have , uh we're gonna face rapidly 

1728
01:04:51,534 --> 01:04:53,646
evolving threats . We're gonna defeat 

1729
01:04:53,646 --> 01:04:55,868
those threats . We're gonna outpace our 

1730
01:04:55,868 --> 01:04:57,868
competitors and unparalleled combat 

1731
01:04:57,868 --> 01:04:59,979
capabilities across all domains , all 

1732
01:04:59,979 --> 01:05:02,146
these things that sound great and then 

1733
01:05:02,146 --> 01:05:02,030
the best possible stewards of our hard 

1734
01:05:02,040 --> 01:05:04,262
earned taxpayer dollars , we have to be 

1735
01:05:04,262 --> 01:05:06,429
those stewards . So I want to bring to 

1736
01:05:06,429 --> 01:05:08,707
your attention . Uh , Secretary Austin , 

1737
01:05:08,707 --> 01:05:07,810
an article that was written by the 

1738
01:05:07,820 --> 01:05:10,620
Department of Army on June 22nd , 2023 

1739
01:05:10,629 --> 01:05:13,040
in a tweet that the dod sent out on 

1740
01:05:13,050 --> 01:05:15,649
July 2nd of last year . And it's a 

1741
01:05:15,659 --> 01:05:18,129
tweet of a biological man who's now , 

1742
01:05:18,139 --> 01:05:20,306
I'm sure I would imagine being held to 

1743
01:05:20,306 --> 01:05:22,417
dress in physical fitness , standards 

1744
01:05:22,417 --> 01:05:24,639
of a woman . And the quote on the tweet 

1745
01:05:24,639 --> 01:05:26,806
said , Major Rachel Jones found solace 

1746
01:05:26,806 --> 01:05:28,695
after coming out as a transgender 

1747
01:05:28,695 --> 01:05:30,639
female , her journey from battling 

1748
01:05:30,639 --> 01:05:32,639
depression and suicidal thoughts to 

1749
01:05:32,639 --> 01:05:34,695
embracing authenticity , inspires us 

1750
01:05:34,695 --> 01:05:36,917
all . So my question is why would Major 

1751
01:05:36,917 --> 01:05:39,028
Jones have been elevated above all of 

1752
01:05:39,028 --> 01:05:41,195
the other ? Roughly 1.4 million active 

1753
01:05:41,195 --> 01:05:43,139
duty service members and given the 

1754
01:05:43,139 --> 01:05:45,510
honor of this visible recognition and 

1755
01:05:45,520 --> 01:05:47,687
thrust out to the world as the face of 

1756
01:05:47,687 --> 01:05:49,853
the United States military on the , on 

1757
01:05:49,853 --> 01:05:51,964
the second of July of last year , was 

1758
01:05:51,964 --> 01:05:54,187
it an act of heroism ? Was it was valor 

1759
01:05:54,187 --> 01:05:56,187
on display ? Was it a commitment to 

1760
01:05:56,187 --> 01:05:58,340
world class fitness that doesn't look 

1761
01:05:58,350 --> 01:06:00,250
like it ? Was it a tremendous 

1762
01:06:00,260 --> 01:06:02,500
achievement or elite leadership or was 

1763
01:06:02,510 --> 01:06:05,310
it simply that there was a biological 

1764
01:06:05,320 --> 01:06:07,679
man who wants to be a woman and wave 

1765
01:06:07,689 --> 01:06:09,929
political flags while in uniform ? 

1766
01:06:13,050 --> 01:06:15,189
I , I'm not , I'm not familiar with 

1767
01:06:15,199 --> 01:06:18,469
Major Jones's case , but I certainly uh 

1768
01:06:18,479 --> 01:06:21,949
will uh will , will become . So I 

1769
01:06:22,219 --> 01:06:24,750
uh again , and whether or not the major 

1770
01:06:24,760 --> 01:06:28,020
was elevated for recognition or reward 

1771
01:06:28,030 --> 01:06:30,820
over others ? Well , the tweet did 

1772
01:06:31,040 --> 01:06:32,790
secretary was just about being 

1773
01:06:32,800 --> 01:06:35,199
transgender . It wasn't uh uh uh 

1774
01:06:35,870 --> 01:06:37,969
anything about coming up with an 

1775
01:06:37,979 --> 01:06:40,969
incredible uh cyber security program to 

1776
01:06:40,979 --> 01:06:43,035
protect it . It was just simply that 

1777
01:06:43,035 --> 01:06:45,959
Major Jones is transgender above all 

1778
01:06:45,969 --> 01:06:49,770
1.4 million others . And , and so 

1779
01:06:49,780 --> 01:06:53,000
you're implying that uh that the major 

1780
01:06:53,010 --> 01:06:55,340
was , was elevated above everyone 

1781
01:06:55,469 --> 01:06:57,580
elevated over other troops because if 

1782
01:06:57,580 --> 01:06:59,691
it was , if Major Jones did something 

1783
01:06:59,691 --> 01:07:01,747
excellent , then I could care less . 

1784
01:07:01,747 --> 01:07:03,969
But it was simply a political statement 

1785
01:07:03,969 --> 01:07:06,136
and I'm sure the communists in Beijing 

1786
01:07:06,136 --> 01:07:08,080
are quaking in their boots and now 

1787
01:07:08,080 --> 01:07:10,247
won't invade Taiwan because Rachel has 

1788
01:07:10,247 --> 01:07:12,469
authenticity or heck , there could be a 

1789
01:07:12,469 --> 01:07:14,525
unilateral draw by the Russians from 

1790
01:07:14,525 --> 01:07:16,802
Ukraine because Rachel is so inspiring . 

1791
01:07:16,802 --> 01:07:18,636
I mean , we got to focus more on 

1792
01:07:18,636 --> 01:07:20,691
projecting power and a hell of a lot 

1793
01:07:20,691 --> 01:07:22,802
less on projecting pronouns . I yield 

1794
01:07:22,802 --> 01:07:25,550
back again . Gentleman's times expired . 

1795
01:07:25,560 --> 01:07:27,616
Cheer , not recognized , gentle lady 

1796
01:07:27,616 --> 01:07:29,699
from uh Texas . Oh , I'm sorry , the 

1797
01:07:29,709 --> 01:07:31,987
gentleman from Texas , I got the state , 

1798
01:07:31,987 --> 01:07:35,689
right , Mr Vy , Mr Vesey is 

1799
01:07:35,699 --> 01:07:37,969
recognized . Uh Thank you , Mr Chairman 

1800
01:07:38,020 --> 01:07:40,649
um Secretary Austin . I brought this up 

1801
01:07:40,659 --> 01:07:44,120
to you a couple of years ago , uh but 

1802
01:07:44,129 --> 01:07:45,907
wanted to bring it back to your 

1803
01:07:45,907 --> 01:07:48,018
attention . Uh as you know , the 80th 

1804
01:07:48,018 --> 01:07:50,296
anniversary of D day is about to occur . 

1805
01:07:50,840 --> 01:07:53,189
And you know , one of the , I think one 

1806
01:07:53,199 --> 01:07:55,088
of the sad stories about D day in 

1807
01:07:55,088 --> 01:07:57,255
Hollywood has , has done this in the , 

1808
01:07:57,255 --> 01:07:59,255
you know , the longest day did it , 

1809
01:07:59,255 --> 01:08:01,255
Steven Spielberg did it with saving 

1810
01:08:01,255 --> 01:08:03,350
private Ryan , the African American 

1811
01:08:03,489 --> 01:08:06,520
soldiers of the 320th barrage balloon 

1812
01:08:06,530 --> 01:08:10,239
battalion have been erased from their 

1813
01:08:10,250 --> 01:08:13,870
part uh on the beaches of uh Omaha . Uh 

1814
01:08:13,879 --> 01:08:15,990
and , and , and what happened on that 

1815
01:08:15,990 --> 01:08:18,629
day on , on June 6th , 1944 . 

1816
01:08:19,209 --> 01:08:22,629
And uh Linda Herve wrote a book called 

1817
01:08:22,640 --> 01:08:25,488
Forgotten About those soldiers uh and 

1818
01:08:25,499 --> 01:08:27,610
talked about their , their ordeal and 

1819
01:08:27,610 --> 01:08:29,610
everything they went through , went 

1820
01:08:29,610 --> 01:08:31,777
through leading up to that day on June 

1821
01:08:31,777 --> 01:08:34,999
6th , 1944 . And there was one soldier 

1822
01:08:35,008 --> 01:08:38,249
corporal Waverly Woodson that uh should 

1823
01:08:38,258 --> 01:08:40,480
have received the medal of honor and he 

1824
01:08:40,480 --> 01:08:42,480
still has not received it . I don't 

1825
01:08:42,480 --> 01:08:44,480
know that his that his family would 

1826
01:08:44,480 --> 01:08:46,536
like for him to receive the medal of 

1827
01:08:46,536 --> 01:08:48,647
honor . And uh Linda Herve has done a 

1828
01:08:48,647 --> 01:08:50,702
great job of documenting and finding 

1829
01:08:50,702 --> 01:08:52,758
documents that support his claim for 

1830
01:08:52,919 --> 01:08:54,641
the medal of honor . And I was 

1831
01:08:54,641 --> 01:08:56,586
wondering , have you done or heard 

1832
01:08:56,589 --> 01:08:59,399
anything more about where Corporal 

1833
01:08:59,410 --> 01:09:02,000
Woodson's uh posthumously medal of 

1834
01:09:02,009 --> 01:09:04,240
honor is right now . First of all , let 

1835
01:09:04,250 --> 01:09:07,169
me , let me say that uh our country 

1836
01:09:07,180 --> 01:09:09,180
remains grateful for the tremendous 

1837
01:09:09,180 --> 01:09:12,399
sacrifices and service of uh our World 

1838
01:09:12,410 --> 01:09:16,080
War Two veterans . Um In 

1839
01:09:16,089 --> 01:09:18,419
terms of this specific recommendation 

1840
01:09:18,430 --> 01:09:20,430
for Mill of Honor , I've , I've not 

1841
01:09:20,430 --> 01:09:22,541
received a recommendation for Mell of 

1842
01:09:22,541 --> 01:09:24,898
Honor yet . Yeah . How , how would 

1843
01:09:24,909 --> 01:09:27,076
someone bring that to your attention ? 

1844
01:09:27,076 --> 01:09:29,242
Because this is a , this is a big deal 

1845
01:09:29,242 --> 01:09:31,298
for this family and I think for this 

1846
01:09:31,298 --> 01:09:34,729
country too because the these soldiers 

1847
01:09:34,740 --> 01:09:36,796
of the 320th and , and as you know , 

1848
01:09:36,796 --> 01:09:38,629
because I saw you on the history 

1849
01:09:38,629 --> 01:09:40,573
channel talking about a plaque , I 

1850
01:09:40,573 --> 01:09:42,629
believe it was in Georgia or Alabama 

1851
01:09:42,629 --> 01:09:44,629
that there was AAA group of African 

1852
01:09:44,629 --> 01:09:46,629
American soldiers that just now got 

1853
01:09:46,629 --> 01:09:48,684
their recognition for something that 

1854
01:09:48,684 --> 01:09:48,350
they did during World War Two . And , 

1855
01:09:48,359 --> 01:09:50,526
and I , and , and you did very good in 

1856
01:09:50,526 --> 01:09:53,889
that documentary , but this particular 

1857
01:09:53,898 --> 01:09:55,969
day is , is , and , and it is such a 

1858
01:09:55,979 --> 01:09:58,398
big deal in American history . Uh And 

1859
01:09:58,409 --> 01:10:00,631
we need these veterans to be recognized 

1860
01:10:00,631 --> 01:10:02,853
and particularly this one . How would , 

1861
01:10:02,853 --> 01:10:04,965
how would we bring that and get it in 

1862
01:10:04,965 --> 01:10:07,131
front of you to make sure that he gets 

1863
01:10:07,131 --> 01:10:09,353
a thorough review that Corporal Woodson 

1864
01:10:09,418 --> 01:10:11,858
uh can and his family can see him 

1865
01:10:11,869 --> 01:10:13,688
receive this medal of honor 

1866
01:10:13,699 --> 01:10:17,169
posthumously uh for soldiers . It would 

1867
01:10:17,180 --> 01:10:19,347
uh the recommendation would have to be 

1868
01:10:19,347 --> 01:10:21,458
presented to the uh department of the 

1869
01:10:21,458 --> 01:10:24,299
Army . And if the , if the uh chief of 

1870
01:10:24,310 --> 01:10:26,330
staff of the Army and uh and the 

1871
01:10:26,339 --> 01:10:30,229
Secretary of the Army um concur uh 

1872
01:10:30,240 --> 01:10:33,089
that you know , this uh individual 

1873
01:10:33,100 --> 01:10:35,322
meets the requirements for that award , 

1874
01:10:35,322 --> 01:10:37,322
then that recommendation would come 

1875
01:10:37,322 --> 01:10:39,560
forward to me . Thank you . Uh I also 

1876
01:10:39,569 --> 01:10:41,680
wanted to ask you , you know , one of 

1877
01:10:41,680 --> 01:10:43,847
the things that a lot of my Republican 

1878
01:10:43,847 --> 01:10:46,125
colleagues , uh mo moving on from that , 

1879
01:10:46,125 --> 01:10:48,180
one of the things that my Republican 

1880
01:10:48,180 --> 01:10:50,291
colleagues have talked a lot about is 

1881
01:10:50,291 --> 01:10:52,402
the term that they , you call woke is 

1882
01:10:52,402 --> 01:10:54,569
and you've , you've been here , you've 

1883
01:10:54,569 --> 01:10:54,080
been a part of the hearings and , and 

1884
01:10:54,089 --> 01:10:57,490
heard uh AAA lot of the things that 

1885
01:10:57,500 --> 01:10:59,722
they're bringing up and it , it worries 

1886
01:10:59,722 --> 01:11:02,069
me about how the department is planning 

1887
01:11:02,080 --> 01:11:04,191
to address and mitigate the issues of 

1888
01:11:04,200 --> 01:11:07,069
racism because my biggest fear is that 

1889
01:11:07,939 --> 01:11:10,229
someone hearing , you know , hey , 

1890
01:11:10,240 --> 01:11:12,990
we're gonna attack woke is that they're 

1891
01:11:13,000 --> 01:11:14,944
going , that that is going to make 

1892
01:11:14,944 --> 01:11:17,111
black and other soldiers of color more 

1893
01:11:17,111 --> 01:11:19,479
vulnerable and have their issues of 

1894
01:11:19,490 --> 01:11:23,209
racism and sexism taken less seriously 

1895
01:11:23,390 --> 01:11:25,334
because it'll just be dismissed as 

1896
01:11:25,334 --> 01:11:29,270
quote unquote uh woke is um how is 

1897
01:11:29,279 --> 01:11:31,709
the department planning to address ? Uh 

1898
01:11:31,720 --> 01:11:34,759
and mitigate uh concerns of racism and 

1899
01:11:34,770 --> 01:11:37,640
sexism that still continue to exist to 

1900
01:11:37,649 --> 01:11:39,316
this day , some which are are 

1901
01:11:39,316 --> 01:11:42,350
structural uh uh with all of the 

1902
01:11:42,359 --> 01:11:44,680
rhetoric around sort of watering down a 

1903
01:11:44,689 --> 01:11:47,870
lot of these concerns . Uh Thank you , 

1904
01:11:47,879 --> 01:11:50,169
sir , we will do what we've always done 

1905
01:11:50,180 --> 01:11:52,347
and we continue to do and that is make 

1906
01:11:52,347 --> 01:11:54,458
sure that leaders uh create the right 

1907
01:11:54,458 --> 01:11:57,169
climate uh for , for all of our troops 

1908
01:11:57,180 --> 01:11:59,549
to uh not only be able to be effective 

1909
01:11:59,560 --> 01:12:03,330
in but also grow and thrive in . Um And 

1910
01:12:03,339 --> 01:12:05,450
I would remind everybody that we have 

1911
01:12:05,450 --> 01:12:09,270
the most combat credible uh force 

1912
01:12:09,279 --> 01:12:12,569
in the world and , and uh and we 

1913
01:12:12,580 --> 01:12:14,858
endeavor to continue to make it better . 

1914
01:12:14,858 --> 01:12:17,509
Uh The fact that we get uh um 

1915
01:12:18,029 --> 01:12:20,120
contributions from every segment in 

1916
01:12:20,129 --> 01:12:22,819
society uh is , is a great thing . Our , 

1917
01:12:22,830 --> 01:12:25,069
our military looks like our looks like 

1918
01:12:25,080 --> 01:12:26,969
America and that's what you would 

1919
01:12:26,969 --> 01:12:29,191
expect . Uh And we wanna make sure that 

1920
01:12:29,191 --> 01:12:32,140
uh people uh in our force uh 

1921
01:12:32,319 --> 01:12:34,669
understand that , you know , if they do 

1922
01:12:34,680 --> 01:12:37,419
the work and they , they , they uh they 

1923
01:12:37,430 --> 01:12:39,541
meet the qualifications and they will 

1924
01:12:39,541 --> 01:12:41,486
continue to excel , continue to be 

1925
01:12:41,486 --> 01:12:43,763
promoted . Gentleman's time is expired . 

1926
01:12:43,763 --> 01:12:43,459
Chair looking as a general from 

1927
01:12:43,470 --> 01:12:47,020
Missouri Mr Alford . Thank you , Mr 

1928
01:12:47,029 --> 01:12:50,589
Chair . The increase of $7.9 billion 

1929
01:12:50,600 --> 01:12:52,680
above the fy 24 defense budget to 

1930
01:12:52,689 --> 01:12:55,899
$849.8 billion . Top line for a 25 

1931
01:12:55,910 --> 01:12:58,180
defense budget represents a 0.9% 

1932
01:12:58,310 --> 01:13:00,032
increase in defense spending . 

1933
01:13:00,160 --> 01:13:02,216
Accounting for inflation is really a 

1934
01:13:02,216 --> 01:13:04,271
cut to the defense budget . And with 

1935
01:13:04,271 --> 01:13:06,438
that cut , I understand the department 

1936
01:13:06,438 --> 01:13:08,604
is faced with some tough choices . The 

1937
01:13:08,604 --> 01:13:10,827
effect of these cuts can be seen in the 

1938
01:13:10,827 --> 01:13:12,882
Navy's request for only one Virginia 

1939
01:13:12,882 --> 01:13:14,827
class attack submarine and the air 

1940
01:13:14,827 --> 01:13:17,049
force's request for six fewer F-35s and 

1941
01:13:17,049 --> 01:13:20,770
18 instead of 24 F-15 exs among other 

1942
01:13:20,779 --> 01:13:23,819
requests for less across the dod . I'm 

1943
01:13:23,830 --> 01:13:25,886
really concerned about the , the cap 

1944
01:13:25,886 --> 01:13:27,941
that we place on defense spending as 

1945
01:13:27,941 --> 01:13:30,052
we're trying to deter two near peer . 

1946
01:13:30,052 --> 01:13:32,219
Adversaries also want to talk a little 

1947
01:13:32,219 --> 01:13:34,386
bit about Taiwan . I just recently got 

1948
01:13:34,386 --> 01:13:36,552
back there uh from Taiwan meeting with 

1949
01:13:36,552 --> 01:13:38,441
the President Sai and others . Uh 

1950
01:13:38,441 --> 01:13:40,608
They're really concerned as am I about 

1951
01:13:40,608 --> 01:13:43,500
the $19 billion in the weapons backlog ? 

1952
01:13:43,910 --> 01:13:47,180
Uh I believe quite a few F-16s that 

1953
01:13:47,189 --> 01:13:49,759
need to be there by 2026 harpoon 

1954
01:13:49,770 --> 01:13:52,819
missiles . Uh Mr Secretary , what are 

1955
01:13:52,830 --> 01:13:55,379
we doing to reduce this backlog ? 

1956
01:13:57,549 --> 01:13:59,605
And I think sir , well , you heard , 

1957
01:13:59,605 --> 01:14:01,771
you may have heard me say earlier that 

1958
01:14:01,771 --> 01:14:03,993
uh you know , three years ago , I stood 

1959
01:14:03,993 --> 01:14:06,350
up a task force to really look at this 

1960
01:14:06,359 --> 01:14:08,470
backlog and , and figure out what the 

1961
01:14:08,470 --> 01:14:10,803
obstacles are . And it , you know , the , 

1962
01:14:10,803 --> 01:14:13,009
the F MS process is a , is a 

1963
01:14:13,040 --> 01:14:15,549
complicated process that involves uh a 

1964
01:14:15,560 --> 01:14:19,120
lot of different moving parts . Uh And , 

1965
01:14:19,129 --> 01:14:21,200
and that Tiger team is still in 

1966
01:14:21,209 --> 01:14:23,320
existence . Uh It identified a number 

1967
01:14:23,320 --> 01:14:26,040
of uh of things that we needed to , uh , 

1968
01:14:26,129 --> 01:14:28,351
we , we could do to speed things up and 

1969
01:14:28,351 --> 01:14:30,573
where we could , where we can , we have 

1970
01:14:30,573 --> 01:14:32,685
done those things . But my charter to 

1971
01:14:32,685 --> 01:14:34,907
them is to keep working things and keep 

1972
01:14:34,907 --> 01:14:36,962
moving , uh , this , uh , for , uh , 

1973
01:14:36,962 --> 01:14:39,185
forward as fast as we can . Ok . Let me 

1974
01:14:39,185 --> 01:14:41,185
interrupt you . I'm sorry , sir . I 

1975
01:14:41,185 --> 01:14:43,185
know General uh Bacon did ask about 

1976
01:14:43,185 --> 01:14:45,407
this previously but , and I know you've 

1977
01:14:45,407 --> 01:14:47,240
got a plan , you've got somebody 

1978
01:14:47,240 --> 01:14:49,580
looking at this but you know , with , 

1979
01:14:49,609 --> 01:14:53,089
with , with a possible invasion at 2027 . 

1980
01:14:53,240 --> 01:14:55,462
And I know some generals have said that 

1981
01:14:55,470 --> 01:14:59,029
um and Xi Jinping is , is reducing his 

1982
01:14:59,040 --> 01:15:01,207
timeline . He's gone from 2035 . He is 

1983
01:15:01,207 --> 01:15:03,379
ramping up aggression and coercion 

1984
01:15:03,390 --> 01:15:05,446
economically and socially . They are 

1985
01:15:05,446 --> 01:15:07,668
crossing the line in the Taiwan straits 

1986
01:15:07,668 --> 01:15:09,890
every day now , not just once a month , 

1987
01:15:10,040 --> 01:15:12,069
but this is picking up the storm is 

1988
01:15:12,080 --> 01:15:14,080
coming . What are we going to do to 

1989
01:15:14,080 --> 01:15:17,029
help Taiwan prepare for a proper 

1990
01:15:17,040 --> 01:15:19,459
defense against the Communist Powers of 

1991
01:15:19,470 --> 01:15:22,899
China in accordance with the Taiwan 

1992
01:15:22,910 --> 01:15:25,890
Relations Act ? Uh uh We will continue 

1993
01:15:25,899 --> 01:15:28,770
to uh to provide Taiwan assistance uh 

1994
01:15:28,779 --> 01:15:32,580
to uh to , to defend it uh to help 

1995
01:15:32,589 --> 01:15:34,879
defend itself . Uh And we've been doing 

1996
01:15:34,890 --> 01:15:38,479
that uh over time , we remain uh um 

1997
01:15:39,379 --> 01:15:41,546
focused on their needs and , and , and 

1998
01:15:41,546 --> 01:15:43,379
getting uh security assistance , 

1999
01:15:43,379 --> 01:15:45,379
assistance to them as quickly as we 

2000
01:15:45,379 --> 01:15:47,601
possibly can . And again , some of this 

2001
01:15:47,601 --> 01:15:49,810
involves industry as you know , and uh 

2002
01:15:49,819 --> 01:15:52,399
it's easy to to say I can spin the dial 

2003
01:15:52,410 --> 01:15:54,632
and , and , and , and force industry to 

2004
01:15:54,632 --> 01:15:56,577
produce something quicker . Uh Not 

2005
01:15:56,577 --> 01:15:58,743
always , uh not always that easy , but 

2006
01:15:58,743 --> 01:16:00,577
we are committed to working with 

2007
01:16:00,577 --> 01:16:02,632
industry to make , make sure that uh 

2008
01:16:02,632 --> 01:16:04,799
you know , we're doing everything that 

2009
01:16:04,799 --> 01:16:06,577
we can uh to move as rapidly as 

2010
01:16:06,577 --> 01:16:08,743
possible . We recognize that there are 

2011
01:16:08,743 --> 01:16:10,950
challenges uh that uh you know , a 

2012
01:16:10,959 --> 01:16:13,990
number of countries can present . Um I 

2013
01:16:14,000 --> 01:16:16,310
personally don't see a conflict with 

2014
01:16:16,319 --> 01:16:19,310
China being uh imminent or inevitable , 

2015
01:16:19,350 --> 01:16:21,390
but uh but again , we have to be 

2016
01:16:21,399 --> 01:16:23,819
prepared and uh and we got to make sure 

2017
01:16:23,830 --> 01:16:26,120
that uh if something like that happens , 

2018
01:16:26,270 --> 01:16:28,437
uh we are dominant in the battle space 

2019
01:16:28,439 --> 01:16:30,495
and , and that's our goal and that's 

2020
01:16:30,495 --> 01:16:32,661
what we're working towards every day . 

2021
01:16:32,661 --> 01:16:32,569
I agree with you , sir . I think that 

2022
01:16:32,580 --> 01:16:34,859
the best , of course , you're much more 

2023
01:16:34,870 --> 01:16:37,037
of an expert than I , but we've got to 

2024
01:16:37,037 --> 01:16:39,529
help in the deterrence . Um And , and 

2025
01:16:39,540 --> 01:16:41,762
not let this get to a point where there 

2026
01:16:41,762 --> 01:16:43,984
is kinetic conflict . Uh I want to skip 

2027
01:16:43,984 --> 01:16:45,873
back to Ukraine just a little bit 

2028
01:16:45,873 --> 01:16:47,762
because I know that you said um I 

2029
01:16:47,762 --> 01:16:49,873
forgot your exact quote about kind of 

2030
01:16:49,873 --> 01:16:52,959
defining what victory looks like that , 

2031
01:16:52,970 --> 01:16:55,192
that they end up with a democracy and a 

2032
01:16:55,192 --> 01:16:57,303
sovereign nation . But what does that 

2033
01:16:57,303 --> 01:16:59,689
mean ? What does victory look back ? Is 

2034
01:16:59,700 --> 01:17:01,811
it like ? Is it , is it taking back , 

2035
01:17:01,811 --> 01:17:04,729
Crimea is a pre 1991 borders ? We have 

2036
01:17:04,740 --> 01:17:07,450
got no clear definition of what the end 

2037
01:17:07,459 --> 01:17:09,879
game is . How much are we in this for , 

2038
01:17:09,890 --> 01:17:12,057
for our taxpayers ? How long will this 

2039
01:17:12,057 --> 01:17:14,168
last ? And it's really hard to sell , 

2040
01:17:14,168 --> 01:17:16,520
uh , continuing supplemental packages 

2041
01:17:16,529 --> 01:17:18,196
to the folks back home in the 

2042
01:17:18,196 --> 01:17:19,973
Missouri's fourth congressional 

2043
01:17:19,973 --> 01:17:21,640
district when we get no clear 

2044
01:17:21,640 --> 01:17:23,859
definition . Well , again , um , 

2045
01:17:25,549 --> 01:17:28,799
we , we do want to see Ukraine um , as 

2046
01:17:28,890 --> 01:17:32,470
a , a democracy that's independent and 

2047
01:17:32,479 --> 01:17:34,535
a sovereign nation and , and again , 

2048
01:17:34,535 --> 01:17:36,660
with the ability to defend itself and 

2049
01:17:36,669 --> 01:17:38,891
deter aggression in the future . And we 

2050
01:17:38,891 --> 01:17:40,891
are doing things to uh to , to help 

2051
01:17:40,891 --> 01:17:43,002
them build . I'm sorry , we're out of 

2052
01:17:43,002 --> 01:17:45,113
time . I appreciate your answer , but 

2053
01:17:45,113 --> 01:17:47,336
it does not answer the question of what 

2054
01:17:47,336 --> 01:17:49,447
does victory look like America in you 

2055
01:17:49,447 --> 01:17:51,780
not recognize gentleman from California , 

2056
01:17:51,780 --> 01:17:54,002
Mr Panetta . Thank you chairman . Thank 

2057
01:17:54,002 --> 01:17:56,336
you to the three gentlemen who are here . 

2058
01:17:56,336 --> 01:17:58,391
Uh So for so long and testifying , I 

2059
01:17:58,391 --> 01:18:00,613
appreciate uh you being here today . Um 

2060
01:18:00,613 --> 01:18:02,780
Secretary Austin , I want to thank you 

2061
01:18:02,780 --> 01:18:05,002
uh for your focus on naval innovation . 

2062
01:18:05,002 --> 01:18:07,225
Uh On one hand , we've demonstrated how 

2063
01:18:07,225 --> 01:18:08,891
investing early in innovative 

2064
01:18:08,891 --> 01:18:11,113
technology enables us to deter advanced 

2065
01:18:11,113 --> 01:18:12,836
threats through our successful 

2066
01:18:12,836 --> 01:18:14,780
operations in the Red Sea . On the 

2067
01:18:14,780 --> 01:18:16,558
other hand , though Ukraine can 

2068
01:18:16,558 --> 01:18:18,780
demonstrate our lack of flexibility and 

2069
01:18:18,780 --> 01:18:21,058
being able to support rapid innovation . 

2070
01:18:21,058 --> 01:18:23,113
This is why I believe and I hope you 

2071
01:18:23,113 --> 01:18:25,002
believe why we need naval focused 

2072
01:18:25,002 --> 01:18:27,002
innovation , especially at a center 

2073
01:18:27,002 --> 01:18:29,113
that offers efficient , effective and 

2074
01:18:29,113 --> 01:18:31,225
economical solutions for both today's 

2075
01:18:31,225 --> 01:18:33,169
battles and tomorrow's conflicts . 

2076
01:18:33,169 --> 01:18:35,280
Innovation is deterrence and I'm glad 

2077
01:18:35,280 --> 01:18:37,391
to be working with Secretary and Navy 

2078
01:18:37,391 --> 01:18:39,169
Secretary Del Toro on the Naval 

2079
01:18:39,169 --> 01:18:40,891
Innovation Center at the Naval 

2080
01:18:40,891 --> 01:18:42,669
Postgraduate School in Monterey 

2081
01:18:42,669 --> 01:18:44,613
California . Of course in the 19th 

2082
01:18:44,613 --> 01:18:46,669
congressional district , this center 

2083
01:18:46,669 --> 01:18:48,725
will leverage private sector and dod 

2084
01:18:48,725 --> 01:18:50,780
innovation hubs by merging them with 

2085
01:18:50,780 --> 01:18:52,558
the MP S of students to address 

2086
01:18:52,558 --> 01:18:54,613
strategic competition and in regular 

2087
01:18:54,613 --> 01:18:56,113
warfare in a collaborate , 

2088
01:18:56,113 --> 01:18:58,280
collaborative and classified setting . 

2089
01:18:58,280 --> 01:19:00,391
I look forward to working together on 

2090
01:19:00,391 --> 01:19:00,240
the knick with you in coming years to 

2091
01:19:00,250 --> 01:19:02,250
provide an innovation in innovative 

2092
01:19:02,250 --> 01:19:05,169
solutions quickly and at scale now , 

2093
01:19:05,180 --> 01:19:07,347
moving on and keep by keeping focus on 

2094
01:19:07,347 --> 01:19:09,689
providing solutions at speed . I'm 

2095
01:19:09,700 --> 01:19:11,922
concerned about the recent developments 

2096
01:19:11,922 --> 01:19:14,990
in the Sahel , a region that I've 

2097
01:19:15,000 --> 01:19:17,200
termed and I've heard termed before as 

2098
01:19:17,209 --> 01:19:19,540
the deja coups , understandably 

2099
01:19:19,549 --> 01:19:21,771
considering there's been eight military 

2100
01:19:21,771 --> 01:19:24,560
takeovers since 2020 in a basically an 

2101
01:19:24,569 --> 01:19:27,270
area that really is a hotbed of 

2102
01:19:27,279 --> 01:19:30,490
terrorism . It is becoming a danger to 

2103
01:19:30,500 --> 01:19:32,720
the United States . I said in a recent 

2104
01:19:32,729 --> 01:19:34,785
hearing when General Langley Langley 

2105
01:19:34,785 --> 01:19:37,007
sat right where you were at that we are 

2106
01:19:37,007 --> 01:19:39,229
at an inflection point . When it comes 

2107
01:19:39,240 --> 01:19:41,129
to the Sahel , we're either gonna 

2108
01:19:41,129 --> 01:19:43,450
double down or we fold right now . It 

2109
01:19:43,459 --> 01:19:45,626
looks like we're going to be folding , 

2110
01:19:45,626 --> 01:19:47,779
but we're at a stand stand still and 

2111
01:19:47,790 --> 01:19:49,901
we're trying to figure out how we can 

2112
01:19:49,901 --> 01:19:52,068
play that next hand . Understandably . 

2113
01:19:52,068 --> 01:19:56,000
So we saw in that we're drafting plans 

2114
01:19:56,009 --> 01:19:58,270
to withdraw about 1000 us troops after 

2115
01:19:58,279 --> 01:20:00,446
failed attempts to revise our military 

2116
01:20:00,446 --> 01:20:02,660
agreements . It's not just a trend of 

2117
01:20:02,669 --> 01:20:04,819
Niger's military kicking out us 

2118
01:20:04,830 --> 01:20:07,120
partners including France and the Eu . 

2119
01:20:07,259 --> 01:20:09,379
Now we're seeing about 100 Russia 

2120
01:20:09,390 --> 01:20:11,430
soldiers sweeping in for security 

2121
01:20:11,439 --> 01:20:13,550
training and then there's just recent 

2122
01:20:13,550 --> 01:20:15,550
reports about this anti aircraft uh 

2123
01:20:15,550 --> 01:20:18,089
device that they're bringing in as well . 

2124
01:20:18,310 --> 01:20:20,810
The situation in Chad just looks just 

2125
01:20:20,819 --> 01:20:23,370
as bad as we heard on April 25th , they 

2126
01:20:23,379 --> 01:20:25,546
received , we received notice that the 

2127
01:20:25,546 --> 01:20:27,657
Pentagon would withdraw about 75 army 

2128
01:20:27,657 --> 01:20:31,410
Special Forces like , Mali Burkina faso , 

2129
01:20:31,470 --> 01:20:33,430
there are reports that Russia is 

2130
01:20:33,439 --> 01:20:35,729
growing its foothold in Chad as well . 

2131
01:20:36,080 --> 01:20:38,080
What we're seeing in this area is a 

2132
01:20:38,080 --> 01:20:41,100
trend pushes take control . They oust 

2133
01:20:41,109 --> 01:20:43,331
Western security partners . They invite 

2134
01:20:43,331 --> 01:20:45,553
Russians in and there's a resurgence of 

2135
01:20:45,553 --> 01:20:47,930
VE OS and terrorist attacks . It 

2136
01:20:47,939 --> 01:20:50,220
literally is becoming one of the most 

2137
01:20:50,229 --> 01:20:52,451
dangerous stretches of territory in the 

2138
01:20:52,451 --> 01:20:54,830
world . That is why last year I worked 

2139
01:20:54,839 --> 01:20:57,006
with Representative Scott to designate 

2140
01:20:57,006 --> 01:20:59,029
Chad Molly and Burkina faso as 

2141
01:20:59,040 --> 01:21:01,640
qualified hazardous duty areas to grant 

2142
01:21:01,649 --> 01:21:03,871
our service member station there and so 

2143
01:21:03,871 --> 01:21:05,649
that they can get tax exclusion 

2144
01:21:05,649 --> 01:21:07,816
benefits in recognition of the threats 

2145
01:21:07,816 --> 01:21:09,982
that they confront . We wanna be clear 

2146
01:21:09,982 --> 01:21:12,149
that the threats in West Africa in the 

2147
01:21:12,149 --> 01:21:14,371
Sahel pose a risk to us service members 

2148
01:21:14,371 --> 01:21:16,705
and yes to the United States of America . 

2149
01:21:16,705 --> 01:21:18,879
So Secretary Austin , can you tell us 

2150
01:21:18,890 --> 01:21:22,330
what our strategy is ? What our plan 

2151
01:21:22,339 --> 01:21:24,689
is in the short term ? Are we just 

2152
01:21:24,700 --> 01:21:26,810
gonna withdraw to protect the lial 

2153
01:21:27,100 --> 01:21:29,589
States in West Africa or in the long 

2154
01:21:29,600 --> 01:21:31,711
term , how much of a gap are we gonna 

2155
01:21:31,711 --> 01:21:34,750
have to leave in time and in space to 

2156
01:21:34,759 --> 01:21:36,759
where we're gonna start to call the 

2157
01:21:36,759 --> 01:21:40,580
Sahel a caliphate ? Thank you , sir . 

2158
01:21:40,589 --> 01:21:43,419
We know that terrorism thrives in 

2159
01:21:43,430 --> 01:21:47,279
ungoverned spaces . And for that 

2160
01:21:47,290 --> 01:21:50,040
reason , our approach throughout has 

2161
01:21:50,049 --> 01:21:53,600
been to uh help countries develop uh a 

2162
01:21:53,779 --> 01:21:57,509
capability to uh uh to defend 

2163
01:21:57,520 --> 01:22:01,430
their , their uh their territory . And 

2164
01:22:01,459 --> 01:22:04,669
uh and , and that will , that will um 

2165
01:22:04,839 --> 01:22:07,359
decrease uh the ability for terrorists 

2166
01:22:07,370 --> 01:22:09,537
to operate in those spaces and , and , 

2167
01:22:09,537 --> 01:22:12,689
and export uh export terror in order to 

2168
01:22:12,700 --> 01:22:16,180
do that though , we have to have a uh a 

2169
01:22:16,250 --> 01:22:19,049
partner . Uh Now , you know , following 

2170
01:22:19,060 --> 01:22:21,810
the coup in 23 in 23 

2171
01:22:23,169 --> 01:22:25,439
the coup in . That's right . That's 

2172
01:22:25,450 --> 01:22:27,669
right . Um You know , we've been 

2173
01:22:27,680 --> 01:22:31,649
encouraging um the junta to conduct a 

2174
01:22:31,660 --> 01:22:33,660
fair , free and fair elections like 

2175
01:22:33,660 --> 01:22:35,660
they , they said they were gonna do 

2176
01:22:35,660 --> 01:22:37,882
early on . They , they've not done that 

2177
01:22:37,882 --> 01:22:39,938
and don't have no uh intent on doing 

2178
01:22:39,938 --> 01:22:42,104
that as far as we can tell . And , and 

2179
01:22:42,104 --> 01:22:44,104
so , um if we don't have a reliable 

2180
01:22:44,104 --> 01:22:46,216
partner to work with , then it's very 

2181
01:22:46,216 --> 01:22:48,327
difficult to , for us to uh to do the 

2182
01:22:48,327 --> 01:22:50,438
work that we know it needs to be , we 

2183
01:22:50,438 --> 01:22:52,493
will always lead with our values . I 

2184
01:22:52,493 --> 01:22:51,640
agree with you . I'm going to be out of 

2185
01:22:51,649 --> 01:22:53,871
time . I just hope that we can continue 

2186
01:22:53,871 --> 01:22:56,149
to talk about a strategy for that area . 

2187
01:22:56,149 --> 01:22:58,371
Thank you , Mr Chairman . I go back . I 

2188
01:22:58,371 --> 01:22:57,560
thank the gentleman chair and I 

2189
01:22:57,569 --> 01:22:59,791
recognize the gentleman from Georgia Mr 

2190
01:22:59,791 --> 01:23:01,736
mccormick . Thank you , Mr Chair . 

2191
01:23:02,089 --> 01:23:04,145
Recently , we had the Supreme Allied 

2192
01:23:04,145 --> 01:23:06,367
Commander here and I asked him straight 

2193
01:23:06,367 --> 01:23:08,533
up , can we win in Ukraine ? He said , 

2194
01:23:08,533 --> 01:23:10,533
yes , without hesitation . Now , we 

2195
01:23:10,533 --> 01:23:12,589
have a lot of disagreement inside of 

2196
01:23:12,589 --> 01:23:14,478
our party . Matter of fact , even 

2197
01:23:14,478 --> 01:23:14,109
people sitting next to each other can 

2198
01:23:14,120 --> 01:23:16,490
disagree on how we handle Ukraine . But 

2199
01:23:16,500 --> 01:23:19,200
one thing we probably agree is if we 

2200
01:23:19,430 --> 01:23:21,374
promise somebody something that we 

2201
01:23:21,374 --> 01:23:23,430
should probably get them in a timely 

2202
01:23:23,430 --> 01:23:25,652
manner , if we're gonna have any chance 

2203
01:23:25,652 --> 01:23:25,560
at all . And one of the things I have a 

2204
01:23:25,569 --> 01:23:27,513
big problem with this , we keep on 

2205
01:23:27,513 --> 01:23:29,569
saying we're gonna give people stuff 

2206
01:23:29,569 --> 01:23:31,736
but we slow roll it . The most assured 

2207
01:23:31,736 --> 01:23:33,902
way to extend this war is to make sure 

2208
01:23:33,902 --> 01:23:35,958
that they don't get the weapons in a 

2209
01:23:35,958 --> 01:23:38,879
timely manner , whether it be Vietnam , 

2210
01:23:38,890 --> 01:23:42,140
Afghanistan , Iraq or what we're doing 

2211
01:23:42,149 --> 01:23:44,371
in Ukraine right now . The only time we 

2212
01:23:44,371 --> 01:23:46,482
ever were able to be effective as the 

2213
01:23:46,482 --> 01:23:49,270
leading world power was , sir . S if we 

2214
01:23:49,279 --> 01:23:52,209
have a country with a $200 billion GDP , 

2215
01:23:52,220 --> 01:23:54,442
going to country against a country with 

2216
01:23:54,442 --> 01:23:56,498
a $2 trillion GDP with a much larger 

2217
01:23:56,498 --> 01:23:58,664
and modern army , we can't expect them 

2218
01:23:58,664 --> 01:24:00,664
to actually hold out or do any good 

2219
01:24:00,664 --> 01:24:02,887
damage unless we supply them the things 

2220
01:24:02,887 --> 01:24:04,942
we promised them . It took us a long 

2221
01:24:04,942 --> 01:24:04,850
time to get them , the tanks that we 

2222
01:24:04,859 --> 01:24:07,350
promised the ammunition we promised and 

2223
01:24:07,359 --> 01:24:09,581
other things we promised not to mention 

2224
01:24:09,581 --> 01:24:11,803
Taiwan , they paid for stuff . We still 

2225
01:24:11,803 --> 01:24:13,915
haven't given them and then we had to 

2226
01:24:13,915 --> 01:24:16,137
do another package , but we haven't , I 

2227
01:24:16,137 --> 01:24:15,569
don't know when that's gonna get there . 

2228
01:24:15,709 --> 01:24:17,931
My concern is that we're not delivering 

2229
01:24:17,931 --> 01:24:20,098
the things we promised people in order 

2230
01:24:20,098 --> 01:24:22,320
to be effective in what our strategy is 

2231
01:24:22,320 --> 01:24:25,160
as global leaders . Um with that said , 

2232
01:24:26,250 --> 01:24:28,472
Secretary Austin , what are we doing to 

2233
01:24:28,472 --> 01:24:30,417
streamline that process to get the 

2234
01:24:30,417 --> 01:24:32,528
deliverables to those people who need 

2235
01:24:32,528 --> 01:24:35,740
it as strategic allies ? Well , 

2236
01:24:35,750 --> 01:24:38,959
certainly we , we are working um um 

2237
01:24:39,939 --> 01:24:42,770
hard to uh ensure that we rapidly 

2238
01:24:42,779 --> 01:24:44,779
deliver security assistance to , to 

2239
01:24:44,779 --> 01:24:46,668
Ukraine . And I want to thank the 

2240
01:24:47,060 --> 01:24:49,330
Congress for , for your support of the 

2241
01:24:49,339 --> 01:24:51,395
supplemental . It took us a while to 

2242
01:24:51,395 --> 01:24:53,506
get that across the , across the goal 

2243
01:24:53,506 --> 01:24:55,617
line , but that you can't , you can't 

2244
01:24:55,617 --> 01:24:57,839
provide the security assistance without 

2245
01:24:57,839 --> 01:25:00,006
the resource . Um If you uh look at uh 

2246
01:25:00,129 --> 01:25:02,810
Israel , uh we moved uh heaven and 

2247
01:25:02,819 --> 01:25:05,041
earth to get the capability to , I want 

2248
01:25:05,041 --> 01:25:07,208
to be very specific because we're time 

2249
01:25:07,208 --> 01:25:06,569
limited . What are we doing 

2250
01:25:06,580 --> 01:25:08,524
specifically to get the weapons to 

2251
01:25:08,524 --> 01:25:10,747
Taiwan and Ukraine that we've been slow 

2252
01:25:10,747 --> 01:25:12,802
rolling so far . Well , you may have 

2253
01:25:12,802 --> 01:25:14,969
heard me say earlier in terms of the F 

2254
01:25:14,969 --> 01:25:17,259
MS backlog for , for Taiwan that uh you 

2255
01:25:17,270 --> 01:25:19,492
know , early on , I set up a tiger team 

2256
01:25:19,492 --> 01:25:21,659
to look at this and , and work through 

2257
01:25:21,659 --> 01:25:23,992
these issues work through the obstacles . 

2258
01:25:23,992 --> 01:25:26,103
Uh And then they've been doing that , 

2259
01:25:26,103 --> 01:25:28,270
they've identified some , uh some ways 

2260
01:25:28,270 --> 01:25:28,169
to , uh to speed some things up . But 

2261
01:25:28,180 --> 01:25:31,589
it's a compli uh complex uh um 

2262
01:25:31,600 --> 01:25:34,569
process and it involves a lot of inputs . 

2263
01:25:34,629 --> 01:25:37,819
Uh , industry is , uh , is , is a big 

2264
01:25:37,830 --> 01:25:39,899
player in this and as much as we may 

2265
01:25:39,910 --> 01:25:42,149
want it , uh unless industry can 

2266
01:25:42,160 --> 01:25:44,382
produce it in a timely fashion , uh you 

2267
01:25:44,382 --> 01:25:46,493
can't get it . So , and I know that's 

2268
01:25:46,493 --> 01:25:48,771
all that's all uh obvious to you . But , 

2269
01:25:48,771 --> 01:25:51,709
but uh you know , we will remain 

2270
01:25:51,720 --> 01:25:53,831
focused on this and it's important to 

2271
01:25:53,831 --> 01:25:55,887
all of us that uh we get Taiwan . Uh 

2272
01:25:55,887 --> 01:25:58,220
what it's uh what it's uh asked for and 

2273
01:25:58,229 --> 01:26:00,910
what it's paid for so that uh we can uh 

2274
01:26:01,040 --> 01:26:03,207
they can defend themselves . OK ? I've 

2275
01:26:03,207 --> 01:26:05,429
heard you talking about Israel and I've 

2276
01:26:05,429 --> 01:26:07,373
heard you talk , talk about Taiwan 

2277
01:26:07,373 --> 01:26:07,009
specifically in Ukraine . You're 

2278
01:26:07,020 --> 01:26:09,242
talking about a country who , who right 

2279
01:26:09,242 --> 01:26:11,131
now is losing ground , who's been 

2280
01:26:11,131 --> 01:26:13,187
outsell 10 to 1 . Uh We've seen this 

2281
01:26:13,187 --> 01:26:15,464
coming . It's not like it's a surprise , 

2282
01:26:15,464 --> 01:26:17,631
like , like we haven't been at war now 

2283
01:26:17,631 --> 01:26:19,631
for a couple of years . Uh And what 

2284
01:26:19,631 --> 01:26:21,520
concerns me is we have a combined 

2285
01:26:21,520 --> 01:26:23,742
European and , and United States GDP of 

2286
01:26:23,742 --> 01:26:25,879
about $47 trillion . We're going 

2287
01:26:25,890 --> 01:26:28,859
against a country that has a GDP of $2 

2288
01:26:28,870 --> 01:26:30,759
trillion and yet we're getting 

2289
01:26:30,770 --> 01:26:33,209
outgunned 10 to 1 . I find that 

2290
01:26:33,220 --> 01:26:35,442
extremely alarming to me if we're gonna 

2291
01:26:35,442 --> 01:26:37,609
be good stewards of the assets we have 

2292
01:26:37,609 --> 01:26:40,109
that we cannot deliver what it takes to 

2293
01:26:40,120 --> 01:26:42,560
win a conflict that we say that we're 

2294
01:26:42,569 --> 01:26:44,680
committed to whether we agree on that 

2295
01:26:44,680 --> 01:26:46,902
or not . The worst possible scenario is 

2296
01:26:46,902 --> 01:26:50,160
happening right now . Two years , two 

2297
01:26:50,169 --> 01:26:52,750
years , we've seen this coming , we've 

2298
01:26:52,759 --> 01:26:54,926
committed to , we voted unanimously in 

2299
01:26:54,926 --> 01:26:57,529
NATO to support this country , whether 

2300
01:26:57,540 --> 01:26:59,373
we like it or not . As a divided 

2301
01:26:59,373 --> 01:27:01,589
congress , we committed to it . We 

2302
01:27:01,600 --> 01:27:04,470
funded it and yet we don't do our job 

2303
01:27:04,479 --> 01:27:06,899
to deliver it quickly . We need to 

2304
01:27:06,910 --> 01:27:08,910
aggressive . It can't be platitudes 

2305
01:27:08,910 --> 01:27:10,910
where we're reviewing blah , blah , 

2306
01:27:10,910 --> 01:27:12,910
blah . It's hard . I mean , we need 

2307
01:27:12,910 --> 01:27:15,132
feedback on what we can do to radically 

2308
01:27:15,132 --> 01:27:17,243
change this process , to deliver what 

2309
01:27:17,243 --> 01:27:17,169
we need to in order to win this 

2310
01:27:17,180 --> 01:27:19,402
conflict . Or else this country will be 

2311
01:27:19,402 --> 01:27:21,458
forever changed and we'll lose a top 

2312
01:27:21,458 --> 01:27:23,624
five country in resources who produces 

2313
01:27:23,624 --> 01:27:25,759
70% of the European grain in a time 

2314
01:27:25,770 --> 01:27:27,937
where we're gonna have double the need 

2315
01:27:27,937 --> 01:27:30,048
for food around the world in the next 

2316
01:27:30,048 --> 01:27:32,214
50 in the next 25 years . You have the 

2317
01:27:32,410 --> 01:27:34,688
poor and you had the food poor nations . 

2318
01:27:34,688 --> 01:27:37,990
Very remarkable that a country that is 

2319
01:27:38,000 --> 01:27:40,200
uh has the capability that Ukraine had 

2320
01:27:40,209 --> 01:27:42,320
at the beginning of this fight facing 

2321
01:27:42,320 --> 01:27:44,419
the most powerful military in Europe 

2322
01:27:44,430 --> 01:27:46,763
has been able to fight and hold off the , 

2323
01:27:46,763 --> 01:27:49,600
the , the Russians uh for two years . 

2324
01:27:49,609 --> 01:27:51,720
The only way that they can do that is 

2325
01:27:51,720 --> 01:27:53,776
with , with our help and the help of 

2326
01:27:53,776 --> 01:27:55,776
allies and partners . I hope we can 

2327
01:27:55,776 --> 01:27:57,831
stream that process because I'm very 

2328
01:27:57,831 --> 01:27:57,350
worried right now . We're losing ground 

2329
01:27:57,359 --> 01:27:59,303
because we haven't done our part . 

2330
01:27:59,303 --> 01:28:01,526
Thank you with that . I yield chair and 

2331
01:28:01,526 --> 01:28:03,859
I recognize as a gentle lady from Texas . 

2332
01:28:03,859 --> 01:28:05,803
Thank you so much . Thank you , Mr 

2333
01:28:05,803 --> 01:28:07,970
Chairman . Uh Gentlemen , thank you so 

2334
01:28:07,970 --> 01:28:10,026
much for your service . Uh Thank you 

2335
01:28:10,026 --> 01:28:12,359
for being here today with our committee . 

2336
01:28:12,359 --> 01:28:14,581
Uh I , I just have to say as a footnote 

2337
01:28:14,581 --> 01:28:16,748
to the , the prior conversation . It's 

2338
01:28:16,950 --> 01:28:20,850
incredible to me that um there are 

2339
01:28:20,859 --> 01:28:23,819
concerns being expressed about getting 

2340
01:28:23,830 --> 01:28:27,450
aid to Ukraine quickly enough after six 

2341
01:28:27,459 --> 01:28:31,229
months of delay by the Republican 

2342
01:28:31,240 --> 01:28:33,700
Speaker of the House to getting this 

2343
01:28:33,709 --> 01:28:35,939
aid package to the floor so that 

2344
01:28:35,950 --> 01:28:38,910
Congress could vote on it . So I just , 

2345
01:28:38,919 --> 01:28:41,540
I felt like I had to say that um before 

2346
01:28:41,549 --> 01:28:43,959
I get into my own questions just as a 

2347
01:28:43,970 --> 01:28:46,740
way to make sure we remember why there 

2348
01:28:46,750 --> 01:28:50,319
was a significant delay recently . Um 

2349
01:28:50,330 --> 01:28:53,069
Secretary Austin , I want to thank you 

2350
01:28:53,080 --> 01:28:54,636
and , and express to you my 

2351
01:28:54,636 --> 01:28:57,759
appreciation for your commitment to 

2352
01:28:57,770 --> 01:29:00,819
eradicating the scourge of sexual 

2353
01:29:00,830 --> 01:29:03,160
harassment and sexual assault in the 

2354
01:29:03,169 --> 01:29:05,319
military and would very much like to 

2355
01:29:05,330 --> 01:29:07,990
hear from you uh an update on the 

2356
01:29:08,000 --> 01:29:11,149
standing up of Os T CS across the 

2357
01:29:11,160 --> 01:29:13,327
services . And if you could also share 

2358
01:29:13,327 --> 01:29:15,509
with me any information on the path 

2359
01:29:15,520 --> 01:29:18,310
forward to ensuring that all O Ss T CS 

2360
01:29:18,439 --> 01:29:20,549
will be prepared to include sexual 

2361
01:29:20,560 --> 01:29:23,910
harassment cases by the January 1st 

2362
01:29:23,919 --> 01:29:27,649
2025 start date . Well , well , 

2363
01:29:27,660 --> 01:29:29,438
thank you and let me thank uh , 

2364
01:29:29,438 --> 01:29:32,240
Congress for your support of uh , the 

2365
01:29:33,129 --> 01:29:35,790
significant changes to the UCMJ that we 

2366
01:29:35,799 --> 01:29:38,990
made , um , that , uh , that I believe 

2367
01:29:39,000 --> 01:29:42,270
will provide uh uh better results for , 

2368
01:29:42,279 --> 01:29:44,390
for the , for going forward and our , 

2369
01:29:44,390 --> 01:29:46,279
our ability to tackle this , uh , 

2370
01:29:46,279 --> 01:29:48,279
really important , uh , issue . And 

2371
01:29:48,279 --> 01:29:50,501
it's an issue that as you know , that I 

2372
01:29:50,501 --> 01:29:52,668
took on the very first day that I came 

2373
01:29:52,668 --> 01:29:55,129
in office , um all of the OS TPS are , 

2374
01:29:55,140 --> 01:29:57,251
are , are stood up and functioning uh 

2375
01:29:57,251 --> 01:30:00,259
in the services . Uh And uh and again , 

2376
01:30:00,529 --> 01:30:03,430
um there , there are referrals being 

2377
01:30:03,439 --> 01:30:05,950
made . 11 case has already gone to , 

2378
01:30:05,959 --> 01:30:08,070
gone to trial . And , and so we don't 

2379
01:30:08,070 --> 01:30:11,520
have uh uh significant uh uh 

2380
01:30:11,549 --> 01:30:14,589
amount of data to assess uh at this 

2381
01:30:14,600 --> 01:30:16,822
point . But we have the framework to be 

2382
01:30:16,822 --> 01:30:19,339
able to assess whether or not , uh you 

2383
01:30:19,350 --> 01:30:21,294
know , we're , we're moving in the 

2384
01:30:21,294 --> 01:30:23,628
right direction or not . You know , our , 

2385
01:30:23,628 --> 01:30:25,572
our legal uh uh department is , is 

2386
01:30:25,572 --> 01:30:27,572
really uh has really done the right 

2387
01:30:27,572 --> 01:30:29,683
things and outlining that framework . 

2388
01:30:29,683 --> 01:30:29,660
And , and so I think we'll be , we'll 

2389
01:30:29,669 --> 01:30:32,060
continue to be in a good place here . 

2390
01:30:32,399 --> 01:30:34,629
Uh But uh our leaders are , are 

2391
01:30:34,640 --> 01:30:36,696
invested in this from secretaries on 

2392
01:30:36,696 --> 01:30:39,299
down to the uh the Chiefs of Defense . 

2393
01:30:39,310 --> 01:30:41,588
Uh but the chief of defense here , the , 

2394
01:30:41,588 --> 01:30:44,000
the , the uh the chairman and uh and 

2395
01:30:44,009 --> 01:30:46,540
also the , the service chiefs as well . 

2396
01:30:46,669 --> 01:30:49,379
So , uh a lot more work to be done yet . 

2397
01:30:49,390 --> 01:30:51,759
But uh but I think we're off to a good 

2398
01:30:51,770 --> 01:30:53,714
start and , and , and certainly we 

2399
01:30:53,714 --> 01:30:56,020
continue to ask you for uh the funds to 

2400
01:30:56,029 --> 01:30:58,251
support our efforts . Uh And , and we , 

2401
01:30:58,251 --> 01:31:00,473
we do so in this budget . Uh And I want 

2402
01:31:00,473 --> 01:31:02,696
to thank you for , for what you've done 

2403
01:31:02,696 --> 01:31:04,862
thus far . Appreciate that so much . I 

2404
01:31:04,862 --> 01:31:07,029
do think at some point soon um at , at 

2405
01:31:07,029 --> 01:31:09,196
one of our hearings in the future , it 

2406
01:31:09,196 --> 01:31:11,307
would be great to have an update once 

2407
01:31:11,307 --> 01:31:15,200
that data is um available so that so 

2408
01:31:15,209 --> 01:31:17,910
that we can uh be able to , to plan 

2409
01:31:17,919 --> 01:31:20,030
going forward and understand where we 

2410
01:31:20,030 --> 01:31:22,252
have been successful and where uh maybe 

2411
01:31:22,252 --> 01:31:24,549
we have not been as successful . I , I 

2412
01:31:24,560 --> 01:31:27,120
wanna switch gears a little bit for the , 

2413
01:31:27,129 --> 01:31:29,629
the uh latter part of my questioning 

2414
01:31:29,839 --> 01:31:31,950
and want to focus on what's happening 

2415
01:31:31,950 --> 01:31:35,729
with the Gaza temporary Peer and 

2416
01:31:35,740 --> 01:31:37,770
you know , just share , I think 

2417
01:31:37,779 --> 01:31:40,379
publicly how proud I am of the United 

2418
01:31:40,390 --> 01:31:42,910
States for everything that we are doing 

2419
01:31:42,919 --> 01:31:46,410
to try to get humanitarian aid to 

2420
01:31:46,419 --> 01:31:50,240
um uh people who are starving uh 

2421
01:31:50,250 --> 01:31:53,089
in the Gaza Strip . And I absolutely 

2422
01:31:53,100 --> 01:31:56,709
understand why the effort is 

2423
01:31:56,910 --> 01:32:00,029
um being stood up in order to , to use 

2424
01:32:00,040 --> 01:32:02,549
a , a temporary peer . But I am 

2425
01:32:02,560 --> 01:32:05,299
significantly concerned about the 

2426
01:32:05,310 --> 01:32:08,620
safety and the security of our women 

2427
01:32:08,629 --> 01:32:11,970
and men who are assisting . I am 

2428
01:32:12,040 --> 01:32:15,299
significantly concerned about the aid 

2429
01:32:15,810 --> 01:32:18,310
that will be asked to execute the 

2430
01:32:18,319 --> 01:32:21,200
mission and I am very concerned about 

2431
01:32:21,209 --> 01:32:23,990
the way Israel might engage 

2432
01:32:24,209 --> 01:32:28,200
during the um that process . And so 

2433
01:32:28,209 --> 01:32:30,709
would like for you to share with us as 

2434
01:32:30,720 --> 01:32:32,979
much as you can about safeguards that 

2435
01:32:32,990 --> 01:32:35,009
are being put in place for our 

2436
01:32:35,020 --> 01:32:37,770
personnel . Um This is a thing that uh 

2437
01:32:37,779 --> 01:32:40,979
the chairman and I uh engaged General 

2438
01:32:40,990 --> 01:32:43,359
Kerri on uh very recently here and , 

2439
01:32:43,370 --> 01:32:45,537
and throughout , quite frankly , since 

2440
01:32:45,537 --> 01:32:47,930
the beginning of this , uh and uh based 

2441
01:32:47,939 --> 01:32:50,161
upon uh the measures that he has put in 

2442
01:32:50,161 --> 01:32:52,272
place and what he's laid out , uh I'm 

2443
01:32:52,272 --> 01:32:54,640
confident that uh our , our troops will 

2444
01:32:54,649 --> 01:32:57,450
be able to protect themselves . Uh as 

2445
01:32:57,459 --> 01:32:59,570
you know , we briefed before that the 

2446
01:32:59,570 --> 01:33:02,220
Israelis are also gonna uh provide uh 

2447
01:33:02,229 --> 01:33:04,500
assistance , providing force protection 

2448
01:33:04,720 --> 01:33:07,189
uh for our troops in the area and we'll 

2449
01:33:07,200 --> 01:33:09,560
have uh assets in the area uh beyond 

2450
01:33:09,569 --> 01:33:11,625
that generally times expired . Chair 

2451
01:33:11,625 --> 01:33:13,847
and I recognized General from Florida , 

2452
01:33:13,847 --> 01:33:15,902
Mr Mills . Thank you , Mr Chair , uh 

2453
01:33:15,902 --> 01:33:17,847
Secretary Austin . I want to first 

2454
01:33:17,847 --> 01:33:19,847
start out by saying I'm relieved to 

2455
01:33:19,847 --> 01:33:22,013
hear that the diagnosis in your health 

2456
01:33:22,013 --> 01:33:23,958
is improved and uh we hope that it 

2457
01:33:23,958 --> 01:33:26,013
continues to do the same . So that's 

2458
01:33:26,013 --> 01:33:28,125
really good to hear . Uh as one of my 

2459
01:33:28,125 --> 01:33:30,347
colleagues , Mr Panetta had pointed out 

2460
01:33:30,347 --> 01:33:32,291
the Sahel area has had eight coups 

2461
01:33:32,520 --> 01:33:34,379
since 2020 . Is that correct ? 

2462
01:33:36,899 --> 01:33:39,066
There have been a number there ? Yes . 

2463
01:33:39,066 --> 01:33:41,232
Can you tell me who is president since 

2464
01:33:41,232 --> 01:33:43,779
2020 ? I'm sorry , who has been 

2465
01:33:43,790 --> 01:33:45,846
president of the United States since 

2466
01:33:45,846 --> 01:33:49,839
2020 . Of course , President Biden was 

2467
01:33:49,939 --> 01:33:52,580
in and I want to go into Iraq for a 

2468
01:33:52,589 --> 01:33:56,060
moment . The amount of Iranian 

2469
01:33:57,049 --> 01:33:59,216
missiles and rockets that's been fired 

2470
01:34:00,060 --> 01:34:03,529
has been vastly increased between 

2471
01:34:03,540 --> 01:34:07,399
2021 and 2024 . Would you agree 

2472
01:34:07,689 --> 01:34:10,000
over 100 and 59 plus attacks ? 

2473
01:34:11,939 --> 01:34:14,050
There have been a number of attacks , 

2474
01:34:14,050 --> 01:34:16,272
the vast majority of those attacks have 

2475
01:34:16,272 --> 01:34:18,439
been ineffective . And can you tell me 

2476
01:34:18,439 --> 01:34:20,661
who was president during this time ? Of 

2477
01:34:20,661 --> 01:34:24,330
course , it was President Biden in one 

2478
01:34:24,359 --> 01:34:28,140
second , sir . In 2019 , we were 

2479
01:34:28,149 --> 01:34:32,000
able to put 18 historic peace 

2480
01:34:32,009 --> 01:34:33,842
treaties in place called Abraham 

2481
01:34:33,842 --> 01:34:37,509
Accords . Do you agree that 

2482
01:34:37,520 --> 01:34:39,520
given the fact that it wasn't since 

2483
01:34:39,520 --> 01:34:41,870
1979 for Egypt , 1994 for Jordan to 

2484
01:34:41,879 --> 01:34:44,370
normalize relations with Israel , that 

2485
01:34:44,379 --> 01:34:47,109
this was a very good step towards 

2486
01:34:47,120 --> 01:34:49,231
helping with the stabilization of the 

2487
01:34:49,231 --> 01:34:51,398
Middle East . I I do agree with that . 

2488
01:34:51,398 --> 01:34:53,398
And can you tell me who put that in 

2489
01:34:53,398 --> 01:34:57,060
place ? It was a previous 

2490
01:34:57,069 --> 01:34:59,291
administration obviously . Can you tell 

2491
01:34:59,291 --> 01:35:01,458
me who that was exactly ? Mr Secretary 

2492
01:35:02,930 --> 01:35:06,500
didn't think so . Um And under the 

2493
01:35:06,509 --> 01:35:08,676
attacks that took place in October 7th 

2494
01:35:08,676 --> 01:35:11,379
of 2023 that result in over 1200 

2495
01:35:12,240 --> 01:35:14,810
innocent men , women and Children being 

2496
01:35:14,819 --> 01:35:17,041
slaughtered , being raped , being taken 

2497
01:35:17,041 --> 01:35:19,152
hostage , et cetera . Can you tell me 

2498
01:35:19,152 --> 01:35:21,839
who was president at that time ? Of 

2499
01:35:21,910 --> 01:35:24,979
course , it's President Biden in 

2500
01:35:25,399 --> 01:35:29,120
2016 and 2020 we recognized that 12% of 

2501
01:35:29,129 --> 01:35:32,160
global trade goes through the Red Sea 

2502
01:35:33,250 --> 01:35:35,990
and in an effort to try and ensure the 

2503
01:35:36,000 --> 01:35:38,111
SAPIEN security of trade and commerce 

2504
01:35:38,120 --> 01:35:40,287
which would allow us to keep our goods 

2505
01:35:40,287 --> 01:35:43,609
down . There was a designation 

2506
01:35:43,950 --> 01:35:45,919
as a terrorist organization of the 

2507
01:35:46,049 --> 01:35:48,240
Houthis . Can you tell me who put that 

2508
01:35:48,250 --> 01:35:51,359
designation in place , sir ? It was the 

2509
01:35:51,370 --> 01:35:53,509
previous administration . And can you 

2510
01:35:53,520 --> 01:35:55,687
tell me who removed that designation ? 

2511
01:35:55,687 --> 01:35:58,229
Sir ? Of course , it was removed by 

2512
01:35:58,240 --> 01:36:00,407
this administration . And can you tell 

2513
01:36:00,407 --> 01:36:03,279
me whether or not just a simple yes or 

2514
01:36:03,290 --> 01:36:05,290
no , that we've seen an increase in 

2515
01:36:05,290 --> 01:36:07,401
disruption and attacks on the Red Sea 

2516
01:36:07,830 --> 01:36:10,569
under this administration . We have 

2517
01:36:10,580 --> 01:36:12,747
seen increased violence . Thank you so 

2518
01:36:12,747 --> 01:36:14,858
much , sir . And can you also tell me 

2519
01:36:14,858 --> 01:36:17,790
who was in office in 

2520
01:36:17,799 --> 01:36:20,419
2014 when Russians came across in 

2521
01:36:20,430 --> 01:36:23,609
Donetsk and also in Lugansk in Ukraine , 

2522
01:36:27,089 --> 01:36:29,200
President Obama . And can you tell me 

2523
01:36:29,200 --> 01:36:31,478
who was the vice president at the time ? 

2524
01:36:33,359 --> 01:36:35,569
President Biden ? And can you tell me 

2525
01:36:35,580 --> 01:36:39,049
then in the ramp up to the war where 

2526
01:36:39,060 --> 01:36:40,979
things have continued to escalate 

2527
01:36:41,129 --> 01:36:44,229
vastly ? And I think that you have been 

2528
01:36:44,240 --> 01:36:47,189
great at continuing to give us the 

2529
01:36:47,200 --> 01:36:50,229
facts on how Russia is advancing , what 

2530
01:36:50,240 --> 01:36:52,689
the major threats are , how Ukraine is 

2531
01:36:52,700 --> 01:36:54,700
being pushed out with the necessary 

2532
01:36:54,700 --> 01:36:56,867
funding as you've pointed out numerous 

2533
01:36:56,867 --> 01:36:59,209
times . Can you tell me at what point 

2534
01:36:59,220 --> 01:37:02,209
you saw the war ramping up from Russia 

2535
01:37:02,220 --> 01:37:05,819
in their attacks ? This was prior to 

2536
01:37:05,830 --> 01:37:08,052
the attack or , or can you tell me when 

2537
01:37:08,060 --> 01:37:11,399
you saw the greatest uh advancement uh 

2538
01:37:11,410 --> 01:37:15,169
in what year exactly six months ago ? 

2539
01:37:15,180 --> 01:37:16,930
Ok . Uh You know , and who was 

2540
01:37:16,939 --> 01:37:19,106
president at the time ? We , if we had 

2541
01:37:19,106 --> 01:37:21,439
the ability to uh to my , my point in 

2542
01:37:21,450 --> 01:37:23,617
trying to understand this Mr Secretary 

2543
01:37:23,617 --> 01:37:25,672
is that we have pointed out numerous 

2544
01:37:25,672 --> 01:37:27,672
times as my previous colleague said 

2545
01:37:27,672 --> 01:37:29,728
that we are not safer now under this 

2546
01:37:29,728 --> 01:37:32,006
administration than we were previously , 

2547
01:37:32,006 --> 01:37:34,117
which is a contrary statement to what 

2548
01:37:34,117 --> 01:37:34,040
you've said as I've just outlined and 

2549
01:37:34,049 --> 01:37:35,938
not to mention the fact that your 

2550
01:37:35,938 --> 01:37:38,390
predecessors , let's just say in the 

2551
01:37:38,399 --> 01:37:40,399
Democrat administration , Secretary 

2552
01:37:40,399 --> 01:37:43,819
Robert Gates , he also made a comment 

2553
01:37:43,830 --> 01:37:46,149
that said , I think he has been wrong 

2554
01:37:46,160 --> 01:37:48,216
on nearly every major foreign policy 

2555
01:37:48,216 --> 01:37:50,271
and national security issue over the 

2556
01:37:50,271 --> 01:37:52,493
past four decades . Can you tell me who 

2557
01:37:52,493 --> 01:37:55,229
he was referencing in that comment ? I 

2558
01:37:55,240 --> 01:37:57,351
believe Secretary Gates was referring 

2559
01:37:57,351 --> 01:37:59,573
to . Can you just please tell me who he 

2560
01:37:59,573 --> 01:38:01,907
was ? President Biden ? President Biden ? 

2561
01:38:01,907 --> 01:38:04,073
So what we established here is that we 

2562
01:38:04,073 --> 01:38:06,240
are not saying President Biden than we 

2563
01:38:06,240 --> 01:38:08,296
were under President Trump . What we 

2564
01:38:08,296 --> 01:38:10,351
are establishing is that the Abraham 

2565
01:38:10,351 --> 01:38:10,060
Accords was put in place under 

2566
01:38:10,069 --> 01:38:12,125
President Trump to help and that the 

2567
01:38:12,125 --> 01:38:14,291
things that are occurring in Ukraine , 

2568
01:38:14,291 --> 01:38:16,513
in the Sahel , in Israel in Afghanistan 

2569
01:38:16,513 --> 01:38:18,680
with the BOS withdrawal would not have 

2570
01:38:18,680 --> 01:38:21,089
happened under President Trump as 

2571
01:38:21,100 --> 01:38:23,569
General Lee from Alabama . Uh Thank you , 

2572
01:38:23,580 --> 01:38:25,850
Mr Chairman , uh welcome to our 

2573
01:38:25,859 --> 01:38:27,979
committee uh hearing of Secretary 

2574
01:38:27,990 --> 01:38:30,930
Austin and General Brown . Um Secretary 

2575
01:38:30,939 --> 01:38:32,661
Austin , I'm gonna give you an 

2576
01:38:32,661 --> 01:38:35,450
opportunity to respond to um my um 

2577
01:38:35,459 --> 01:38:38,490
colleagues uh comments . Yeah , just , 

2578
01:38:38,500 --> 01:38:40,611
just to make , just to make the point 

2579
01:38:40,611 --> 01:38:44,399
that , that , you know , um the 

2580
01:38:44,410 --> 01:38:46,899
point that I made earlier was that 

2581
01:38:47,169 --> 01:38:50,879
without our leadership , without our , 

2582
01:38:51,240 --> 01:38:53,720
our engagement , the condition in 

2583
01:38:53,729 --> 01:38:56,100
Europe would be a heck of a lot worse , 

2584
01:38:56,109 --> 01:38:59,919
Putin would own . Ukraine and in 

2585
01:39:00,299 --> 01:39:02,520
and Europe would be in a much , much 

2586
01:39:02,529 --> 01:39:04,649
worse place . And of course , what 

2587
01:39:04,660 --> 01:39:06,850
we've done in the , in the Middle East 

2588
01:39:07,069 --> 01:39:10,009
as a result in the aftermath of this 

2589
01:39:10,020 --> 01:39:12,569
invasion or , or attack by the , by the , 

2590
01:39:12,580 --> 01:39:16,390
by Hamas is to work to ensure that uh 

2591
01:39:16,399 --> 01:39:18,890
Israel has had the means to uh to 

2592
01:39:18,899 --> 01:39:21,066
defend itself . And at the same time , 

2593
01:39:21,066 --> 01:39:23,140
we were doing what's necessary to 

2594
01:39:23,149 --> 01:39:25,930
protect uh our troops and civilians in 

2595
01:39:25,939 --> 01:39:28,500
the area and , and also contain this , 

2596
01:39:28,569 --> 01:39:30,736
uh this , this conflict and prevent it 

2597
01:39:30,736 --> 01:39:33,410
from uh uh becoming a regional conflict . 

2598
01:39:36,129 --> 01:39:38,350
Um General Brown , first of all , 

2599
01:39:38,359 --> 01:39:40,581
congratulations on your confirmations . 

2600
01:39:40,581 --> 01:39:42,803
Uh You've been confirmed since the last 

2601
01:39:42,803 --> 01:39:45,026
time you were before us . Um You know , 

2602
01:39:45,026 --> 01:39:46,970
I'm worried about the growing ties 

2603
01:39:46,970 --> 01:39:49,339
between Russia and uh North Korea and 

2604
01:39:49,350 --> 01:39:52,629
Iran and really want to understand um 

2605
01:39:52,640 --> 01:39:54,584
what we're doing to strengthen our 

2606
01:39:54,584 --> 01:39:56,729
allies and our partnerships uh around 

2607
01:39:56,740 --> 01:39:58,796
the world in order to deal with that 

2608
01:39:58,796 --> 01:40:02,250
threat . Well , as I said earlier , um 

2609
01:40:02,259 --> 01:40:03,981
as we look at these , uh these 

2610
01:40:03,981 --> 01:40:06,203
particular threats as the world has got 

2611
01:40:06,203 --> 01:40:08,370
more complex , uh what I found is that 

2612
01:40:08,370 --> 01:40:10,481
uh we've been able to engage more and 

2613
01:40:10,481 --> 01:40:10,390
more with our allies and partners . 

2614
01:40:10,700 --> 01:40:12,978
I've been in this job for seven months . 

2615
01:40:12,978 --> 01:40:14,978
I've engaged about 100 and 70 times 

2616
01:40:14,978 --> 01:40:17,033
with my counterparts uh as , as most 

2617
01:40:17,033 --> 01:40:19,200
recent as yesterday . And uh it's that 

2618
01:40:19,200 --> 01:40:21,422
dialogue of how we work together . I've 

2619
01:40:21,422 --> 01:40:23,589
watched how European nations have uh f 

2620
01:40:23,589 --> 01:40:25,756
not only focused on what's going on in 

2621
01:40:25,756 --> 01:40:27,978
Europe , but they're also focus on , on 

2622
01:40:27,978 --> 01:40:30,144
the Indo Pacific in other parts of the 

2623
01:40:30,144 --> 01:40:29,390
world . I would say the same thing 

2624
01:40:29,399 --> 01:40:31,621
about the Indo Pacific nations focus on 

2625
01:40:31,621 --> 01:40:33,843
what's going on in Europe . What do you 

2626
01:40:33,843 --> 01:40:36,010
see is our biggest threat ? Well , you 

2627
01:40:36,010 --> 01:40:38,177
know , our , our biggest story is that 

2628
01:40:38,177 --> 01:40:40,343
we uh don't lead , I mean , one of the 

2629
01:40:40,343 --> 01:40:42,288
things that uh us leadership is uh 

2630
01:40:42,288 --> 01:40:44,399
highly dear , it's watched and that's 

2631
01:40:44,399 --> 01:40:44,359
the feedback you get when I engage with 

2632
01:40:44,370 --> 01:40:46,537
our counterparts . And so we've got to 

2633
01:40:46,537 --> 01:40:48,259
be able to lead . Um , and you 

2634
01:40:48,259 --> 01:40:50,370
appreciate what the Congress was able 

2635
01:40:50,370 --> 01:40:52,370
to do with the supplemental because 

2636
01:40:52,370 --> 01:40:54,426
once we've done that I've had in the 

2637
01:40:54,426 --> 01:40:54,379
course of the past week , I've engaged 

2638
01:40:54,390 --> 01:40:56,470
with none of my uh counterparts and 

2639
01:40:56,479 --> 01:40:58,701
they've all appreciate the fact . Uh do 

2640
01:40:58,701 --> 01:41:00,757
you know Ukraine in particular , the 

2641
01:41:00,757 --> 01:41:02,757
fact that the US leadership to , to 

2642
01:41:02,757 --> 01:41:04,979
move forward ? So we've got to continue 

2643
01:41:04,979 --> 01:41:06,923
to work together uh to address all 

2644
01:41:06,923 --> 01:41:08,923
these threats and uh that's the way 

2645
01:41:08,923 --> 01:41:10,979
we'll be successful for not only for 

2646
01:41:10,979 --> 01:41:13,201
our security but for global security as 

2647
01:41:13,201 --> 01:41:12,859
well . Well , thank you , sir . You 

2648
01:41:12,870 --> 01:41:16,430
know , um I think another way we lead , 

2649
01:41:16,439 --> 01:41:20,310
uh , is making sure that our military 

2650
01:41:20,319 --> 01:41:22,430
reflects the beautiful diversity that 

2651
01:41:22,430 --> 01:41:25,830
is , uh America . Um , when I , uh when 

2652
01:41:25,839 --> 01:41:28,560
aspiring for leadership roles , I think 

2653
01:41:28,629 --> 01:41:30,685
you have to sometimes see it to know 

2654
01:41:30,685 --> 01:41:33,419
that you uh could be it . Um And we 

2655
01:41:33,430 --> 01:41:35,950
know that you have to , uh , that , 

2656
01:41:35,959 --> 01:41:38,660
that as black soldiers , look at the 

2657
01:41:38,669 --> 01:41:40,558
fact that we have both an African 

2658
01:41:40,558 --> 01:41:42,558
American Secretary of Defense , the 

2659
01:41:42,558 --> 01:41:44,580
first one and the second , um , the 

2660
01:41:44,589 --> 01:41:46,700
second chairman of the Joint chiefs . 

2661
01:41:46,700 --> 01:41:49,660
Um I think that uh they envision 

2662
01:41:49,669 --> 01:41:51,836
themselves in those roles and that's a 

2663
01:41:51,836 --> 01:41:54,629
good thing . Um , Secretary Austin , 

2664
01:41:54,640 --> 01:41:56,819
can you talk about why it's important 

2665
01:41:56,830 --> 01:41:58,941
to create a diverse pipeline when you 

2666
01:41:58,941 --> 01:42:01,859
think about um , uh the military and , 

2667
01:42:01,870 --> 01:42:03,814
and , and our role globally in the 

2668
01:42:03,814 --> 01:42:07,410
world ? Well , our , our military , 

2669
01:42:07,419 --> 01:42:09,641
thank you . Our military should reflect 

2670
01:42:09,641 --> 01:42:11,720
our country . We , we have a diverse 

2671
01:42:11,729 --> 01:42:13,507
country and our military , uh , 

2672
01:42:13,507 --> 01:42:15,359
currently reflects that it will 

2673
01:42:15,370 --> 01:42:18,279
continue to reflect that . Uh And we , 

2674
01:42:18,290 --> 01:42:20,810
so we want , uh , we want talent from 

2675
01:42:20,819 --> 01:42:24,270
every corner of the country . Uh And as 

2676
01:42:24,279 --> 01:42:26,335
we acquire that talent , we want our 

2677
01:42:26,335 --> 01:42:28,399
troops to know that uh if they , if 

2678
01:42:28,410 --> 01:42:30,410
they are qualified , if they do the 

2679
01:42:30,410 --> 01:42:32,354
work , uh they can be successful . 

2680
01:42:32,354 --> 01:42:34,021
There's a path for them to be 

2681
01:42:34,021 --> 01:42:36,279
successful and climb as far as , uh as 

2682
01:42:36,290 --> 01:42:38,689
they , as they , as they want to climb . 

2683
01:42:38,709 --> 01:42:41,549
And , and that's , uh , you know , it's , 

2684
01:42:41,629 --> 01:42:43,796
uh , you , you succeed in the military 

2685
01:42:43,796 --> 01:42:46,100
based on merit . It's been that way in 

2686
01:42:46,109 --> 01:42:48,165
the past . It is that way today . It 

2687
01:42:48,165 --> 01:42:50,276
will be that way in the future . Uh , 

2688
01:42:50,276 --> 01:42:52,498
General Brown , do you have anything to 

2689
01:42:52,498 --> 01:42:54,498
add to that ? Well , I , I'd , uh , 

2690
01:42:54,498 --> 01:42:56,553
also , uh , echo what you said , you 

2691
01:42:56,553 --> 01:42:58,609
know , I often say young people only 

2692
01:42:58,609 --> 01:43:00,831
aspire to be what they see and , uh , I 

2693
01:43:00,831 --> 01:43:03,165
just feel , uh you know , privileged to , 

2694
01:43:03,165 --> 01:43:05,387
to have this opportunity to sit here as 

2695
01:43:05,387 --> 01:43:04,939
a chairman and sit next to uh secretary 

2696
01:43:04,950 --> 01:43:07,520
Austin , uh to be role models , not 

2697
01:43:07,529 --> 01:43:09,585
just for African Americans , but for 

2698
01:43:09,585 --> 01:43:11,418
all that , you know , we want to 

2699
01:43:11,418 --> 01:43:13,418
provide an opportunity for everyone 

2700
01:43:13,418 --> 01:43:15,585
that joins our military or to serve as 

2701
01:43:15,585 --> 01:43:17,473
a dod civilian to reach your full 

2702
01:43:17,473 --> 01:43:19,740
pendal . Absolutely , I yield back the 

2703
01:43:19,750 --> 01:43:22,220
balance of my time . I think the gentle 

2704
01:43:22,229 --> 01:43:23,951
lady chair and I recognize the 

2705
01:43:23,951 --> 01:43:25,896
gentleman from Texas , Mr Gooden . 

2706
01:43:25,896 --> 01:43:27,951
Thank you , Mr Secretary . Um I know 

2707
01:43:27,951 --> 01:43:30,118
you've been asked a few times . I just 

2708
01:43:30,118 --> 01:43:32,285
wanted to elaborate on the uh the Gaza 

2709
01:43:32,285 --> 01:43:34,451
Pier construction that's going on . Um 

2710
01:43:35,430 --> 01:43:38,569
So if we had us service members uh that 

2711
01:43:38,580 --> 01:43:41,859
were attacked , is there uh uh a 

2712
01:43:41,919 --> 01:43:43,975
procedure in place ? Do the Israelis 

2713
01:43:43,975 --> 01:43:47,229
respond first or are we going to defend 

2714
01:43:47,240 --> 01:43:49,018
ourselves first ? Has that been 

2715
01:43:49,018 --> 01:43:51,240
discussed that you could share ? Well , 

2716
01:43:51,240 --> 01:43:54,390
it depends on , on where the attack 

2717
01:43:54,399 --> 01:43:57,120
came from and the nature of the attack . 

2718
01:43:57,390 --> 01:43:59,589
Um You know , I , I would continue to 

2719
01:43:59,600 --> 01:44:02,379
highlight that our troops always have 

2720
01:44:02,390 --> 01:44:04,057
the inherent right to protect 

2721
01:44:04,057 --> 01:44:07,410
themselves . And so , um you know , 

2722
01:44:07,419 --> 01:44:10,129
as we've stated before , the Israelis 

2723
01:44:10,140 --> 01:44:13,229
are assisting , assisting in the uh uh 

2724
01:44:13,290 --> 01:44:16,970
in providing uh uh security uh near the , 

2725
01:44:16,979 --> 01:44:20,169
near the shore . Uh And so , uh and 

2726
01:44:20,180 --> 01:44:22,013
I've talked with the Minister of 

2727
01:44:22,013 --> 01:44:24,180
Defense Israeli Minister of Defense on 

2728
01:44:24,180 --> 01:44:26,291
this a couple of times and he assures 

2729
01:44:26,291 --> 01:44:28,069
me that they will do everything 

2730
01:44:28,069 --> 01:44:30,291
possible to protect our troops , but we 

2731
01:44:30,291 --> 01:44:32,458
can protect ourselves . We've al we've 

2732
01:44:32,458 --> 01:44:34,680
also talked with General Carrillo , the 

2733
01:44:34,680 --> 01:44:36,458
combatant commander . Uh and he 

2734
01:44:36,458 --> 01:44:38,124
outlined in detail all of the 

2735
01:44:38,124 --> 01:44:40,124
additional measures he's putting in 

2736
01:44:40,124 --> 01:44:42,291
place to ensure that , that we protect 

2737
01:44:42,291 --> 01:44:44,347
our troops . And I am comfortable uh 

2738
01:44:44,347 --> 01:44:46,458
with uh with what he's outlined and , 

2739
01:44:46,458 --> 01:44:48,649
and uh and again , uh you can't , I 

2740
01:44:48,660 --> 01:44:50,660
mean , there are a number of things 

2741
01:44:50,660 --> 01:44:52,882
that can happen . Uh But no matter what 

2742
01:44:52,882 --> 01:44:54,938
happens , I think we'll be uh in the 

2743
01:44:54,938 --> 01:44:57,104
best position to , to take care of our 

2744
01:44:57,104 --> 01:44:56,270
troops and defend ourselves . This is 

2745
01:44:56,279 --> 01:44:58,612
really important to me and the chairman . 

2746
01:44:58,612 --> 01:45:01,569
And would you agree then um that we're 

2747
01:45:01,580 --> 01:45:03,747
still moving toward that goal that the 

2748
01:45:03,747 --> 01:45:06,024
president stated in the State of Union , 

2749
01:45:06,024 --> 01:45:08,024
that we would not have boots on the 

2750
01:45:08,024 --> 01:45:10,136
ground there . We , we will , we will 

2751
01:45:10,136 --> 01:45:12,247
have no , no American troops on the , 

2752
01:45:12,247 --> 01:45:14,413
on the ground in Gaza . Thank you . Um 

2753
01:45:14,413 --> 01:45:16,524
continuing with that region in Gaza , 

2754
01:45:16,524 --> 01:45:18,890
et cetera . Um Would you have any 

2755
01:45:18,899 --> 01:45:21,569
comment on the role that the Qataris 

2756
01:45:21,600 --> 01:45:23,544
have played . Uh It's my view that 

2757
01:45:23,544 --> 01:45:25,711
they've been pretty helpful uh through 

2758
01:45:25,711 --> 01:45:27,767
this pro uh process and that our air 

2759
01:45:27,767 --> 01:45:29,989
base there in Qatar is essential to our 

2760
01:45:29,989 --> 01:45:32,830
operations in the Middle East . Um , 

2761
01:45:33,479 --> 01:45:36,700
the curries have been uh very helpful 

2762
01:45:36,709 --> 01:45:39,580
and , and they are to , to this day as 

2763
01:45:39,589 --> 01:45:41,811
we speak , they're instrumental in , in 

2764
01:45:41,811 --> 01:45:45,419
trying to uh uh negotiate uh 

2765
01:45:45,430 --> 01:45:48,790
a , uh as a , uh an agreement , 

2766
01:45:48,799 --> 01:45:50,729
calls for a ceasefire return of 

2767
01:45:50,740 --> 01:45:53,209
hostages . And so uh they've been 

2768
01:45:53,220 --> 01:45:55,220
enormously helpful there and you're 

2769
01:45:55,220 --> 01:45:57,053
right . Uh We have a significant 

2770
01:45:57,053 --> 01:45:59,276
capability there in , in Qatar in terms 

2771
01:45:59,276 --> 01:46:01,498
of the air base that we have there . Uh 

2772
01:46:01,498 --> 01:46:04,779
And they've been uh uh yeah , really , 

2773
01:46:04,790 --> 01:46:08,169
really uh generous in uh in providing 

2774
01:46:08,180 --> 01:46:11,169
access to us and , and resources for us 

2775
01:46:11,470 --> 01:46:13,359
and General Brown and I have both 

2776
01:46:13,359 --> 01:46:15,581
served there in informal lives . And uh 

2777
01:46:15,581 --> 01:46:17,609
and again , uh they , they've been 

2778
01:46:17,620 --> 01:46:19,676
great partners and I think they will 

2779
01:46:19,676 --> 01:46:21,898
continue to be uh going forward . Thank 

2780
01:46:21,898 --> 01:46:23,953
you . That was my impression . I was 

2781
01:46:23,953 --> 01:46:23,819
happy to hear you reiterated it . Thank 

2782
01:46:23,830 --> 01:46:25,219
you . And I yield back . 

2783
01:46:28,689 --> 01:46:31,160
Gem yields back . And with that , I 

2784
01:46:31,169 --> 01:46:33,430
believe all the members uh have been 

2785
01:46:33,439 --> 01:46:36,229
accommodated and I appreciate your uh 

2786
01:46:36,520 --> 01:46:39,279
patience and presence and uh under 

2787
01:46:39,290 --> 01:46:41,512
secretary mccord , you had a good day . 

2788
01:46:42,310 --> 01:46:44,421
I appreciate you very much . Does the 

2789
01:46:44,421 --> 01:46:46,199
ranking member have any closing 

2790
01:46:46,199 --> 01:46:48,254
statements ? You're not ? Apparently 

2791
01:46:48,254 --> 01:46:49,020
not . We are adjourned .