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No it's not good . 

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Okay good . You got the right button 

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and if it gets bad . Hello . What the 

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hell we'll get rid of these mix if you 

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have to . Let's see here . I want to 

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call us appropriations hearing together . 

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Hello . Mhm 

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very often your presence here today 

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and we appreciate your willingness to 

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meet with us . This hearing is intended 

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to focus on the president's budget 

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request for fiscal year 2023 . We would 

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be remiss if we didn't take this 

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opportunity to receive an update on the 

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situation . Especially given your 

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recent trip two two PM . 

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last week administration submitted a 

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$33 billion dollar appropriation 

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request was additional system That 

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includes $16.4 billion dollars for the 

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Department of Defense . Right With 

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respect to the fiscal year 2023 

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requests . I am first and foremost 

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interested in hearing about this budget 

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build previously to ensure to 

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ensure America's continuing military 

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advantage . Atlanta fear competition 

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from china . Let me be clear trying to 

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continue to be the case regret . We're 

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watching it closely waiting to see if 

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we market you down at the same time , 

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whether it's a chinese nuclear force , 

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expansion , developing space 

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capabilities , capabilities or cyber 

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activities . We're working hard to 

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catch up . So I'm encouraged by the 

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departments can continue commitment to 

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modernization development . The budget 

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request before us includes a record 

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high amount for research and 

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development , $130 billion $10 million 

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dollar increase over land . However , 

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your request for is essentially flat 

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compared to last . So we have to wonder 

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when the investment modernization going 

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to show up . I just feel the capability 

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for our troops on the flip side of the 

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equation . This budget also proposes to 

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retire platforms that are being no 

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longer necessary to the future fights . 

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Some of these proposals are 

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controversial so we hope you can 

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provide the strategic and operational 

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context . The reason of course we 

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acknowledge that the world is 

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drastically different from just a year 

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ago impact of the pandemic and global 

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supply change for this in both the best 

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and commercial industrial bases or 

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widely felt further , Russia's invasion 

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of Ukraine has impacted global supply 

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chains and markets across the board , 

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driving up fuel prices and creating 

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uncertain markets . So the 

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affordability of the budget as proposed 

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in other words , are you going to be 

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able to afford what you think you can 

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as well as the ability of the industry 

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to deliver , deliver for our troops in 

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a timely manner are very real questions 

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that this committee is going to wrestle 

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with . We cannot afford to waste time 

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or money to ensure that we're getting 

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our troops what they need to do their 

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jobs at the right time and at the right 

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cost Once again , I want to thank the 

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witnesses and the testimony they're 

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about to give . I look forward to 

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hearing from you both as you can see 

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Senator Shelby is ill today , so he is 

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not going to be here . So we'll just go 

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right straight to you sector . 

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Secretary Austin , Good morning 

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chairman tester and the distinguished 

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members of the committee . Thank you 

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for the chance to testify today in 

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support of the president's budget 

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request for fiscal year 2023 . 

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Mr . Chairman . We're still focused on 

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three key priorities at the Department 

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of Defense , defending our nation , 

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taking care of our people and 

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succeeding through teamwork in our 

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budget request helps us meet each one 

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of those priorities . Our budget seeks 

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more than $56 billion dollars for air 

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power platforms and systems And more 

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than $40 billion dollars to maintain 

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our dominance at sea Including buying 

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nine more battle force ships And almost 

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$13 billion dollars to support and 

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modernize our combat credible forces on 

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land . Our budget also funds the 

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modernization of all three legs of the 

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nuclear triad to ensure that we 

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maintain a safe , secure and effective 

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strategic deterrent . Of course none of 

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these capabilities matter much without 

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our people and their families . So 

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we're seeking your support for a 4.6% 

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pay raise for a military and civilian 

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personnel and other special pay and 

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benefits . We also plan to invest in 

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outstanding and affordable child care 

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in the construction of on base child 

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development centers and in ensuring 

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that all our families can always put 

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good and healthy food on the table . 

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We're also deeply focused on the 

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terrible problem of suicide in the U . 

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S . Military . So we're increasing 

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access to mental health care , 

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expanding telehealth capacities and 

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finding the tired old stigmas against 

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seeking help with your support . I have 

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just ordered the establishment of an 

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independent review committee to help us 

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grapple with suicide to better 

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understand it , to prevent it and to 

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treat the unseen wounds that lead to it . 

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At the same time , we're working hard 

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to implement the recommendations of the 

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Independent Review Commission on Sexual 

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Assault . We know that we have a long 

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way to go to rid ourselves of this 

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scourge . Our budget seeks nearly $480 

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million dollars to do just that . This 

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is a leadership issue . And you have my 

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personal commitment to keep leading . 

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You're also seeing how much our 

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leadership matters when it comes to 

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Ukraine . And just last week , I 

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convened the first meeting of what is 

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now the contact group on Ukrainian 

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security , a group of defense leaders 

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from around the world committed to 

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supporting Ukraine after Russia's 

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unprovoked and unjust invasion . Now 

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that gathering sent a powerful signal 

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that nations of goodwill are 

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intensifying their efforts to help 

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Ukraine better defend itself . And with 

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the help of Congress , the United 

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States has been able to deliver 

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security assistance to Ukraine with 

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unprecedented speed and resolve . And 

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that has made a huge difference on the 

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ground . President Zelensky made that 

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clear when I met him in Kiev along with 

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Secretary of State Blinken just over a 

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week ago , even before Putin started 

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his war of choice , we provided Ukraine 

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with a billion dollars worth of weapons 

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and gear through presidential drawdown 

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authority And since Russia's invasion , 

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the United States has committed some 

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$3.7 billion dollars to Ukraine . But 

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the war is changing in the coming weeks 

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will be crucial . Our goal is to help 

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get the Ukrainians the capability that 

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they need most right now in the Donbas 

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and in the south . Now , as you know , 

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the president has nearly exhausted the 

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drawdown authority that Congress 

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approved in March . So last week he 

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submitted to you a $33 billion dollars 

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supplemental request which will help us 

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continue to meet Ukraine's urgent 

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requirements without interruption . 

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Specifically , we're requesting , as 

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you pointed out , chairman , $16 

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billion $5 billion 

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dollars of additional drawdown 

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authority . $6 billion more for the 

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Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative 

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in another $5 billion dollars for 

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critical investments to and to help 

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cover the operational need operational 

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cost of bolstering NATO's eastern flank . 

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I want to thank you for your strong 

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leadership toward our shared goal of 

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helping Ukraine defend itself and 

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supporting NATO . I hope the Congress 

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will quickly approve this supplemental . 

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Well , let me briefly mention a couple 

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of other major efforts that the 

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departments focused on , as you know , 

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the department's pacing challenge 

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remains countering aggression and 

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bullying from china . So this budget 

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invests some $6 billion Pacific 

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Deterrence Initiative and in keeping 

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with our new national defense strategy , 

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we're going to going to enhance our 

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force posture , our infrastructure , 

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our presence and our readiness in the 

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indo pacific including the missile 

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defense of Guam . At the same time we 

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must be prepared for threats that pay 

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no heed to borders from pandemics to 

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climate change and we must tackle the 

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persistent threats posed by north Korea 

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Iran and global terrorist groups . So 

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I'm proud that our budget seeks more 

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than $130 billion dollars for research , 

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development , testing and evaluation . 

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The largest R . And D request this 

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department has ever made . This 

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includes $1 billion dollars for 

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artificial intelligence , $250 million 

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five G . Nearly $28 billion 

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$11 billion dollars to 

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protect our networks and develop a 

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cyber mission force . Mr Chairman . 

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This budget maintains our edge but it 

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does not take that edge for granted and 

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through the president's budget and with 

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the help of this committee we will 

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continue to defend this nation , take 

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care of our people and support our 

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allies and partners . Thank you and I 

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look forward to your questions , 

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appreciate your testimony . Mr 

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Secretary General Milley you have the 

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floor chairman . Test members of the 

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committee . Thank you and uh and I also 

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want to publicly thank Senator Shelby 

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although he's not here today for his 

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lifelong service in America's interests . 

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I am privileged to represent the 

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soldiers , sailors , airmen , marines 

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and guardians of the United States 

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Joint force and our troops as you all 

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know and with your help are the best 

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led , best equipped , best trained , 

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most lethal and most capable military 

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force in the world alongside our allies 

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and partners at any given time . 

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Approximately 400,000 of us are 

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currently standing watch in 155 

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countries and conducting operations 

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every day that keep americans safe . 

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Currently we are supporting , as you 

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noted in your opening comment , Senator 

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tester our european allies and guarding 

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NATO's eastern flank in the face of an 

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unnecessary war of aggression by Russia 

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against the people of Ukraine and the 

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assault on the democratic institutions 

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and rules based international order 

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That have prevented Great Power War for 

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the last 78 years since the end of 

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World War II , We are now facing two 

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global powers china and Russia , each 

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with significant military capabilities , 

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both who intend to fundamentally change 

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the current rules based order . We are 

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entering a world that is becoming more 

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unstable and the potential for 

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significant international conflict 

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between great powers is increasing . 

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Not decreasing . The United States 

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military comprises one of the four key 

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components of national power , 

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diplomatic , economic , informational 

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and of course military in order to 

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protect the homeland and sustain a 

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stable and open international system . 

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In coordination with the other elements 

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of power , we constantly develop a wide 

281
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range of military options for the 

282
00:11:23,973 --> 00:11:26,196
president as commander in chief and for 

283
00:11:26,196 --> 00:11:28,473
this Congress to consider as the U . S . 

284
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Military . We are prepared to deter and 

285
00:11:30,696 --> 00:11:32,751
if necessary , fight and win against 

286
00:11:32,751 --> 00:11:34,862
anyone who seeks to attack the United 

287
00:11:34,862 --> 00:11:37,084
States , our allies or a significant or 

288
00:11:37,084 --> 00:11:39,307
vital national security interests . The 

289
00:11:39,307 --> 00:11:41,418
joint force appreciates the work that 

290
00:11:41,418 --> 00:11:43,307
our elected representatives do to 

291
00:11:43,307 --> 00:11:45,196
ensure that we have the resources 

292
00:11:45,196 --> 00:11:47,251
needed to train equip and manage the 

293
00:11:47,251 --> 00:11:49,362
force in order to be ready . We thank 

294
00:11:49,362 --> 00:11:51,584
the Congress for increasing last year's 

295
00:11:51,584 --> 00:11:53,696
fiscal level of military spending and 

296
00:11:53,696 --> 00:11:55,696
we look forward to your support for 

297
00:11:55,696 --> 00:11:57,751
this year's budget . The joint force 

298
00:11:57,751 --> 00:11:59,473
will deliver modernization and 

299
00:11:59,473 --> 00:12:01,362
readiness to our armed forces and 

300
00:12:01,362 --> 00:12:03,418
security to the people of the United 

301
00:12:03,418 --> 00:12:05,640
States . At the FY 23 budget Request of 

302
00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:09,550
$773 billion . This budget will enable 

303
00:12:09,550 --> 00:12:11,328
the decisions modernization and 

304
00:12:11,328 --> 00:12:13,383
transformation of the joint force In 

305
00:12:13,383 --> 00:12:15,606
order to set and meet the conditions of 

306
00:12:15,606 --> 00:12:17,828
operating environment that we expect to 

307
00:12:17,828 --> 00:12:19,828
encounter in 2030 and beyond the so 

308
00:12:19,828 --> 00:12:21,939
called changing character of war that 

309
00:12:21,939 --> 00:12:23,939
we have discussed many times in the 

310
00:12:23,939 --> 00:12:25,870
past . We will work diligently to 

311
00:12:25,870 --> 00:12:27,759
ensure the resources the american 

312
00:12:27,759 --> 00:12:29,592
people and trust to us are spent 

313
00:12:29,592 --> 00:12:31,759
prudently in the best interests of the 

314
00:12:31,759 --> 00:12:33,870
nation in alignment with the national 

315
00:12:33,870 --> 00:12:35,926
defense strategy and the forthcoming 

316
00:12:35,926 --> 00:12:37,814
national military strategy . This 

317
00:12:37,814 --> 00:12:39,703
budget delivers already agile and 

318
00:12:39,703 --> 00:12:41,759
capable joint force that will defend 

319
00:12:41,759 --> 00:12:43,759
the nation while taking care of our 

320
00:12:43,759 --> 00:12:45,814
people and working with our partners 

321
00:12:45,814 --> 00:12:47,870
and allies . We are witnessing right 

322
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now as we sit here , The greatest 

323
00:12:50,830 --> 00:12:53,010
threat to peace and security of Europe 

324
00:12:53,020 --> 00:12:55,320
and perhaps the world in my 42 years in 

325
00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:57,800
uniform , the Russian invasion of 

326
00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:00,120
Ukraine is threatening to undermine not 

327
00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:02,480
only european peace and stability , but 

328
00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:04,424
global peace and stability that my 

329
00:13:04,424 --> 00:13:06,480
parents and generations of americans 

330
00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:09,060
fought so hard to defend the islands of 

331
00:13:09,060 --> 00:13:11,350
the pacific and the beaches of Normandy 

332
00:13:11,940 --> 00:13:14,107
bore witness to the incredible tragedy 

333
00:13:14,107 --> 00:13:16,329
that befalls humanity when nations seek 

334
00:13:16,329 --> 00:13:18,218
power through military aggression 

335
00:13:18,218 --> 00:13:20,440
across sovereign borders . Despite this 

336
00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:22,700
horrific assault on the institutions of 

337
00:13:22,700 --> 00:13:24,811
freedom , it is heartening to see the 

338
00:13:24,811 --> 00:13:27,033
world rally and say , never again , the 

339
00:13:27,033 --> 00:13:30,120
specter of war in europe , your 

340
00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:32,520
military stands ready to do whatever is 

341
00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:34,742
directed in order to maintain peace and 

342
00:13:34,742 --> 00:13:36,964
stability in the european continent , a 

343
00:13:36,964 --> 00:13:39,131
piece that ensures global stability in 

344
00:13:39,131 --> 00:13:40,964
an international order where all 

345
00:13:40,964 --> 00:13:43,076
nations can prosper in peace . We are 

346
00:13:43,076 --> 00:13:45,187
also prepared and need to sustain our 

347
00:13:45,187 --> 00:13:47,409
capabilities anywhere else in the globe 

348
00:13:47,409 --> 00:13:49,409
as well as with our priority effort 

349
00:13:49,409 --> 00:13:51,520
being in the Asia pacific against the 

350
00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:51,210
pacing challenge of the people's 

351
00:13:51,210 --> 00:13:53,820
republic of china and in defense of our 

352
00:13:53,820 --> 00:13:55,931
nation , we must maintain competitive 

353
00:13:55,931 --> 00:13:58,160
overmatch in all the domains of war . 

354
00:13:58,730 --> 00:14:01,360
Space , cyber , land , sea and air . 

355
00:14:02,130 --> 00:14:04,810
Second place has no room in the geo 

356
00:14:04,810 --> 00:14:06,900
strategic competition between us and 

357
00:14:06,900 --> 00:14:09,560
our adversaries . The United States is 

358
00:14:09,560 --> 00:14:11,338
at a very critical and historic 

359
00:14:11,338 --> 00:14:13,880
geostrategic inflection point . We need 

360
00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:15,824
to pursue a clear eyed strategy of 

361
00:14:15,824 --> 00:14:17,550
maintaining the peace to the 

362
00:14:17,550 --> 00:14:19,494
unambiguous capability of strength 

363
00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:22,260
relative to china and Russia . This 

364
00:14:22,260 --> 00:14:24,260
required that this requires that we 

365
00:14:24,260 --> 00:14:26,920
simultaneously maintain readiness and 

366
00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:29,200
modernize for the future . It's not one 

367
00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:31,640
or the other . If we do not do that , 

368
00:14:31,790 --> 00:14:33,790
then we are risking the security of 

369
00:14:33,790 --> 00:14:36,012
future generations . And I believe this 

370
00:14:36,012 --> 00:14:38,012
budget is a major step in the right 

371
00:14:38,012 --> 00:14:39,901
direction to secure in the United 

372
00:14:39,901 --> 00:14:41,901
States . And I look forward to your 

373
00:14:41,901 --> 00:14:43,901
questions . I want to thank you for 

374
00:14:43,901 --> 00:14:46,068
your statement . General Milia , thank 

375
00:14:46,068 --> 00:14:48,234
you both for being here again . Before 

376
00:14:48,234 --> 00:14:50,346
we get to questions , I want to allow 

377
00:14:50,346 --> 00:14:52,512
the Chairman appropriations to make an 

378
00:14:52,512 --> 00:14:54,346
opening statement . Thank you Mr 

379
00:14:54,346 --> 00:14:58,090
Chairman . I To use my my duties to 

380
00:14:58,090 --> 00:15:00,730
open the Senate at 10:00 . So I'm not 

381
00:15:00,730 --> 00:15:03,390
here . I'm glad to see both Secretary 

382
00:15:03,390 --> 00:15:05,700
Austin and General Milley , both of 

383
00:15:05,700 --> 00:15:08,330
whom are friends . I'm glad to see him 

384
00:15:08,330 --> 00:15:12,100
here , I would note and I don't need to 

385
00:15:12,100 --> 00:15:14,910
tell you this , the world is a lot 

386
00:15:14,910 --> 00:15:16,966
different today than it was when the 

387
00:15:16,966 --> 00:15:19,021
full committee heard from the two of 

388
00:15:19,021 --> 00:15:21,170
you last year and Russia's unprovoked 

389
00:15:21,170 --> 00:15:23,392
and unwarranted aggression in Ukraine , 

390
00:15:23,392 --> 00:15:26,500
which may become even worse on May . 

391
00:15:26,500 --> 00:15:29,020
The china's domination of global 

392
00:15:29,020 --> 00:15:32,010
marketplace , continued instability in 

393
00:15:32,010 --> 00:15:34,860
the Middle East , enduring pandemic . 

394
00:15:36,180 --> 00:15:38,236
The Department of Defense as well as 

395
00:15:38,236 --> 00:15:40,458
the State Department . All our agencies 

396
00:15:40,458 --> 00:15:42,624
have to confront these issues and more 

397
00:15:42,940 --> 00:15:46,760
and I think the President's budget is a 

398
00:15:47,700 --> 00:15:49,922
look not just at the current issues but 

399
00:15:49,922 --> 00:15:53,340
to anticipate what we have to look at 

400
00:15:53,350 --> 00:15:55,680
first . But this budget is also the 

401
00:15:55,690 --> 00:15:57,912
first since the United States ended its 

402
00:15:57,912 --> 00:16:00,930
involvement in Afghanistan last year as 

403
00:16:00,930 --> 00:16:02,610
well as the first as Russia's 

404
00:16:02,610 --> 00:16:05,050
unprovoked and senseless , all out 

405
00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:09,020
assault on Ukraine . It reflects some 

406
00:16:09,020 --> 00:16:10,970
of these changes with emphasis on 

407
00:16:10,970 --> 00:16:13,192
building on programs . The committee is 

408
00:16:13,192 --> 00:16:16,590
funded for revitalizing NATO , both our 

409
00:16:16,590 --> 00:16:18,940
partners capabilities , our ability to 

410
00:16:18,940 --> 00:16:22,450
stand side by side with them . In fact , 

411
00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:24,729
I hope you don't mind a parochial 

412
00:16:24,729 --> 00:16:27,950
comment or Vermont Air National Guard 

413
00:16:27,950 --> 00:16:30,360
is on deployment in europe as part of 

414
00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:33,430
that right now , I am particularly 

415
00:16:34,340 --> 00:16:36,480
appreciate your comments mr Secretary 

416
00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:38,202
about what you call integrated 

417
00:16:38,202 --> 00:16:41,540
deterrence . Um I have long believed 

418
00:16:41,540 --> 00:16:44,090
the military does not act in isolation 

419
00:16:44,090 --> 00:16:46,940
for the rest of the government . And as 

420
00:16:46,940 --> 00:16:50,350
the chairman and vice chairman , this 

421
00:16:50,350 --> 00:16:52,517
committee have asked your predecessors 

422
00:16:52,517 --> 00:16:56,150
back to Secretary Mattis to explain the 

423
00:16:56,150 --> 00:16:58,317
importance of a budget that invests in 

424
00:16:58,317 --> 00:17:00,539
our nation's military , but also in our 

425
00:17:00,539 --> 00:17:02,761
nation's people . I don't think you can 

426
00:17:02,761 --> 00:17:06,160
separate there too . So the men and 

427
00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:08,382
women of our armed services reflect the 

428
00:17:08,382 --> 00:17:11,290
United States programs . Congress 

429
00:17:11,290 --> 00:17:12,920
supports across each of the 

430
00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:15,710
appropriations built , yield the 

431
00:17:15,710 --> 00:17:19,230
economy , workforce , a citizenry and 

432
00:17:19,230 --> 00:17:21,840
the educational system and more that 

433
00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:23,784
makes our nation stronger and more 

434
00:17:23,784 --> 00:17:26,007
successful . So Mr Chairman , Thank you 

435
00:17:26,007 --> 00:17:28,160
very much for giving me this time . 

436
00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:32,490
Chairman . Chairman leahy . Um First of 

437
00:17:32,490 --> 00:17:34,712
all , we we wish you luck and getting a 

438
00:17:34,712 --> 00:17:36,657
top line number and hopefully both 

439
00:17:36,657 --> 00:17:38,768
sides can put pressure on both Shelby 

440
00:17:38,768 --> 00:17:40,990
and you to get to that number soon . So 

441
00:17:40,990 --> 00:17:43,101
we can get a budget out by the end of 

442
00:17:43,101 --> 00:17:45,101
september But I will , let's say we 

443
00:17:45,101 --> 00:17:47,212
want very , very much . I will not be 

444
00:17:47,212 --> 00:17:49,434
here and next year . But I look at some 

445
00:17:49,434 --> 00:17:51,700
will and we're trying to get a clean 

446
00:17:51,700 --> 00:17:55,320
slate for the committee beginning at 

447
00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:57,800
noon on january 3rd . I think we're all 

448
00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:00,022
on board with that . Especially Senator 

449
00:18:00,022 --> 00:18:02,189
Collins . You may go proceed with your 

450
00:18:02,189 --> 00:18:04,520
questions if you might . Secretary Mr 

451
00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:08,180
Chairman , yep . Okay , well thank 

452
00:18:08,180 --> 00:18:11,850
you . Um Secretary 

453
00:18:11,850 --> 00:18:14,600
Austin , I've spoken to you privately 

454
00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:18,300
about this but you know how much I have 

455
00:18:18,300 --> 00:18:20,960
appreciated seeing you and Secretary of 

456
00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:23,640
State Blinken working hand in hand not 

457
00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:27,170
only here in the US but in your your 

458
00:18:27,170 --> 00:18:30,060
trips abroad including the very 

459
00:18:31,140 --> 00:18:34,760
Important 1 to Ukraine . I think 

460
00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:37,620
the your partnership has been a driving 

461
00:18:37,630 --> 00:18:41,460
force . I ah a 

462
00:18:41,460 --> 00:18:43,760
few years ago I would want , I wondered 

463
00:18:43,930 --> 00:18:47,190
if the United States could get our NATO 

464
00:18:47,190 --> 00:18:49,580
allies and our other partners to join 

465
00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:54,160
on the same page . Uh two of you , 

466
00:18:54,170 --> 00:18:56,170
president biden , you've all worked 

467
00:18:56,170 --> 00:18:58,720
very , very hard , very very hard to do 

468
00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:01,550
that and I I think 

469
00:19:02,740 --> 00:19:05,760
I think that is so important . Um 

470
00:19:07,540 --> 00:19:09,596
Secretary Austin , do you agree that 

471
00:19:09,596 --> 00:19:11,762
the investments we make in non defense 

472
00:19:11,762 --> 00:19:13,860
discretionary spending to ensure the 

473
00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:16,551
fitness , health and education of the 

474
00:19:16,551 --> 00:19:19,200
future force are also essential to our 

475
00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:20,960
national security . 

476
00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:26,690
I do . Chairman . Well , 

477
00:19:26,690 --> 00:19:30,030
we're we're on the cusp of 

478
00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:32,500
negotiating a final comprehensive 

479
00:19:32,500 --> 00:19:36,210
builders is going to ignite our 

480
00:19:36,220 --> 00:19:38,164
efforts to be able to compete with 

481
00:19:38,164 --> 00:19:41,160
china investments made by that 

482
00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:43,350
legislation would empower the 

483
00:19:43,940 --> 00:19:45,940
Department of Commerce to provide a 

484
00:19:45,940 --> 00:19:48,950
joke to the micro electronics industry 

485
00:19:48,950 --> 00:19:52,050
in our country . Bring it to ensure the 

486
00:19:52,050 --> 00:19:53,883
development of critical national 

487
00:19:53,883 --> 00:19:55,828
security technologies . We've seen 

488
00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:57,651
Press in the last two days , 

489
00:19:59,540 --> 00:20:02,050
things have slowed down considerably in 

490
00:20:02,050 --> 00:20:05,330
our country on just solar energy for 

491
00:20:05,330 --> 00:20:08,910
one because reliance on 

492
00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:11,750
china and those countries they they 

493
00:20:11,750 --> 00:20:14,160
control . Ah 

494
00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,150
how important are the resources ? Non 

495
00:20:18,150 --> 00:20:21,940
defense research . Obviously we all 

496
00:20:21,940 --> 00:20:23,884
agree on the importance of defense 

497
00:20:23,884 --> 00:20:26,051
research . But in non defense research 

498
00:20:26,051 --> 00:20:28,960
and development ensure our nation's 

499
00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:32,840
national security , cyber security and 

500
00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:36,420
economic independence from foreign 

501
00:20:36,420 --> 00:20:40,380
manufacturing . Well , 

502
00:20:40,380 --> 00:20:43,700
I think it's critical uh Chairman . And 

503
00:20:43,710 --> 00:20:46,180
let me before I answer in full , let me 

504
00:20:46,180 --> 00:20:48,770
just again , thank you for your many 

505
00:20:48,770 --> 00:20:50,900
years of service to our nation on 

506
00:20:50,900 --> 00:20:53,011
behalf of the Department of Defense . 

507
00:20:53,011 --> 00:20:54,733
We are truly grateful for your 

508
00:20:54,733 --> 00:20:57,011
leadership and your support of defense . 

509
00:20:58,740 --> 00:21:00,740
So I believe your question was how 

510
00:21:00,740 --> 00:21:04,060
important it is the investment in non 

511
00:21:04,060 --> 00:21:08,050
defense related research to us . 

512
00:21:08,050 --> 00:21:10,217
I would say it's very important as you 

513
00:21:10,217 --> 00:21:12,400
know , over the years , we have 

514
00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:16,120
benefited from a number of developments 

515
00:21:16,120 --> 00:21:18,390
that have taken place in the , in the 

516
00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:20,830
civil sector , in the civil sector . 

517
00:21:21,070 --> 00:21:24,430
And and again , it's putting together a 

518
00:21:24,430 --> 00:21:27,860
number of capabilities and and 

519
00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:31,760
and and building capacity and in ways 

520
00:21:31,770 --> 00:21:34,600
that that haven't been done hasn't been 

521
00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:36,822
done before . That creates a tremendous 

522
00:21:36,822 --> 00:21:38,878
opportunity for us . So I think it's 

523
00:21:38,878 --> 00:21:40,933
very , very important to answer your 

524
00:21:40,933 --> 00:21:42,933
question . Chairman , thank you and 

525
00:21:42,933 --> 00:21:44,711
thank you for the kind personal 

526
00:21:44,711 --> 00:21:47,030
comments too . General Milley I looked 

527
00:21:47,030 --> 00:21:49,300
at your written remarks , You discussed 

528
00:21:49,300 --> 00:21:51,244
the importance of working with our 

529
00:21:51,244 --> 00:21:54,670
allies and our partners today 

530
00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:57,840
and I use this because the example 

531
00:21:57,840 --> 00:21:59,840
could be from many states , but the 

532
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:01,840
Vermont Air National Guard is doing 

533
00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:04,990
that in europe on deployment . I'm a 

534
00:22:04,990 --> 00:22:06,950
longtime supporter of the National 

535
00:22:07,740 --> 00:22:10,870
Guards State Partnership program . Our 

536
00:22:10,870 --> 00:22:13,030
state recently had Austria to his 

537
00:22:13,030 --> 00:22:15,650
existing partnerships with Nigeria and 

538
00:22:15,650 --> 00:22:19,610
North Macedonia in light of 

539
00:22:19,620 --> 00:22:22,660
Russia's aggression in Ukraine . The 

540
00:22:22,660 --> 00:22:24,930
success we've had in cementing our NATO 

541
00:22:24,930 --> 00:22:28,370
partnership . Can you speak to 

542
00:22:28,370 --> 00:22:30,800
the relationships between State 

543
00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:33,850
National Guards ? Not just Vermont 

544
00:22:33,850 --> 00:22:37,220
obviously , but National Guards and our 

545
00:22:37,230 --> 00:22:41,060
international partners . Thanks 

546
00:22:41,060 --> 00:22:44,230
Senator . And I too want to echo the 

547
00:22:44,230 --> 00:22:46,397
Secretary's comments and thank you for 

548
00:22:46,397 --> 00:22:48,508
your half century of public service , 

549
00:22:48,508 --> 00:22:50,674
uh deeply appreciated and and uh and I 

550
00:22:50,674 --> 00:22:52,730
know all of us in uniform appreciate 

551
00:22:52,730 --> 00:22:54,730
your leadership with respect to the 

552
00:22:54,730 --> 00:22:56,897
State Partnership program . You know , 

553
00:22:56,897 --> 00:22:58,841
to go from big to small allies And 

554
00:22:58,841 --> 00:23:00,897
partners are an asymmetric advantage 

555
00:23:00,897 --> 00:23:03,008
for the United States . Neither china 

556
00:23:03,008 --> 00:23:05,119
nor Russia have anything close to the 

557
00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:07,119
Allies and partner network that the 

558
00:23:07,119 --> 00:23:09,286
United States has . Just as an example 

559
00:23:09,286 --> 00:23:09,260
of that last week , I was with the 

560
00:23:09,270 --> 00:23:11,920
Secretary of Defense Austin in Ramstein 

561
00:23:12,170 --> 00:23:15,400
and he called a meeting Uh in in six 

562
00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:17,990
days , 42 countries , ministers of 

563
00:23:17,990 --> 00:23:20,340
defense and my counterparts , chiefs of 

564
00:23:20,340 --> 00:23:22,550
defense all showed up in ramstein to 

565
00:23:22,550 --> 00:23:25,230
coordinate and synchronize support to 

566
00:23:25,230 --> 00:23:27,397
the ongoing struggle in Ukraine Russia 

567
00:23:27,397 --> 00:23:29,508
has nothing comparable to that . They 

568
00:23:29,508 --> 00:23:31,563
have belarus , maybe a couple others 

569
00:23:31,563 --> 00:23:31,390
that's about it . China certainly 

570
00:23:31,390 --> 00:23:33,446
doesn't have the network around . So 

571
00:23:33,446 --> 00:23:35,390
allies and partners are critical . 

572
00:23:35,390 --> 00:23:35,260
There are a critical component of the 

573
00:23:35,260 --> 00:23:37,316
National Defense , the United States 

574
00:23:37,316 --> 00:23:39,038
and it's one of our asymmetric 

575
00:23:39,038 --> 00:23:41,093
advantage is the National Guard from 

576
00:23:41,093 --> 00:23:43,149
all the different states play a very 

577
00:23:43,149 --> 00:23:42,770
important role in that . Each one of 

578
00:23:42,770 --> 00:23:44,820
our units has state partnership 

579
00:23:44,820 --> 00:23:47,042
programs . Uh We'll take Ukraine for an 

580
00:23:47,042 --> 00:23:49,270
example uh in Ukraine California's 

581
00:23:49,270 --> 00:23:51,381
aligned with them along with others . 

582
00:23:51,381 --> 00:23:53,214
Uh Those have been invaluable to 

583
00:23:53,214 --> 00:23:55,381
maintain the connective tissue between 

584
00:23:55,381 --> 00:23:57,381
our military . So it's an important 

585
00:23:57,381 --> 00:23:59,603
program at the micro tactical level but 

586
00:23:59,603 --> 00:24:01,937
it also has very great strategic effect . 

587
00:24:01,937 --> 00:24:01,850
Thank you . Thank you . Mr Chairman 

588
00:24:02,410 --> 00:24:05,070
Senator Collins , thank you . Mr 

589
00:24:05,070 --> 00:24:07,620
Chairman , thank you both for your 

590
00:24:07,620 --> 00:24:10,650
service and thank you . Secretary 

591
00:24:10,650 --> 00:24:13,550
Austin for going to Ukraine . I think 

592
00:24:13,550 --> 00:24:16,970
that was extremely important . Mr 

593
00:24:16,970 --> 00:24:20,470
Secretary for the second year in a row , 

594
00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:23,010
the administration has submitted a 

595
00:24:23,010 --> 00:24:26,420
budget request that would result in a 

596
00:24:26,420 --> 00:24:30,060
real reduction in defense spending when 

597
00:24:30,060 --> 00:24:33,100
you take inflation into account . The 

598
00:24:33,100 --> 00:24:36,540
2018 bipartisan National Defense 

599
00:24:36,540 --> 00:24:39,750
Strategy Commission recommended an 

600
00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:42,960
increase in the annual defense budget 

601
00:24:42,970 --> 00:24:46,800
at a rate of 3 to 5% above 

602
00:24:46,810 --> 00:24:50,530
inflation which we know is that 40 year 

603
00:24:50,540 --> 00:24:54,140
highs today , given the aggressive rate 

604
00:24:54,140 --> 00:24:56,270
of which china is modernizing its 

605
00:24:56,270 --> 00:24:59,040
military and the fact that everywhere 

606
00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:01,770
we look , we see in new threats , 

607
00:25:01,770 --> 00:25:04,540
including the largest land war in 

608
00:25:04,540 --> 00:25:07,320
europe since World War two , I'm very 

609
00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:10,510
concerned that this budget would result 

610
00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:14,170
in real cuts in defense spending at 

611
00:25:14,170 --> 00:25:17,580
exactly the wrong time . If you look at 

612
00:25:17,590 --> 00:25:20,860
the services and the combatant commands , 

613
00:25:20,870 --> 00:25:23,670
unfunded priorities lists that they 

614
00:25:23,670 --> 00:25:25,910
have submitted , they amount to more 

615
00:25:25,910 --> 00:25:29,630
than $21 billion . What are 

616
00:25:29,630 --> 00:25:32,340
the areas in the budget where the 

617
00:25:32,340 --> 00:25:36,060
department is accepting the most 

618
00:25:36,060 --> 00:25:39,680
risk ? Well , thanks 

619
00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:42,870
Sen . Um we built this budget first of 

620
00:25:42,870 --> 00:25:46,070
all , $773 billion dollars is a very 

621
00:25:46,070 --> 00:25:48,170
substantial budget . We built the 

622
00:25:48,170 --> 00:25:51,140
budget as you know , based on our 

623
00:25:51,140 --> 00:25:54,310
strategy which we just released at 

624
00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:56,670
about the same time that we released 

625
00:25:56,670 --> 00:25:58,820
the budget , we believe that it gives 

626
00:25:58,820 --> 00:26:00,840
us the ability to go after those 

627
00:26:00,850 --> 00:26:03,330
capabilities that support our 

628
00:26:03,340 --> 00:26:05,570
warfighting concepts . And in that 

629
00:26:05,570 --> 00:26:09,430
strategy , senator china is listed 

630
00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:12,890
as our pacing challenge and Russia is 

631
00:26:12,900 --> 00:26:16,180
is cited as an acute threat . Uh And 

632
00:26:16,190 --> 00:26:18,300
again , we believe that we're going 

633
00:26:18,300 --> 00:26:20,310
after the right things to to ensure 

634
00:26:20,310 --> 00:26:22,310
that we maintain a competitive edge 

635
00:26:22,310 --> 00:26:24,480
going forward . Uh When we built the 

636
00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:27,000
budget um obviously you have to snap 

637
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:28,944
the chalk line at some point while 

638
00:26:28,944 --> 00:26:31,111
you're building the budget . Uh And at 

639
00:26:31,111 --> 00:26:33,278
that point , you know , we factored in 

640
00:26:33,278 --> 00:26:35,500
what what was the appropriate inflation 

641
00:26:35,500 --> 00:26:39,490
rate ? Of course , again , if if 

642
00:26:39,490 --> 00:26:43,400
we're unable to by the things that 

643
00:26:43,410 --> 00:26:45,521
we think are essential will will come 

644
00:26:45,521 --> 00:26:47,688
back to the President and ask for more 

645
00:26:47,688 --> 00:26:49,743
assistance . But but we believe that 

646
00:26:49,743 --> 00:26:51,966
there is significant capability in this 

647
00:26:51,966 --> 00:26:53,966
budget general . Milley speaking of 

648
00:26:53,966 --> 00:26:56,400
china in your written testimony , you 

649
00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:59,910
noted that china intends to develop The 

650
00:26:59,910 --> 00:27:03,240
military capabilities to seize Taiwan 

651
00:27:03,250 --> 00:27:07,000
by the year 2027 . During that 

652
00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:09,780
critical window , the Navy's fleet 

653
00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:13,510
would actually continue to shrink to 

654
00:27:13,510 --> 00:27:16,100
280 ships by 

655
00:27:16,100 --> 00:27:19,920
2027 under the administration's budget 

656
00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:23,300
request that compares to a Chinese 

657
00:27:23,300 --> 00:27:26,310
fleet that the pentagon assesses would 

658
00:27:26,310 --> 00:27:30,100
be as large As 420 ships by 

659
00:27:30,100 --> 00:27:33,850
2025 and 460 ships by 

660
00:27:33,850 --> 00:27:37,460
2030 . Now , I appreciate the point 

661
00:27:37,460 --> 00:27:39,710
that you've made that many of our ships 

662
00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:43,560
are more capable than China's . But as 

663
00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:45,616
you and virtually everyone I've ever 

664
00:27:45,616 --> 00:27:49,190
talked to um in the Navy has told 

665
00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:52,930
me quantity has a quality all of its 

666
00:27:52,940 --> 00:27:56,480
own . We need to be urgently 

667
00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:59,590
investing in our shipbuilding capacity 

668
00:27:59,590 --> 00:28:03,190
and fleet not going in the opposite 

669
00:28:03,190 --> 00:28:05,970
direction . There's real risk in 

670
00:28:05,970 --> 00:28:08,130
relying on capabilities that won't be 

671
00:28:08,130 --> 00:28:11,840
ready to the 2030s to deter or 

672
00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:13,720
defeat a Chinese threat that may 

673
00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:16,670
materialize in the next five years . 

674
00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:19,310
From my perspective , our current 

675
00:28:19,310 --> 00:28:23,100
shipbuilding trajectory is inconsistent 

676
00:28:23,100 --> 00:28:25,650
with the navy's fleet architecture 

677
00:28:25,650 --> 00:28:28,500
studies done by both the prior 

678
00:28:28,500 --> 00:28:31,950
administrations and this administration . 

679
00:28:32,340 --> 00:28:35,440
Are you concerned that the strategy and 

680
00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:38,840
that this budget is inconsistent with 

681
00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:41,420
the multiple assessments saying that we 

682
00:28:41,420 --> 00:28:43,260
need a larger fleet . 

683
00:28:44,940 --> 00:28:47,330
Yeah , thanks Senator in the United 

684
00:28:47,330 --> 00:28:49,274
States is fundamentally a maritime 

685
00:28:49,274 --> 00:28:51,441
nation have been from the birth of our 

686
00:28:51,441 --> 00:28:53,663
nation and we rely significantly on the 

687
00:28:53,663 --> 00:28:55,274
sea lines of communication , 

688
00:28:55,274 --> 00:28:57,386
international trade , et cetera . And 

689
00:28:57,386 --> 00:28:59,441
we have made as a matter of policy a 

690
00:28:59,441 --> 00:29:01,441
commitment for over 2.5 centuries , 

691
00:29:01,441 --> 00:29:01,360
freedom of the seas , freedom of 

692
00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:04,320
navigation , uh and the right for , you 

693
00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:06,264
know , open investments around the 

694
00:29:06,264 --> 00:29:08,431
world . That's fundamental . It's part 

695
00:29:08,431 --> 00:29:10,542
of our D . N . A . Part and parcel of 

696
00:29:10,542 --> 00:29:12,653
that is to have a significant capable 

697
00:29:12,653 --> 00:29:14,820
fleet , not just in the pacific on the 

698
00:29:14,820 --> 00:29:16,764
western pacific but throughout the 

699
00:29:16,764 --> 00:29:18,987
globe . Uh So sure , it would always be 

700
00:29:18,987 --> 00:29:21,153
nice to have more ships . But the fact 

701
00:29:21,153 --> 00:29:20,840
of the matter is the most important 

702
00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:22,951
thing is to have the ships that we do 

703
00:29:22,951 --> 00:29:25,118
have have them in a readiness status , 

704
00:29:25,118 --> 00:29:27,340
have them with the manning the training 

705
00:29:27,340 --> 00:29:27,110
and equipping have them in a very 

706
00:29:27,110 --> 00:29:28,999
significant readiness status . So 

707
00:29:28,999 --> 00:29:31,230
that's important as well . And , and I 

708
00:29:31,230 --> 00:29:33,341
wouldn't , I personally don't want to 

709
00:29:33,341 --> 00:29:35,508
get hung up on the number of ships for 

710
00:29:35,508 --> 00:29:37,619
china versus the United States . It's 

711
00:29:37,619 --> 00:29:37,270
true quality and quantity of its own . 

712
00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:39,780
But we have allies and partners china 

713
00:29:39,780 --> 00:29:41,740
doesn't the Japanese navy , the 

714
00:29:41,740 --> 00:29:43,907
Australian navy , the other allies and 

715
00:29:43,907 --> 00:29:46,073
partners that would probably work with 

716
00:29:46,073 --> 00:29:45,740
the United States . We exercise 

717
00:29:45,750 --> 00:29:47,972
routinely with them . That would make a 

718
00:29:47,972 --> 00:29:50,194
significant difference . The other last 

719
00:29:50,194 --> 00:29:52,361
thing I'd make on relative to Taiwan . 

720
00:29:52,361 --> 00:29:54,194
It is true that Taiwan is or the 

721
00:29:54,194 --> 00:29:56,250
chinese have President Xi has set an 

722
00:29:56,250 --> 00:29:59,200
objective to have his military prepared 

723
00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:01,330
capability wise . That's not the same 

724
00:30:01,330 --> 00:30:03,386
to say he's actually going to invade 

725
00:30:03,386 --> 00:30:05,840
but to have the capability uh to seize 

726
00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:07,951
the island of Taiwan . That is a very 

727
00:30:07,951 --> 00:30:10,130
tall order . And it remains to be seen 

728
00:30:10,130 --> 00:30:12,186
whether the chinese will actually be 

729
00:30:12,186 --> 00:30:14,019
able to execute that the chinese 

730
00:30:14,019 --> 00:30:16,186
military , Whether they will have that 

731
00:30:16,186 --> 00:30:18,186
capability or not , but that is the 

732
00:30:18,186 --> 00:30:20,241
target on the Wall 2027 . We have to 

733
00:30:20,241 --> 00:30:19,580
keep that in mind as we go into the 

734
00:30:19,580 --> 00:30:22,600
future . Thank you . Senator Feinstein , 

735
00:30:23,940 --> 00:30:26,620
thank you Mr Chairman . Um Secretary 

736
00:30:26,630 --> 00:30:29,870
Austin and General Milley last year I 

737
00:30:29,870 --> 00:30:33,170
asked about military weapons being lost 

738
00:30:33,170 --> 00:30:35,620
and stolen and I want to thank you for 

739
00:30:35,620 --> 00:30:39,010
your prompt response on that issue . Um 

740
00:30:39,010 --> 00:30:41,470
But I have one more , I'd like to raise 

741
00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:44,980
your awareness of food insecurity in 

742
00:30:44,980 --> 00:30:47,920
the military to include active guard 

743
00:30:47,930 --> 00:30:50,500
and reserve troops . The Washington 

744
00:30:50,500 --> 00:30:53,720
Post has reported on this problem and 

745
00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:56,730
Jamie lutz at the Center for Strategic 

746
00:30:56,730 --> 00:30:59,360
and International Studies has also 

747
00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:02,100
documented that service members face 

748
00:31:02,100 --> 00:31:04,890
hunger at rates succeeding the general 

749
00:31:04,890 --> 00:31:07,640
population . The Adjutant General in 

750
00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:11,410
California has likewise indicated that 

751
00:31:11,410 --> 00:31:14,750
we have this problem in California . It 

752
00:31:14,750 --> 00:31:17,810
is most pronounced among junior 

753
00:31:17,820 --> 00:31:20,780
enlisted personnel , especially those 

754
00:31:20,780 --> 00:31:23,570
with Children . So here's the question , 

755
00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:26,100
do you agree that we have this problem 

756
00:31:26,110 --> 00:31:29,080
of food insecurity . What it's his 

757
00:31:29,090 --> 00:31:32,600
impact on our readiness and what do you 

758
00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:34,900
believe the military will do about it . 

759
00:31:36,940 --> 00:31:39,490
Thank you . Senator . I'll start , yes , 

760
00:31:39,490 --> 00:31:43,180
I do agree that we have an issue with , 

761
00:31:43,190 --> 00:31:45,079
as you pointed out with our lower 

762
00:31:45,079 --> 00:31:48,750
ranking enlisted uh , force . And 

763
00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:50,816
uh , and it is important to me , the 

764
00:31:50,816 --> 00:31:52,960
health and welfare of our force , uh 

765
00:31:52,970 --> 00:31:55,750
our troops and our families very , very 

766
00:31:55,750 --> 00:31:58,150
important to me . And you probably 

767
00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:00,790
heard me talk about this before . And 

768
00:32:00,790 --> 00:32:02,734
you heard me mention it in my open 

769
00:32:02,734 --> 00:32:04,957
statement , that opening statement that 

770
00:32:04,957 --> 00:32:07,068
that we want to make sure that people 

771
00:32:07,068 --> 00:32:09,370
can put food , good food and healthy 

772
00:32:09,370 --> 00:32:11,370
food on the table . That's why I've 

773
00:32:11,370 --> 00:32:13,510
asked you to support me in uh , in 

774
00:32:13,510 --> 00:32:17,380
providing a 4.6% pay raise , uh , to 

775
00:32:17,380 --> 00:32:19,970
the force . Uh , each of the services 

776
00:32:19,980 --> 00:32:21,930
are making sure that they're doing 

777
00:32:21,930 --> 00:32:25,080
things to not only help their 

778
00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:28,440
lower ranking enlisted force , but 

779
00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:30,760
also uh making sure that they're 

780
00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:32,982
teaching them how to helping them learn 

781
00:32:32,982 --> 00:32:35,038
how to manage finances and and other 

782
00:32:35,038 --> 00:32:36,982
things . So this is the thing that 

783
00:32:36,982 --> 00:32:38,927
we're focused on at the department 

784
00:32:38,927 --> 00:32:41,260
level . And I would say that all of our , 

785
00:32:41,260 --> 00:32:43,371
all of our services are focused on it 

786
00:32:43,371 --> 00:32:45,316
as well . Again , it's very , very 

787
00:32:45,316 --> 00:32:48,810
important to us and Senator . I would 

788
00:32:48,810 --> 00:32:51,032
just add that taking care of our people 

789
00:32:51,032 --> 00:32:53,199
is critically important for our entire 

790
00:32:53,199 --> 00:32:55,310
chain of command . And I know it's of 

791
00:32:55,310 --> 00:32:57,532
great interest to the Congress that pay 

792
00:32:57,532 --> 00:32:59,643
raise will go a long way to help . We 

793
00:32:59,643 --> 00:33:01,588
do acknowledge that that is a real 

794
00:33:01,588 --> 00:33:03,643
issue the size and scale and scope . 

795
00:33:03,643 --> 00:33:05,588
The secretary's got some folks out 

796
00:33:05,588 --> 00:33:07,754
there trying to determine exactly what 

797
00:33:07,754 --> 00:33:09,866
the parameters of that are , but it's 

798
00:33:09,866 --> 00:33:11,754
real . Uh and no soldier , sailor 

799
00:33:11,754 --> 00:33:13,754
airman Marine uh should struggle to 

800
00:33:13,754 --> 00:33:15,921
feed their family . Uh get having good 

801
00:33:15,921 --> 00:33:17,977
house overhead , good medical care , 

802
00:33:17,977 --> 00:33:17,530
good education and safe and secure 

803
00:33:17,530 --> 00:33:19,530
environment and putting food on the 

804
00:33:19,530 --> 00:33:21,419
table Is fundamental . 60% of our 

805
00:33:21,419 --> 00:33:24,050
forces married On average two Children 

806
00:33:24,050 --> 00:33:28,020
per relatively young . And we owe it to 

807
00:33:28,020 --> 00:33:30,242
them if they're going to put their life 

808
00:33:30,242 --> 00:33:32,353
on the line for this country , we owe 

809
00:33:32,353 --> 00:33:31,530
it to them to make sure they're being 

810
00:33:31,530 --> 00:33:33,530
taken care of . And we intend to do 

811
00:33:33,530 --> 00:33:35,752
that . Thank you for that . Thank you . 

812
00:33:35,752 --> 00:33:38,350
Um Secretary Austin , it was reported 

813
00:33:38,350 --> 00:33:40,810
last month you spoke with your chinese 

814
00:33:40,810 --> 00:33:43,190
counterpart for the first time since 

815
00:33:43,190 --> 00:33:46,020
becoming Secretary of Defense . I'd 

816
00:33:46,020 --> 00:33:48,131
like to thank you and commend you for 

817
00:33:48,131 --> 00:33:50,298
that . And I think it's very important 

818
00:33:50,298 --> 00:33:53,380
in order to build trust and to serve to 

819
00:33:53,380 --> 00:33:56,980
solve problems could you share with us 

820
00:33:57,240 --> 00:33:59,630
what you learned from speaking with 

821
00:33:59,630 --> 00:34:02,350
your chinese colleague and where you 

822
00:34:02,350 --> 00:34:06,070
believe this can go . Well this 

823
00:34:06,070 --> 00:34:08,590
is senator . This is the first of what 

824
00:34:08,590 --> 00:34:12,280
I hope will be many conversations . But 

825
00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:16,030
again , uh we both recognize the 

826
00:34:16,030 --> 00:34:18,100
importance of of dialogue and 

827
00:34:18,100 --> 00:34:21,610
maintaining open open channels and uh 

828
00:34:21,620 --> 00:34:24,970
we both wanted to make sure 

829
00:34:24,970 --> 00:34:28,850
that we work together to promote 

830
00:34:28,860 --> 00:34:32,180
um um security and 

831
00:34:32,180 --> 00:34:35,080
stability in the region . And so I look 

832
00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:38,580
forward to uh to again engaging him uh 

833
00:34:38,590 --> 00:34:40,646
in the future in the not too distant 

834
00:34:40,646 --> 00:34:42,757
future . I'm sure I'll see him at the 

835
00:34:42,757 --> 00:34:44,979
shangri la dialogue coming up in june . 

836
00:34:44,979 --> 00:34:47,310
Let me just thank you for that . I'm 

837
00:34:47,310 --> 00:34:50,870
obviously a Californian and we believe 

838
00:34:50,870 --> 00:34:53,040
we're in the century of the pacific . 

839
00:34:53,050 --> 00:34:56,480
And so uh these things become very 

840
00:34:56,480 --> 00:34:59,370
important to the safety and security of 

841
00:34:59,370 --> 00:35:02,430
the entire west coast of this country . 

842
00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:05,850
Um one last one , um 

843
00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:09,820
it's imperative that Russia not be 

844
00:35:09,820 --> 00:35:12,830
allowed to get away with aggression 

845
00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:16,610
and land grabs . And it seems 

846
00:35:16,610 --> 00:35:18,810
that Ukraine , with the support of the 

847
00:35:18,810 --> 00:35:21,220
United States is really showing 

848
00:35:21,220 --> 00:35:23,670
considerable strength on the 

849
00:35:23,670 --> 00:35:26,850
battlefield . So I wanted to ask a 

850
00:35:26,850 --> 00:35:30,020
quick question if you can share with us 

851
00:35:30,030 --> 00:35:33,450
what the Endgame is and what you hope 

852
00:35:33,450 --> 00:35:34,360
to achieve . 

853
00:35:37,540 --> 00:35:39,980
Well , the Endgame will be defined by 

854
00:35:39,990 --> 00:35:42,850
by the Ukrainian government as it uh 

855
00:35:42,860 --> 00:35:45,160
you know , engages with with Russia . 

856
00:35:45,540 --> 00:35:47,660
And so I won't I won't try to define 

857
00:35:47,660 --> 00:35:49,771
that for them . I would just say that 

858
00:35:49,771 --> 00:35:51,882
we're going to do everything continue 

859
00:35:51,882 --> 00:35:53,938
to do everything within our power to 

860
00:35:53,938 --> 00:35:56,560
make sure that that we support 

861
00:35:57,200 --> 00:35:59,390
Ukraine in its efforts to defend its 

862
00:35:59,390 --> 00:36:01,740
sovereign territory . We hope that at 

863
00:36:01,740 --> 00:36:05,390
the end of this , that Ukraine will be 

864
00:36:05,620 --> 00:36:09,340
a sovereign state , with a with a 

865
00:36:09,340 --> 00:36:11,562
functioning government that can protect 

866
00:36:11,562 --> 00:36:13,673
it's territory . And so that's that's 

867
00:36:13,673 --> 00:36:15,784
what we're focused on for the for now 

868
00:36:15,784 --> 00:36:17,784
and going forward . My time is up . 

869
00:36:17,784 --> 00:36:20,062
Thank you . Mr Chairman , Center shots . 

870
00:36:20,300 --> 00:36:22,300
Thank you . Mr Chairman , thank you 

871
00:36:22,300 --> 00:36:24,578
both for being here . Secretary Austin . 

872
00:36:24,578 --> 00:36:26,633
I want to thank you for your clarity 

873
00:36:26,633 --> 00:36:28,800
and your leadership on the question of 

874
00:36:28,800 --> 00:36:30,800
the future of the Redhill bulk fuel 

875
00:36:30,800 --> 00:36:33,022
storage facility . I also want to thank 

876
00:36:33,022 --> 00:36:35,244
the deputy Secretary hicks and admirals 

877
00:36:35,244 --> 00:36:37,356
papa row and Aquilino . I know up and 

878
00:36:37,356 --> 00:36:39,522
down the department and the Department 

879
00:36:39,522 --> 00:36:41,522
of the Navy and and the rest of the 

880
00:36:41,522 --> 00:36:43,633
federal government was deeply engaged 

881
00:36:43,633 --> 00:36:43,610
and this was a tough decision , but it 

882
00:36:43,610 --> 00:36:45,777
was the right decision . And I think , 

883
00:36:45,777 --> 00:36:47,554
you know that not just from the 

884
00:36:47,554 --> 00:36:49,666
standpoint of safe drinking water for 

885
00:36:49,666 --> 00:36:51,777
the state of Hawaii and the residents 

886
00:36:51,777 --> 00:36:54,054
of Hawaii and and your service members , 

887
00:36:54,054 --> 00:36:55,999
but that it was right for national 

888
00:36:55,999 --> 00:36:58,166
security . In your own words centrally 

889
00:36:58,166 --> 00:37:00,054
located bulk Fuel storage of this 

890
00:37:00,054 --> 00:37:02,166
magnitude likely made sense in 1943 , 

891
00:37:02,430 --> 00:37:04,400
but doesn't make sense for how we 

892
00:37:04,400 --> 00:37:07,540
operate in the indo pacific today . Um 

893
00:37:07,550 --> 00:37:10,640
can you talk about why this is a better 

894
00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:12,529
decision from a national security 

895
00:37:12,529 --> 00:37:14,690
perspective ? Well , Senator , let me 

896
00:37:14,690 --> 00:37:18,060
thank you and the entire state 

897
00:37:18,060 --> 00:37:21,130
delegation for what you did your in 

898
00:37:21,130 --> 00:37:23,352
exercising leadership on this important 

899
00:37:23,352 --> 00:37:25,840
issue . We really appreciate it . Um 

900
00:37:25,850 --> 00:37:28,680
You hit the nail on the head when you 

901
00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:32,680
quoted me regarding the fact that this 

902
00:37:32,690 --> 00:37:36,620
this Was was conceived in the 

903
00:37:36,620 --> 00:37:39,280
1940s , which and it served a specific 

904
00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:41,890
purpose at that point in time . It 

905
00:37:41,890 --> 00:37:43,890
doesn't necessarily support the way 

906
00:37:43,890 --> 00:37:45,834
that we operate today . We're much 

907
00:37:45,834 --> 00:37:49,140
further forward in in theater . We 

908
00:37:49,140 --> 00:37:51,770
operate in a dispersed fashion . Uh You 

909
00:37:51,770 --> 00:37:54,550
know , our logistical support our to 

910
00:37:54,560 --> 00:37:56,620
mirror that ought to enable our 

911
00:37:56,620 --> 00:38:00,610
operations . Uh And uh and and so we 

912
00:38:00,610 --> 00:38:02,910
we thought I thought I felt that it was 

913
00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:04,864
important to make sure that we had 

914
00:38:05,220 --> 00:38:07,380
there are reserves position 

915
00:38:07,590 --> 00:38:10,400
appropriately to support our operations 

916
00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:12,567
going forward here . And that's that's 

917
00:38:12,567 --> 00:38:14,678
what drove my decision in conjunction 

918
00:38:14,678 --> 00:38:16,733
with the fact that uh you know , I'm 

919
00:38:16,733 --> 00:38:18,733
very concerned about the health and 

920
00:38:18,733 --> 00:38:20,789
welfare of our troops , our families 

921
00:38:20,789 --> 00:38:22,770
and the people of Hawaii as well . 

922
00:38:22,780 --> 00:38:24,891
Thank you . Um As you know , we're in 

923
00:38:24,891 --> 00:38:27,058
the implementation phase of the of the 

924
00:38:27,058 --> 00:38:29,730
decision um that you came to the third 

925
00:38:29,730 --> 00:38:32,500
party assessment wrapped up last week . 

926
00:38:32,500 --> 00:38:34,880
I know it's going to take some time at 

927
00:38:34,880 --> 00:38:36,880
the office of the Secretary and the 

928
00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:39,340
Cape um to kind of come to some final 

929
00:38:39,340 --> 00:38:41,396
conclusions . I have a very specific 

930
00:38:41,396 --> 00:38:43,370
question pertinent to the defense 

931
00:38:43,370 --> 00:38:45,537
appropriations subcommittee , which is 

932
00:38:45,537 --> 00:38:47,759
that you got the third party assessment 

933
00:38:47,759 --> 00:38:49,981
coming in now you're in process sort of 

934
00:38:49,981 --> 00:38:52,203
final phases maybe , you know , 10 yard 

935
00:38:52,203 --> 00:38:54,660
line . Um But we need a number if we're 

936
00:38:54,660 --> 00:38:56,827
going to not miss a whole fiscal years 

937
00:38:56,827 --> 00:38:59,110
worth of progress . And so I'm 

938
00:38:59,110 --> 00:39:01,332
wondering where you are in that process 

939
00:39:01,332 --> 00:39:03,554
and how quickly you can turn that third 

940
00:39:03,554 --> 00:39:05,721
party assessment into a requirement so 

941
00:39:05,721 --> 00:39:07,332
that we can consider it as a 

942
00:39:07,332 --> 00:39:09,388
subcommittee . Well thanks Senator , 

943
00:39:09,388 --> 00:39:11,700
the Navy's reviewing that that report 

944
00:39:11,700 --> 00:39:15,130
all 880 pages of it uh and that will 

945
00:39:15,130 --> 00:39:18,490
inform their approach to uh 

946
00:39:18,500 --> 00:39:21,120
recommending how we should go about de 

947
00:39:21,120 --> 00:39:24,970
fueling uh the the facility . So 

948
00:39:24,980 --> 00:39:27,450
uh to your point it's uh I'm waiting on 

949
00:39:27,450 --> 00:39:29,228
the Navy to come back with this 

950
00:39:29,228 --> 00:39:32,800
specific plan for for de fueling and I 

951
00:39:32,800 --> 00:39:34,856
expect to get that at the end of the 

952
00:39:34,856 --> 00:39:36,744
month . Okay so in time for us to 

953
00:39:36,744 --> 00:39:40,340
consider a number . I certainly hope so . 

954
00:39:40,340 --> 00:39:43,040
Senator . Okay thank you . I want to uh 

955
00:39:43,050 --> 00:39:45,217
use my final minute and a half for for 

956
00:39:45,217 --> 00:39:46,994
the compact of free association 

957
00:39:46,994 --> 00:39:49,180
negotiations . Admiral actually knows 

958
00:39:49,230 --> 00:39:51,452
posture plans for the indo pacific rely 

959
00:39:51,452 --> 00:39:53,619
at least in part on maintaining access 

960
00:39:53,619 --> 00:39:55,730
to compact states of Micronesia , the 

961
00:39:55,730 --> 00:39:58,190
marshall islands and palau . Um Can you 

962
00:39:58,190 --> 00:40:00,410
talk about the importance of these 

963
00:40:00,410 --> 00:40:02,632
compact states to D . O . D . S mission 

964
00:40:02,632 --> 00:40:06,380
in the pacific they're very important . 

965
00:40:06,390 --> 00:40:09,570
We we always aim to be the partner of 

966
00:40:09,570 --> 00:40:11,610
choice . And uh and I think our 

967
00:40:11,610 --> 00:40:14,310
continued engagement with them well we 

968
00:40:14,320 --> 00:40:16,810
will certainly result in additional 

969
00:40:17,060 --> 00:40:19,520
capability and capacity as we go 

970
00:40:19,520 --> 00:40:23,510
forward . So um I think the combatant 

971
00:40:23,510 --> 00:40:25,732
commander is doing a great job in terms 

972
00:40:25,732 --> 00:40:28,320
of continued engagement . But again our 

973
00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:31,060
goal is to make sure that we are the 

974
00:40:31,060 --> 00:40:33,460
partner of choice . And so far I'm very 

975
00:40:33,460 --> 00:40:35,627
encouraged by the by what we're seeing 

976
00:40:35,627 --> 00:40:37,460
just a bit about the interagency 

977
00:40:37,460 --> 00:40:39,516
process here . You know , you as you 

978
00:40:39,516 --> 00:40:41,293
know you have the Department of 

979
00:40:41,293 --> 00:40:43,460
Interior through the office of through 

980
00:40:43,460 --> 00:40:43,410
the Secretary for insular Affairs and 

981
00:40:43,410 --> 00:40:45,521
then you have the Department of State 

982
00:40:45,521 --> 00:40:47,854
has sort of lead negotiator . But D . O . 

983
00:40:47,854 --> 00:40:49,854
D . Is right there and to a certain 

984
00:40:49,854 --> 00:40:51,743
extent , although you're a silent 

985
00:40:51,743 --> 00:40:53,966
partner in the in terms of the nuts and 

986
00:40:53,966 --> 00:40:55,854
bolts of the negotiation , you're 

987
00:40:55,854 --> 00:40:55,590
you're the biggest deal in the 

988
00:40:55,590 --> 00:40:57,757
negotiations . So what I'd like you to 

989
00:40:57,757 --> 00:41:00,170
consider is appointing someone 

990
00:41:00,170 --> 00:41:02,600
specifically to be in the room for even 

991
00:41:02,600 --> 00:41:04,910
the preliminary negotiations . Again , 

992
00:41:04,930 --> 00:41:07,440
states got a lead on this . But having 

993
00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:09,329
D . O . D . At the table makes an 

994
00:41:09,329 --> 00:41:11,496
enormous difference for compact states 

995
00:41:11,496 --> 00:41:14,070
in terms of conveying to these compact 

996
00:41:14,070 --> 00:41:16,880
states , how important they are uh to 

997
00:41:16,880 --> 00:41:20,690
us . Well , as chairman pointed out 

998
00:41:20,700 --> 00:41:23,100
at the top of the meeting here , um 

999
00:41:23,110 --> 00:41:24,999
Secretary Blinken and I are great 

1000
00:41:24,999 --> 00:41:28,190
partners and uh and certainly I'm sure 

1001
00:41:28,190 --> 00:41:31,100
that uh this this will be what he will 

1002
00:41:31,100 --> 00:41:32,989
want to see as well . And we will 

1003
00:41:32,989 --> 00:41:35,156
continue to work with the entire inter 

1004
00:41:35,156 --> 00:41:37,267
agency to make sure that we're in the 

1005
00:41:37,267 --> 00:41:39,433
right place here . Thank you . Senator 

1006
00:41:39,433 --> 00:41:42,630
Boseman . Thank you Mr . Chair 

1007
00:41:43,410 --> 00:41:45,720
thank you all so much for all that you 

1008
00:41:45,720 --> 00:41:47,720
do . And for you being here today , 

1009
00:41:47,720 --> 00:41:49,887
both of your testimonies highlight the 

1010
00:41:49,887 --> 00:41:52,109
importance of integrated deterrence for 

1011
00:41:52,109 --> 00:41:53,831
aligning department policies , 

1012
00:41:53,831 --> 00:41:55,998
resources and activities to strengthen 

1013
00:41:56,140 --> 00:41:58,540
deterrence an essential part of this is 

1014
00:41:58,540 --> 00:42:00,651
bolstering of our allies and partners 

1015
00:42:00,651 --> 00:42:02,540
to better deter our adversaries . 

1016
00:42:02,700 --> 00:42:04,756
General Milley , as you mentioned in 

1017
00:42:04,756 --> 00:42:06,867
your testimony , the US must continue 

1018
00:42:06,867 --> 00:42:08,811
to strengthen our relationships by 

1019
00:42:08,811 --> 00:42:10,922
building our Partners capabilities to 

1020
00:42:10,922 --> 00:42:12,756
deter our adversaries recently , 

1021
00:42:12,756 --> 00:42:14,811
several European allies have studied 

1022
00:42:14,811 --> 00:42:16,756
their intent to purchase the F- 35 

1023
00:42:16,756 --> 00:42:18,922
fighter jet . Would Poland Finland and 

1024
00:42:18,922 --> 00:42:21,840
Germany having F- 35 will be helpful to 

1025
00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:24,180
our national security and deterrence 

1026
00:42:24,180 --> 00:42:28,110
against Russia and Europe and Going 

1027
00:42:28,110 --> 00:42:30,221
further . Given the current situation 

1028
00:42:30,221 --> 00:42:32,332
in your best military advice , do you 

1029
00:42:32,332 --> 00:42:34,277
believe we should be assisting our 

1030
00:42:34,277 --> 00:42:36,499
European allies in training so they can 

1031
00:42:36,499 --> 00:42:38,721
receive the F- 35 as soon as possible ? 

1032
00:42:39,700 --> 00:42:41,811
I do and I think first of all it's an 

1033
00:42:41,890 --> 00:42:43,890
excellent capability . Secondly , I 

1034
00:42:43,890 --> 00:42:45,890
think the interoperability with our 

1035
00:42:45,890 --> 00:42:47,890
allies is important and I think the 

1036
00:42:47,890 --> 00:42:50,112
strength of the alliance is critical to 

1037
00:42:50,112 --> 00:42:52,540
the deterrence of any broader land 

1038
00:42:52,540 --> 00:42:54,596
conflict on the european continent . 

1039
00:42:54,700 --> 00:42:58,420
Thank you sir . Uh prepositioned stocks 

1040
00:42:58,420 --> 00:42:59,976
are essential for the rapid 

1041
00:42:59,976 --> 00:43:02,142
mobilization equipping of units during 

1042
00:43:02,142 --> 00:43:04,364
time of crisis . As you know , the army 

1043
00:43:04,364 --> 00:43:06,420
activate its prepositioned stocks in 

1044
00:43:06,420 --> 00:43:08,780
March of this year . As the conflict in 

1045
00:43:08,780 --> 00:43:11,470
Ukraine escalated for the first . In an 

1046
00:43:11,470 --> 00:43:14,040
unplanned contingency , I was happy to 

1047
00:43:14,040 --> 00:43:16,207
learn that these pre positioned stocks 

1048
00:43:16,207 --> 00:43:18,429
allow an armored brigade combat team to 

1049
00:43:18,429 --> 00:43:20,484
deploy from the US to eastern europe 

1050
00:43:20,484 --> 00:43:22,770
faster than Russian forces advanced 

1051
00:43:22,770 --> 00:43:24,620
from Belarus to Kiev 

1052
00:43:26,200 --> 00:43:28,650
understanding that preposition stocks 

1053
00:43:28,750 --> 00:43:31,120
require military construction support 

1054
00:43:31,120 --> 00:43:33,120
and being the ranking member on the 

1055
00:43:33,120 --> 00:43:35,342
military construction subcommittee does 

1056
00:43:35,342 --> 00:43:37,231
the US have preposition stocks to 

1057
00:43:37,231 --> 00:43:39,231
respond to potential threats in the 

1058
00:43:39,231 --> 00:43:42,170
pacific from china outside of Japan and 

1059
00:43:42,170 --> 00:43:44,226
South Korea . Are there any plans to 

1060
00:43:44,226 --> 00:43:46,260
establish prepositioned stocks ? 

1061
00:43:48,800 --> 00:43:52,110
Yes sir . Well 1st of 

1062
00:43:52,110 --> 00:43:56,090
all let let me thank you for what 

1063
00:43:56,100 --> 00:43:58,930
you did several years ago to um 

1064
00:43:59,390 --> 00:44:01,830
enable what you just described in 

1065
00:44:01,830 --> 00:44:03,941
europe . They're the european defense 

1066
00:44:03,941 --> 00:44:06,480
initiative . Really laid the groundwork 

1067
00:44:06,480 --> 00:44:08,790
for you know the preposition stocks and 

1068
00:44:08,800 --> 00:44:10,967
and some of the facilities that we use 

1069
00:44:10,967 --> 00:44:14,870
there . As you will see in 

1070
00:44:14,870 --> 00:44:16,981
terms of what we're investing in with 

1071
00:44:16,981 --> 00:44:19,840
the pacific deterrent initiative . We 

1072
00:44:19,840 --> 00:44:21,951
are investing in infrastructure and a 

1073
00:44:21,951 --> 00:44:24,220
number of other things to ensure that 

1074
00:44:24,220 --> 00:44:27,550
we have capability further forward in 

1075
00:44:27,550 --> 00:44:29,661
the in the in the theater . So that's 

1076
00:44:29,661 --> 00:44:31,772
our goal to make sure that you know , 

1077
00:44:31,772 --> 00:44:34,400
we have that ability uh in the in the 

1078
00:44:34,400 --> 00:44:37,110
indo pacific to a greater degree in the 

1079
00:44:37,110 --> 00:44:40,760
future . Well to follow up on 

1080
00:44:40,760 --> 00:44:44,050
that the our missile stockpiles are 

1081
00:44:44,050 --> 00:44:46,050
being stretched thin after years of 

1082
00:44:46,290 --> 00:44:48,520
producing a minimum rate of sustainment 

1083
00:44:48,530 --> 00:44:50,920
increased , demanding resulting from 

1084
00:44:50,920 --> 00:44:53,087
the U . S . Current efforts to bolster 

1085
00:44:53,087 --> 00:44:55,253
our Ukrainian defense . I think you're 

1086
00:44:55,253 --> 00:44:58,140
stretching that very very thin . I'm 

1087
00:44:58,140 --> 00:45:00,029
hearing from industry some of the 

1088
00:45:00,029 --> 00:45:02,084
challenges they faced with trying to 

1089
00:45:02,084 --> 00:45:03,862
increase production rates while 

1090
00:45:03,862 --> 00:45:06,084
shortening lead times . How critical is 

1091
00:45:06,084 --> 00:45:08,251
it to maintain these stockpiles and in 

1092
00:45:08,251 --> 00:45:10,362
what ways can the committee support ? 

1093
00:45:10,362 --> 00:45:12,307
You're an industry to help ramp up 

1094
00:45:12,307 --> 00:45:14,418
production efforts to meet demand and 

1095
00:45:14,418 --> 00:45:18,190
replenish our stockpiles . It's very 

1096
00:45:18,190 --> 00:45:20,910
critical to make sure that we maintain 

1097
00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:24,700
what we consider to be our minimum 

1098
00:45:24,710 --> 00:45:28,220
required stock ege levels 

1099
00:45:30,290 --> 00:45:32,346
and you can rest assured that I will 

1100
00:45:32,346 --> 00:45:35,020
not allow us to go below that in the in 

1101
00:45:35,020 --> 00:45:38,130
critical munitions . We have met with 

1102
00:45:38,130 --> 00:45:40,241
industry . I think you saw us do this 

1103
00:45:40,241 --> 00:45:42,390
fairly early on and encourage them to 

1104
00:45:42,400 --> 00:45:44,710
work with us to begin to open up 

1105
00:45:45,190 --> 00:45:48,290
production lines to increase their 

1106
00:45:48,290 --> 00:45:51,370
production and they are doing that . 

1107
00:45:51,370 --> 00:45:53,660
They're they're leaning forward uh in 

1108
00:45:53,660 --> 00:45:55,827
some cases a little bit more difficult 

1109
00:45:55,827 --> 00:45:57,882
to do than others . But industry has 

1110
00:45:57,882 --> 00:46:00,520
been very supportive and uh and so 

1111
00:46:00,530 --> 00:46:02,752
we'll continue to work with them , will 

1112
00:46:02,752 --> 00:46:04,752
continue to identify things that we 

1113
00:46:04,752 --> 00:46:08,440
need if from you if if that 

1114
00:46:08,570 --> 00:46:10,737
if a need arises . But to this point I 

1115
00:46:10,737 --> 00:46:12,792
think we're in pretty good shape and 

1116
00:46:12,792 --> 00:46:15,410
industry is responding . Thank you . Mr 

1117
00:46:15,410 --> 00:46:18,110
Chairman Senator baldwin , thank you 

1118
00:46:18,110 --> 00:46:20,140
guys . Thank you . Mr Chairman 

1119
00:46:20,490 --> 00:46:24,460
Secretary Austin welcome . A healthy 

1120
00:46:24,460 --> 00:46:26,680
defense industrial base is a critical 

1121
00:46:26,690 --> 00:46:29,390
element for our national security . And 

1122
00:46:29,390 --> 00:46:31,780
President Biden issued an executive 

1123
00:46:31,790 --> 00:46:35,530
order on January in January of 2021 to 

1124
00:46:35,530 --> 00:46:38,000
strengthen buy America requirements for 

1125
00:46:38,010 --> 00:46:41,930
all federal programs . In July notice 

1126
00:46:41,930 --> 00:46:44,150
of proposed rulemaking increased the 

1127
00:46:44,150 --> 00:46:47,610
domestic content requirement from 55% 

1128
00:46:47,610 --> 00:46:51,500
to 60% with a phased in increase to 

1129
00:46:51,500 --> 00:46:55,500
75% . This is a move I strongly support . 

1130
00:46:55,980 --> 00:46:58,200
However , I know from the experience 

1131
00:46:58,200 --> 00:47:01,210
with the Navy's new frigate That if we 

1132
00:47:01,210 --> 00:47:04,300
require 100% American made 

1133
00:47:04,460 --> 00:47:08,120
within a reasonable timeline . Industry 

1134
00:47:08,120 --> 00:47:11,000
can step up and deliver with the 

1135
00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:13,250
frigate . This actually resulted in the 

1136
00:47:13,250 --> 00:47:16,410
on shoring of new U . S . Manufacturing . 

1137
00:47:16,780 --> 00:47:19,770
So do you support replicating this 

1138
00:47:19,770 --> 00:47:22,960
success for other defense programs with 

1139
00:47:22,960 --> 00:47:25,950
the goal of hitting 100% American made 

1140
00:47:25,960 --> 00:47:28,540
so long as the department has 

1141
00:47:28,550 --> 00:47:31,240
reasonable timelines and reasonable 

1142
00:47:31,240 --> 00:47:34,940
waivers at their disposal . I 

1143
00:47:34,940 --> 00:47:38,450
absolutely support making sure that 

1144
00:47:38,460 --> 00:47:42,410
where we can uh we we invest in America 

1145
00:47:42,420 --> 00:47:45,850
that we uh we you know , make sure 

1146
00:47:45,850 --> 00:47:49,220
that we have the supply lines available 

1147
00:47:49,220 --> 00:47:51,770
to uh to do the things that you just 

1148
00:47:51,770 --> 00:47:53,880
described . And so you're right with 

1149
00:47:53,890 --> 00:47:56,112
the President has an initiative that he 

1150
00:47:56,112 --> 00:47:59,090
launched a uh a while back and D O . D 

1151
00:47:59,090 --> 00:48:01,650
is a is a strong partner in that in 

1152
00:48:01,650 --> 00:48:03,600
that initiative to ensure that we 

1153
00:48:03,600 --> 00:48:06,400
strengthen our supply lines that we we 

1154
00:48:06,400 --> 00:48:08,690
make sure that that we have the 

1155
00:48:08,690 --> 00:48:11,630
critical materials available to uh to 

1156
00:48:11,640 --> 00:48:14,800
to build and the types of munitions and 

1157
00:48:14,810 --> 00:48:17,090
and platforms that we think we'll need 

1158
00:48:17,100 --> 00:48:19,630
going forward . So yes , I support that . 

1159
00:48:19,640 --> 00:48:23,360
Thank you . General Milley . Uh I 

1160
00:48:23,360 --> 00:48:25,416
understand you had a version of this 

1161
00:48:25,416 --> 00:48:27,527
question asked already , so I'm gonna 

1162
00:48:27,527 --> 00:48:29,249
try to take it in a little bit 

1163
00:48:29,249 --> 00:48:31,590
different direction . But Ukraine has 

1164
00:48:31,590 --> 00:48:35,470
far exceeded most expectations over to 

1165
00:48:35,480 --> 00:48:38,280
over two months into this most recent 

1166
00:48:38,280 --> 00:48:42,100
phase of Putin's war I support 

1167
00:48:42,100 --> 00:48:43,989
providing the Ukrainians with the 

1168
00:48:43,989 --> 00:48:46,100
capabilities that they need to defend 

1169
00:48:46,100 --> 00:48:48,440
their sovereignty and hope that we can 

1170
00:48:48,440 --> 00:48:50,770
quickly pass a Ukraine supplemental 

1171
00:48:50,770 --> 00:48:53,690
that fulfills President biden's request . 

1172
00:48:54,370 --> 00:48:56,290
It's clear that this conflict may 

1173
00:48:56,290 --> 00:49:00,150
extend for some time as you talk with 

1174
00:49:00,160 --> 00:49:04,020
Ukrainian counterparts . I 

1175
00:49:04,020 --> 00:49:06,242
know you've been asked what a realistic 

1176
00:49:06,242 --> 00:49:09,210
end State is for Ukraine . I'd like to 

1177
00:49:09,220 --> 00:49:12,130
ask a little differently , is what it 

1178
00:49:12,130 --> 00:49:14,260
does a really realistic military 

1179
00:49:14,260 --> 00:49:18,150
success or End State look like for the 

1180
00:49:18,150 --> 00:49:21,750
United States . And um , how will 

1181
00:49:21,750 --> 00:49:24,800
our security assistance need to change 

1182
00:49:24,800 --> 00:49:27,690
at this new phase in order to support 

1183
00:49:27,700 --> 00:49:31,520
those goals ? Thanks 

1184
00:49:31,720 --> 00:49:33,831
to the end State has been articulated 

1185
00:49:33,831 --> 00:49:35,998
by the President and Secretary Defense 

1186
00:49:35,998 --> 00:49:37,998
Secretary Blinken several different 

1187
00:49:37,998 --> 00:49:40,164
times . And what it is , is maintained 

1188
00:49:40,164 --> 00:49:42,276
the cohesion of NATO . Uh , make sure 

1189
00:49:42,276 --> 00:49:44,331
that Ukraine at the end of the day , 

1190
00:49:44,331 --> 00:49:46,553
ends up as a free sovereign nation with 

1191
00:49:46,553 --> 00:49:48,776
the territorial integrity intact . Uh , 

1192
00:49:48,776 --> 00:49:50,776
no kinetic war between NATO and the 

1193
00:49:50,776 --> 00:49:52,998
United States and Russia . So no action 

1194
00:49:52,998 --> 00:49:52,780
between our military forces 

1195
00:49:52,780 --> 00:49:55,480
specifically and continue to support 

1196
00:49:55,480 --> 00:49:57,480
the Ukrainian people with what they 

1197
00:49:57,480 --> 00:49:59,591
need to defend themselves . So that's 

1198
00:49:59,591 --> 00:50:01,702
what we're trying to do . Uh , and we 

1199
00:50:01,702 --> 00:50:03,813
need to , at the end of the day , you 

1200
00:50:03,813 --> 00:50:05,924
know , what's it all about ? It's all 

1201
00:50:05,924 --> 00:50:07,924
about the rules based international 

1202
00:50:07,924 --> 00:50:09,869
order has been grossly violated by 

1203
00:50:09,869 --> 00:50:11,758
Russia with an illegal aggressive 

1204
00:50:11,758 --> 00:50:13,813
action by military forces across the 

1205
00:50:13,813 --> 00:50:15,980
sovereign border . Uh , we have had an 

1206
00:50:15,980 --> 00:50:17,924
institution set of institutions in 

1207
00:50:17,924 --> 00:50:19,813
place for 78 consecutive years to 

1208
00:50:19,813 --> 00:50:21,980
prevent that very thing from happening 

1209
00:50:21,980 --> 00:50:21,800
and that's what's at stake . It's 

1210
00:50:21,800 --> 00:50:23,911
beyond Ukraine is what's at stake and 

1211
00:50:23,911 --> 00:50:26,010
our intent is to maintain and uphold 

1212
00:50:26,010 --> 00:50:28,177
the rules based international order by 

1213
00:50:28,177 --> 00:50:30,399
achieving those specific objectives the 

1214
00:50:30,399 --> 00:50:32,510
President's given us . Thank you . Um 

1215
00:50:32,510 --> 00:50:35,080
So uh Secretary Austin on this topic . 

1216
00:50:35,080 --> 00:50:38,130
Some analysts believe that the more we 

1217
00:50:38,140 --> 00:50:40,730
assist Ukraine and degrading Putin's 

1218
00:50:40,730 --> 00:50:43,780
military , the more likely he will be 

1219
00:50:43,790 --> 00:50:47,170
uh to escalate to new levels , 

1220
00:50:47,180 --> 00:50:50,590
possibly with chemical biological or 

1221
00:50:50,590 --> 00:50:54,040
even tactical nuclear weapons . Can you 

1222
00:50:54,040 --> 00:50:56,770
clarify how this might change the 

1223
00:50:56,780 --> 00:51:00,150
calculus that General Milley was just 

1224
00:51:00,160 --> 00:51:03,900
outlining ? Um in terms of use of 

1225
00:51:03,900 --> 00:51:05,789
force from the U . S . Military ? 

1226
00:51:08,160 --> 00:51:10,160
Yeah , there are a number of things 

1227
00:51:10,160 --> 00:51:12,740
that that Mr Putin could do . You could 

1228
00:51:12,740 --> 00:51:14,796
make the case , by the way , senator 

1229
00:51:14,796 --> 00:51:17,018
that he's already escalated in terms of 

1230
00:51:17,360 --> 00:51:20,090
the types of things that we see him 

1231
00:51:20,090 --> 00:51:23,270
doing an attacking civilians , 

1232
00:51:23,760 --> 00:51:26,410
destroying cities , towns and villages , 

1233
00:51:27,030 --> 00:51:30,650
indiscriminate targeting . Um certainly 

1234
00:51:30,660 --> 00:51:32,882
he has a number of things that he could 

1235
00:51:32,882 --> 00:51:35,310
do . He could , you know , escalate by 

1236
00:51:35,320 --> 00:51:38,870
conducting a a cyber event 

1237
00:51:38,880 --> 00:51:41,620
or um you know , there's been a lot of 

1238
00:51:41,620 --> 00:51:44,580
talk about the possible employment of 

1239
00:51:45,680 --> 00:51:48,400
kim bio . Of course , he if he employs 

1240
00:51:48,400 --> 00:51:51,560
a chemical biological or weapon , I 

1241
00:51:51,560 --> 00:51:54,030
think he will see a reaction from the 

1242
00:51:54,040 --> 00:51:56,510
international community . Uh and 

1243
00:51:56,520 --> 00:51:58,353
because that's a that's a pretty 

1244
00:51:58,353 --> 00:52:00,820
serious step . And and and of course , 

1245
00:52:01,430 --> 00:52:03,430
you know , President biden has been 

1246
00:52:03,430 --> 00:52:06,200
clear about about , you know , his 

1247
00:52:06,200 --> 00:52:10,100
views on this . So it's possible that 

1248
00:52:10,100 --> 00:52:12,950
he could do that , I certainly hope 

1249
00:52:12,950 --> 00:52:15,880
that that he chooses to not do that . 

1250
00:52:15,890 --> 00:52:17,779
Again , I think the international 

1251
00:52:17,779 --> 00:52:19,950
response will be significant . But , 

1252
00:52:19,950 --> 00:52:22,117
you know , senator , he could end this 

1253
00:52:22,117 --> 00:52:24,810
war today . He could he could he chose 

1254
00:52:24,810 --> 00:52:26,890
this is a war of choice . He could 

1255
00:52:26,890 --> 00:52:29,112
choose to to stop fighting and withdraw 

1256
00:52:29,112 --> 00:52:31,840
his forces from from Ukraine . And 

1257
00:52:31,840 --> 00:52:34,062
again , this is this is the decision of 

1258
00:52:34,062 --> 00:52:36,600
one man . And so I would hope that Mr 

1259
00:52:36,600 --> 00:52:38,544
Putin would decide to do something 

1260
00:52:38,544 --> 00:52:40,656
different going forward . Yes . And I 

1261
00:52:40,656 --> 00:52:43,360
just want to close with . Should uh 

1262
00:52:43,370 --> 00:52:46,010
Putin continue to escalate . Is it your 

1263
00:52:46,010 --> 00:52:48,010
expectation that the administration 

1264
00:52:48,010 --> 00:52:50,770
would come to Congress requesting an 

1265
00:52:50,770 --> 00:52:53,380
authorization for use of military force ? 

1266
00:52:54,650 --> 00:52:56,761
That's a policy decision and now that 

1267
00:52:56,761 --> 00:52:59,020
my boss will make and uh and so I won't 

1268
00:52:59,020 --> 00:53:02,180
get in front of my boss . Senator blunt 

1269
00:53:03,650 --> 00:53:06,390
thank you Chairman . Uh and thanks to 

1270
00:53:06,390 --> 00:53:08,830
both of you for your current and your 

1271
00:53:08,830 --> 00:53:11,550
long service to the country . I'm 

1272
00:53:11,560 --> 00:53:13,727
deeply appreciative as I'm sure we all 

1273
00:53:13,727 --> 00:53:16,960
are . Um Secretary Austin , I think 

1274
00:53:16,970 --> 00:53:19,740
Mackenzie had a report out last year 

1275
00:53:19,740 --> 00:53:21,180
that indicated that from 

1276
00:53:21,860 --> 00:53:25,110
2000-2021 , the 

1277
00:53:25,110 --> 00:53:28,260
Defense of cost index . The inflation 

1278
00:53:28,260 --> 00:53:31,750
index ran about 20 points ahead of the 

1279
00:53:31,760 --> 00:53:34,550
other of the C . P . I . During that 

1280
00:53:34,560 --> 00:53:36,670
period of time , do you think this 

1281
00:53:36,670 --> 00:53:40,340
budget necessary will reflect the world 

1282
00:53:40,340 --> 00:53:42,451
we're in now in terms of replenishing 

1283
00:53:42,451 --> 00:53:44,780
our stock and getting ready for the 

1284
00:53:44,780 --> 00:53:47,260
future , it's about a 5% increase in a 

1285
00:53:47,750 --> 00:53:50,530
you know , inflationary economy . It 

1286
00:53:50,730 --> 00:53:52,841
seems to me we may not be holding our 

1287
00:53:52,841 --> 00:53:54,952
own , let alone moving forward here . 

1288
00:53:57,150 --> 00:53:59,372
Well , thanks Senator . Before I answer 

1289
00:53:59,372 --> 00:54:01,428
that question , let me thank you for 

1290
00:54:01,428 --> 00:54:03,540
your service and you know , a 

1291
00:54:03,550 --> 00:54:06,050
tremendous service to our country and 

1292
00:54:06,050 --> 00:54:08,161
and to the Senate . So and and thanks 

1293
00:54:08,161 --> 00:54:10,740
for your support of the military on 

1294
00:54:10,740 --> 00:54:12,684
behalf of the entire Department of 

1295
00:54:12,684 --> 00:54:16,470
Defense . As as I 

1296
00:54:16,840 --> 00:54:19,550
uh said earlier when we crafted this 

1297
00:54:19,550 --> 00:54:21,900
budget , we built the budget based upon 

1298
00:54:21,910 --> 00:54:24,890
our strategy . And at that point you 

1299
00:54:24,890 --> 00:54:27,440
have to make assumptions about the 

1300
00:54:27,450 --> 00:54:31,130
levels of inflation and uh , and so we 

1301
00:54:31,140 --> 00:54:33,362
we use the appropriate number . What we 

1302
00:54:33,362 --> 00:54:35,584
believe to be the appropriate number at 

1303
00:54:35,584 --> 00:54:37,807
that time and things have changed now . 

1304
00:54:37,807 --> 00:54:39,862
So , uh , so there is a difference . 

1305
00:54:39,940 --> 00:54:41,920
Well , that's helpful and I'm sure 

1306
00:54:41,920 --> 00:54:43,920
we're gonna be discussing that more 

1307
00:54:43,920 --> 00:54:46,490
with secretaries as they come in . So 

1308
00:54:46,490 --> 00:54:48,212
it's helpful and I missed your 

1309
00:54:48,212 --> 00:54:50,434
observation about that and I think it's 

1310
00:54:50,434 --> 00:54:52,379
helpful to know that that's that's 

1311
00:54:52,379 --> 00:54:54,490
where you are now . Uh , you know , a 

1312
00:54:54,490 --> 00:54:56,601
number of things have changed and one 

1313
00:54:56,601 --> 00:54:58,970
is we have , we haven't intend to 

1314
00:54:58,980 --> 00:55:02,880
provide our Ukrainian friends with a 

1315
00:55:02,880 --> 00:55:05,270
lot more things to fight with . Does 

1316
00:55:05,270 --> 00:55:08,230
this budget at this point anticipate 

1317
00:55:08,240 --> 00:55:12,240
replacing of the javelins 

1318
00:55:12,240 --> 00:55:14,850
or the stinger missiles that we have 

1319
00:55:14,860 --> 00:55:17,820
given our will give to them . It is a 

1320
00:55:17,820 --> 00:55:20,780
substantial budget in my view , senator . 

1321
00:55:20,780 --> 00:55:23,610
And and it allows us to go after the 

1322
00:55:23,610 --> 00:55:27,070
things that we need to have to support 

1323
00:55:27,070 --> 00:55:30,800
our warfighting concepts that that are 

1324
00:55:30,800 --> 00:55:33,100
outlined in our strategy here . Again , 

1325
00:55:33,110 --> 00:55:35,443
china is listed as our pacing challenge . 

1326
00:55:35,500 --> 00:55:37,611
Russia is listed as an acute threat . 

1327
00:55:37,990 --> 00:55:40,920
The supplementals that that you 

1328
00:55:40,920 --> 00:55:43,150
provided us to this point have been 

1329
00:55:43,160 --> 00:55:45,540
very helpful in in going after the 

1330
00:55:45,540 --> 00:55:47,873
kinds of things that that you mentioned . 

1331
00:55:47,873 --> 00:55:50,490
Uh and uh and again , this next 

1332
00:55:50,490 --> 00:55:52,657
supplemental that the president has uh 

1333
00:55:52,657 --> 00:55:54,890
has asked for your support on , will 

1334
00:55:54,900 --> 00:55:57,460
will enable us to do to do what you 

1335
00:55:57,460 --> 00:56:01,090
just described , replenish stocks and 

1336
00:56:01,100 --> 00:56:04,810
and also continue to support uh Ukraine . 

1337
00:56:04,820 --> 00:56:07,050
But the supplemental funds are really 

1338
00:56:07,050 --> 00:56:10,180
focused on that Well to pursue that 

1339
00:56:10,180 --> 00:56:12,347
just a little bit more . I think we've 

1340
00:56:12,347 --> 00:56:14,600
we've roughly provided roughly 5000 

1341
00:56:14,600 --> 00:56:17,420
javelins and 1400 stingers . The 

1342
00:56:17,420 --> 00:56:19,587
javelins . That's about a third of our 

1343
00:56:19,587 --> 00:56:21,860
stockpile already provided . And the 

1344
00:56:21,860 --> 00:56:25,340
stinger is about 25% of our stockpile . 

1345
00:56:25,350 --> 00:56:29,130
Is it Possible to replace a third of 

1346
00:56:29,130 --> 00:56:32,290
our stockpile ? Or let's say 50% before 

1347
00:56:32,290 --> 00:56:34,550
we're done here within within a year ? 

1348
00:56:35,230 --> 00:56:37,570
It certainly is . It's not only 

1349
00:56:37,570 --> 00:56:40,110
possible , but we were we will do that . 

1350
00:56:40,120 --> 00:56:42,490
We will never go below our minimum 

1351
00:56:42,500 --> 00:56:45,120
requirement for for our our stockpile . 

1352
00:56:45,120 --> 00:56:47,140
So we will always maintain the 

1353
00:56:47,140 --> 00:56:49,960
capability to uh to defend this country 

1354
00:56:49,960 --> 00:56:52,330
and and so and support our interest . 

1355
00:56:52,340 --> 00:56:55,510
But this will help us to not only 

1356
00:56:55,520 --> 00:56:57,520
replenish our stockpiles , but also 

1357
00:56:57,520 --> 00:56:59,820
replace some of the capability that we 

1358
00:56:59,820 --> 00:57:01,931
have asked our partners and allies to 

1359
00:57:01,931 --> 00:57:05,200
provide some of the eastern uh flank 

1360
00:57:05,200 --> 00:57:07,840
countries early on , provided Stingers 

1361
00:57:07,850 --> 00:57:10,072
uh and other countries provide provided 

1362
00:57:10,072 --> 00:57:12,294
javelins upon our request . And so that 

1363
00:57:12,294 --> 00:57:14,350
will help us do that . Well , I know 

1364
00:57:14,350 --> 00:57:16,461
we'll want to work with you on that . 

1365
00:57:16,461 --> 00:57:18,683
General Milley , let me get in one more 

1366
00:57:18,683 --> 00:57:20,906
question here . I I know you're a great 

1367
00:57:20,906 --> 00:57:23,072
student of warfare and and my guess is 

1368
00:57:23,072 --> 00:57:25,072
we've all learned a lot in the last 

1369
00:57:25,072 --> 00:57:27,239
three months of assumptions uh , prior 

1370
00:57:27,239 --> 00:57:29,770
to what's happened in Ukraine and what 

1371
00:57:29,770 --> 00:57:32,060
we've seen happen in terms of 

1372
00:57:32,060 --> 00:57:34,610
effectiveness of force or the weapons 

1373
00:57:34,610 --> 00:57:37,550
that are most effective . We're seeing 

1374
00:57:37,550 --> 00:57:39,880
in this in that theater of war . Does 

1375
00:57:39,880 --> 00:57:42,620
this budget yet reflect what you think 

1376
00:57:42,620 --> 00:57:44,842
the next budget should probably reflect 

1377
00:57:44,842 --> 00:57:47,750
in terms of our transition ? To be sure , 

1378
00:57:47,750 --> 00:57:50,230
we're keeping up with the what the 

1379
00:57:50,230 --> 00:57:52,174
lessons we're learning from modern 

1380
00:57:52,174 --> 00:57:56,010
warfare . It does , it moves us in the 

1381
00:57:56,010 --> 00:57:58,200
right direction . For sure . This has 

1382
00:57:58,200 --> 00:58:00,311
got the most research and development 

1383
00:58:00,311 --> 00:58:03,070
of any budget in NBA history actually . 

1384
00:58:03,070 --> 00:58:05,460
And it's a very significant movement 

1385
00:58:05,460 --> 00:58:07,627
into the future . As we look at what's 

1386
00:58:07,627 --> 00:58:10,230
happening in Ukraine or for example , 

1387
00:58:10,230 --> 00:58:13,510
in in Mosul or Syria . What what we're 

1388
00:58:13,510 --> 00:58:15,990
seeing is some fundamental change in 

1389
00:58:15,990 --> 00:58:18,101
the character of war that is going to 

1390
00:58:18,101 --> 00:58:20,101
lead into the future . One of those 

1391
00:58:20,101 --> 00:58:22,046
changes is highly dense urban area 

1392
00:58:22,046 --> 00:58:24,157
combat . You saw the battle key , for 

1393
00:58:24,157 --> 00:58:26,434
example , in the Russian failure there , 

1394
00:58:26,434 --> 00:58:28,434
you're seeing the ubiquitous use of 

1395
00:58:28,434 --> 00:58:30,657
precision munitions . You're seeing the 

1396
00:58:30,657 --> 00:58:32,546
use of drones , for example , and 

1397
00:58:32,546 --> 00:58:34,434
unmanned aerial vehicles . You're 

1398
00:58:34,434 --> 00:58:36,490
seeing the very effective use of air 

1399
00:58:36,490 --> 00:58:38,323
defense systems , both SAM's and 

1400
00:58:38,323 --> 00:58:40,157
manpads to deny the Russians the 

1401
00:58:40,157 --> 00:58:42,323
airspace and the most effective weapon 

1402
00:58:42,323 --> 00:58:44,434
they've used so far has been antitank 

1403
00:58:44,434 --> 00:58:46,601
weapons . And and of course javelin is 

1404
00:58:46,601 --> 00:58:46,390
what we have . But many of the 

1405
00:58:46,390 --> 00:58:48,612
countries are providing all kinds of in 

1406
00:58:48,612 --> 00:58:50,990
laws and carl Gustav's and RPGS a wide 

1407
00:58:50,990 --> 00:58:53,101
variety of anti tank weapons . So the 

1408
00:58:53,101 --> 00:58:55,323
combination of all of that together has 

1409
00:58:55,323 --> 00:58:57,450
led the Russians to not achieve the 

1410
00:58:57,450 --> 00:58:59,672
success is that they thought they would 

1411
00:58:59,672 --> 00:59:01,950
have and those have direct application . 

1412
00:59:01,950 --> 00:59:03,783
And I think this budget takes an 

1413
00:59:03,783 --> 00:59:06,006
account . But beyond that , this budget 

1414
00:59:06,006 --> 00:59:05,450
also is investing in artificial 

1415
00:59:05,450 --> 00:59:07,760
intelligence robotics , most of which 

1416
00:59:07,760 --> 00:59:09,927
we're not really seeing in the current 

1417
00:59:09,927 --> 00:59:12,149
battlefield , but we do expect those to 

1418
00:59:12,149 --> 00:59:14,371
be very , very significant Uh , players 

1419
00:59:14,371 --> 00:59:16,427
in a future battle . You know , 2030 

1420
00:59:16,427 --> 00:59:18,593
years from now , something like that . 

1421
00:59:18,593 --> 00:59:20,149
Those are gonna be dominant 

1422
00:59:20,149 --> 00:59:22,204
technologies at that time . Uh , and 

1423
00:59:22,204 --> 00:59:24,204
this budget takes us on that path . 

1424
00:59:24,204 --> 00:59:23,910
Thank you . Thank you . Chairman 

1425
00:59:24,000 --> 00:59:24,530
Senator Murray .