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Next , we'll hear from Mr Aguilar then . 

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Mr Adam Holt . And Mr chris Mr Aguilar , 

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you're recognized . Thank you . 

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Chairwoman and thank you Mr Secretary 

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in General , Secretary Austin recently , 

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you spoke about the need to track and 

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understand and respond to malign 

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activities in the gray zone , including 

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the information space and the need to 

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invest in irregular warfare 

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capabilities . What is the Ukrainian 

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crisis teaching the nation about the 

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importance of irregular warfare and 

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appear in near peer fight 

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again ? I think it's uh this is a thing 

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that we need to be um Cable of 

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addressing going forward and that we 

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account for that in our strategy . Um 

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we've seen the Russians engage in this 

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type of activity in a consistent 

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fashion throughout since since 2014 

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we've watched this uh continue to 

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unfold . So we'll need to make sure 

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that we have the right capabilities and 

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the and the people with the right 

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skills to be relevant in in this this 

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kind of activity going forward . How 

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are we thinking about future policies , 

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existing policies that will enable us 

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to compete effectively in this climate 

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moving forward . And the policies are 

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policies we need to make sure that they 

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support um speed of effort and 

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that that we are we have the 

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authorities necessary to uh to get 

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after the things that that again , will 

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be effective in this in this fight . Uh 

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and I think as with anything , these 

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are policies and authorities will will 

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evolve as we , you know , as we 

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continue our efforts in this and other 

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places around the globe . Thank you . 

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Mr Secretary . I wanted to shift topics 

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and talk about domestic violent 

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extremism and express my support for 

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your continued commitment to address 

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threats of domestic violent extremism 

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in the military . You previously spoke 

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with us and said that 99.9% of troops 

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served with dignity and honor . But a 

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small number can have an outsized 

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impact on a great organization . And 

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you've talked about including reworking 

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existing screening procedures for 

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recruits , partnering with other 

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federal agencies and revamping insider 

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training programs and General Milley . 

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You've spoken about these as well . 

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These programs , Uh secretary , can you 

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talk about how the fiscal year 23 

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budget request continues support for 

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these efforts ? 

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It uh it certainly does allow us to 

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continue to support the policies and 

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procedures that we put into place . Uh 

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and and again , I would echo what you 

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said earlier . My firm belief has been 

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and remains that 99.9% of our troops 

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are focused on the right things and are 

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doing the right things each and every 

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day . We we certainly , as you pointed 

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out , I need to do a good job , a 

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better job of screening people as they 

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come into the military . And also as as 

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they are in the military , making sure 

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that they remain focused on uh 

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supporting uh those values that they've 

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sworn an oath to uphold so so but but 

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we have in this budget , we've asked 

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for an ample amount of funds 

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to to to support our efforts in 

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that . You asked general domestic 

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violent extremism . You've spoken with 

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this committee about this in the past 

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and and appreciate your comments . What 

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more , what more can we do ? Um how 

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should we be thinking through um future 

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insider threats and and some of the um 

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you know , policies that that might 

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need to be addressed and changed . Um 

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just a couple of things . First of all , 

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I think this size scale and scope of 

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the problem is very , very small inside 

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the military . Um Um and as the 

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secretary just said , 99.9% of those in 

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uniform are serving their country 

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faithfully and their faithful adherence 

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to their oath to the constitution of 

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the United States . Having said that 

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small numbers can make a big difference . 

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Um if they choose to use violence in 

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some manner , shape or form . So it all 

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comes down to good order and discipline 

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of the force . Uh and that is the role 

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of the chain of command . So the best 

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thing we can do um is to reinforce the 

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authorities of the chain of command , 

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educate the chain of command to signs 

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and indicators of radical extremism on 

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one vent or another . Uh and then to 

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take appropriate action . Uh if they 

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identify someone who displays those 

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sorts of behaviors were into behavior , 

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not thought , that's a very , very 

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important distinction . Uh we're not 

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out to govern people's thoughts , but 

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behavior is a different matter . And 

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that's what that's what the uniform 

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code of military justice all about and 

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that's one of the key roles of a chain 

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of command . I appreciate the 

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leadership that both of you have shown 

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in this regard . And thank you for 

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continuing to work with this committee 

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and others to address these issues . Um 

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moving forward and like you both said 

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uh an incredibly small number , but we 

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want to make sure that they were doing 

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everything we can to protect the 

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workforce to protect the country uh and 

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ensure the proper leadership . So thank 

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you both so much , yield back madam . 

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Chair . Thank you . Mr alcohol , please . 

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Thank you . Um Secretary Austin 

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General Milley , under Secretary McCord . 

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Thank you all three for being here 

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today . My first question deals with of 

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some uh mineral issues that we've 

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potentially could have problems we 

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could have in this country . Of course 

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the Russian invasion of Ukraine has 

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demonstrated how europe has been 

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affected by reliance on Russia for 

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resources like oil and gas . But a 

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recent US geological survey report 

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illustrated that the United States has 

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similar reliant on Russia and china for 

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some of our most critical mineral needs . 

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And um I too have concerns about the 

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defense industrial base being too 

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reliant on countries that probably 

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doesn't have our best interests at 

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heart . Oh and I think certainly we all 

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should agree that the time to address 

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this and look at this now as opposed to 

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wait until the crisis occurs . Uh I 

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plan to work my colleagues to try to 

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address this problem . Um My question , 

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you let me just rest this to you . Uh 

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Secretary Austin , how concerned are 

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you about the risk posed um to the 

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defense industrial base by continued 

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reliance on strategic adversaries for 

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our critical minerals . And what else 

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can we do to try to address this issue ? 

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You raise a very , very good points . 

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All right . This is an issue that's 

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very important to us . It's also 

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important to our country . It's 

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important to our President . As you've 

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seen , the President adopt an 

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initiative that causes us all to focus 

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more on our supply chain vulnerability . 

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D . O . D certainly has a key part of 

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that . Uh We're concerned about making 

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sure that we have the right 

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capabilities with respect to micro 

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electronics , um casting and forging , 

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battery and energy and energy storage 

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uh critical materials , as you pointed 

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out , I want to make sure that we have 

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the right uh amounts of stockpiles to 

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to be able to support our efforts . So , 

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D . O . D . Is focused on this as a 

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part of uh the overall government's 

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effort . But to your point , this is 

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very , very important to us . So this 

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is something that you do have some 

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great concerns about at this point . 

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General Milley , do you have anything 

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you want to add to that ? I'd concur 

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100 concerned about us being overly 

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reliant on raw materials , critical 

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minerals , as you say from any country 

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that's an adversary to the United 

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States to the extent that's humanly 

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possible that stuff should be produced 

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in the United States and under our 

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control . Let me just also , uh , you 

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mentioned something that's already been 

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asked about , but we've already talked 

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about how we have done so much to send 

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vital equipment to Ukraine . And um , 

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you know , of course , we can always 

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debate whether we've seen enough and 

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and that , but there's no doubt that 

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the success they've had has been 

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because of our helping in the process . 

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But to follow up on a question that uh , 

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ranking member Granger , uh , much of 

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the equipment that has come out of our 

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own defense um , stockpiles and uh , 

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I'm glad that Congress has already 

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appropriated three point point five 

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billion to D . O . D to to backfill the 

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transfer transferred equipment . And of 

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course last night , the house passed 

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legislation for additional support for 

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Ukraine . It is clear that D . O . T . 

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S equipment stocks could prove 

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vital if a similar situation will arise 

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in the pacific in Taiwan Taiwan , I'd 

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like to get your thoughts on whether 

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the Department of Defense level of 

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stockpiled equipment , ammunitions 

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should be grown to the levels larger 

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and they were prior to Russia's 

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invasion . Thanks , sir . Uh , and 

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again , thanks for your support on 

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getting the legislation through 

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yesterday . That's that's that's very 

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helpful to us . Um , as you know , we 

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we base our decisions on the size of 

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the stockpile , on our requirements . 

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And uh , you know , as we look around 

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at the global requirements to to 

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support our plans . Uh , we we believe 

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that the stockpiles are adequate and uh , 

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if we believe that we need to grow them 

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based upon changing situations or 

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changes in our plans , and certainly , 

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uh , well , we'll we'll do that , we'll 

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take that on and and make sure that uh , 

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that we advise the president , that 

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that's a necessity . But right now 

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again , our requirements uh , put us in 

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a place where we have the stock images 

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that we have , and uh , and we think 

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it's it's about right . So , do you do 

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you think if we increased our 

251
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stockpiles that would deter aggression 

252
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by china towards Taiwan ? Um , 

253
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you know , our adversaries don't really 

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know what we have in our stockpiles , 

255
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uh , nor should they , and uh , and so 

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I'm not sure that that would act as a 

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in in itself , as a deterrent . They'll 

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judge . Uh , I mean , they'll 

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base their judgment on , on our actions 

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uh , in our demonstrated commitment , 

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uh , more so than than what they 

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believe are stockpiles to be . Okay , 

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thank you . I yield back . Thank you . 

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Mr Mr Mr Crist , then mr carter , and 

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then MS kilpatrick Mr Christie 

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recognized Thank you , Madam Chair . Um , 

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I want to express my gratitude to uh , 

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to you , Mr Secretary and general to 

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you , as well as a member Ruppersberger 

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mentioned in his beginning comments , 

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The service you provided to our country 

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has been extraordinary and God bless 

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00:11:09,330 --> 00:11:11,441
you for your dedication to protecting 

274
00:11:11,441 --> 00:11:14,370
America and freedom . Um so I was 

275
00:11:14,370 --> 00:11:17,150
curious . I read about the 

276
00:11:17,540 --> 00:11:20,000
hypersonic that were used against 

277
00:11:20,010 --> 00:11:23,100
Odessa . Um obviously that's very 

278
00:11:23,100 --> 00:11:25,211
disconcerting . And I wondered if you 

279
00:11:25,211 --> 00:11:27,378
had any commentary if we should expect 

280
00:11:27,378 --> 00:11:29,378
more of that or what were your your 

281
00:11:29,378 --> 00:11:31,267
view of it ? Is either one of you 

282
00:11:34,540 --> 00:11:37,500
please ? I would a couple of comments . 

283
00:11:37,510 --> 00:11:40,500
One is the Russians have used uh 

284
00:11:40,510 --> 00:11:43,380
several hypersonic missiles . Obviously 

285
00:11:43,380 --> 00:11:45,602
the distinguishing factor of hypersonic 

286
00:11:45,602 --> 00:11:47,436
missiles , the speed at which it 

287
00:11:47,436 --> 00:11:50,890
travels . Uh and we have analyzed 

288
00:11:50,900 --> 00:11:53,178
each of these shots that they've taken . 

289
00:11:53,540 --> 00:11:55,762
Ah and I'd like to go into a classified 

290
00:11:55,762 --> 00:11:57,984
session and discuss any of the specific 

291
00:11:57,984 --> 00:12:00,207
details but other than the speed of the 

292
00:12:00,207 --> 00:12:02,151
weapon in terms of its effect on a 

293
00:12:02,151 --> 00:12:04,520
given target ? We are not seeing really 

294
00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:07,250
significant or game changing effects to 

295
00:12:07,250 --> 00:12:09,490
date with the delivery of the small 

296
00:12:09,490 --> 00:12:11,657
number of hypersonic that the Russians 

297
00:12:11,657 --> 00:12:13,879
have used . But I can elaborate further 

298
00:12:13,879 --> 00:12:16,101
in a classified session if you'd like . 

299
00:12:16,101 --> 00:12:18,379
Sure , I appreciate that the secretary , 

300
00:12:18,379 --> 00:12:17,810
you have any comment on that . I 

301
00:12:17,820 --> 00:12:20,190
absolutely agree with the chairman and 

302
00:12:20,190 --> 00:12:22,520
I've used a number of them . Ukrainians 

303
00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:24,370
are still fighting and 

304
00:12:26,940 --> 00:12:29,520
I'm leaving at that very well . Um is 

305
00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:31,631
this the first time that we know that 

306
00:12:31,631 --> 00:12:33,576
they have decided to utilize hyper 

307
00:12:33,576 --> 00:12:37,370
sonics in this war . This 

308
00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:39,536
terminal is the first time of use of 

309
00:12:39,536 --> 00:12:41,670
hypersonic munitions in a combat 

310
00:12:41,670 --> 00:12:44,540
situation ever . As far as I know . 

311
00:12:44,540 --> 00:12:46,762
Yeah , hypersonic weapons . Yes , sir . 

312
00:12:46,762 --> 00:12:48,762
I understand . But but the Russians 

313
00:12:48,762 --> 00:12:50,818
have used them several times in this 

314
00:12:50,818 --> 00:12:54,360
conflict . And uh and again , not a 

315
00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:56,304
major game changer to this point . 

316
00:12:56,940 --> 00:13:00,850
Great . Uh I know you don't 

317
00:13:00,850 --> 00:13:02,906
have a crystal ball and it's hard to 

318
00:13:02,906 --> 00:13:05,410
read Putin's mind , I'm sure . But 

319
00:13:05,410 --> 00:13:07,354
given the fact that he's utilizing 

320
00:13:07,354 --> 00:13:10,580
these weapons now , these missiles , do 

321
00:13:10,580 --> 00:13:13,020
you think that exacerbates the 

322
00:13:13,020 --> 00:13:16,160
potential for nuclear or not ? 

323
00:13:17,740 --> 00:13:21,210
Or can you tell ? It's 

324
00:13:21,740 --> 00:13:24,190
and very difficult to predict . You 

325
00:13:24,190 --> 00:13:27,220
know what are to to say what Mr Putin 

326
00:13:27,220 --> 00:13:29,970
is thinking . But I I don't I would not 

327
00:13:29,970 --> 00:13:32,450
say that because he's used hypersonic 

328
00:13:32,450 --> 00:13:36,150
weapon that that's gonna caused him to 

329
00:13:36,150 --> 00:13:38,280
be willing to elevate to to use a 

330
00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:41,870
nuclear weapon . Um You know , again , 

331
00:13:41,870 --> 00:13:44,990
he's he used hypersonic weapons weeks 

332
00:13:44,990 --> 00:13:47,530
ago . And uh and I think he's trying to 

333
00:13:47,530 --> 00:13:49,641
create a specific effect with the use 

334
00:13:49,641 --> 00:13:51,697
of that weapon . And as the chairman 

335
00:13:51,697 --> 00:13:53,840
has pointed out it moves at a speed 

336
00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:56,007
that's very makes it very difficult to 

337
00:13:56,007 --> 00:13:58,340
interdict . But it hasn't been a game 

338
00:13:58,340 --> 00:14:00,650
changer . He has options . You know , 

339
00:14:00,650 --> 00:14:03,900
he can you know , I mean , you can 

340
00:14:03,910 --> 00:14:07,720
launch uh a cyber attack , 

341
00:14:07,730 --> 00:14:11,250
can employ chemical weapons , uh those 

342
00:14:11,250 --> 00:14:13,250
kinds of things that we're all on a 

343
00:14:13,250 --> 00:14:15,480
look out for to see if , you know , he 

344
00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:17,647
makes those kinds of decisions . But I 

345
00:14:17,647 --> 00:14:19,813
don't think that that this necessarily 

346
00:14:19,813 --> 00:14:22,340
takes him to uh the use of a of a 

347
00:14:22,340 --> 00:14:26,080
nuclear weapon . So we voted 

348
00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:29,170
last night , the House For $40 billion 

349
00:14:29,170 --> 00:14:31,950
dollars to help Ukraine . Hopefully the 

350
00:14:31,950 --> 00:14:34,460
Senate will do that soon . Are we doing 

351
00:14:34,460 --> 00:14:38,280
enough to keep Ukraine free and protect 

352
00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:40,224
our ally as much as we should be ? 

353
00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:45,560
We're doing a lot . Um , and , you know , 

354
00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:48,296
our allies are doing a lot and we're 

355
00:14:48,296 --> 00:14:50,518
going to continue to do everything that 

356
00:14:50,518 --> 00:14:52,880
we can for as long as we can to help 

357
00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:55,060
them defend their , their uh , their 

358
00:14:55,060 --> 00:14:58,970
sovereign space . And and so , um , 

359
00:14:58,980 --> 00:15:00,758
I think the Ukrainians are very 

360
00:15:00,758 --> 00:15:03,036
grateful for what we're doing for them . 

361
00:15:03,036 --> 00:15:05,258
It has made a significant difference in 

362
00:15:05,258 --> 00:15:08,040
their ability to to blunt the the uh 

363
00:15:08,050 --> 00:15:11,330
the advance of uh , of a superior 

364
00:15:11,340 --> 00:15:14,660
Russian force . Uh and and so again , 

365
00:15:15,140 --> 00:15:17,380
and their needs will change as this , 

366
00:15:17,390 --> 00:15:20,440
as this war evolves at the beginning of 

367
00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:22,440
the fight . Sir , you remember , we 

368
00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:25,110
were focused a lot on providing anti 

369
00:15:25,110 --> 00:15:28,670
armor and anti aircraft weaponry that 

370
00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:30,847
really put them in a in a good place . 

371
00:15:30,847 --> 00:15:33,680
It helped to uh help them win the 

372
00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:35,850
battle of Kiev in the north . But as 

373
00:15:35,850 --> 00:15:38,017
the fight has shifted to the south and 

374
00:15:38,017 --> 00:15:40,560
to the east , we now see uh , that they 

375
00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:42,504
have more of a need for long range 

376
00:15:42,504 --> 00:15:45,070
artillery , tanks , and armored 

377
00:15:45,070 --> 00:15:47,237
vehicles and those sorts of things and 

378
00:15:47,237 --> 00:15:49,070
and working with our allies were 

379
00:15:49,070 --> 00:15:50,959
talking talking to the Ukrainians 

380
00:15:50,959 --> 00:15:53,181
routinely , and we're trying to provide 

381
00:15:53,181 --> 00:15:55,348
them exactly what they think they need 

382
00:15:55,348 --> 00:15:57,459
in the fight . Right well , thank you 

383
00:15:57,459 --> 00:15:59,514
both again very much for what you're 

384
00:15:59,514 --> 00:16:01,681
doing and protecting this democracy in 

385
00:16:01,681 --> 00:16:03,903
this great ally of the US . Thank you , 

386
00:16:03,903 --> 00:16:07,860
Madam Chair Mr 

387
00:16:07,860 --> 00:16:09,950
carter and Mr kilpatrick and then Mr 

388
00:16:09,950 --> 00:16:12,117
Diaz Ballard , you'll be joining us by 

389
00:16:12,117 --> 00:16:14,490
video . Mr carter . Gentlemen , welcome . 

390
00:16:14,490 --> 00:16:17,430
Thank you for being here . Hello , Tell 

391
00:16:17,430 --> 00:16:19,430
you about a conversation I had with 

392
00:16:19,940 --> 00:16:22,240
group of people in my district last 

393
00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:26,020
week . Oh , you know , we're 

394
00:16:26,020 --> 00:16:28,840
all , I've got ford hood in my district . 

395
00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,360
You all know that I'm very , very proud 

396
00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:35,060
of men and women deserving uniform . 

397
00:16:35,540 --> 00:16:37,830
And I commend you for trying to give 

398
00:16:37,830 --> 00:16:41,000
them the very best . But we also , as 

399
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,310
we take care of our war fighters have 

400
00:16:43,310 --> 00:16:45,960
to remember the burdens the things in 

401
00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:49,480
the real world have on the that is the 

402
00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:53,390
economy has on the the families 

403
00:16:53,390 --> 00:16:56,790
of these these war fighters right 

404
00:16:56,790 --> 00:16:59,650
now , what's going on in our part of 

405
00:17:00,140 --> 00:17:03,580
texas is our mobile population in 

406
00:17:03,580 --> 00:17:06,790
America . Americans are 

407
00:17:06,790 --> 00:17:09,770
migrating to texas in 

408
00:17:10,140 --> 00:17:13,640
gigantic numbers , carrying large 

409
00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:17,060
amounts of money from real estate sales 

410
00:17:17,540 --> 00:17:20,080
they made in other states that they 

411
00:17:20,080 --> 00:17:23,960
left . So not only are they driving up 

412
00:17:24,540 --> 00:17:27,850
the cost of housing ridiculously high 

413
00:17:28,340 --> 00:17:32,260
House worth $350,000 real 

414
00:17:32,260 --> 00:17:35,880
worth you're selling for a million and 

415
00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:38,890
so forth . Therefore , even though 

416
00:17:39,260 --> 00:17:42,330
smaller homes that might be available 

417
00:17:42,380 --> 00:17:46,280
for servicemen and women off post be 

418
00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:49,270
driven being driven up 2 700 to 

419
00:17:49,270 --> 00:17:52,860
$900,000 and then 

420
00:17:53,540 --> 00:17:56,270
with a with a bit of it of a V . A 

421
00:17:57,040 --> 00:17:59,670
loan , they can compete in that market . 

422
00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:03,960
The bars . I mean the sellers don't 

423
00:18:04,340 --> 00:18:07,580
walt V . A loans because the other guys 

424
00:18:07,580 --> 00:18:11,060
are offering cash that drives our 

425
00:18:11,540 --> 00:18:14,890
however military families in the rental 

426
00:18:14,890 --> 00:18:18,790
market , the real market is growing at 

427
00:18:18,790 --> 00:18:22,610
the same rate . So something that Six 

428
00:18:22,610 --> 00:18:26,470
months ago was $250 a month , 

429
00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:30,400
$2,000 a month . It's now $4500 a 

430
00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:33,960
month . Something that was Like $1,000 

431
00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:37,770
a month now , $2,500 a month . 

432
00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:41,184
Now I realize you're giving them a 

433
00:18:41,184 --> 00:18:43,407
raise and I'm really happy about that . 

434
00:18:43,740 --> 00:18:47,380
Have you considered increasing bh B 

435
00:18:47,380 --> 00:18:50,360
H levels to meet this type of 

436
00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:54,520
inflationary challenge they were seeing 

437
00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:57,940
around our post , not just in texas in 

438
00:18:57,940 --> 00:19:00,500
many other parts of the country . I'd 

439
00:19:00,500 --> 00:19:02,278
like to hear your comments . Mr 

440
00:19:02,278 --> 00:19:04,670
Secretary and also General Milley . 

441
00:19:05,140 --> 00:19:06,862
Thanks sir and thanks for your 

442
00:19:06,862 --> 00:19:08,918
tremendous support of our troops and 

443
00:19:08,918 --> 00:19:10,950
families . That in in the fort hood 

444
00:19:10,950 --> 00:19:14,290
area that's a pretty important part of 

445
00:19:14,300 --> 00:19:17,200
our overall structure in the military 

446
00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:20,660
here . Big installation . This is a 

447
00:19:20,660 --> 00:19:23,150
very important issue to me , you know 

448
00:19:23,150 --> 00:19:25,261
that the health and well being of our 

449
00:19:25,261 --> 00:19:27,539
family , family members and our troops . 

450
00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:30,730
Um you saw us take some action last 

451
00:19:30,730 --> 00:19:34,670
year or this year uh to increase bh in 

452
00:19:34,670 --> 00:19:37,300
certain areas that were challenged by 

453
00:19:37,300 --> 00:19:40,160
the forces that you just mentioned what 

454
00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:42,104
we're asking for in this budget is 

455
00:19:42,104 --> 00:19:44,104
helped to do more of the same going 

456
00:19:44,104 --> 00:19:46,049
forward . I think this is really , 

457
00:19:46,049 --> 00:19:48,271
really important . Um you know that the 

458
00:19:48,271 --> 00:19:51,560
strain caused by rising rent 

459
00:19:51,570 --> 00:19:55,500
costs and uh and you know , 

460
00:19:55,500 --> 00:19:58,140
a number of other things really kind of 

461
00:19:58,140 --> 00:20:00,251
creating some adverse effects for our 

462
00:20:00,251 --> 00:20:02,140
our lower ranking enlisted and we 

463
00:20:02,140 --> 00:20:04,850
remain sighted on this . So , so we're 

464
00:20:04,850 --> 00:20:07,017
asking for that some help with that in 

465
00:20:07,017 --> 00:20:09,183
this budget . We're also asking for $2 

466
00:20:09,183 --> 00:20:11,720
billion dollars to support the 

467
00:20:11,730 --> 00:20:14,030
construction of family housing , 

468
00:20:14,030 --> 00:20:15,808
military family housing and the 

469
00:20:15,808 --> 00:20:17,974
improvement of military family housing 

470
00:20:18,030 --> 00:20:21,320
as well . So thanks for your support 

471
00:20:21,330 --> 00:20:23,980
thus far and I believe this is really , 

472
00:20:23,980 --> 00:20:26,147
really important . And so we're asking 

473
00:20:26,147 --> 00:20:28,313
for more help so we can do more of the 

474
00:20:28,313 --> 00:20:31,720
same in the future . And I would echo 

475
00:20:31,730 --> 00:20:33,619
everything the secretary said the 

476
00:20:33,619 --> 00:20:35,841
congressman , I've known you for a long 

477
00:20:35,841 --> 00:20:37,952
time and uh I have many fond memories 

478
00:20:37,952 --> 00:20:39,619
of ford Hood myself and heard 

479
00:20:39,619 --> 00:20:41,730
congressman calvert say most of those 

480
00:20:41,730 --> 00:20:43,897
people are coming from California . So 

481
00:20:43,897 --> 00:20:46,008
um I questioned uh with her not texas 

482
00:20:46,008 --> 00:20:47,897
made the right choice there , but 

483
00:20:47,897 --> 00:20:50,119
having said that , that was meant to be 

484
00:20:50,119 --> 00:20:53,310
funny . Um look soldier , soldiers 

485
00:20:53,310 --> 00:20:56,390
don't ask for much uh they they want 

486
00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:58,511
good housing , good healthcare , good 

487
00:20:58,511 --> 00:21:00,567
education and a safe environment for 

488
00:21:00,567 --> 00:21:02,678
their family and and I believe that I 

489
00:21:02,678 --> 00:21:04,844
know that the Secretary of Defense has 

490
00:21:04,844 --> 00:21:06,956
the entire department focused on it . 

491
00:21:06,956 --> 00:21:08,956
Uh and and I will personally take a 

492
00:21:08,956 --> 00:21:11,500
hard look at the Bh numbers to see if 

493
00:21:11,510 --> 00:21:13,343
it's appropriate to make further 

494
00:21:13,343 --> 00:21:15,066
recommendations on any further 

495
00:21:15,066 --> 00:21:17,460
increases in terms of housing allowance 

496
00:21:17,460 --> 00:21:19,770
is specific to the Fort Hood area or 

497
00:21:19,770 --> 00:21:21,960
other areas that are experiencing that 

498
00:21:22,740 --> 00:21:24,962
the the gentleman , you'll you'll enjoy 

499
00:21:24,962 --> 00:21:27,184
my constituents , they're fine people . 

500
00:21:27,184 --> 00:21:30,860
I hope so . I hope so . I have another 

501
00:21:30,860 --> 00:21:33,193
question , but I know over another down , 

502
00:21:33,193 --> 00:21:35,304
we'll make sure it gets submitted for 

503
00:21:35,304 --> 00:21:37,416
the record . Um Thank you . And uh as 

504
00:21:37,416 --> 00:21:39,304
you know , there's a freeway that 

505
00:21:39,304 --> 00:21:41,416
connects texas in Minnesota , we have 

506
00:21:41,416 --> 00:21:43,580
better fishing . Um so MS MS 

507
00:21:43,580 --> 00:21:45,747
kirkpatrick , we're gonna go to you Mr 

508
00:21:45,747 --> 00:21:47,747
Diaz Ballard . If you wouldn't mind 

509
00:21:47,747 --> 00:21:49,858
getting ready to turn on your video . 

510
00:21:49,858 --> 00:21:53,020
Thank you . Mr Patrick . Thank you , 

511
00:21:53,020 --> 00:21:55,680
madam . Chair . My first question has 

512
00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:58,330
to do with climate change . Mr 

513
00:21:58,330 --> 00:22:00,740
Secretary , I'm pleased to see the 

514
00:22:00,740 --> 00:22:03,350
concerted effort in the budget 

515
00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:06,300
addressing climate change . The 

516
00:22:06,300 --> 00:22:08,410
Department of Defense has recognized 

517
00:22:08,410 --> 00:22:10,950
for a while that a changing climate 

518
00:22:10,950 --> 00:22:13,450
will have significant economic impacts 

519
00:22:13,940 --> 00:22:17,050
across the globe , lead to food 

520
00:22:17,060 --> 00:22:20,950
insecurity issues and potential shifts 

521
00:22:21,340 --> 00:22:24,580
in regional balances . The Department 

522
00:22:24,580 --> 00:22:28,550
of Defense is proposing to invest 3.1 

523
00:22:28,550 --> 00:22:32,350
billion in this budget for increased 

524
00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:35,860
generators storage and resiliency at 

525
00:22:35,860 --> 00:22:38,690
military installations , which is a top 

526
00:22:38,690 --> 00:22:41,770
priority for watch for Fort Watch chuka 

527
00:22:41,780 --> 00:22:44,500
and Davis Mountain Air Force Base in my 

528
00:22:44,500 --> 00:22:48,380
district . This funding would also go 

529
00:22:48,380 --> 00:22:51,470
toward improved energy efficiency and 

530
00:22:51,470 --> 00:22:55,030
logistics and research in reducing 

531
00:22:55,030 --> 00:22:58,670
energy demand , improved storage and 

532
00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:02,290
other energy supplies . Secretary 

533
00:23:02,290 --> 00:23:04,860
Austin , what are your goals as you 

534
00:23:04,860 --> 00:23:07,800
direct the department's efforts to meet 

535
00:23:07,810 --> 00:23:11,750
the climate challenge ? Well , 

536
00:23:11,750 --> 00:23:15,380
thank you . And I think you nailed 

537
00:23:15,380 --> 00:23:17,670
it right away when you mentioned that 

538
00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:20,780
this does affect not only our our 

539
00:23:20,780 --> 00:23:22,558
installations as we look at our 

540
00:23:22,558 --> 00:23:24,613
installations and the in the coastal 

541
00:23:24,613 --> 00:23:27,580
regions with the effects of rising 

542
00:23:27,590 --> 00:23:31,240
water levels , the effects of severe 

543
00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:34,970
weather as we have had deployed troops 

544
00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:38,220
with a greater frequency to address the 

545
00:23:38,220 --> 00:23:41,500
aftermath of severe storms were 

546
00:23:41,500 --> 00:23:44,360
deploying troops to fight fires . But 

547
00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:46,527
to your point that you made earlier in 

548
00:23:46,527 --> 00:23:48,749
the in the regions that we operate in , 

549
00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:52,050
we're seeing climate change , 

550
00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:55,990
cause migration in some cases and 

551
00:23:55,990 --> 00:23:58,212
competition , increased competition for 

552
00:23:58,212 --> 00:24:01,470
water . So D . O . D . Is the is the 

553
00:24:01,470 --> 00:24:04,420
largest consumer of energy in the in 

554
00:24:04,430 --> 00:24:07,270
the in the government . Uh Our goal is 

555
00:24:07,270 --> 00:24:09,437
to make sure that we reduce our carbon 

556
00:24:09,437 --> 00:24:12,160
footprint by reverting to , you know , 

557
00:24:12,170 --> 00:24:14,990
our installations using more electric 

558
00:24:14,990 --> 00:24:18,240
vehicles . I've challenged our 

559
00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:20,462
installation commanders to find ways to 

560
00:24:20,462 --> 00:24:22,796
be more efficient in their energy usage . 

561
00:24:22,940 --> 00:24:25,520
Uh and so we have a number of ongoing 

562
00:24:25,530 --> 00:24:28,420
projects and efforts to reduce the 

563
00:24:28,420 --> 00:24:30,910
carbon footprint and be more good , be 

564
00:24:30,910 --> 00:24:33,370
better stewards of of , you know , our 

565
00:24:33,370 --> 00:24:36,300
resources here . But I again , to the 

566
00:24:36,300 --> 00:24:38,411
point that you've made , we're asking 

567
00:24:38,411 --> 00:24:41,450
for $3.1 billion dollars in this budget 

568
00:24:41,460 --> 00:24:44,370
to help with our efforts in addressing 

569
00:24:44,740 --> 00:24:47,140
installation resiliency and energy 

570
00:24:47,140 --> 00:24:50,840
storage . Thank you . 

571
00:24:50,940 --> 00:24:53,450
My second question is for General 

572
00:24:53,450 --> 00:24:56,470
Milley , it has to do with military 

573
00:24:56,470 --> 00:24:59,590
medical reforms , the military health 

574
00:24:59,590 --> 00:25:01,990
system is undergoing its most 

575
00:25:01,990 --> 00:25:04,330
significant transfer transformation in 

576
00:25:04,330 --> 00:25:08,040
decades . Medical reforms have included 

577
00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:10,880
a transition of military treatment 

578
00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:13,880
facilities from control of the services 

579
00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:16,860
to the department of health agencies 

580
00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:19,860
and reducing military medical manpower 

581
00:25:19,870 --> 00:25:22,510
in support of the services we follow 

582
00:25:22,510 --> 00:25:26,240
the lead of the priorities . General 

583
00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:28,296
Milley , are you concerned about the 

584
00:25:28,296 --> 00:25:31,250
direction of military military medical 

585
00:25:31,250 --> 00:25:33,630
manpower ? Are efforts being 

586
00:25:33,630 --> 00:25:36,090
coordinated across the military 

587
00:25:36,090 --> 00:25:39,750
services and with the joint staff ? And 

588
00:25:39,750 --> 00:25:41,917
what are the concerns with the medical 

589
00:25:41,917 --> 00:25:44,380
manpower reductions ? The services are 

590
00:25:44,380 --> 00:25:45,450
anticipating 

591
00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:50,510
the thank thanks for the question . The 

592
00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:52,687
key issue here is the readiness of the 

593
00:25:52,687 --> 00:25:54,909
forest and the medical readiness of the 

594
00:25:54,909 --> 00:25:57,187
forest . And do we have enough doctors , 

595
00:25:57,187 --> 00:26:01,040
nurses and medics uh or Corman uh in 

596
00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:04,690
the uh fielded force to handle combat 

597
00:26:04,690 --> 00:26:06,910
conditions . And are there enough 

598
00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:09,700
doctors and nurses available to man 

599
00:26:09,700 --> 00:26:11,644
combat support hospitals and other 

600
00:26:11,644 --> 00:26:13,756
field hospitals that are necessary in 

601
00:26:13,756 --> 00:26:15,867
combat ? And and candidly , I do have 

602
00:26:15,867 --> 00:26:17,756
concerns about that . It's a very 

603
00:26:17,756 --> 00:26:19,644
challenging subset of our overall 

604
00:26:19,644 --> 00:26:22,260
military personnel challenges , but 

605
00:26:22,260 --> 00:26:24,370
that one in particular causes great 

606
00:26:24,370 --> 00:26:26,481
attention because in time of war , as 

607
00:26:26,481 --> 00:26:28,592
we all know , there'll be significant 

608
00:26:28,592 --> 00:26:30,814
casualties in peacetime . You're you're 

609
00:26:30,814 --> 00:26:33,037
manning these uh treatment facilities , 

610
00:26:33,037 --> 00:26:34,981
these hospitals and clinics but in 

611
00:26:34,981 --> 00:26:37,092
wartime they're gonna go forward . Uh 

612
00:26:37,092 --> 00:26:39,259
And that is where the readiness issues 

613
00:26:39,259 --> 00:26:41,426
will show up right now . We're okay on 

614
00:26:41,426 --> 00:26:43,370
a day to day basis . But I do have 

615
00:26:43,370 --> 00:26:45,250
concerns that if we did have a 

616
00:26:45,260 --> 00:26:47,390
significant conflict in terms of our 

617
00:26:47,390 --> 00:26:49,557
medical personnel and their ability to 

618
00:26:49,557 --> 00:26:52,640
deploy Madam chair ? I have another 

619
00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:54,696
question , but I'm just about out of 

620
00:26:54,696 --> 00:26:56,730
time . So I'll submit that for the 

621
00:26:56,730 --> 00:26:59,270
record and I yield back . Thank you . 

622
00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:03,496
Thank you MS kirkpatrick . And we're 

623
00:27:03,496 --> 00:27:05,730
going to be having a military health 

624
00:27:05,740 --> 00:27:08,040
hearing or we'll get in more depth than 

625
00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:10,550
that . Mr Diaz Balart has so many 

626
00:27:10,550 --> 00:27:12,606
questions for the record , he had to 

627
00:27:12,606 --> 00:27:14,717
leave . So we're going to ensure that 

628
00:27:14,717 --> 00:27:16,994
Mr Rogers and then Mr excuse me , miss , 

629
00:27:16,994 --> 00:27:20,640
boost house Mr Rogers , the 

630
00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:24,390
secretary undersecretary , but it's on 

631
00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:28,060
you hear in general , 

632
00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:30,410
Welcome and thank you for your 

633
00:27:30,410 --> 00:27:33,050
lifetimes of service to the country . 

634
00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:36,810
It's appreciated by millions of 

635
00:27:36,810 --> 00:27:40,710
americans . Um Let me bring up a topic 

636
00:27:40,710 --> 00:27:44,580
that it is tough to deal 

637
00:27:44,580 --> 00:27:47,860
with . And that's escalation are the 

638
00:27:47,860 --> 00:27:51,170
possibilities of escalation in Ukraine . 

639
00:27:52,140 --> 00:27:55,870
I know it's our policy uh to 

640
00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:59,350
not be directly involved . Uh 

641
00:27:59,350 --> 00:28:02,240
and you've maintained that distance . 

642
00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:06,710
However , the Russians have no 

643
00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:09,020
compunction about the morals or fair 

644
00:28:09,020 --> 00:28:12,270
play or rules of war if he will 

645
00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:15,670
and are demonstrating that daily 

646
00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:21,160
um suppose for a moment 

647
00:28:22,140 --> 00:28:24,620
that the Russians decided to go after 

648
00:28:24,630 --> 00:28:27,930
the missile sites in Poland 

649
00:28:28,740 --> 00:28:32,550
or in the region of any sort , 

650
00:28:33,940 --> 00:28:37,880
what do we do ? What are the 

651
00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:40,760
rules of the game that we're into here 

652
00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:43,660
in this and this battle . 

653
00:28:45,140 --> 00:28:48,000
Well , thanks , sir . Um and to your 

654
00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:51,460
point is always dangerous . 

655
00:28:52,430 --> 00:28:55,460
Two go down the road of hypotheticals , 

656
00:28:55,460 --> 00:28:57,682
but this is an issue that's very , very 

657
00:28:57,682 --> 00:29:01,670
important . Uh If if Russia decides to 

658
00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:04,840
attack any nation , that's a NATO 

659
00:29:04,850 --> 00:29:07,520
member , uh then it's that's a game 

660
00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:10,960
changer . Uh then , you know , by 

661
00:29:11,540 --> 00:29:15,050
um With respect to the Article five 

662
00:29:15,050 --> 00:29:18,870
commitments , uh certainly NATO would 

663
00:29:18,870 --> 00:29:21,980
most likely respond as a as a coalition 

664
00:29:21,990 --> 00:29:24,101
in some shape , form or fashion . And 

665
00:29:24,101 --> 00:29:26,101
this is the thing that , you know , 

666
00:29:26,101 --> 00:29:28,268
NATO has , has looked at what it takes 

667
00:29:28,268 --> 00:29:30,560
to defend NATO countries . It's a thing 

668
00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:33,580
that's important to us as well . But as 

669
00:29:33,580 --> 00:29:36,450
you look at Putin's calculus , my view , 

670
00:29:36,460 --> 00:29:38,571
and I'm sure the chairman has his own 

671
00:29:38,571 --> 00:29:40,460
view . But my view is that Russia 

672
00:29:40,460 --> 00:29:43,210
doesn't want to take on the NATO NATO 

673
00:29:43,210 --> 00:29:47,200
alliance . He's got , you know , 

674
00:29:47,210 --> 00:29:50,590
a number of troops , a raid in the in 

675
00:29:50,590 --> 00:29:52,701
the region right now on the Ukrainian 

676
00:29:52,701 --> 00:29:55,870
border . Uh and uh he had some in 

677
00:29:55,870 --> 00:29:59,040
Belarus and still has some there . But 

678
00:29:59,050 --> 00:30:02,350
there are 1.9 million uh , forces in 

679
00:30:02,350 --> 00:30:06,170
NATO . NATO has the most most advanced 

680
00:30:06,180 --> 00:30:09,760
capabilities of any alliance in 

681
00:30:09,770 --> 00:30:12,300
in in the world , in terms of aircraft 

682
00:30:12,310 --> 00:30:15,560
ships , uh , you know , types of 

683
00:30:15,940 --> 00:30:18,560
weaponry that the ground forces use . 

684
00:30:18,620 --> 00:30:20,509
So this is a fight that he really 

685
00:30:20,509 --> 00:30:22,620
doesn't want to have . And that would 

686
00:30:22,620 --> 00:30:24,842
very quickly escalate into another type 

687
00:30:24,842 --> 00:30:27,176
of competition that no one wants to see . 

688
00:30:29,140 --> 00:30:32,900
Yeah , I would just uh say congressman 

689
00:30:32,900 --> 00:30:35,780
Rogers that um we monitor this 

690
00:30:35,790 --> 00:30:37,901
literally every day . It's one of the 

691
00:30:37,901 --> 00:30:40,068
most significant things we're doing is 

692
00:30:40,068 --> 00:30:41,901
monitoring the potential risk of 

693
00:30:41,901 --> 00:30:44,850
escalation in any domain uh and by 

694
00:30:44,850 --> 00:30:47,128
geography , by type of weapon etcetera . 

695
00:30:47,128 --> 00:30:49,239
And it's something that the Secretary 

696
00:30:49,239 --> 00:30:51,017
has this laser focused on , the 

697
00:30:51,017 --> 00:30:53,239
President , has this laser focused on ? 

698
00:30:53,239 --> 00:30:52,370
And the national security establishment 

699
00:30:52,370 --> 00:30:54,720
is monitoring very very closely . We 

700
00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:56,990
can give you a more thorough briefings 

701
00:30:57,000 --> 00:30:59,222
in a classified session . You asked the 

702
00:30:59,222 --> 00:31:01,444
question about what we would do ? Uh Of 

703
00:31:01,444 --> 00:31:03,740
course that's speculative . But there 

704
00:31:03,740 --> 00:31:05,907
are conditions , there are contingency 

705
00:31:05,907 --> 00:31:08,018
plans . There are things that we have 

706
00:31:08,018 --> 00:31:10,296
looked at and will continue to look at . 

707
00:31:10,296 --> 00:31:09,950
And we monitored every single day very 

708
00:31:09,950 --> 00:31:13,540
very closely are we prepared to respond 

709
00:31:13,550 --> 00:31:17,500
in some fashion ? I would say 

710
00:31:17,510 --> 00:31:20,160
that it depends on the , you know , the 

711
00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:23,400
situation type weapon uh nature of 

712
00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:25,233
escalation . Where was it was an 

713
00:31:25,233 --> 00:31:27,344
Article five , was it not ? There's a 

714
00:31:27,344 --> 00:31:29,567
there's a laundry list of questions and 

715
00:31:29,567 --> 00:31:29,230
depends on what the answers to those 

716
00:31:29,230 --> 00:31:31,452
questions are . But in the short answer 

717
00:31:31,452 --> 00:31:33,619
is yes , of course we are militarily . 

718
00:31:33,619 --> 00:31:35,841
We're very capable of responding to any 

719
00:31:35,841 --> 00:31:37,674
form or fashion of escalation if 

720
00:31:37,674 --> 00:31:39,841
directed by the President . And and so 

721
00:31:39,841 --> 00:31:42,008
you've heard the President say that we 

722
00:31:42,008 --> 00:31:44,570
will defend every inch of NATO . Uh And 

723
00:31:44,570 --> 00:31:48,290
you saw that resolve demonstrated uh 

724
00:31:48,300 --> 00:31:50,460
shortly after Putin launched his 

725
00:31:50,460 --> 00:31:53,290
invasion into Ukraine , we deployed 

726
00:31:53,290 --> 00:31:57,050
forces to reassure our allies in the 

727
00:31:57,050 --> 00:31:59,410
Baltic states and on the eastern front 

728
00:31:59,420 --> 00:32:02,570
of of NATO . Uh And the president has 

729
00:32:02,570 --> 00:32:05,160
been very clear about about his resolve 

730
00:32:05,540 --> 00:32:09,140
uh throughout this , he is committed to 

731
00:32:09,140 --> 00:32:12,330
defending every inch of NATO . Thank 

732
00:32:12,330 --> 00:32:15,920
you gentlemen . Thank you . Mr 

733
00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:18,360
Rogers . I'm going to read the next 

734
00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:20,870
four speakers . However , I will 

735
00:32:20,870 --> 00:32:23,590
recognize Mr cole , Should he walk in 

736
00:32:23,590 --> 00:32:26,160
immediately after MS bustos ? He's 

737
00:32:26,170 --> 00:32:28,440
ranking member on an NH sharing is 

738
00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:30,607
taking place across the hall with that 

739
00:32:30,607 --> 00:32:33,080
will be miss boost owes Miss Kaptur , 

740
00:32:33,090 --> 00:32:35,430
Mr Ryan and Mr Kilmer , Mrs bastos , 

741
00:32:35,430 --> 00:32:37,486
you're now recognized . Okay , thank 

742
00:32:37,486 --> 00:32:39,597
you madam Chair , appreciate it . And 

743
00:32:39,597 --> 00:32:41,597
thanks to our distinguished panel , 

744
00:32:41,597 --> 00:32:43,874
appreciate your service to our country . 

745
00:32:43,874 --> 00:32:46,041
Um I the congressional district that I 

746
00:32:46,041 --> 00:32:48,263
represent is in uh the entire northwest 

747
00:32:48,263 --> 00:32:50,041
corner of the state of Illinois 

748
00:32:50,041 --> 00:32:52,208
includes the Rock Island arsenal . And 

749
00:32:52,208 --> 00:32:54,263
so I'd like to ask a question around 

750
00:32:54,263 --> 00:32:56,208
that . Um you know , we talk a lot 

751
00:32:56,208 --> 00:32:58,490
about ships and planes and space 

752
00:32:58,490 --> 00:33:00,546
capabilities when we when we look at 

753
00:33:00,546 --> 00:33:03,160
our our national defense . Um it but 

754
00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:05,460
the majority of the sustainment burden 

755
00:33:06,140 --> 00:33:09,700
um for a prolonged conflict is 

756
00:33:09,710 --> 00:33:11,377
going to rest with the army , 

757
00:33:11,377 --> 00:33:13,543
specifically the sustainment command . 

758
00:33:13,940 --> 00:33:17,230
And obviously that is part of the 

759
00:33:17,230 --> 00:33:19,590
arsenal that leads to my question . Um 

760
00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:21,822
if you if you look at history , we know 

761
00:33:21,822 --> 00:33:23,767
the pivotal role that the the army 

762
00:33:23,767 --> 00:33:25,933
played in our victories in the pacific 

763
00:33:25,933 --> 00:33:27,933
during World War Two . So wondering 

764
00:33:27,933 --> 00:33:30,750
about the how we prioritize and account 

765
00:33:30,750 --> 00:33:32,639
for this in the army's budget and 

766
00:33:32,639 --> 00:33:35,280
planning if we assume significantly 

767
00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:37,391
larger investments in the departments 

768
00:33:37,391 --> 00:33:40,550
of Air Force and Navy and maybe uh well , 

769
00:33:40,550 --> 00:33:42,661
we'll start with you , General Austin 

770
00:33:42,661 --> 00:33:45,510
if you could address that please , of 

771
00:33:45,510 --> 00:33:47,621
course . You know , we start with the 

772
00:33:47,621 --> 00:33:51,270
strategy as we've said earlier . 

773
00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:54,160
Uh and then we make our investments 

774
00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:56,160
based upon what it takes to support 

775
00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:58,271
that strategy . And you are correct , 

776
00:33:58,271 --> 00:34:01,640
the army has played a critical role in 

777
00:34:01,650 --> 00:34:03,950
in the past . It is playing a critical 

778
00:34:03,950 --> 00:34:05,950
role as we speak and it will always 

779
00:34:05,950 --> 00:34:08,061
play a critical role . Uh If you look 

780
00:34:08,061 --> 00:34:10,360
at what what the secretary of the army 

781
00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:13,410
and the and the chief of the army uh is 

782
00:34:13,420 --> 00:34:15,980
what they're trying to do in terms of 

783
00:34:15,990 --> 00:34:18,046
making sure that they can meet their 

784
00:34:18,046 --> 00:34:20,046
requirements and also modernize the 

785
00:34:20,046 --> 00:34:22,110
force going forward . You know , 

786
00:34:22,110 --> 00:34:23,980
they're basing their request for 

787
00:34:23,980 --> 00:34:26,480
resources on that . And we think , as 

788
00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:28,647
you've heard me say earlier , I mean , 

789
00:34:28,647 --> 00:34:32,010
there's there's 13 billion dollars are 

790
00:34:32,010 --> 00:34:35,020
so focused on in in this budget , 

791
00:34:35,020 --> 00:34:36,964
focused on making sure that we can 

792
00:34:36,964 --> 00:34:39,180
maintain a combat credible land force 

793
00:34:39,180 --> 00:34:41,440
for both the army and the marines and 

794
00:34:41,450 --> 00:34:44,800
and and I really like what we see both 

795
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:47,022
the army and the marines doing in terms 

796
00:34:47,022 --> 00:34:49,133
of their investment and modernization 

797
00:34:49,133 --> 00:34:51,300
and and they're focused on making sure 

798
00:34:51,300 --> 00:34:52,911
that they're relevant in any 

799
00:34:52,911 --> 00:34:55,420
competition , especially uh any 

800
00:34:55,420 --> 00:34:57,610
anticipated competition with our any 

801
00:34:57,610 --> 00:35:00,710
indo pacific general Milley , anything 

802
00:35:00,710 --> 00:35:04,580
to add to that the the army um relative 

803
00:35:04,580 --> 00:35:06,580
to the pacific and relative to some 

804
00:35:06,580 --> 00:35:08,691
sort of scenario against the people's 

805
00:35:08,691 --> 00:35:10,380
Republic of china . It is our 

806
00:35:10,380 --> 00:35:12,436
estimation that the weight of effort 

807
00:35:12,436 --> 00:35:14,602
would likely be air and sea , maritime 

808
00:35:14,602 --> 00:35:17,980
and and and and air forces . But having 

809
00:35:17,980 --> 00:35:20,202
said that the marines and the army will 

810
00:35:20,202 --> 00:35:22,424
play a very , very critical role in any 

811
00:35:22,424 --> 00:35:24,647
of those scenarios as they did . And as 

812
00:35:24,647 --> 00:35:26,647
you mentioned in World War Two , um 

813
00:35:26,647 --> 00:35:26,330
even though that was a maritime theater , 

814
00:35:26,330 --> 00:35:28,552
there was a tremendous amount of island 

815
00:35:28,552 --> 00:35:30,719
landings and seizures and so on and so 

816
00:35:30,719 --> 00:35:32,941
forth . So it is not a singular service 

817
00:35:32,941 --> 00:35:34,719
that is always a joint force uh 

818
00:35:34,719 --> 00:35:36,886
executing combined arms operations and 

819
00:35:36,886 --> 00:35:38,774
all the domains of war to achieve 

820
00:35:38,774 --> 00:35:41,550
integrated deterrence before war or to 

821
00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:44,170
achieve victory in the conduct of war . 

822
00:35:44,380 --> 00:35:46,380
The army plays a very critical role 

823
00:35:46,380 --> 00:35:48,547
there . So some of the things the army 

824
00:35:48,547 --> 00:35:51,540
is doing uh in in this budget in in in 

825
00:35:51,540 --> 00:35:53,596
in in their modernization programs . 

826
00:35:53,596 --> 00:35:55,429
Long range precision fires , for 

827
00:35:55,429 --> 00:35:57,429
example , is really critical to any 

828
00:35:57,429 --> 00:35:59,318
type of conflict in the pacific . 

829
00:35:59,318 --> 00:36:01,484
Another one is the transformation of a 

830
00:36:01,484 --> 00:36:03,730
bunch of uh their formations into multi 

831
00:36:03,730 --> 00:36:06,250
domain task forces . As another example , 

832
00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:08,470
they are making some fundamental 

833
00:36:08,470 --> 00:36:10,490
changes in the development of rotor 

834
00:36:10,490 --> 00:36:12,768
wing aircraft and future vertical lift . 

835
00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:15,182
There's a whole series of modernization 

836
00:36:15,182 --> 00:36:17,349
initiatives as we move into the future 

837
00:36:17,349 --> 00:36:19,571
into the change in the character of war 

838
00:36:19,571 --> 00:36:21,682
into the future operating environment 

839
00:36:21,682 --> 00:36:21,420
that the army is doing to transform 

840
00:36:21,420 --> 00:36:23,364
itself so that they can achieve an 

841
00:36:23,364 --> 00:36:25,309
effect not only in the pacific but 

842
00:36:25,309 --> 00:36:27,142
anywhere else in the world . The 

843
00:36:27,142 --> 00:36:29,309
modernization efforts are , are really 

844
00:36:29,309 --> 00:36:31,309
exciting . I coach here , the , the 

845
00:36:31,309 --> 00:36:33,420
Army Depot and arsenal caucus I coach 

846
00:36:33,420 --> 00:36:35,587
here that and we were briefed recently 

847
00:36:35,587 --> 00:36:37,753
on the modernization efforts and I'm , 

848
00:36:37,753 --> 00:36:39,976
I'm going to get into that a little bit 

849
00:36:39,976 --> 00:36:42,031
as well . So also at the Rock Island 

850
00:36:42,031 --> 00:36:44,142
arsenal were designated as the Army's 

851
00:36:44,142 --> 00:36:43,860
Advanced Manufacturing Center of 

852
00:36:43,860 --> 00:36:46,082
Excellence . We're very proud of that . 

853
00:36:46,082 --> 00:36:48,193
And , you know , obviously supporting 

854
00:36:48,193 --> 00:36:49,693
the Army's overall goal of 

855
00:36:49,693 --> 00:36:51,916
modernization . So I'd like to get your 

856
00:36:51,916 --> 00:36:54,082
thoughts on the importance of advanced 

857
00:36:54,082 --> 00:36:55,971
and additive manufacturing to the 

858
00:36:55,971 --> 00:36:58,138
Defense Department . Um , that is what 

859
00:36:58,138 --> 00:37:00,138
is being uh centralized through the 

860
00:37:00,138 --> 00:37:02,610
arsenal . General Thanks and thanks for 

861
00:37:02,610 --> 00:37:04,810
your support throughout that . Uh , 

862
00:37:04,820 --> 00:37:06,931
this is a very important capability . 

863
00:37:06,931 --> 00:37:09,390
Uh you know , if you look at additive 

864
00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:12,020
manufacturing , it enables us to 

865
00:37:12,020 --> 00:37:15,280
produce some some exquisite types of 

866
00:37:15,290 --> 00:37:19,250
components , um , and we can do that 

867
00:37:19,250 --> 00:37:22,530
forward uh and uh and and save time and 

868
00:37:22,530 --> 00:37:24,920
and stress on our on our logistical 

869
00:37:24,920 --> 00:37:27,140
change . Uh and uh and so I think it's 

870
00:37:27,140 --> 00:37:29,590
a great capability . And as this 

871
00:37:29,590 --> 00:37:31,479
continues to develop , I'm pretty 

872
00:37:31,479 --> 00:37:34,120
excited about the possibilities , but 

873
00:37:34,130 --> 00:37:36,352
we know that , you know , a lot of that 

874
00:37:36,352 --> 00:37:39,130
is playing out in your home state and 

875
00:37:39,130 --> 00:37:41,241
we we appreciate the support that you 

876
00:37:41,241 --> 00:37:43,740
provided them 13 seconds left . General 

877
00:37:43,740 --> 00:37:45,962
Milley . Anything to add to that . It's 

878
00:37:45,962 --> 00:37:48,018
a great capability and we appreciate 

879
00:37:48,018 --> 00:37:50,240
what's happening at Rock Island for the 

880
00:37:50,240 --> 00:37:49,640
entire force . You guys come over and 

881
00:37:49,640 --> 00:37:51,640
see us . Okay ? Absolutely , you're 

882
00:37:51,640 --> 00:37:53,610
invited . Thank you . I yield back 

883
00:37:53,610 --> 00:37:56,280
madam Chair . Thank you . Um , Mr cole 

884
00:37:56,290 --> 00:37:58,401
unfortunately will not be joining the 

885
00:37:58,401 --> 00:38:00,680
soviet cap . Miss Kaptur , Mr Ryan , Mr 

886
00:38:00,680 --> 00:38:02,902
Kilmer . And then Mr calvert and I will 

887
00:38:02,902 --> 00:38:06,640
um , wrap up the hearing . Miss Kaptur . 

888
00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:09,350
Thank you , madam Chair um Secretary 

889
00:38:09,350 --> 00:38:11,461
Austin General Milley , thank you for 

890
00:38:11,461 --> 00:38:14,050
your exemplary lifetime of service to 

891
00:38:14,060 --> 00:38:16,004
the people of our country . What a 

892
00:38:16,004 --> 00:38:18,060
great example each of you are to the 

893
00:38:18,060 --> 00:38:20,227
young people aspiring in our country . 

894
00:38:20,227 --> 00:38:22,116
Um , I'm gonna make just a couple 

895
00:38:22,116 --> 00:38:24,338
little short statements and then I will 

896
00:38:24,338 --> 00:38:26,970
focus on naval readiness . But I come 

897
00:38:26,970 --> 00:38:29,110
from the 4th Seacoast and as the 

898
00:38:29,110 --> 00:38:31,800
Department of Defense , uh , considers 

899
00:38:31,810 --> 00:38:34,480
deploying various assets . And uh , I 

900
00:38:34,480 --> 00:38:36,591
just ask you to , please don't forget 

901
00:38:36,591 --> 00:38:38,536
the defense industrial base of the 

902
00:38:38,536 --> 00:38:40,647
country which congresswoman Gusteau's 

903
00:38:40,647 --> 00:38:42,869
referenced right now , both in terms of 

904
00:38:42,869 --> 00:38:44,869
manufacturing capacity , as well as 

905
00:38:44,869 --> 00:38:47,091
energy . We are often overlooked as the 

906
00:38:47,091 --> 00:38:49,250
Four sea coast as we look at , um , 

907
00:38:49,420 --> 00:38:51,309
just the Washington dC area , for 

908
00:38:51,309 --> 00:38:53,880
example . And uh , so I just wanted to 

909
00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:56,380
point it to that fourth Seacoast . Uh , 

910
00:38:56,390 --> 00:38:58,500
secondly , in terms of issues , I'm 

911
00:38:58,500 --> 00:39:01,750
very concerned about our military and 

912
00:39:01,750 --> 00:39:03,972
the nutritional value of food served to 

913
00:39:03,972 --> 00:39:06,194
our military personnel having just come 

914
00:39:06,194 --> 00:39:08,306
back from graph in war and Russia and 

915
00:39:08,306 --> 00:39:10,306
Poland and I would like you to find 

916
00:39:10,306 --> 00:39:12,361
someone in the department that could 

917
00:39:12,361 --> 00:39:14,528
come to my office and we could discuss 

918
00:39:14,528 --> 00:39:16,528
this . I would be very grateful for 

919
00:39:16,528 --> 00:39:18,417
that . And then secondly , um the 

920
00:39:18,420 --> 00:39:21,830
question of Russian 

921
00:39:21,830 --> 00:39:25,480
vulnerabilities uh in terms of Ukraine 

922
00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:27,647
right now , I don't want to talk about 

923
00:39:27,647 --> 00:39:29,813
it here , but I hope someone somewhere 

924
00:39:29,813 --> 00:39:31,924
in the defense establishment would be 

925
00:39:31,924 --> 00:39:34,147
able to brief us on that as well as the 

926
00:39:34,147 --> 00:39:36,369
global energy supply issue and how that 

927
00:39:36,369 --> 00:39:38,424
relates to what is happening on that 

928
00:39:38,424 --> 00:39:40,980
continent , far from here . Uh thirdly , 

929
00:39:40,980 --> 00:39:43,440
I just wanted to mention the issue of 

930
00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:46,210
behavioral health and um , I was down 

931
00:39:46,210 --> 00:39:48,377
in south come with some of our members 

932
00:39:48,377 --> 00:39:50,543
years ago and shortly thereafter , the 

933
00:39:50,543 --> 00:39:52,543
topic of the meeting was behavioral 

934
00:39:52,543 --> 00:39:54,410
health , extremely high ranking 

935
00:39:54,410 --> 00:39:56,521
individual took his life in bahrain , 

936
00:39:56,521 --> 00:39:58,632
something that I had met down there . 

937
00:39:58,632 --> 00:40:00,799
And so um I can put this on the record 

938
00:40:00,799 --> 00:40:03,021
as a member of the mental health caucus 

939
00:40:03,021 --> 00:40:05,243
here in Congress . We have one , we are 

940
00:40:05,243 --> 00:40:07,299
100,000 neuropsychiatrist short as a 

941
00:40:07,299 --> 00:40:09,299
country . We are 400,000 behavioral 

942
00:40:09,299 --> 00:40:11,680
nurses short . So how do we attempt to 

943
00:40:11,680 --> 00:40:13,847
help the people of our country whether 

944
00:40:13,847 --> 00:40:16,030
they are principals in schools or 

945
00:40:16,210 --> 00:40:18,321
commanders of units in the military . 

946
00:40:18,321 --> 00:40:21,130
When we don't have the personnel to do 

947
00:40:21,130 --> 00:40:23,241
it , I would urge you to consider the 

948
00:40:23,241 --> 00:40:25,186
uniformed services , University of 

949
00:40:25,186 --> 00:40:27,410
Health Services as a portal where we 

950
00:40:27,410 --> 00:40:29,750
could create a program that would draw 

951
00:40:29,750 --> 00:40:31,972
people in , they're not going into this 

952
00:40:31,972 --> 00:40:34,139
field because they earn more operating 

953
00:40:34,139 --> 00:40:36,250
on people's needs than they do taking 

954
00:40:36,250 --> 00:40:35,790
care of their neuropsychiatric 

955
00:40:35,790 --> 00:40:37,957
conditions . But maybe we could have a 

956
00:40:37,957 --> 00:40:41,860
combined military civilian program 

957
00:40:41,920 --> 00:40:44,031
that would draw people into this . So 

958
00:40:44,031 --> 00:40:46,364
we could help the people of our country . 

959
00:40:46,364 --> 00:40:48,642
I just want to put that down . Finally , 

960
00:40:48,642 --> 00:40:50,864
in terms of naval readiness , I have to 

961
00:40:50,864 --> 00:40:50,200
say , I'm terribly concerned about what 

962
00:40:50,200 --> 00:40:52,311
happened on the George Washington and 

963
00:40:52,311 --> 00:40:54,670
on the wasp . I know that um , one of 

964
00:40:54,670 --> 00:40:56,892
my other subcommittees , we deal with , 

965
00:40:56,892 --> 00:41:00,060
um nuclear weapons and the time it's 

966
00:41:00,060 --> 00:41:02,910
taking both to retool the weapons as 

967
00:41:02,910 --> 00:41:05,910
well as repair ships is creating a 

968
00:41:05,910 --> 00:41:09,580
dispirited situation for some of our 

969
00:41:09,590 --> 00:41:12,360
naval personnel , for example , who 

970
00:41:12,370 --> 00:41:14,620
thought a ship would be maybe repaired 

971
00:41:14,620 --> 00:41:16,787
by , if it's sitting in Newport News , 

972
00:41:16,787 --> 00:41:18,898
you know , a year ago or a year and a 

973
00:41:18,898 --> 00:41:21,176
half ago for hundreds of those sailors , 

974
00:41:21,210 --> 00:41:24,180
they have no access to housing or a car 

975
00:41:24,190 --> 00:41:26,412
and they're stuck on the ship . This is 

976
00:41:26,412 --> 00:41:28,960
really demoralizing . And I am troubled 

977
00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:32,390
by the defense submission on , 

978
00:41:32,400 --> 00:41:35,050
on the navy because I see it getting 

979
00:41:35,050 --> 00:41:38,070
worse . Uh , and so I just wanted to 

980
00:41:38,070 --> 00:41:40,237
point a flashlight at this part of the 

981
00:41:40,237 --> 00:41:42,514
budget and say , we gotta do something . 

982
00:41:42,710 --> 00:41:45,540
I'm not sure what it is , but we can't 

983
00:41:45,540 --> 00:41:47,596
keep trying to do everything and not 

984
00:41:47,596 --> 00:41:50,260
doing it well And not taking care of 

985
00:41:50,260 --> 00:41:52,482
those who are in service to our country 

986
00:41:52,482 --> 00:41:54,704
right now and the equipment that we are 

987
00:41:54,704 --> 00:41:56,816
using and to try to get a faster pace 

988
00:41:56,816 --> 00:41:58,816
to repair that George Washington is 

989
00:41:58,816 --> 00:42:00,871
going to be up there and uh dry dock 

990
00:42:00,871 --> 00:42:02,982
for another year . It was supposed to 

991
00:42:02,982 --> 00:42:04,982
be finished in 2022 . So I'm really 

992
00:42:04,982 --> 00:42:07,204
worried about this issue and I'm hoping 

993
00:42:07,204 --> 00:42:09,427
that another briefing or somehow we can 

994
00:42:09,700 --> 00:42:11,644
get greater clarity on where we're 

995
00:42:11,644 --> 00:42:13,644
headed on this . So if you have any 

996
00:42:13,644 --> 00:42:15,811
comments about naval readiness and the 

997
00:42:15,811 --> 00:42:18,210
backlog of repair its impact on morale 

998
00:42:18,640 --> 00:42:21,180
and where we head your budget makes me 

999
00:42:21,180 --> 00:42:24,440
even more nervous . Mr Secretary I'll 

1000
00:42:24,440 --> 00:42:26,662
yield miss capturing additional minutes 

1001
00:42:26,662 --> 00:42:28,860
so that you can start answering that 

1002
00:42:28,860 --> 00:42:31,082
question and the rest will take for the 

1003
00:42:31,082 --> 00:42:33,193
record . Mr . Secretary . Okay . Well 

1004
00:42:33,193 --> 00:42:36,130
um certainly I share your concern 

1005
00:42:36,140 --> 00:42:38,790
on the issue of mental health and 

1006
00:42:39,200 --> 00:42:42,020
and and you know our 

1007
00:42:42,400 --> 00:42:46,250
access to uh to resources and 

1008
00:42:46,250 --> 00:42:48,472
that's why we're asking you for in this 

1009
00:42:48,472 --> 00:42:51,300
budget additional resources to help us 

1010
00:42:51,300 --> 00:42:53,520
provide greater access to our troops 

1011
00:42:54,000 --> 00:42:56,880
which includes telehealth care 

1012
00:42:56,890 --> 00:43:00,530
opportunities as well . But this is a 

1013
00:43:00,540 --> 00:43:02,873
this is a really really important issue . 

1014
00:43:02,873 --> 00:43:05,040
I I certainly will take on your your 

1015
00:43:05,040 --> 00:43:07,580
recommendation to take a look at you 

1016
00:43:07,580 --> 00:43:09,580
know , our uniformed services piece 

1017
00:43:09,580 --> 00:43:11,810
here and what can be done there and you 

1018
00:43:11,810 --> 00:43:14,240
know so well we'll have somebody come 

1019
00:43:14,250 --> 00:43:16,360
come talk to you on the other issues 

1020
00:43:16,370 --> 00:43:18,426
that you raised as well . And if you 

1021
00:43:18,426 --> 00:43:21,660
want to talk on on global energy 

1022
00:43:21,660 --> 00:43:24,590
supplies we can we'll liaise with the 

1023
00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:26,711
with the O . E . As well to make sure 

1024
00:43:26,711 --> 00:43:29,100
that there they know you have an 

1025
00:43:29,100 --> 00:43:32,330
interest here . Um the repair of a 

1026
00:43:32,330 --> 00:43:34,640
nuclear carrier is is very very 

1027
00:43:34,650 --> 00:43:38,220
sophisticated when you especially uh 

1028
00:43:38,230 --> 00:43:40,508
that level of repair that it's ongoing . 

1029
00:43:40,700 --> 00:43:43,140
The pressure that Covid has put on on 

1030
00:43:43,150 --> 00:43:46,500
all of our enterprise is 

1031
00:43:46,500 --> 00:43:48,556
significant . But you know that that 

1032
00:43:48,556 --> 00:43:50,667
work has continued . Certainly not at 

1033
00:43:50,667 --> 00:43:52,722
the pace that we we'd like to see it 

1034
00:43:52,722 --> 00:43:55,110
continue . Um You know that there's uh 

1035
00:43:55,120 --> 00:43:57,670
there are two investigations ongoing by 

1036
00:43:57,670 --> 00:44:00,370
the navy on the George Washington issue . 

1037
00:44:00,380 --> 00:44:03,240
Um And I'm I look forward to seeing the 

1038
00:44:03,250 --> 00:44:06,490
results of Of those investigations . 

1039
00:44:06,490 --> 00:44:08,601
And I think the Secretary of the Navy 

1040
00:44:08,601 --> 00:44:10,860
is headed down to visit with the George 

1041
00:44:10,860 --> 00:44:13,320
Washington chain of command here on the 

1042
00:44:13,320 --> 00:44:16,100
17th . Uh and uh and should have 

1043
00:44:16,110 --> 00:44:18,520
greater insights to provide uh from 

1044
00:44:18,520 --> 00:44:21,300
that visit as well . There are choices 

1045
00:44:21,300 --> 00:44:24,560
that that have been made or or will be 

1046
00:44:24,560 --> 00:44:26,727
made in the future in terms of how you 

1047
00:44:26,727 --> 00:44:28,893
build it sailors when when that repair 

1048
00:44:28,893 --> 00:44:31,116
is ongoing . Whether or not we made the 

1049
00:44:31,116 --> 00:44:33,282
right choices is left to be seen . You 

1050
00:44:33,282 --> 00:44:35,227
know , certainly there's a problem 

1051
00:44:35,227 --> 00:44:37,338
there . We got to understand what the 

1052
00:44:37,338 --> 00:44:39,449
problem was a bit a bit more . Uh And 

1053
00:44:39,449 --> 00:44:41,560
then uh we have to figure out what to 

1054
00:44:41,560 --> 00:44:43,671
do to ensure that we don't have these 

1055
00:44:43,671 --> 00:44:45,727
kinds of problems in the future . Uh 

1056
00:44:45,727 --> 00:44:48,004
Again I don't think it was anticipated , 

1057
00:44:48,004 --> 00:44:50,290
certainly was was not anticipated that 

1058
00:44:50,290 --> 00:44:53,520
the ship would be and repair us repair 

1059
00:44:53,520 --> 00:44:55,920
cycle this long . But nonetheless I 

1060
00:44:55,930 --> 00:44:58,152
expect the leadership to make the right 

1061
00:44:58,152 --> 00:45:00,319
decisions and I look forward to seeing 

1062
00:45:00,319 --> 00:45:02,374
what the investigations are going to 

1063
00:45:02,374 --> 00:45:04,486
show us here . Thank you Mr Secretary 

1064
00:45:04,486 --> 00:45:06,486
Mr Ryan and Mr Kilmer . Thank you , 

1065
00:45:06,486 --> 00:45:08,610
Madam Chair . Let me extend my thanks 

1066
00:45:08,610 --> 00:45:10,554
as well . I can't imagine how many 

1067
00:45:10,554 --> 00:45:12,610
sleepless nights you've had over the 

1068
00:45:12,610 --> 00:45:14,777
past few months and we appreciate it . 

1069
00:45:14,777 --> 00:45:14,620
You're the defenders of freedom in this 

1070
00:45:14,620 --> 00:45:16,676
country and and we're here to try to 

1071
00:45:16,676 --> 00:45:19,100
help and support the best we can . I'm 

1072
00:45:19,100 --> 00:45:21,420
gonna kind of go through a few things 

1073
00:45:21,430 --> 00:45:23,760
comments before I have my question 

1074
00:45:24,290 --> 00:45:26,520
first . Let me just say my own personal 

1075
00:45:26,520 --> 00:45:28,576
opinion . We know this ultimately is 

1076
00:45:28,576 --> 00:45:31,310
going to be the decision of Ukraine and 

1077
00:45:31,310 --> 00:45:33,820
their leadership , but I don't think 

1078
00:45:33,930 --> 00:45:36,097
that the Russians should be allowed to 

1079
00:45:36,097 --> 00:45:37,986
have an inch of territory in that 

1080
00:45:37,986 --> 00:45:39,986
country . I just don't think we can 

1081
00:45:39,986 --> 00:45:42,208
reward this kind of behavior and I know 

1082
00:45:42,208 --> 00:45:44,430
it's clearly more complicated than that 

1083
00:45:44,430 --> 00:45:46,430
but I think it's important that you 

1084
00:45:46,430 --> 00:45:48,541
know where we stand um to get to some 

1085
00:45:48,541 --> 00:45:50,860
of the issues Miss Kaptur brought up 

1086
00:45:50,860 --> 00:45:53,170
around the mental health um haven't 

1087
00:45:53,170 --> 00:45:55,340
worked on these issues for a long time 

1088
00:45:55,340 --> 00:45:57,396
and Mr Secretary , you mentioned the 

1089
00:45:57,396 --> 00:45:59,990
suicide issue which is pervasive across 

1090
00:45:59,990 --> 00:46:02,210
our society . Now , one of the 

1091
00:46:02,220 --> 00:46:04,530
recommendations I would give is and 

1092
00:46:04,540 --> 00:46:06,762
we've been trying to work on this . How 

1093
00:46:06,762 --> 00:46:08,873
do you evaluate people who are coming 

1094
00:46:08,873 --> 00:46:12,000
into the military ? One of the more 

1095
00:46:12,000 --> 00:46:14,960
recent analysis of this issue is around 

1096
00:46:14,970 --> 00:46:17,500
adverse childhood experiences where 

1097
00:46:17,510 --> 00:46:19,550
people coming into the military are 

1098
00:46:19,550 --> 00:46:23,270
bringing trauma from their childhood 

1099
00:46:23,270 --> 00:46:25,670
could be multiple adverse childhood 

1100
00:46:25,670 --> 00:46:27,837
experiences . But in each one of these 

1101
00:46:27,837 --> 00:46:30,150
experiences , it increases your rates 

1102
00:46:30,150 --> 00:46:32,372
of depression , increases your rates of 

1103
00:46:32,372 --> 00:46:34,483
mental health issues , increases your 

1104
00:46:34,483 --> 00:46:36,706
rates of suicide . So I think if you're 

1105
00:46:36,706 --> 00:46:38,928
gonna go at this thing really trying to 

1106
00:46:38,928 --> 00:46:41,150
get some , get some knowledge about the 

1107
00:46:41,150 --> 00:46:43,206
person before they even step foot in 

1108
00:46:43,206 --> 00:46:45,539
the military and that will help I think , 

1109
00:46:45,539 --> 00:46:47,650
begin to try to address some of those 

1110
00:46:47,650 --> 00:46:50,090
issues . Um , I also want to mention 

1111
00:46:50,100 --> 00:46:52,550
having more of a whole of government 

1112
00:46:52,550 --> 00:46:54,870
approach . Um you look at the problems 

1113
00:46:54,870 --> 00:46:57,092
that we have now in in eastern europe . 

1114
00:46:57,092 --> 00:46:59,800
A lot of this uh , is because of the 

1115
00:46:59,800 --> 00:47:02,890
energy issue and the over reliance on 

1116
00:47:02,900 --> 00:47:06,800
on Russia for oil and gas . And 

1117
00:47:06,810 --> 00:47:09,210
I think a whole of government approach , 

1118
00:47:09,880 --> 00:47:12,213
we have gas in Eastern Ohio , Western P . 

1119
00:47:12,213 --> 00:47:15,470
A . Utica , shale , marcellus shale , 

1120
00:47:15,470 --> 00:47:18,760
how do we build the infrastructure to 

1121
00:47:18,760 --> 00:47:21,190
get this gas , liquid natural gas or 

1122
00:47:21,190 --> 00:47:23,412
whatever it is out of Eastern Ohio , to 

1123
00:47:23,412 --> 00:47:27,000
eastern europe . And and having a , you 

1124
00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:28,944
know , obviously not necessarily a 

1125
00:47:28,944 --> 00:47:32,840
short term solution , but amid to long 

1126
00:47:32,840 --> 00:47:35,590
term solution to help our help our 

1127
00:47:35,590 --> 00:47:38,860
allies in europe be more reliant on 

1128
00:47:38,870 --> 00:47:41,000
american energy than on on Vladimir 

1129
00:47:41,000 --> 00:47:43,240
Putin , which could uh , I think , you 

1130
00:47:43,240 --> 00:47:45,296
know , knock the legs out from under 

1131
00:47:45,296 --> 00:47:47,540
him . Um lastly and Miss Kaptur brought 

1132
00:47:47,540 --> 00:47:49,707
this up to and she mentioned it around 

1133
00:47:49,707 --> 00:47:52,130
the issue of food and you know it may 

1134
00:47:52,130 --> 00:47:54,130
seem like an ancillary issue in the 

1135
00:47:54,130 --> 00:47:56,190
military but we've seen from recent 

1136
00:47:56,190 --> 00:47:59,130
studies multiple studies showing 

1137
00:47:59,130 --> 00:48:01,870
increased rates of obesity , increased 

1138
00:48:01,870 --> 00:48:04,570
rates of diabetes in the military . A 

1139
00:48:04,580 --> 00:48:06,747
few years ago I sat on the the V . A . 

1140
00:48:06,747 --> 00:48:08,747
Committee . Right ? So we're seeing 

1141
00:48:08,747 --> 00:48:10,747
like what are we feeding our troops 

1142
00:48:10,747 --> 00:48:12,747
when they're active and now we have 

1143
00:48:12,747 --> 00:48:14,802
obesity and diabetes when they go to 

1144
00:48:14,802 --> 00:48:17,024
the V . A . Which is driving up costs . 

1145
00:48:17,290 --> 00:48:19,512
And I've been working on this issue for 

1146
00:48:19,512 --> 00:48:21,512
a couple of years and we've had the 

1147
00:48:21,512 --> 00:48:23,512
army make promises about the campus 

1148
00:48:23,512 --> 00:48:25,568
dining pilot . The Air Force Academy 

1149
00:48:25,568 --> 00:48:27,734
which in good faith that got shut down 

1150
00:48:27,734 --> 00:48:29,790
because of the pandemic . Um but the 

1151
00:48:29,790 --> 00:48:32,012
superintendent there promised to resume 

1152
00:48:32,012 --> 00:48:34,012
the program . Air Force promised to 

1153
00:48:34,012 --> 00:48:36,179
expand their food 2.0 modernization to 

1154
00:48:36,179 --> 00:48:39,590
food 3.0 none of these services 

1155
00:48:39,590 --> 00:48:41,757
mentioned fulfilled their assurances . 

1156
00:48:41,757 --> 00:48:43,923
Um Navy and Marine Corps did not break 

1157
00:48:43,923 --> 00:48:46,090
any promises because they haven't made 

1158
00:48:46,090 --> 00:48:49,880
any promises . Um But to me uh the when 

1159
00:48:49,880 --> 00:48:52,030
you see the recently published report 

1160
00:48:52,030 --> 00:48:54,363
on the military food system , the G . O . 

1161
00:48:54,363 --> 00:48:56,308
Found that each service is abysmal 

1162
00:48:56,308 --> 00:48:58,860
managed biz mally managed its food 

1163
00:48:58,860 --> 00:49:01,550
systems . And I just think this is this 

1164
00:49:01,550 --> 00:49:03,772
is something that it's so complicated . 

1165
00:49:03,772 --> 00:49:05,994
My staff brought me a flow chart of how 

1166
00:49:05,994 --> 00:49:07,880
how the food system works in the 

1167
00:49:07,880 --> 00:49:10,102
military . It's insane . I mean there's 

1168
00:49:10,102 --> 00:49:12,269
so many it's dry . You know there's no 

1169
00:49:12,269 --> 00:49:14,800
there's no flow . Um and I just want to 

1170
00:49:14,800 --> 00:49:17,520
be very clear this is not a food . Um 

1171
00:49:17,530 --> 00:49:19,197
This is a food management and 

1172
00:49:19,197 --> 00:49:21,086
operations problem . This isn't a 

1173
00:49:21,086 --> 00:49:23,086
nutrition problem . Everybody knows 

1174
00:49:23,086 --> 00:49:25,252
what we should be eating . I mean it's 

1175
00:49:25,252 --> 00:49:27,474
it's Pretty common knowledge . Um so in 

1176
00:49:27,474 --> 00:49:29,100
in 22 Mr Secretary we passed 

1177
00:49:29,100 --> 00:49:31,267
legislation recommending the formation 

1178
00:49:31,267 --> 00:49:33,840
of a food transformation cell which in 

1179
00:49:33,850 --> 00:49:35,961
within the office of the Secretary of 

1180
00:49:35,961 --> 00:49:38,294
Defense . And if you could just tell us , 

1181
00:49:38,294 --> 00:49:40,294
you know what the status is of that 

1182
00:49:40,294 --> 00:49:42,517
cell and and how you can assure us that 

1183
00:49:42,517 --> 00:49:44,794
as we move towards food transformation , 

1184
00:49:44,794 --> 00:49:46,794
there's not going to be more broken 

1185
00:49:46,794 --> 00:49:48,683
promises . I think this is a very 

1186
00:49:48,683 --> 00:49:50,739
important issue for us to save money 

1187
00:49:50,739 --> 00:49:52,906
that we can then put into , you know , 

1188
00:49:52,906 --> 00:49:54,850
a lot of these other programs . MR 

1189
00:49:54,850 --> 00:49:57,017
Secretary . Once again , I'll give you 

1190
00:49:57,017 --> 00:49:59,183
a few extra moments here to answer the 

1191
00:49:59,183 --> 00:49:58,850
question . Thank the chair for her 

1192
00:49:58,860 --> 00:50:01,810
generosity . Well , thanks sir . First 

1193
00:50:01,810 --> 00:50:03,754
of all , let me thank you for your 

1194
00:50:03,754 --> 00:50:05,699
interest in this and the work that 

1195
00:50:05,699 --> 00:50:07,866
you've done in the in the past . And I 

1196
00:50:07,866 --> 00:50:10,032
would I would like to say that I share 

1197
00:50:10,032 --> 00:50:13,750
your concerns on on the 

1198
00:50:13,750 --> 00:50:15,861
importance of this . And I think that 

1199
00:50:15,861 --> 00:50:18,028
the food transformation cell will will 

1200
00:50:18,028 --> 00:50:21,220
provide significant a benefit in terms 

1201
00:50:21,220 --> 00:50:23,276
of assisting us and coordinating our 

1202
00:50:23,276 --> 00:50:26,240
efforts here . Um that cell is going to 

1203
00:50:26,240 --> 00:50:29,650
be stood up in september and uh then in 

1204
00:50:29,650 --> 00:50:32,570
october will submit a report to you on 

1205
00:50:32,960 --> 00:50:35,260
on how we stood it up in in in the 

1206
00:50:35,260 --> 00:50:37,427
progress that's been made to date . So 

1207
00:50:37,427 --> 00:50:40,090
we're it's a it's a work in progress , 

1208
00:50:40,090 --> 00:50:42,090
but september is the date when that 

1209
00:50:42,090 --> 00:50:45,380
cell will start . Thank you . 

1210
00:50:46,360 --> 00:50:50,190
Mr Kilmer , thank you Madam Chair and 

1211
00:50:50,190 --> 00:50:52,580
thank you both for being with us . Um 

1212
00:50:52,580 --> 00:50:54,802
and and for your service to our country 

1213
00:50:54,802 --> 00:50:57,024
last year when you were in front of the 

1214
00:50:57,024 --> 00:50:58,858
subcommittee , I asked about the 

1215
00:50:58,858 --> 00:51:00,913
shipyard infrastructure optimization 

1216
00:51:00,913 --> 00:51:02,913
program , the psyoP , which is a 20 

1217
00:51:02,913 --> 00:51:04,636
year $21 billion investment in 

1218
00:51:04,636 --> 00:51:06,358
modernizing and optimizing our 

1219
00:51:06,358 --> 00:51:08,524
shipyards . Um , I was pleased to hear 

1220
00:51:08,524 --> 00:51:10,580
both of you say very positive things 

1221
00:51:10,580 --> 00:51:12,636
about that , about the importance of 

1222
00:51:12,636 --> 00:51:14,691
that in terms of the capacity of the 

1223
00:51:14,691 --> 00:51:16,858
navy to to meet its mission . Um , and 

1224
00:51:16,858 --> 00:51:18,913
just understanding how critical that 

1225
00:51:18,913 --> 00:51:21,024
was . And I want to , I want to thank 

1226
00:51:21,024 --> 00:51:20,940
you for that not only for your support 

1227
00:51:20,940 --> 00:51:23,162
of science but for our public shipyards 

1228
00:51:23,162 --> 00:51:26,180
to . Um Having said that , I am a bit 

1229
00:51:26,180 --> 00:51:28,069
worried that the programs falling 

1230
00:51:28,069 --> 00:51:30,124
behind in terms of both cost and and 

1231
00:51:30,124 --> 00:51:32,770
time , uh , not to put too fine a point 

1232
00:51:32,770 --> 00:51:34,826
on it , but this really matters . We 

1233
00:51:34,826 --> 00:51:37,048
don't have a shipyard on the west coast 

1234
00:51:37,048 --> 00:51:39,214
that can handle a ford class carrier . 

1235
00:51:39,214 --> 00:51:41,437
And so time is of the essence and would 

1236
00:51:41,437 --> 00:51:43,659
gleefully invite you to come come visit 

1237
00:51:43,659 --> 00:51:45,826
puget sound naval shipyard in , in our 

1238
00:51:45,826 --> 00:51:48,048
neck of the woods . Um the setup relies 

1239
00:51:48,048 --> 00:51:50,270
on area development plans to inform the 

1240
00:51:50,270 --> 00:51:52,437
optimization program a portions of the 

1241
00:51:52,437 --> 00:51:54,659
psyop and provide accurate schedule and 

1242
00:51:54,659 --> 00:51:56,381
cost estimates . Um Those were 

1243
00:51:56,381 --> 00:51:58,603
originally scheduled to be completed at 

1244
00:51:58,603 --> 00:52:00,770
the end of this fiscal year . It looks 

1245
00:52:00,770 --> 00:52:00,390
like that's probably gonna slip to the 

1246
00:52:00,390 --> 00:52:02,870
end of um next fiscal year . 

1247
00:52:04,050 --> 00:52:06,640
The or even later . The Navy almost 

1248
00:52:06,650 --> 00:52:08,660
also promised to provide a psyop 

1249
00:52:08,660 --> 00:52:10,716
strategic framework to coincide with 

1250
00:52:10,716 --> 00:52:12,938
the release of the President's budget . 

1251
00:52:12,938 --> 00:52:15,160
But Congress still hasn't received that 

1252
00:52:15,160 --> 00:52:17,460
plan . That guidance aligns all the 

1253
00:52:17,760 --> 00:52:19,982
activities and provides the overarching 

1254
00:52:19,982 --> 00:52:22,590
framework to implement psyoP as it 

1255
00:52:22,590 --> 00:52:24,423
moves from the planning into the 

1256
00:52:24,423 --> 00:52:27,030
execution phase . So I I'm just 

1257
00:52:27,030 --> 00:52:29,197
concerned that delays both to the area 

1258
00:52:29,197 --> 00:52:31,197
development plans and to the sea of 

1259
00:52:31,197 --> 00:52:33,460
strategic framework could postpone 

1260
00:52:33,460 --> 00:52:35,950
implementation of some investments that 

1261
00:52:35,950 --> 00:52:38,430
really need to happen for the Navy to 

1262
00:52:38,430 --> 00:52:41,990
meet its mission . Um So I guess I want 

1263
00:52:41,990 --> 00:52:44,157
to hear from you sort of what the plan 

1264
00:52:44,157 --> 00:52:46,046
is for just making sure that this 

1265
00:52:46,046 --> 00:52:48,920
program stays on track uh and and what 

1266
00:52:48,920 --> 00:52:51,198
your office is planning in that regard . 

1267
00:52:52,350 --> 00:52:54,517
Thanks sir . Thanks again . Thanks for 

1268
00:52:54,517 --> 00:52:56,628
your support and your focus on this . 

1269
00:52:56,628 --> 00:52:59,500
Um It is truly important in terms of 

1270
00:52:59,500 --> 00:53:01,940
making sure that we maintain a world 

1271
00:53:01,940 --> 00:53:03,970
class capability that we've had and 

1272
00:53:03,970 --> 00:53:06,081
will continue to have with our United 

1273
00:53:06,081 --> 00:53:09,330
States Navy . Um We 

1274
00:53:09,330 --> 00:53:12,560
invested in this last year . We're 

1275
00:53:12,560 --> 00:53:15,320
asking you for $1.7 billion dollars 

1276
00:53:15,500 --> 00:53:19,040
to uh to put towards this work going 

1277
00:53:19,040 --> 00:53:20,929
forward . It's that's an historic 

1278
00:53:20,929 --> 00:53:23,096
amount . It's twice the amount that we 

1279
00:53:23,096 --> 00:53:25,510
invested in last year . Um It certainly 

1280
00:53:25,510 --> 00:53:27,840
helps to get a budget passed on time so 

1281
00:53:27,840 --> 00:53:31,060
that we can make sure that that we're 

1282
00:53:31,450 --> 00:53:34,240
uh you know , implementing our plans on 

1283
00:53:34,250 --> 00:53:37,460
on time . Uh and uh and and 

1284
00:53:37,460 --> 00:53:40,190
clearly I believe that going forward 

1285
00:53:40,190 --> 00:53:42,301
without the impacts of Covid and some 

1286
00:53:42,301 --> 00:53:44,523
other things that we'll be able to come 

1287
00:53:44,523 --> 00:53:46,460
closer to meeting our goals and 

1288
00:53:46,460 --> 00:53:49,310
objectives . But but again we're not 

1289
00:53:49,310 --> 00:53:51,143
where we want to be . Uh this is 

1290
00:53:51,143 --> 00:53:53,570
important to the Navy and uh and again 

1291
00:53:53,580 --> 00:53:55,747
we'll make sure that the Navy is doing 

1292
00:53:55,747 --> 00:53:58,170
everything it can to maintain pace and 

1293
00:53:58,170 --> 00:54:00,226
we're gonna have to pick up the pace 

1294
00:54:00,226 --> 00:54:02,370
here . So do you envision a future in 

1295
00:54:02,370 --> 00:54:05,230
which we have to or you have to set 

1296
00:54:05,230 --> 00:54:07,063
specific targets and metrics and 

1297
00:54:07,063 --> 00:54:09,286
timelines and milestones to just ensure 

1298
00:54:09,286 --> 00:54:11,397
that the Navy's keep it on track ? Ah 

1299
00:54:12,040 --> 00:54:15,160
The Navy has those but but certainly 

1300
00:54:15,170 --> 00:54:18,350
making sure that they that they execute 

1301
00:54:18,360 --> 00:54:20,249
in accordance with the plan is is 

1302
00:54:20,249 --> 00:54:22,360
important . And if and if those those 

1303
00:54:22,360 --> 00:54:24,582
goals and objectives are insufficient , 

1304
00:54:24,582 --> 00:54:26,749
then , you know , we'll revisit that , 

1305
00:54:26,749 --> 00:54:28,916
let me ask what the time I have left . 

1306
00:54:28,916 --> 00:54:31,138
I know unmanned vehicles are a key part 

1307
00:54:31,138 --> 00:54:34,050
of the cutting edge technologies that D . 

1308
00:54:34,050 --> 00:54:36,217
O . D . Is using now and in the future 

1309
00:54:36,217 --> 00:54:38,439
to combat threats from Russia and china 

1310
00:54:38,439 --> 00:54:40,570
and elsewhere . Um the Navy's 30-year 

1311
00:54:40,570 --> 00:54:42,792
shipbuilding plan calls for an increase 

1312
00:54:42,792 --> 00:54:44,903
in unmanned assets that plan proposed 

1313
00:54:44,903 --> 00:54:46,570
to grow the fleet of unmanned 

1314
00:54:46,570 --> 00:54:48,626
subsurface vehicles from zero in the 

1315
00:54:48,626 --> 00:54:50,792
current inventory to potentially 50 by 

1316
00:54:50,792 --> 00:54:52,903
fiscal year 2045 . Um growth in these 

1317
00:54:52,903 --> 00:54:55,126
technologies will lean on installations 

1318
00:54:55,126 --> 00:54:57,126
including Keyport in my neck of the 

1319
00:54:57,126 --> 00:54:59,292
Woods , which is one of the leaders in 

1320
00:54:59,292 --> 00:55:01,292
U . U . V . S . Unmanned underwater 

1321
00:55:01,292 --> 00:55:03,126
vehicles . As the Navy begins to 

1322
00:55:03,126 --> 00:55:05,181
acquire more unmanned vehicles , how 

1323
00:55:05,181 --> 00:55:07,292
can Congress ensure the Navy is ready 

1324
00:55:07,292 --> 00:55:09,459
to operate this technology alongside a 

1325
00:55:09,459 --> 00:55:11,459
manned vehicles ? Well , you know , 

1326
00:55:11,459 --> 00:55:14,010
we're still learning a lot . I point to 

1327
00:55:14,010 --> 00:55:17,140
some of the work that The 5th Fleet 

1328
00:55:17,140 --> 00:55:19,640
Commanders doing out out in in the 

1329
00:55:19,650 --> 00:55:22,670
Middle East . This is tremendous 

1330
00:55:22,670 --> 00:55:24,720
capability that we've just begun to 

1331
00:55:24,720 --> 00:55:28,440
scratch the surface on in in 

1332
00:55:28,440 --> 00:55:30,607
terms of what it's gonna take to fully 

1333
00:55:30,607 --> 00:55:33,040
develop this . Um there are a bunch of 

1334
00:55:33,040 --> 00:55:35,680
unknowns now , but it's you know , I 

1335
00:55:35,680 --> 00:55:37,650
believe that this is this is a 

1336
00:55:37,650 --> 00:55:39,650
capability that we need to go after 

1337
00:55:40,440 --> 00:55:43,460
faster further and and and so I'll work 

1338
00:55:43,460 --> 00:55:45,830
with the CNO in the second half to 

1339
00:55:45,830 --> 00:55:47,941
ensure that , you know , they they're 

1340
00:55:47,941 --> 00:55:50,108
identifying what their needs are going 

1341
00:55:50,108 --> 00:55:52,330
forward and and that this capability is 

1342
00:55:52,330 --> 00:55:54,820
fully integrated into , you know , our 

1343
00:55:54,820 --> 00:55:58,400
man's surface and underwater 

1344
00:55:58,410 --> 00:56:00,730
capabilities as well . Thank you . 

1345
00:56:00,740 --> 00:56:02,684
Thank you , madame Sherri , you're 

1346
00:56:02,684 --> 00:56:05,980
better . Mhm . Mr calvert . Any closing 

1347
00:56:06,210 --> 00:56:08,580
remarks thank you , madam Chair and I'm 

1348
00:56:08,580 --> 00:56:11,450
going to submit a number of questions 

1349
00:56:11,930 --> 00:56:14,450
for the record and regarding innovation . 

1350
00:56:14,450 --> 00:56:17,970
Hypersonic Taiwan fuel costs a whole 

1351
00:56:17,980 --> 00:56:20,202
bunch of things that we don't have time 

1352
00:56:20,202 --> 00:56:22,313
to cover today , but General Miller , 

1353
00:56:22,730 --> 00:56:25,040
we had discussed this the other day and 

1354
00:56:25,040 --> 00:56:28,800
I after our HD exit from 

1355
00:56:28,800 --> 00:56:31,010
Afghanistan , I'm concerned about 

1356
00:56:31,010 --> 00:56:33,320
taking our eye off that region . 

1357
00:56:33,330 --> 00:56:36,300
Obviously it's still a problem . And as 

1358
00:56:36,300 --> 00:56:38,244
you know , three of the 13 service 

1359
00:56:38,244 --> 00:56:40,189
members killed in Afghanistan were 

1360
00:56:40,730 --> 00:56:43,270
either in or near my district in 

1361
00:56:43,270 --> 00:56:45,810
California . Lance corporal Kareem 

1362
00:56:45,810 --> 00:56:47,810
McCooey , corporal Hunter Lopez and 

1363
00:56:47,810 --> 00:56:50,470
Lance corporal Dylan Merola . The 

1364
00:56:50,480 --> 00:56:53,340
families of the fallen of these these 

1365
00:56:53,340 --> 00:56:55,780
folks , these these heroes want 

1366
00:56:55,790 --> 00:56:57,957
obviously justice and accountability , 

1367
00:56:58,730 --> 00:57:00,397
we can discuss this more in a 

1368
00:57:00,397 --> 00:57:02,563
classified setting , but as you know , 

1369
00:57:02,563 --> 00:57:04,860
we're doing what you're doing to to 

1370
00:57:04,860 --> 00:57:07,130
find and prosecute these terrorists 

1371
00:57:07,180 --> 00:57:09,347
conducted that suicide attack at Abbey 

1372
00:57:09,347 --> 00:57:12,950
Gate is extremely important . Not just 

1373
00:57:12,960 --> 00:57:14,960
not just to the families but to the 

1374
00:57:14,960 --> 00:57:16,904
morale of the United States Marine 

1375
00:57:16,904 --> 00:57:19,127
Corps that obviously went there and did 

1376
00:57:19,127 --> 00:57:21,330
their duty . Um , also , I'm concerned 

1377
00:57:21,330 --> 00:57:23,386
about the limitations presented over 

1378
00:57:23,386 --> 00:57:25,108
the horizon . Counterterrorism 

1379
00:57:25,108 --> 00:57:27,420
capability that potentially will allow 

1380
00:57:27,420 --> 00:57:31,000
ISIS K and Al Qaeda to regroup , I 

1381
00:57:31,010 --> 00:57:33,177
don't think we should take our eye off 

1382
00:57:33,177 --> 00:57:35,399
the ball on that And as much as you can 

1383
00:57:35,399 --> 00:57:37,840
say in a setting to ensure that Afghan 

1384
00:57:37,840 --> 00:57:39,896
never becomes a haven for terrorists 

1385
00:57:39,896 --> 00:57:43,290
again . I like to hear that and what 

1386
00:57:43,290 --> 00:57:45,850
kind of capability have we lost to 

1387
00:57:45,850 --> 00:57:48,060
conduct counterterrorism missions in 

1388
00:57:48,060 --> 00:57:51,770
the future . Well , first 

1389
00:57:52,120 --> 00:57:54,920
Carson let me say 

1390
00:57:56,030 --> 00:57:58,490
deeply , I feel personally and I know 

1391
00:57:58,620 --> 00:58:00,731
the Secretary does as well and all of 

1392
00:58:00,731 --> 00:58:02,676
the senior leaders in uniform feel 

1393
00:58:02,676 --> 00:58:04,898
about the loss of any of our soldiers , 

1394
00:58:04,898 --> 00:58:06,620
sailors , airmen , marines and 

1395
00:58:06,620 --> 00:58:08,787
particularly those 13 that were , that 

1396
00:58:08,787 --> 00:58:10,780
killed the navigate . We feel that 

1397
00:58:10,780 --> 00:58:12,447
personally , uh and none more 

1398
00:58:12,447 --> 00:58:14,447
personally than the families of the 

1399
00:58:14,447 --> 00:58:17,020
fallen . So we owe them , uh not only a 

1400
00:58:17,020 --> 00:58:19,120
great deal of gratitude , but we owe 

1401
00:58:19,120 --> 00:58:21,064
them accountability for those that 

1402
00:58:21,064 --> 00:58:23,176
killed their loved one . We know that 

1403
00:58:23,176 --> 00:58:25,287
and we have not forgotten and we will 

1404
00:58:25,287 --> 00:58:27,453
not forget not until justice is served 

1405
00:58:28,520 --> 00:58:30,853
with respect over the rising capability . 

1406
00:58:30,853 --> 00:58:32,909
I'd like to go into some detail in a 

1407
00:58:32,909 --> 00:58:35,220
classified session , but you and the 

1408
00:58:35,220 --> 00:58:37,220
american people should know that we 

1409
00:58:37,220 --> 00:58:40,270
remain committed as a military to the 

1410
00:58:40,270 --> 00:58:42,326
very first mission statement that we 

1411
00:58:42,326 --> 00:58:44,650
got in Afghanistan , which was to 

1412
00:58:44,650 --> 00:58:46,650
ensure that Afghanistan never again 

1413
00:58:46,650 --> 00:58:48,317
becomes a platform from which 

1414
00:58:48,317 --> 00:58:50,483
terrorists will strike the Continental 

1415
00:58:50,483 --> 00:58:52,650
United States . They haven't done that 

1416
00:58:52,650 --> 00:58:54,650
since 911 . And we are committed to 

1417
00:58:54,650 --> 00:58:56,817
making sure that never happens again . 

1418
00:58:56,817 --> 00:58:59,039
We do maintain surveillance and I won't 

1419
00:58:59,039 --> 00:59:00,983
go into the details of how or what 

1420
00:59:00,983 --> 00:59:03,200
forms or mechanisms uh and we do have 

1421
00:59:03,200 --> 00:59:05,144
the capabilities to conduct strike 

1422
00:59:05,144 --> 00:59:06,922
operations . If we see a threat 

1423
00:59:06,922 --> 00:59:09,200
emanating from the land of Afghanistan . 

1424
00:59:09,220 --> 00:59:11,331
But I'd prefer to take the rest of it 

1425
00:59:11,331 --> 00:59:13,750
into a classified session . Thank you . 

1426
00:59:14,120 --> 00:59:17,480
Thank you . Um , I think you heard 

1427
00:59:17,480 --> 00:59:19,369
quite a bit from this committee , 

1428
00:59:19,369 --> 00:59:22,540
concerns about um the Navy 

1429
00:59:23,020 --> 00:59:24,990
and shipbuilding and the number of 

1430
00:59:24,990 --> 00:59:27,212
ships and we're going to have Secretary 

1431
00:59:27,212 --> 00:59:29,268
of Navy in front of us . So I'm sure 

1432
00:59:29,268 --> 00:59:31,490
he's got a preview of what's what we're 

1433
00:59:31,490 --> 00:59:34,880
becoming their way . Um , One at one 

1434
00:59:34,880 --> 00:59:38,580
point that I spoke with with a 

1435
00:59:38,590 --> 00:59:41,730
view Secretary Austin when we met over 

1436
00:59:41,740 --> 00:59:43,940
a couple of months ago in the Senate 

1437
00:59:43,940 --> 00:59:47,720
and you um General Milley is 

1438
00:59:47,730 --> 00:59:50,690
uh the role of any if possible to 

1439
00:59:50,690 --> 00:59:52,746
repurpose . Maybe even work with the 

1440
00:59:52,746 --> 00:59:54,860
Coast Guard with any of the littoral 

1441
00:59:54,860 --> 00:59:57,570
combat ships in the atlantic china is 

1442
00:59:57,570 --> 00:59:59,681
also making inroads and wanting to be 

1443
00:59:59,681 --> 01:00:01,514
in atlantic and there might be a 

1444
01:00:01,514 --> 01:00:03,770
mission that they can be refitted for 

1445
01:00:03,770 --> 01:00:06,430
repurposed for not all of them , but 

1446
01:00:06,440 --> 01:00:08,607
working together with you . And I know 

1447
01:00:08,607 --> 01:00:10,829
that that's going to be pencil to paper 

1448
01:00:10,829 --> 01:00:12,940
to figure out if that if that's smart 

1449
01:00:12,940 --> 01:00:14,884
and if that works and working with 

1450
01:00:14,884 --> 01:00:17,051
africom and with um the bank Commander 

1451
01:00:17,051 --> 01:00:18,960
in latin America . But there is a 

1452
01:00:18,960 --> 01:00:21,016
simple fact here , the United States 

1453
01:00:21,016 --> 01:00:23,182
does not have the ship be shipbuilding 

1454
01:00:23,182 --> 01:00:25,350
industrial base to manufacture , let 

1455
01:00:25,350 --> 01:00:28,460
alone maintain a navy that can 

1456
01:00:28,460 --> 01:00:30,630
completely numerically compete with 

1457
01:00:30,630 --> 01:00:34,040
china . But quantity alone is not the 

1458
01:00:34,040 --> 01:00:36,630
point . It's quality and capability 

1459
01:00:36,640 --> 01:00:38,807
that matter . As you gentlemen pointed 

1460
01:00:38,807 --> 01:00:41,840
out , China might have 500 ships . But 

1461
01:00:41,840 --> 01:00:43,951
half of those ships are small support 

1462
01:00:43,951 --> 01:00:46,170
vessels that have no qualitative edge 

1463
01:00:46,180 --> 01:00:49,380
over a U . S . combat ship . The debate , 

1464
01:00:49,390 --> 01:00:51,057
I believe it needs to be very 

1465
01:00:51,057 --> 01:00:54,350
substantiated uh , and not uh , just 

1466
01:00:54,350 --> 01:00:56,572
picking a number that we think might be 

1467
01:00:56,572 --> 01:01:00,360
for the right uh , number of ships for 

1468
01:01:00,360 --> 01:01:02,700
the US to have . Um , that's why the 

1469
01:01:02,700 --> 01:01:05,010
concept of an integrated deterrence is 

1470
01:01:05,010 --> 01:01:06,788
so important . And then the new 

1471
01:01:06,788 --> 01:01:09,110
National Defense strategy talks quite a 

1472
01:01:09,110 --> 01:01:11,690
bit about this , the idea that it's 

1473
01:01:11,690 --> 01:01:13,912
necessary to confront china as a united 

1474
01:01:13,912 --> 01:01:16,630
front with our pacific allies , that we 

1475
01:01:16,630 --> 01:01:18,463
do not do it alone . We have the 

1476
01:01:18,463 --> 01:01:20,463
support of the Japanese , the south 

1477
01:01:20,463 --> 01:01:22,680
Koreans and the Australians , and only 

1478
01:01:22,680 --> 01:01:24,791
by leveraging our collective strength 

1479
01:01:25,010 --> 01:01:28,790
as democracies as democratic nations as 

1480
01:01:28,790 --> 01:01:31,030
we have done with NATO . And as we are 

1481
01:01:31,030 --> 01:01:34,230
doing right now , uh , in the battle 

1482
01:01:34,230 --> 01:01:37,480
for Ukraine to be a free and sovereign 

1483
01:01:37,480 --> 01:01:39,620
nation , we need to bring all our 

1484
01:01:39,620 --> 01:01:42,640
assets together . So for the record 

1485
01:01:42,870 --> 01:01:45,740
china , as as I said , has about 

1486
01:01:46,510 --> 01:01:49,650
500 ships . 230 are smaller support 

1487
01:01:49,650 --> 01:01:52,660
vessels . The United States has 290 

1488
01:01:52,660 --> 01:01:56,090
combat vessels . Japan has smaller 

1489
01:01:56,090 --> 01:01:59,560
support vessels , but they have 150 for 

1490
01:01:59,770 --> 01:02:03,580
South Korea has 160 ships . Some are 

1491
01:02:03,580 --> 01:02:06,640
small support vessels and Australia has 

1492
01:02:06,640 --> 01:02:10,340
43 . So , um , as we talk about how to 

1493
01:02:10,340 --> 01:02:12,340
right size , the number of ships we 

1494
01:02:12,340 --> 01:02:14,451
have , but also repair the ships that 

1495
01:02:14,451 --> 01:02:16,673
need to come in , we're gonna have some 

1496
01:02:16,673 --> 01:02:18,400
real in depth discussions with 

1497
01:02:18,400 --> 01:02:20,511
Secretary Navy about what's happening 

1498
01:02:20,511 --> 01:02:23,540
in our shipyards . Another item 

1499
01:02:23,550 --> 01:02:26,520
that this committee needs to work on 

1500
01:02:26,520 --> 01:02:29,440
and , and , and shipbuilding involves 

1501
01:02:29,450 --> 01:02:31,960
the public private partnerships that we 

1502
01:02:31,960 --> 01:02:34,127
have . It also involves milk on and it 

1503
01:02:34,127 --> 01:02:36,238
also involves the authorize ear's can 

1504
01:02:36,238 --> 01:02:38,238
mr calvert and I just don't do this 

1505
01:02:38,238 --> 01:02:40,238
alone . We're going to have to have 

1506
01:02:40,238 --> 01:02:43,350
robust discussions another another 

1507
01:02:43,350 --> 01:02:45,517
place where robust discussions have to 

1508
01:02:45,517 --> 01:02:47,572
take place because at the end of the 

1509
01:02:47,572 --> 01:02:49,794
day we're the bill payer uh needs to be 

1510
01:02:49,794 --> 01:02:52,017
on base realignment once again , that's 

1511
01:02:52,017 --> 01:02:54,128
going to be the authorizes that needs 

1512
01:02:54,128 --> 01:02:56,239
to be milk on and our committee . And 

1513
01:02:56,239 --> 01:02:58,406
these are uncomfortable discussions to 

1514
01:02:58,406 --> 01:03:01,180
have . I realize it but BRAC which is 

1515
01:03:01,180 --> 01:03:03,180
under the preview of the authorized 

1516
01:03:03,180 --> 01:03:05,380
users uh and the military uh 

1517
01:03:05,390 --> 01:03:07,750
construction subcommittee have to start 

1518
01:03:07,760 --> 01:03:10,093
working with us to address these issues . 

1519
01:03:10,093 --> 01:03:13,620
I want to fully state my support for a 

1520
01:03:13,620 --> 01:03:15,950
new round of BRAC . The department has 

1521
01:03:15,950 --> 01:03:17,894
stated in recent years that it has 

1522
01:03:17,894 --> 01:03:21,570
nearly 20% access infrastructure and we 

1523
01:03:21,570 --> 01:03:23,459
pay for that infrastructure to be 

1524
01:03:23,459 --> 01:03:25,459
maintained and it's doing nothing . 

1525
01:03:25,770 --> 01:03:27,937
Many of our installations were aligned 

1526
01:03:27,937 --> 01:03:30,214
and built in the wake of World War Two . 

1527
01:03:30,400 --> 01:03:33,550
And as we have clearly discussed today , 

1528
01:03:33,590 --> 01:03:35,770
the world has changed . A new round of 

1529
01:03:35,770 --> 01:03:37,714
BRAC is necessary and I believe it 

1530
01:03:37,714 --> 01:03:39,548
could save taxpayers billions of 

1531
01:03:39,548 --> 01:03:41,492
dollars and it could also save the 

1532
01:03:41,492 --> 01:03:43,660
department a lot of time and energy 

1533
01:03:43,660 --> 01:03:46,240
expenditures maintaining something that 

1534
01:03:46,240 --> 01:03:48,573
is not useful to the department anymore . 

1535
01:03:48,573 --> 01:03:50,740
I'm not asking you to comment on these 

1536
01:03:50,740 --> 01:03:52,462
issues . We will be submitting 

1537
01:03:52,462 --> 01:03:54,629
questions for the record and questions 

1538
01:03:54,629 --> 01:03:56,820
for the secretary . So I want to thank 

1539
01:03:56,820 --> 01:03:58,931
you both for coming . I want to thank 

1540
01:03:58,931 --> 01:04:00,987
you for answering our questions live 

1541
01:04:00,987 --> 01:04:03,209
today and taking all the questions that 

1542
01:04:03,209 --> 01:04:05,320
are coming your way in written form . 

1543
01:04:05,320 --> 01:04:07,542
And I also want to give a special thank 

1544
01:04:07,542 --> 01:04:09,709
you with and I think you'll agree with 

1545
01:04:09,709 --> 01:04:12,120
me too . Mr Mccarty . You have you are 

1546
01:04:12,120 --> 01:04:14,050
on call , you are in my office 

1547
01:04:14,050 --> 01:04:15,950
frequently . You take you take 

1548
01:04:15,950 --> 01:04:18,040
questions that this committee staff 

1549
01:04:18,050 --> 01:04:21,190
works on as we prepare the budget and 

1550
01:04:21,200 --> 01:04:23,033
um so that we have the best bill 

1551
01:04:23,033 --> 01:04:25,870
possible to make sure that our national 

1552
01:04:25,870 --> 01:04:28,510
defense needs are met . So thank you 

1553
01:04:28,510 --> 01:04:30,990
again . Thank you for all those who 

1554
01:04:30,990 --> 01:04:33,040
serve under you with you and your 

1555
01:04:33,040 --> 01:04:35,340
families . And this will conclude 

1556
01:04:35,340 --> 01:04:37,562
today's hearing and the committee . The 

1557
01:04:37,562 --> 01:04:38,980
subcommittee stands adjourned .