Calvert Remarks at Oversight Hearing on the Department of Defense
Today, the Subcommittee will convene for an open oversight hearing to receive testimony regarding the Department of Defense from The Honorable Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense, and General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Mr. Secretary and General Caine, congratulations to you both on your new roles and welcome to your first hearing before the Subcommittee. We look forward to working with you closely to provide for the common defense.
The work we do in this committee has never been more important. We are navigating an increasingly complex and uncertain global environment, with adversaries like China and Russia pursuing aggressive actions, and challenges in regions like the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East, and beyond. Our military must be prepared to meet those challenges, and that preparation requires substantial investments in both personnel and equipment. But we must also be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars. Balancing national security priorities with fiscal responsibility is a delicate but necessary task. Mr. Secretary, I commend you for quickly hitting the ground running in focusing on your key priorities of reviving the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military, reestablishing deterrence, and ensuring the defense of the homeland.
The American people expect their borders to be secure. The challenges at our southern border, including the ongoing flow of illegal drugs, human trafficking, and other illicit activities, are growing threats to our security. The cartels exploiting our border are increasingly sophisticated and dangerous, and the Department of Defense has a critical role in this fight. Mr. Secretary, I applaud your efforts in focusing resources to ensure the border is secured. I look forward to more discussion about what resources are necessary to keep the momentum going without compromising our ability to meet threats abroad.
I also want to hear from you both about the readiness of our force. I have heard from senior military leaders and service members alike about the ongoing concerns related to the health of our force, including the need for modernization and the ability to respond quickly to emerging threats. While this committee has consistently provided funding for investments in next-generation systems – from hypersonics to autonomous platforms – we are still seeing troubling delays and cost overruns in a number of programs. We simply cannot deter near-peer competitors like China by falling short in sustaining our defense industrial base. That is why it is crucial that we continue to focus on the pace of modernization, particularly in areas like air superiority and munitions production.
This Committee has also been steadfast in our support of entities within the Department that challenge the status quo, such as DIU, the Office of Strategic Capital, and APFIT. These innovation entities are alternative pathways to deliver capability quickly to the warfighter and I would appreciate the opportunity to work with you to bolster these activities as a way to bring disruption and competition into the Department which, in my experience, can yield better and faster results.
I also want to discuss the critical importance of our partnerships and alliances. The AUKUS agreement is one of the most significant defense initiatives in recent years, with the potential to reshape the strategic landscape in the Indo-Pacific. As we pursue these initiatives, we must ensure that we are maintaining our own military capabilities. Our shipbuilding programs remain over budget, behind schedule, and under-delivering. This is simply unacceptable and we need a credible, executable naval force structure plan that keeps pace with threats we face, particularly from China, while ensuring taxpayer accountability.
Finally, we must always remember the men and women who wear the uniform. For far too long we heard from too many junior enlisted service members who were struggling with basic needs. These men and women are the backbone of our armed forces. They perform the tough, often dangerous work that keeps our country safe. I was proud to help secure a 10 percent raise for our junior enlisted service members, on top of the 4.5 percent raise that all service members received last year.
It is crucial that we continue to provide support for all those who fight in defense of our great nation. We ask a lot of our military, and the strategic landscape is more complex than ever. I look forward to a frank discussion on how we are matching resources to priorities and honoring our commitments to both readiness and our people. I now recognize the distinguished Ranking Member, Ms. McCollum, for her opening remarks.
