Cole Remarks at Budget Hearing on Department of Defense

Thank you Chairman Calvert and Ranking Member McCollum.

Welcome Secretary Hegseth, General Caine, and Undersecretary Hurst. Thank you for appearing today and our sincere appreciation for your service to our nation. 

I join Chairman Calvert, and members of this Subcommittee, by saying at the outset of this hearing that the men and women of our Armed Forces are the finest in the world. They deserve our full support and our commitment to giving them the resources they need that will keep them ready for the fights of today and tomorrow.

Without hesitation, I recognize that a strong, agile, and effectively funded defense is not a mere priority – it is a necessity. The current threat environment facing the United States is as serious – and as layered – as anything I have witnessed in my time in Congress. The convergence of challenges from China, Russia, and Iran demands that we all work together with a level of seriousness and urgency that frankly has not always characterized our defense debates in recent years.

On the budget, I firmly believe that adequate and stable defense funding is a national imperative. And yet, funding alone is not enough – every dollar must reflect clear priorities, operational effectiveness, and strategic urgency. This Subcommittee has a responsibility to ask hard questions about priorities, program performance, and whether the Department's acquisition processes are keeping pace with the speed at which our adversaries are moving. 

To that end, we have questions on the assumption of mandatory funding in the Department’s request. We need you to be a partner with us on this front. Transparency and communication are critical to ensuring we are aligned as closely as we can. 

I also want to speak directly about the issue of our allies and partners. American power is most effective when it is exercised in concert with like-minded nations who share our interests and our values. As we look back on 250 years of our exceptional nation, history reiterates this truth. From those who stood by us in our fight for independence to the shared mission against evil during WWII, tyranny falls when free nations stand. 

American strength is not diminished when allies shoulder their share – it is multiplied – and we must continue to sharpen our strategic advantages. 

NATO remains a critical pillar of collective defense, while our alliances across the Indo-Pacific are indispensable to building a credible deterrent against rising aggression in that region. I am interested today in hearing how this budget strengthens those partnerships and how the Department is working to ensure that our allies are investing at levels commensurate with the threats they face.

The bottom line is simple: we always hope for peace while maintaining the strength to defend it. We are committed to ensuring our military remains unmatched, our adversaries deterred, and the American people protected.

Secretary Hegseth and General Caine we look forward to candid dialogue. The American people are counting on us to get this right and I look forward to being a partner with you in that effort. 

Again, thank you for being here today. I yield back.