Sec. Lloyd Austin was interrupted by a protester during his remarks at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Our witnesses today are the Honorable Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Defense, General C.Q. Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs,
00:08Accompanying the Secretary and the Chairman is the Honorable Mike McCord, Undersecretary of Defense.
00:12He serves as the DOD's Chief Financial Officer and is available to answer questions.
00:17No small job given that he's the Chief Financial Officer of the largest organization on the planet.
00:24With that, we will recognize our first witness, Secretary Austin. We'll start with you.
00:31Chairman Rogers, Ranking Member Smith, Distinguished Members of the Committee,
00:37Thanks for the opportunity to testify in support of President Biden's proposed fiscal year 2025 budget for the Department of Defense.
00:46Pleased to be joined by our outstanding Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General C.Q. Brown, and by Undersecretary Mike McCord, the Department's Comptroller.
00:55Let me start by thanking this committee for all that you do to support the U.S. military, our troops, and our military families.
01:04As Secretary, I have always been guided by three priorities.
01:07Defending our nation, taking care of our families, taking care of our people, and succeeding through teamwork.
01:14Our budget request for fiscal year 2025 will advance all three of these priorities.
01:19First, the President's request will invest in cutting-edge capabilities across all domains.
01:25That includes $48.1 billion for naval and shipbuilding capabilities, $62.1 billion to reinforce U.S. air dominance,
01:35and $13 billion to bolster Army and Marine Corps combat capabilities.
01:41Our request will also provide $33.7 billion to strengthen our space architecture,
01:47and $14.5 billion to develop and field advanced cybersecurity tools.
01:53It will direct $49.2 billion to modernize and recapitalize all three legs of our nuclear triad.
02:00And it will sharpen our tech edge through a $167.5 billion investment in procurement
02:07and $143.2 billion in R&D.
02:12Second, this budget will support our outstanding troops and their families.
02:18That includes raising base pay and housing allowances, investing in better housing,
02:24making child care more affordable, and funding vital work to prevent sexual assault and suicide in the military.
02:31And third, this request will help the Department further deepen our teamwork worldwide.
02:36Our network of allies and partners remains a strategic advantage that no competitor can match.
02:42And you can see its power in our strengthening ties across the Indo-Pacific,
02:46in today's expanded and united NATO, and in the 50-country Ukraine Defense Contact Group that I convene.
02:54Our budget remains rooted in our 2022 National Defense Strategy.
02:59Our request positions the United States to tackle the Department's pacing challenge,
03:03the People's Republic of China, with confidence and urgency.
03:08It will help meet the acute threat of Putin's increasingly aggressive Russia.
03:13It will help us tackle the persistent dangers from Iran and its proxies.
03:18It will help us take on threats from North Korea, global terrorist organizations, and other malign actors.
03:26And it will help us continue to deter aggression against the United States
03:29and our allies and partners, and to prevail in conflict if necessary.
03:34Now today, I want to underscore three key messages.
03:38First, even as our budget request abides by the mandatory caps set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act,
03:44it is aligned to our strategy.
03:47We made tough but responsible decisions that prioritize near-term readiness,
03:51modernization of the Joint Force, and support for our troops and their families.
03:55Our approach dials back some near-term modernization for programs not set to come online until the 2030s.
04:03Second, we can only reach the goals of our strategy with your help.
04:08And I'm truly grateful that Congress passed the fiscal year 2024 appropriations in March.
04:14And the single greatest way that Congress can support the Department
04:19is to pass predictable, sustained, and timely appropriations.
04:24My third and final message is that the price of U.S. leadership is real,
04:28but it is far lower than the price of U.S. abdication.
04:32As the President has said, we are in a global struggle between democracy and autocracy,
04:37and our security relies on American strength of purpose.
04:41And that's why our budget request seeks to invest in American security
04:45and in America's defense industrial base.
04:48The same is true for the recently passed National Security Supplemental
04:51that will support our partners in Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan
04:56and make key investments to increase submarine production.
05:01In fact, about $50 billion of this supplemental will flow through our defense industrial base,
05:06creating good American jobs in more than 30 states.
05:10So we're grateful for our partners in Congress who help...
05:14How can you talk about U.S. leadership when we're supporting genocide in Gaza?
05:19The committee will come to order.
05:22I'd like to formally request those in the audience causing disruption to cease their actions immediately.
05:27Security, I'm going to ask you to remove the disruptive persons.
05:32It is illegal. It is immoral. It is disgusting.
05:35The whole world is watching what we are doing in Gaza right now.
05:41Secretary General, you are supporting a genocide.
05:45Stop supporting genocide.
05:47Stop supporting genocide.
05:54Apparently the protesters don't understand we don't have a Secretary General in this country.
05:59With that, Mr. Secretary, you're recognized again.
06:03Thank you, Chairman.
06:05We're grateful for our partners in Congress
06:08who help us make the investments needed to strengthen America's security
06:12through both the supplemental and the President's budget requests.
06:14The U.S. military is the most lethal fighting force on Earth.
06:18And with your help, we're going to keep it that way.
06:21And I deeply appreciate your support for our mission and for our troops.
06:24And I look forward to your questions. Thank you, sir.