00:00Mr. Fisher. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, General, Ms. MacDonald, welcome.
00:06I serve on both the Armed Services and the Appropriations Committees, and every year we legislate annual authorization and appropriation bills that provide the policies and the funding for the department.
00:19While I'm confident we will do so again this year, the administration has made this process more difficult by delaying the delivery of budget materials to Congress.
00:32Mr. Secretary and General Cain, I've appreciated our previous discussions about the need to modernize our nuclear triad and to provide the president with additional options for regional nuclear deterrence.
00:46And to achieve this, we must have sustained and predictable funding within the department's base budget.
00:54I'm concerned that the department's fiscal year 26 request relies too heavily on reconciliation for some of our nuclear programs.
01:05For example, the reconciliation text includes funding for Sentinel.
01:09That is meant to accelerate and reduce risk in the program over the next several years.
01:17It is not meant to fill a self-imposed gap in funding in a single fiscal year created by short-changing ICBMs in the base budget.
01:30I understand using reconciliation funding is relatively new to the department, but I expect us to work together throughout this cycle so that we can assure that funds are used as intended
01:43and that the programs are adequately funded within that base budget.
01:49General Cain, do you agree that nuclear modernization programs should be prioritized both to keep pace with the threats
01:57and to ensure that the president has a full array of options for nuclear deterrence?
02:04I do, Senator, and appreciate your leadership on ensuring that we've got the tools that we need to deliver for the triad of the future.
02:16Secretary Haig Seth, although progress has been made the last several years, I continue to be concerned about the ability of our defense industrial base
02:29to produce munitions at an adequate scale to support our warfighters in these modern conflicts that we have.
02:38And now that you have been sworn in and had time to review the current state of our industrial base,
02:45what more should the department be doing to increase munitions production,
02:49and how does this budget request support these objectives?
02:55Senator, it's a great question.
02:57We should be doing everything we can, which is precisely what we are doing at the very highest levels,
03:03from myself to the Deputy Secretary of Defense with industry.
03:07This budget is a 45 percent increase in the defense industrial base.
03:11It invests in critical munitions procurement.
03:15It invests in defense supply chains, in resilience in supply chains,
03:20in increased competition and capabilities from outside companies to get into the business of providing critical munitions.
03:27So across the board, we're finding and hiring innovators to move as quickly as possible,
03:34cutting through the bureaucracy of the red tape to deliver those systems in a world that needs them now more than ever.
03:39Could you get back to me on timelines that you have set for each of those areas that you mentioned,
03:49and obviously the funding that's going towards them,
03:53but I'd be interested in what you're setting for yourself for goals for the timelines in getting that achieved?
04:01Yes, ma'am.
04:02We have those, and we will get those to you.
04:04And, General Cain, do you assess that the total munitions requirement is currently aligned with the magnitude of the threats that this country faces,
04:14or should the department review its stockpile requirements to ensure that we are fully prepared for these modern conflicts?
04:22Senator, we're always looking at the lessons learned of past conflicts to include the most recent ones around the world,
04:31and taking those and applying those to what the future of war might look like.
04:35So we're always evolving and considering what the mix of munitions that we need for the joint force in order to deliver overwhelming strength.
04:45And I would be remiss if I didn't bring up spectrum.
04:47So as we look towards the Golden Dome and the importance of that, over the next several weeks,
04:56I hope we can see some more details on that, because we can't shoot what we don't see.
05:02And I think it's important that all of us here, as well as the public, understand the importance of the spectrum that the department has in order to reach that.
05:14Thank you, Senator Fisher, for that important and correct observation.
05:19Thank you, Senator Fisher, for that important and correct observation.
Comments