Cole Remarks at FY25 Budget Hearing for the Department of Defense

Apr 17, 2024

Statements

Good morning to our witnesses. Thank you for being here with us today.

Iran's missile and drone attacks on Israel, and the persistent and aggressive actions of China and Russia, are reminders that we need a strong military to deter war, protect U.S. interests, and when necessary, win in conflict.

We are witnessing an evolution in warfighting through the proliferation of technology. Small, cheap, and autonomous systems provide regional actors with the ability to threaten their neighbors and endanger the global order.

With that backdrop, the Department's fiscal year 2025 request makes tough choices to stay under the Fiscal Responsibility Act caps. It trades long-term modernization of capabilities to preserve near-term readiness of the force.

I'd like to see an increase in defense spending to more completely address these threats; however, additional funding would not absolve the Department of its responsibility to deliver capabilities on time and on budget.

From hypersonic programs, to shipbuilding, to aircraft like the E-7; I continue to be concerned by the Department's inability to deliver weapons to the warfighter in a reasonable timeframe.

Successful weapon system acquisition requires clear standards, adequate funding, competent program management, and a trusting partnership between the Department and industry. It also requires constant communication and transparency with the Congress.

There are some areas, such as munitions, where the Department is working directly with this Committee and providing the funding and demand signal necessary to ramp industrial base production.

I am interested in your thoughts on how to go a step further and develop surge capacity across the industrial base. This would increase our readiness for whatever the global security environment throws at us.

I want to note that the Department is enduring the most challenging recruiting crisis since the creation of the all-volunteer force. The junior enlisted force is the lifeblood of the military and this Committee is committed to recruiting and retaining the best America has to offer.

There is no shortage of challenges for this Department and I look forward to hearing how the fiscal year 2025 budget request addresses these issues.

Thank you.