Opening Statements

Today, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Intelligence, Emerging Threats and Capabilities, made the following remarks, as prepared for delivery, on the Subcommittee's hearing titled "Evolution, Transformation, and Sustainment: A Review of the Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Request for U.S. Special Operations Forces and Command."

"Thank you, Jim. And thank you to our witnesses here today.

"Let me begin by welcoming back Mr. Mitchell to our committee, and also congratulating General Clarke on recently assuming Command of U.S. Special Operations Command. And Mrs. Clarke, we are pleased that you have joined us as well.

"Today's event continues our series of traditional posture hearings as we examine the Fiscal Year 2020 Budget request for U.S. Special Operations Command, and prepare for the National Defense Authorization Act.

"I am pleased to see continued support for Special Operations Forces in this budget request. This force remains very much at war; directly and indirectly deployed to more than 80 countries at any given time. They continue to bear an outsized burden, absorbing some 40% of recent combat casualties, while we also witness significant increases in suicides across the force.

"And amidst this continued strain and heavy combat commitments throughout the Middle East and Africa – we are now also asking our Special Operations Forces to position themselves to counter and mitigate nation-state threats such as Russia, China, North Korea, and other emerging national security threats.

"While the FY 20 budget request for Special Operations Command is seemingly a modest 2.8% increase to $13.8 billion, when taken in aggregate this year marks yet again continued and seminal growth for our Special Operations Forces.

"In particular, we are seeing nearly 18 consecutive years of end-strength growth which will now approach 74,000 personnel. For context, that is almost as large as the Department of State, and roughly twice the size of the FBI.

"Make no mistake; this growth was needed after 9/11, and indeed can still be justified today due to the continued and morphing national security threats we face.

"But while our 21st century challenges demand high-end capabilities that only SOF can provide, we must continually work to ensure that this force remains balanced and modernized, and that we are adhering to one of the most central of all the SOF truths – that quality is better than quantity.

"On this point, we can never compromise.

"We should also remember that most of the realized growth of our Special Operations Forces was originally envisioned to support heavy and continued demands for counterterrorism and direct-action forces and skill sets.

"How much of those experiences will shape our thinking about future conflicts remains to be seen.

"Considering this, I would also like to highlight that now – more than ever – as we consider the growth of this force, we must also ask ourselves if we are truly building the force of the future, rather than the force of yesterday.

"What unique and strategic contributions can only Special Operations make to our national security, to counter and frustrate peer adversaries such as China and Russia? To date, I do not think that we have thoughtfully answered this important question.

"I have long said that a large part of this subcommittee's charge is looking far ahead, to consider "what's next."

"And in doing so, I see great opportunity for Special Operations Forces to leverage emerging technology in novel and aggressive ways. Artificial Intelligence, quantum and high-performance computing, nanotechnology, and 5G communications, if leveraged right, will all provide a significant battlefield advantage for Special Operations Forces and the broader Joint Force.

"Rest assured, our adversaries are already aggressively exploring the development of these exponential technologies, which present us with both economic and strategic national security challenges for our nation.

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this important hearing. I look forward to the dialogue in our open and closed-classified session today. I will yield back the rest of my time so we can hear from our distinguished witnesses. "