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, before the Subcommittee's markup of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021:
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"Thank you, Chairman Langevin.

"I want to start by thanking the Chairman for his leadership, and all of the members of the subcommittee for their attendance and participation in the hearings, briefings, and our weekly remote calls. We've covered some critical issues, including the role the Department has played in the COVID-19 response - and we have done so in a collaborative and bipartisan manner.

"I would also like to say that I am appreciative of the transparency the minority has had on the process thus far, continuing the long-standing bipartisan tradition of our committee and this subcommittee in particular.

"I would like to take a moment to highlight three broad themes that I believe are notable within the mark. First, I am pleased that this mark is active in all areas of the subcommittee's jurisdiction, with special emphasis on basic research and the important contributions that our science and technology ecosystem, including our Universities, the DoD laboratories, and DARPA provide to our collective national defense, pandemic preparedness and response. There are important lessons learned that must be captured from the current COVID-19 crisis to inform how DoD bio-surveillance efforts detect, respond, and prevent these types of events in the future, whether naturally occurring or man-made.

"Second, this Mark also addresses the importance of the broader National Security Innovation Base, through the formalization of programs like Hacking For Defense and the National Security Innovation Network, and maturation of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center. The elevation of the Joint AI Center as a direct report to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and establishment of a Board of Directors, demonstrates how important this technology is and how urgently it must be integrated into not only our weapons systems, but our healthcare systems, our predictive maintenance efforts, our humanitarian assistance missions, and our cybersecurity. Our ability to apply AI and other emerging technologies faster than our adversaries will allow us to maintain our competitive edge over Russia and China.

"Finally, I am also pleased that this mark will continue the tradition of rigorous oversight of ongoing and sensitive military operations and the structure of our Cyber and Special Operations Forces, including the capabilities and interoperability of our Reserve and National Guard.

"While this IETC mark doesn't include a discussion of the tables and funding, I think it sets the right trajectory to support robust funding across the subcommittees jurisdiction that will advance our National Defense Strategy and strengthen our military capabilities.

"And finally, let me also take a moment to thank the dedicated Professional Staff Members of our subcommittee, and in particular, Eric Snelgrove and Jason Schmid from our minority team, as well as Shannon Green and the entire majority team.

"Thank you again, Chairman Langevin, and thank you to each of my colleagues on the subcommittee for their hard work this year.

"With that, I yield back."
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