BANKS STATEMENT AT HEARING ON DoD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY, POLICY, AND PROGRAMS FOR FY22
Washington, DC,
May 20, 2021
Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems, delivered the following opening statement at a Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems hearing regarding the Department of Defense Science and Technology Strategy, Policy, and Programs for Fiscal Year 2022. Rep. Banks remarks as prepared for delivery: Thank you Mr. Chairman for your warm welcome. It is my pleasure to join this subcommittee as the Ranking Member. The work of this subcommittee is extremely important as today's hearing highlights. Our warfighting capabilities are contingent on our ability to modernize the Department of Defense and to recruit and equip our men and women in uniform with the most effective and secure technologies. This mission cannot wait. Our adversaries and near-peers are focused on beating the US, using every tool available to them, legal or not, to modernize their militaries. They are heavily investing in emerging technologies by pouring money into research and development, recruiting top scientists, and by stealing intellectual property. Whether it is artificial intelligence, quantum sciences, hypersonics, directed energy, biotechnology, 5G or cyber, we must lean into developing, procuring and deploying these technologies and developing new ones in order to compete, but more importantly, maintain our superiority. The battlefield now spans boundaries and time. Our adversaries can use these emerging technologies to bring the theatre to our shores, not just in the future, but today. We would be foolish to ignore this threat. We must invest and plan for the short-, mid-, and long-term in order to stay on the leading edge and defend and secure the homeland. This means we need the President's budget to prioritize science and technology, directing the Department to invest in the tools necessary for modern conflict and laying out a strategy to do so. We must also enable the Department to get the innovations they need, regardless of if they come from a large or small company. The men and women of our armed forces are key. We need to train and equip our troops to use these new technologies, as well as retain and recruit the scientists needed to develop it. I look forward to working with Chairman Langevin, the Department, industry and our troops to ensure that the United States maintains our superiority. Thank you to our witnesses for being here today. I look forward to our discussion and working together to advance the mission.
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