U.S. Representative Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Readiness, delivered the following opening statement at a hearing on Fiscal Year 2022 budget requests for military construction, environmental and energy programs.
Rep. Lamborn's remarks as prepared for delivery:
Thank you, Chairman Garamendi. I'd like to welcome our witnesses here today to discuss their Fiscal Year 2022 budget requests for military construction, environmental and energy programs, as well as base and facility accounts.
Over the past several months, this subcommittee has held focused hearings on many of the core issues within these accounts. It remains clear that the services are struggling to prioritize important investments in our aging and failing infrastructure. That is one of the reasons I am a strong advocate for a higher topline. We cannot continue kicking the can down the road.
I look forward to hearing from OSD and the services about what they are doing to address degraded facilities. Years of deferred maintenance have made facilities inefficient, have negatively impacted readiness and retention and left us exposed to extreme weather events.
Deferred maintenance is also bad business, and a waste of taxpayer dollars. In fact, federal disaster mitigation efforts can save up to $6 dollars for every one spent.
I am particularly concerned with our organic industrial base and facilities and utilities that were built in many cases over 50 years ago. The Navy has a particularly acute problem in this area. The GAO has assessed that all four public shipyards are in poor or failing condition, with too few functional dry docks. The recent Navy disclosure of a Portsmouth Naval Shipyard drydock cost growth from $750M to almost $2B does not engender faith that Navy has completely bound the overall cost of this essential Navy repair capability.
As to ranges, we still have a myriad of problems that appear to be unfocused. Despite the increased emphasis on our Nation's hypersonic shortfalls, I am concerned about the Department's ability to adequately test hypersonic weapons. Clearly range limitations will impede DoD's ability to adequately develop this capability. Yet, not one word on this glaring shortfall in any of the witnesses' testimony. Even in my district at Fort Carson, there is a continuing lack of emphasis on providing adequate ranges for the garrisoned forces. We have to do better and ensure that our ranges are ready.
There are many other important issues that I am confident will be discussed today. All services must remain focused on of privatized military housing projects. Given the recent troubles and prolonged implementation of the tenant's bill of rights, oversight is critical.
The service's testing, cleanup and replacement efforts related to PFAS and AFFF is another issue with bipartisan attention. The services must do a better job preventing accidental releases - of which there seem to be too many of – as well as finding a suitable replacement for AFFF.
With much competition for dollars in in this year's budget, I want to emphasize the need for good investments that can stave off the need for additional resources down the road.
I again want to thank today's witnesses and I look forward to our discussion. I yield back.
