U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL), Lead Republican of the House Armed Services Committee, delivered the following opening statement at a hearing on national security challenges and U.S. military activity in Europe.
Lead Republican Rogers' remarks as prepared for delivery:
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
I too want to welcome our witnesses and express my appreciation for their service.
We're a month into Putin's catastrophic invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian offensive appears stalled.
If Russian casualties don't exceed ten thousand, they will soon.
The Ukrainians are starting to retake ground.
The time to double down is now.
But I'm concerned that's not going to happen.
Time and again, this administration has been petrified of Putin.
Too afraid that common sense actions to support our partners and allies may be deemed escalatory.
As a result, they were way too slow in getting lethal aid into Ukraine.
We should have started back before Thanksgiving with visible and aggressive deliveries of lethal aid to Ukraine.
Instead, the White House wasted months.
The first Presidential Draw Down package didn't start flowing into Ukraine until mid-January.
But there weren't any Stingers.
U.S. Stingers didn't make it to Ukraine until a week after the invasion.
Poland's MiG-29 offer was embraced by the State Department, only to be rejected by the White House.
Slovakia is willing to provide S-300s to Ukraine, but the Defense Department can't find a suitable backfill.
And there are still no coastal defense cruise missiles, even though Mariupol is being flattened from the sea.
These are just a few examples.
There are dozens more.
The dithering needs to end.
We need to flip the script and make Putin scared of escalating against the West.
Here's what I'd like to hear from our witnesses today.
I'd like to hear that our policy in Ukraine is to win.
That means giving the Ukrainians the resources to drive out every last Russian on Ukrainian soil.
I'd like to hear we have identified a backfill for the Slovak S-300 and it's on its way to Bratislava as we speak.
I'd like to hear we have a plan to get coastal defense cruise missiles to Ukraine.
I'd like to hear that we're ramping up production of Stingers and Javelin Command Launch Units.
We also need to dramatically ramp-up production of small tactical UAS systems like Switchblade and get more of these systems into Ukrainian hands.
Finally, I'd like to hear that we're going to reinforce our allies with permanent bases in Poland, Romania, and the Balts.
I have been pressing for more dispersed forces in Europe for years.
We owe our allies and partners, especially those on the Eastern Front, nothing less than our full and forceful support.
Finally, General, I know that your time at EUCOM is supposed to come to an end in the next couple of months.
My hope is that Secretary Austin sees fit to extend you a little bit, and that you can help get us through this crisis.
I really think having a transition at EUCOM right now wouldn't be in our best interest.
