Kelly Opening Statement at Hearing on Fy23 Budget Request for U.S. Special Operations Forces and Ussocom

Washington, DC, April 28, 2022
U.S. Representative Trent Kelly (R-MS), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations, delivered the following opening statement at a hearing on the FY23 budget request for U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) and U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).
Rep. Kelly's remarks as prepared for delivery:
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opening remarks and your leadership in organizing this afternoon's posture hearing. Today we will hear from two leaders across the special operations enterprise.
The FY23 budget request for Special Operations Command represents a decrease in real dollars for the third year in a row. The $13.2B request is the exact same as last year. When you consider the massive inflation rate we are currently experiencing, this request represents a large cut in real dollars.
I'm concerned with what this budget request will do to our SOF community. Proper authorization and appropriation of national defense activities is vital – we cannot force our SOF formation into the impossible choice between readiness and modernization.
One cut of particular interest is the contract termination for the maritime support vessel, "Carolyn Chouest". For roughly $8M per year, I'm baffled as to why the decision was made to not extend this capability. To my knowledge, the requirement for this capability still exists within the INDOPACOM region. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today about how the Department plans to fill this gap.
A bright spot within the budget request is the continued procurement of SOCOM's Armed Overwatch program. I remain highly supportive of this program and look forward to seeing this capability fielded in the years to come. Additionally, I applaud the investments in undersea capabilities. Investments like these will continue to help grow our capabilities as we shift towards an era of great power competition.
I would also like to voice my overwhelming support for SOCOM's 1202 authority. We have bipartisan support across the committee for this, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on ways we can solidify and expand the authority during this year's NDAA cycle.
In addition to these previous items, I look forward to hearing from our witnesses about SOF force posture throughout European Command. Along with Ranking Member Rogers, I am a strong supporter of increasing our SOF presence along NATO's eastern front in countries like the Baltics, Poland, and Romania.
I want to thank our witnesses in advance for their time today. I look forward to continuing to work with our special operations leaders during the 117th Congress to ensure we are appropriately postured to meet and defeat the threats posed by our adversaries.