U.S. Representative Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, delivered the following opening statement at the full committee markup for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023. The Subcommittee's mark is available here.
Rep. Hartzler's remarks as prepared for delivery:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to thank Chairman Norcross for his leadership and collaboration in building this mark in a very open and bipartisan manner that continues the long-standing tradition of this subcommittee.
I'd also like to express my gratitude to the subcommittee staff, including Bill Sutey, Kelly Repair, Heath Bope, Carla Zeppieri, Liz Griffin, Payson Ruhl, as well as Chrissi Lee, my Chief of Staff, for their support and hard work throughout this process.
I want to second the Chairman's sentiments in thanking all of our colleagues on the subcommittee for their active participation and hard work this year.
Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine continues to highlight how imperative it is that our military possess the capabilities and capacity necessary to deter adversaries, quickly respond to crisis, provide support to our allies, and when necessary, fight and defeat any adversary threat to our national security.
So many of the defense programs for which this subcommittee has oversight jurisdiction, including tactical aircraft, missile defense, ground combat vehicles, and ammunition production, are critical for maintaining a lethal and effective force to deter and defend against our adversaries.
This Mark supports the Services' modernization efforts within these programs while also underscoring the importance of sustaining overall operational readiness, minimizing risk to our critical defense industrial base, and setting the right conditions to ensure priorities are balanced and our military is prepared and equipped to defend our national security.
This mark also facilitates stronger oversight and attention to the Department's management and modernization of its manned and unmanned intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) programs, specifically maintaining the capability and capacity to support the Combatant Command requirements for these systems.
I'm pleased of the Subcommittee's continued progress this year in highlighting and facilitating critical infrastructure modernization and safety projects within our defense industrial base and supply chains, an area that has been a personal focus of Chairman Norcross and myself for several years now.
As always, I continue to be impressed and encouraged by the resilience of our military and the critical industrial base that supports it.
Once again, I commend our Members and staff for their continued dedication to supporting our warfighters and creating this bipartisan and comprehensive mark of which we should all be proud.
I encourage everyone's support and yield back.
