U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation, delivered the following opening remarks at a hearing on the changing character of warfare and how the Department of Defense is preparing for the future.
Rep. Gallagher's opening remarks as prepared for delivery:
The subcommittee will come to order. Welcome to the first hearing of the Cyber, Information Technology, and Innovation Subcommittee in the 118th Congress.
I am thrilled to lead this subcommittee with my friend and colleague, Representative Ro Khanna, with whom I have worked productively for six years. I would like to enter into the record an op-ed that Representative Khanna and I wrote together as freshman members of Congress. While this piece focused on Congressional Reform rather than Defense, it demonstrates that we have long been willing to work across party lines to modernize this institution. While Ro is a progressive and I am a conservative, we both like to think for ourselves and we both believe DoD can do better when it comes to innovation.
The only way to truly win World War 3 is to prevent it. If we accept the slow, bureaucratic status quo, deterrence will fail again, as it failed in Ukraine. On this subcommittee, we will dedicate ourselves to deterring war. There are three questions we must answer:
First, is the Pentagon prepared for an invasion of Taiwan that has already begun in cyberspace?;
Second, what technologies are most important for winning a future war and what are the barriers to the Department rapidly adopting such technologies?; and
Third, are the Services and the Pentagon sensibly structured and resourced to recruit, train, maintain, and equip cyber warriors?
As we work to deter World War 3, time is not on our side. It has taken me six years to get this gavel, and I intend to wield it like Thor's hammer against the forces of darkness that waste our time, our most precious resource. Behind me you'll see a picture of the clock at Lambeau Field. It is always set 15 minutes fast, to reflect Vince Lombardi's wisdom that if you're on time, you're 15 minutes late. This committee will operate with Lombardi Time in mind. To this end, I have developed the three CITI commandments that you will see on this sign behind me.
First, we shall start on time: hearings will begin at their designated time. And since I have to be here the whole time anyway, I'll often yield my initial question time to punctual members.
Second, five minutes shall be five minutes: opening statements, and questions and answers will be strictly limited to the allotted time. That being said, if you stick around to the end, I will always entertain a second round of questions.
Third, thou shalt not use acronyms nor jargon. The Pentagon suffers from a disease called "acronymphomania"—a fetishistic use of acronyms that kills clear thinking. On this subcommittee we will strive for simple and direct language normal Americans can understand.
In the spirit of the three commandments, and in the hope that this is the longest speech I will ever give on the subcommittee, I will stop talking and yield to Ranking Member Ro Khanna.
