U.S. Representative Mike Waltz (R-FL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Readiness, delivered the following opening statement at the subcommittee markup for H.R. 2670 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024. The Subcommittee's mark is available here.
Rep. Waltz's remarks as prepared for delivery:
I would like to commend our Members for their efforts and support in putting together this subcommittee markup package in a bipartisan fashion. And thank you to my friend, Ranking Member Garamendi, for his partnership throughout this process.
There are many things to be proud of in this subcommittee markup package.
Of note, this package withholds funding from the Department of the Navy until they deliver an initial report on the maintenance and sustainment of the amphibious warship fleet.
Secretaries of the military departments are required to develop and implement guidance on mitigating harmful encroachment near military installations, particularly with regards to land purchases made by CCP backed entities.
Of particular importance in light of Putin's illegal aggression in Ukraine, it mandates the Department of Defense eliminate reliance on Russian energy for all installations within European Command.
It also directs the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment to report on foreign control and influence over the supply chain for critical minerals and metals used for defense technologies.
Unfortunately, I remain concerned about our ability to project power and sustain operations across the globe, particularly within INDOPACOM. As such, we have multiple provisions to get after that, by directing reports on fuel supplies, refueling capabilities, pre-positioning of supplies, and ship sustainment.
I would also like to use this opportunity to urge a timely defense appropriation. Without an on-time budget, the Department is unable to begin any new projects and must operate under the previous fiscal year's budget numbers. With a pacing threat like China, we can not handicap ourselves any further.
Lastly, I would like to thank the efforts of our great support staff. Today's markup would not be possible without the help from our professional staff members – Patrick Nevins, Kyle Noyes, Whitney Verett, Drew Kennedy, Dane Hughes, Jeanine Womble, Sapna Sharma; our subcommittee research assistant – Ethan Pelissier; and my personal office staff – Thomas Boodry, Hector Arguello, and Bruce Kimbrell.
Thank you to our Members and staff for their diligent work thus far and I look forward to continuing to work together to ensure Readiness equities are represented during the full committee markup and throughout the NDAA process.
