U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, delivered the following opening remarks at a hearing on U.S. military posture and national security challenges in Europe.
Chairman Rogers' remarks as prepared for delivery:
Today we continue our posture hearings with EUCOM.
I'll remind members that when we adjourn the hearing, we will immediately move upstairs for the closed briefing.
I want to thank our witnesses for being here and for their service to our nation.
The United States is moving into an era of unprecedented danger.
We've heard that from the Commanders of SOUTHCOM, AFRICOM, CENTCOM, and INDOPACOM.
They each raised grave concerns about how China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are working together to reduce America's global influence, harm our alliances, and undermine our national security.
Nowhere is that more apparent than in Ukraine.
Iran and North Korea are arming Russia with deadly effect.
In return, they are receiving advanced technologies and other illegal aid from Putin.
And while China has not yet provided weapons to Russia, Xi is providing Putin critical economic and security assistance.
This includes dual-use materials and components for weapons.
Kim, Xi, and the Ayatollah are eagerly aiding and abetting Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine because they know a Russian victory there will seriously undercut the credibility of American deterrence and leave our security partners exposed.
It's the green light these despots have been craving for decades.
A Russian victory will embolden Kim, Xi, and the Ayatollah to confront South Korea, Taiwan, Israel, and ultimately, the United States, in new and fatal ways.
And I fear Putin will use a victory in Ukraine as a springboard to invade Eastern Europe.
We can't let that happen.
We must restore American deterrence.
It starts with this Administration finally articulating a winning strategy.
Since the start of the war, President Biden's Ukraine policy has been plagued by hesitation.
Every major weapons system the United States has provided—from Stingers, to Abrams, to ATACMS —only came after serious Congressional pressure.
And it usually arrived months late and in insufficient numbers.
The President's handwringing has only prolonged the war and driven up costs in terms of dollars and lives.
Meanwhile, U.S. sanctions have failed to make much of a dent in Putin's war machine.
The President should use the billions in frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
And he should arm Ukraine at the speed of relevance.
But in order for that to happen, Congress needs to pass the national security supplemental.
If the United States is unable to send additional weapons to Ukraine, Putin will win.
And I would remind my colleagues that nearly all the money we're spending to arm Ukraine doesn't leave this country.
It goes directly to U.S. companies and American workers to produce more weapons at a faster pace.
This funding is revitalizing our defense industrial base after decades of atrophy.
It's exactly what we need to do to prepare for potential conflict with China.
But we can't do it all.
The President needs to force our European allies to do more.
While the UK, Poland, the Baltic states, and the Czech Republic are punching well above their weight, there are some European countries that can and must do more.
We all want this war to end, but that can't happen if the West hedges.
If Putin thinks he can win, he won't come to the table.
The quickest way to end this conflict is to strengthen Ukraine's negotiating position by ensuring they are well armed and well supported.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to do just that.
Finally, last week marked the 75th Anniversary of the founding of NATO.
NATO has been enormously successful at keeping America and our allies secure and providing the deterrence necessary to avoid another world war.
But as we enter a new era, where China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are working together to flaunt international law and destabilize whole regions, NATO needs to broaden its focus.
It needs to secure its supply chains and reduce its dependency on China and Russia for goods and energy.
And all NATO nations must meet the requirement to spend at least 2 percent of GDP on defense.
With a war raging in Eastern Europe, it's entirely unacceptable that a dozen nations are still falling short.
When NATO meets in Washington this summer, the President should insist that these nations present a clear plan on how they will meet the 2 percent benchmark as soon as possible.
Every member state needs to fulfill this commitment because now more than ever, we need a strong NATO.
I look forward to our discussion today and to hearing from our witnesses about our security posture in Europe.
