Today, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, made the following remarks on the hearing titled “Prompt Global Strike: American and Foreign Developments:”
"I call this hearing of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee to order and I welcome our panel of distinguished guests to our hearing “Prompt Global Strike: American and Foreign Developments”.
Testifying today we have:
• General C. Robert Kehler, USAF (Ret.)
Former Commander, U.S. Strategic Command
• Mr. Tom Scheber
Independent Consultant
• Dr. James Acton
Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment
I want you to know that we appreciate the time you put into being here today.
General Kehler, if I bet you money two years ago that we’d be able to get you to sit in that chair again, what would my odds have been?
Sir, we greatly appreciate your lifetime of service to our nation, that of your family, and your continuing service.
We are here today to assess where this country stands in developing prompt global strike capability.
Since before the Administration of President George W. Bush, this country has been examining a conventional prompt strike capability.
In fact, the first non-nuclear strategic strike programs were started during the Clinton Administration.
And during the incumbent Administration, the foundational defense policies, the Quadrennial Defense Review and the Nuclear Posture Review have cited the need to have a prompt, non-nuclear strategic strike capability.
It doesn’t get more bipartisan than to be supported in the Clinton, Bush and Obama Administrations.
Yet where are we? Instead of real military capability, we have a plan to test this capability again, at only an intermediate-range, in 2017.
If we’re lucky, we may have a military capability in the 2030s.
To make matters worse, we’re not the only ones developing this military capability.
According to Bill Gertz of the Washington Free Beacon, China has conducted six tests of a ballistic missile launched hypersonic glide vehicle.
Mr. Gertz previously reported that this system has undertaken “extreme maneuvers” and that this frequency of tests is “an indicator of the high priority placed on developing the weapon by the Chinese.”
Mr. Richard D. Fisher of the International Assessment and Strategy Center reports, in a letter that I will submit for the record, that this is but one of many systems the Chinese are developing, along with companion space capabilities.
Mr. Cooper and I had the Intelligence Community come to brief us in March of this year and my eyes were opened.
We have invited them back today to brief all subcommittee Members at the conclusion of this open hearing.
I am greatly worried that the United States stands the risk of losing the next arms race to Russia and China.
In fact, I’m worried we aren’t even in the race yet—we’re still trying to tie our shoe laces in the starting block."
