Opening Statements

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), Chairman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, delivered the following opening remarks at a hearing on missile defense and missile defeat programmatic updates. 
 
Rep. DesJarlais' remarks as prepared for delivery:
 
Good afternoon and welcome to the Strategic Forces subcommittee’s hearing on missile defense and defeat programs of the Department of Defense. Testifying before the subcommittee we have:
 
Ms. Andrea Yaffe, who is currently performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy
 
General Gregory Guillot, Commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command
 
Lieutenant General Heath Collins, Director of the Missile Defense Agency
 
Lieutenant General Sean Gainey, Commander U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, and the Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense
 
Thank you to our witnesses for being with us today. We recognize the FY26 budget is still being finalized, and this limits our ability to discuss funding levels for the upcoming fiscal year.
 
However, we look forward to hearing from you on the policies, programs, and priorities for the Department’s missile defense and missile defeat activities. Your testimony today will help set the stage for our review of the president’s budget when it is submitted.
 
We also look forward to hearing an update from our witnesses on the Department’s work to develop the Golden Dome for America architecture.
 
Today’s hearing comes at an important moment for missile defense.
 
Despite the growth and increasing complexity of missile threats in recent years, and the value of missile defense capabilities being demonstrated in the skies over Israel, the Red Sea, and Ukraine, budget requests for missile defense funding in recent years have declined.
 
Last year’s budget, in particular, prematurely eliminated competition in two key missile defense programs – the Glide Phase Interceptor and Next Generation Interceptor – and also proposed to terminate procurement of the Navy’s SM-3 Block IB interceptor.
 
Each of these decisions added risk and sacrificed capability for the sake of reducing funding on missile defense.
 
Now, a new administration has taken office, with a new vision for investment in missile defense capabilities and defending the homeland that is long overdue.
 
Missile threats to the homeland are growing and becoming more dynamic as our adversaries develop and deploy new capabilities, such as hypersonic weapons, long-range cruise missiles, new ballistic missiles and even fractional orbital bombardment systems, or “FOBS.”
 
These capabilities enable our adversaries to strike the United States and coerce U.S. leadership in the event of a crisis, and our ability to defend against them has not kept pace.
 
Sustained underinvestment and outdated policy limitations have left our homeland vulnerable.
 
In its 2023 report, the bipartisan Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States, led by Madelyn Creedon and former Senator Jon Kyl, noted our homeland’s vulnerability, stating:
 
“Russia and China are deploying missile defense systems designed to protect critical assets against U.S. offensive strikes; to date the United States has chosen to not build homeland missile defenses against major powers. 
 
“U.S. homeland integrated air and missile defense capabilities do not adequately protect the critical infrastructure necessary to project power and avoid coercion in light of growing Russian and Chinese nuclear and conventional strike threats.”
 
The Commission went on to recommend the deployment of a comprehensive integrated air and missile defense system, capable of deterring and defeating coercive attacks from Russia and China, as well as rogue states. 
 
And it argued doing so would strengthen deterrence and reinforce strategic stability by complicating adversary planning and reducing incentives to conduct coercive attacks.
 
While I expect we will see significant partisan debate about the Golden Dome, it’s important to remember the common-sense, bipartisan elements at the core of the President’s vision, and I look forward to seeing the Department’s plan for carrying it out.