Opening Statements

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, delivered the following opening remarks at a hearing on the Department of Defense budget request for Fiscal Year 2026.



Chairman Rogers' opening remarks as prepared for delivery:

I welcome our witnesses and thank them for their service to our nation. 

We are here today to hear from the Department of Defense about its FY26 budget request. 

Unfortunately, we have still not received the full budget details. 

The historic delay by the OMB in releasing this information is unacceptable.

It’s impacting our ability to move forward with the NDAA, the next big step in enacting the President’s Peace Through Strength agenda.

That’s a problem because threats to our national security have never been more urgent or complex. 

Adversaries like China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran continue to expand their military power. 

And they’re no longer acting alone. 

These countries are strategically building alliances and supporting each other with drones, munitions, satellite technology, and energy supplies. 

We’re seeing that acutely in Ukraine. 

Make no mistake, a Russian victory in Ukraine would also be a victory for China, North Korea, and Iran. 

We cannot let that happen. 

Russia must be stopped. 

While our adversaries collaborate on the development and deployment of innovative new capabilities, we are facing challenges.

Our defense industrial base has atrophied significantly, making it harder for us to sustain prolonged conflicts. 

That’s why now, more than ever, it’s critical that we make a significant investment in our national security. 

This investment is at the heart of achieving President Trump’s Peace Through Strength agenda. 

We took the first steps towards enacting that agenda with our reconciliation legislation. 

Together with the President and our Senate colleagues, we developed a historic investment of $150 billion plus up that will go a long way toward modernizing our military, rebuilding our industrial base, and restoring American deterrence. 

While this was a great first step, it will have limited impact without sustained investment in the following years. 

To truly achieve the President’s Peace Through Strength agenda, we need to grow defense spending to at least 4 percent of GDP. 

But we need to be smart about how we invest those dollars. 

That begins with identifying and cutting inefficient and unnecessary spending at DoD. 

The Secretary has taken the lead on that and we appreciate his work. 

But spending wisely also means fixing a broken acquisition system that is needlessly driving up costs and delaying delivery of critical capabilities to our warfighters. 

The current system is simply not meeting the needs of our warfighters. 

It’s not taking advantage of America’s innovative private sector. 

And it’s not the most efficient use of taxpayer dollars. 

The bipartisan SPEED Act that the Ranking Member and I introduced this week will fundamentally reform defense acquisition.

It streamlines the process and significantly reduces the time it takes to field new military capabilities. 

I know the Secretary is determined to fix the broken system, and we look forward to partnering with him to enact real reform. 

I also look forward to understanding from the Secretary what the administration’s plans are for global force posture.
 
Maintaining a forward presence of U.S. forces in strategic areas across the globe is essential to ensuring Peace Through Strength. 

The current level of American forces stationed in Eastern Europe is a crucial bulwark against further Russian aggression and another devastating war in Europe.

Our forces in South Korea protect our ally but also serve as a critical strike force if North Korea attempts a launch against our homeland. 

U.S. servicemembers in CENTCOM and AFRICOM are fighting daily to defeat the terrorist threat against America and Israel, while maintaining maximum pressure on Iran.

And our forces in Japan, the Philippines, and throughout the Pacific are keeping China’s hegemonic desires in check and preserving trade routes critical to our economy. 

Together, this collective posture forms the backbone of American deterrence. 

Secretary Hegseth is right when he says, “America First does not mean America alone.”

I appreciate the time you recently spent in the Pacific and Europe reinforcing our alliances and partnerships, but also pressing our allies to increase their defense spending.

It’s long past time for our NATO allies and those around the globe to shoulder a greater share of our collective defense. 

But we must understand it will take some time for them to grow their capacity. 

In the interim, we should not make large-scale posture changes that undermine our deterrence.

I look forward to working with the administration on building the ready, capable, and lethal fighting force we need to deter our adversaries.