Bergman: Congress Must Invest In Mobility To Meet Future Threats

Washington, D.C., March 18, 2026
Tags: Readiness
"We are in the midst of a readiness crisis," Rep. Bergman said. "There is an urgent need to recapitalize our rapidly aging strategic sealift and tanker fleet, especially as China’s shipbuilding capacity dwarfs our own. This tyranny of distance is no longer just a geographical challenge; it is a tactical vulnerability that our adversaries intend to exploit through cyber-attacks, anti-access/area-denial systems, and kinetic disruption."
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Jack Bergman (R-MI), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Readiness, submitted the following opening remarks for the record at a joint hearing on the posture of U.S. Transportation Command and the Maritime Administration in Fiscal Year 2027.

Rep Bergman's Statement Submitted for the Record:

I would like to welcome General Randall Reed, Commander of U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), and the Honorable Stephen Carmel, Administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD), and thank them for being here to discuss the readiness issues of our military forces. 

Congratulations, Mr. Carmel, on your recent confirmation. 

General Reed, I appreciate your recent visit to the Great Lakes Maritime Academy in Traverse City, Michigan, one of six state-operated maritime academies.

I would also like to take this opportunity to extend our deepest appreciation for the heroic efforts of our mobility forces operating in the CENTCOM AOR and acknowledge the tragic loss of the six KC-135 air men and women who lost their lives during combat operations against Iran.

We are in the midst of a readiness crisis. 

There is an urgent need to recapitalize our rapidly aging strategic sealift and tanker fleet, especially as China’s shipbuilding capacity dwarfs our own. 

I am eager to hear how MARAD intends to accelerate the modernization of these vessels, strengthen the Maritime and Tanker Security Programs, and address the shortage of qualified merchant mariners to ensure we have the capacity to move heavy forces, fuel, and supplies over vast distances.

TRANSCOM’s role is essential as we seek to overcome the tyranny of distance and provide adequate support to the warfighter in a contested logistics environment. 

This tyranny of distance is no longer just a geographical challenge; it is a tactical vulnerability that our adversaries intend to exploit through cyber-attacks, anti-access/area-denial systems, and kinetic disruption. 

In last year’s National Defense Authorization Act, TRANSCOM was designated, along with the Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Vice Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as one of the senior officials responsible for the integration of global contested logistics posture management. 

I look forward to hearing TRANSCOM’s strategy for managing this new responsibility, along with its current position as the single manager for global bulk fuel management and delivery. 

Additionally, with the Defense Personal Property Program being transferred to the newly created Personal Property Activity, I hope this change will result in better outcomes for our service members undergoing a permanent change of station, and TRANSCOM can renew its focus on its core mission requirements. 

I am also pleased that TRANSCOM submitted an unfunded priorities list last year, the first time in three years that it had done so.  

I hope to see this trend continue for fiscal year 2027. 

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses as to how TRANSCOM and MARAD can confront the myriad of challenges we face from adversaries across the globe, especially as we focus on near-peer competition in the Indo-Pacific area of responsibility.