Chair McCollum, Ranking Member Calvert, distinguished
members of the committee … thank you for the opportunity to testify
today about the President’s budget request for fiscal year 2022.
I’m pleased to appear before you alongside General Milley, whose
advice and counsel has been instrumental to us as we developed our
budget and as we continue to defend this nation … our chief
responsibility and my top priority.
Members, as you know, the President’s budget has not yet been released …
but I will do my very best to provide you as much information as
possible about what we are asking for and, more importantly, why we are
asking for it.
Let me say at the outset that I believe our budget request will help
us match resources to strategy, strategy to policy, and policy to the
will of the American people.
Informed by the President’s Interim National Security guidance and my
own Message to the Force, it funds the right mix of capabilities we
need most to defend this nation … now and in the future.
It invests in hypersonic weapons, artificial intelligence,
micro-electronics, 5G technology, cyber capabilities, shipbuilding,
climate change resilience, and nuclear modernization … to name a few.
And it gives us the flexibility to divest ourselves of systems and
platforms that do not adequately meet our needs… older ships, aircraft
and ISR platforms that demand more maintenance, upkeep, and risk than we
can afford.
As you know, we have commissioned a Global Posture Review and a new
National Defense Strategy, which will further inform and guide our
resource decisions.
The Department must be ready to meet and keep pace with our competitors …
and, if necessary, to win the next fights … not the last ones.
That’s why this budget stays true to our focus on matching the pacing
challenge we see from the People’s Republic of China. However, we
recognize that is not our only challenge.
The budget also invests in efforts to counter the damaging effects of
climate change, and to be prepared for potential future challenges like
another pandemic.
The budget helps us counter the belligerence we see from Russia, particularly in the cyber realm.
With its emphasis on missile defense and more sophisticated sensors,
our budget will also help us counter the increasing ballistic-missile
capabilities of nations like North Korea and Iran.
It funds a troop presence and counter-terrorism capabilities in the
Middle East and South Asia to meet the threats posed not only by Iran
but also by terrorist networks like ISIS, al Qaeda … and, in Africa,
like those posed by al Shabaab.
I am also confident that this budget will help us maintain the
integrated deterrent capability and global posture necessary to credibly
back up the hard work of our diplomats, and demonstrate our resolve all
over the world … alongside our allies and partners.
Speaking of our partners, I know Afghanistan is at the top of your minds.
As you know, the President directed us to withdraw our forces by
early September. I can report to you today that the retrograde is
proceeding on pace … indeed, slightly ahead of it.
We accomplished the mission for which our troops were sent to
Afghanistan. I am proud of that … and of the brave men and women who
made it possible, and those who gave their lives for that mission.
I am also deeply grateful to the families of our service members who
have endured so much as they sent their sons, daughters, husbands, and
wives to battle.
Our budget will help us develop the over-the-horizon capability we
need to ensure that terrorist attacks on our homeland can never again
emanate from that country.
We will now transition to a new bilateral relationship with our
Afghan partners … one that continues to help them meet their
responsibilities to their citizens, but one that will not require a U.S.
footprint larger than what is necessary to protect our diplomats.
And that is one reason why we are asking to move overseas contingency operations funding inside the base budget.
This will give us -- and you -- greater transparency, accountability,
and predictability in the budgeting process. And, because all
necessary provisions currently established in OCO funding are retained,
we expect no impact to other operations.
This is the right thing to do … and, frankly, it’s long overdue.
Now, taking care of our people is also the right thing to do.
The budget request increases funding to support in-home care and
support, which has become increasingly important during the pandemic.
We will also be seeking funds to improve military base pay, retention
bonuses, and other incentives that will help us attract and retain the
best talent.
And we will be working hard to combat challenges that make service in
the ranks more difficult for all the men and women of the department …
from getting a better handle on the extent to which we experience
extremist behavior, to combating sexual assault and harassment.
As you know, my first directive as Secretary of Defense -- issued on
my first full day in office -- was to service leadership about sexual
assault. I made it clear then, and I still maintain, that we must not
be afraid to try new approaches … to change our minds … so that we can
truly and fully address the scourge of sexual assault in our force.
Because clearly what we’ve been doing hasn’t been working. The
numbers of sexual assaults are still too high … and confidence in our
system is still too low.
The Independent Review Commission we established has provided me with
an initial set of recommendations, first around the issue of
accountability. This line of effort is focused on how these crimes are
investigated and prosecuted.
I have shared these recommendations with Chairman Milley and with the
civilian and military leaders of the service branches. I have asked
them to review the recommendations and to provide me their views in
return.
There will be additional recommendations coming to us on prevention,
culture, and victim support. I look forward to receiving them as well.
But I will say this to you, today: these are attacks by our own people … on our own people. Insider attacks.
And they tear at the very fabric of who we are and what we represent to each other and to the American people.
As I review recommendations on how to address this challenge, I continue to keep an open mind.
You have my commitment to that, and to working with you as you consider legislative proposals.
Madam Chair, members of the committee, we field the greatest military
force in human history … made up of the finest men and women who have
ever donned the cloth of their nation. We also enjoy a civilian
workforce deeply committed to every mission we take on.
For all the things we know we need to do better, no adversary can match the quality of our people.
I am immensely proud … humbled, really … to be of service to them and to serve again with them and their families.
I know the values they espouse, the oath they took. I know what they
are capable of. And I believe I have a very good sense of what they
need to do their jobs. I can assure you that the President’s budget
request for fiscal year 2022 fulfills that obligation.
And I look forward to answering your questions about it.
I thank you for the unwavering support that you continue to provide
the Department of Defense, and for all the efforts you make every day to
ensure that we remain ready to defend this nation.
Thank you.
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