Pete Hegseth Grilled By Lawmakers In Senate Appropriations Committee Amidst The Iran War

[0:01] While we are waiting for our second panel to be seated, let me introduce them. [0:08] We are joined today by the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Cain. [0:23] These administration officials represent the largest components of the administration's request, and we welcome them to the committee today. [0:35] Secretary Hegseth, we will begin with your testimony. Please proceed. [0:40] Well, Chair Collins, Vice-Chair Murray, members of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, thank you for the opportunity to testify on President Trump's supplemental funding request for the Department of War. [0:54] As you know, we live in a dangerous world that requires bold and swift action, hence this supplemental request for fiscal year 2026. [1:04] This request is an urgent, necessary injection of resources to address the immediate needs of our department. [1:12] The supplemental funding request is not a substitute. [1:27] The witness will suspend until order is restored in the committee room. [1:34] I know that individuals feel very passionately, but we must have order in the hearing room so that we can proceed. [1:44] We're now going to move forward with our hearing, and Secretary Hegseth, please proceed. [1:51] Thank you. [1:52] The supplemental funding request is not a substitute for the President's full $1.5 trillion base budget request. [2:00] $1.5 trillion. [2:01] Mr. Secretary, please suspend until the order is restored in the hearing room. [2:16] We will begin the timing clock since you've been interrupted twice. [2:22] Please proceed. [2:29] 1.5 trillion is what the President seeks and what we need to defend the country. [2:36] The members of this committee understand better than most that long-term strategic dominance cannot be funded through one-off supplementals. [2:44] We will have order in the hearing room. [2:57] Mr. Secretary, please proceed. [3:04] Collectively, the budget proposals submitted under President Trump follow a simple logic. [3:11] I would ask that the Capitol Police, whose professionalism I admire, remove those who are seeking to disrupt the hearing. [3:28] Please proceed. [3:33] President Trump's following a simple logic. [3:35] The military requires a generational investment to deliver on peace through strength. [3:41] We know the best way to create peace is to prepare for war, to deter it. [3:45] And that's exactly what the Department of War is doing, building a force so capable that it would be absurd for anyone to challenge it. [3:53] As the direct result of neglected priorities and gross negligence that ignored threats left over from the previous administration, [4:02] President Trump inherited a set of global and domestic crises, deferred maintenance almost across the board. [4:09] Instead of steering the ship through gathering storms, former leaders led our military languish through social experiments and globalist appeasement, sheer weakness. [4:20] Under President Trump, we have built a different type of department. [4:24] The Pentagon is no longer run by bureaucrats. [4:27] Instead, it's led by combat-tested veterans and world-class business leaders who are running the department like a business, [4:35] and tech titans who are bringing lethal innovation to the battlefield. [4:39] We're also at a different moment, and we cannot afford inaction. [4:44] If we don't make critical investments right now in tech, in compute, in AI, in autonomy, in space, [4:52] our adversaries who are already making these types of investments could outpace us. [4:58] Without these funds, we face critical shortfalls that threaten our ability to also simply pay our service members, [5:06] rapidly replenish equipment and munitions, and sustain vital operations without disruption. [5:12] This supplemental request serves two purposes. [5:16] Sustain our military readiness to meet this year's new demands, [5:20] and accelerate critical capabilities to replace and augment those we have used in contingencies. [5:26] But make no mistake, this is not a one-for-one replacement. [5:29] We are upgrading and we are modernizing across the force. [5:34] On the readiness front, we requested $21 billion. [5:38] This will fund military pay, replace much of the equipment utilized during recent operations, [5:43] sustain forward-deployed forces, and grow personnel and strength, [5:47] while stabilizing mission-critical fueled shortfalls and supporting the National Guard. [5:52] On the capabilities side, we requested $46 billion. [5:58] These funds will expand production lines and accelerate delivery of high-demand munitions. [6:03] We're talking about solid rocket motors, JDAMs, hypersonics, and counter-drone capabilities. [6:09] Additionally, we will use this investment to secure digital and space dominance, including resilient satellite networks. [6:17] Department leadership recognizes that appropriating those funds is just the first step. [6:23] Once funds are appropriated, or apportioned, excuse me, to the department, [6:28] we need to promptly execute on them. [6:30] And that's why we're requesting targeted legislative authorities, like Transfer Authority, [6:34] to prioritize our greatest needs and opportunities, [6:37] multi-year procurement for weapons systems, revolutionizing the speed and scale of munitions procurement, [6:43] and New Start authorities. [6:45] Rest assured that every dollar appropriated to the Department of War will be focused on building the lethality of our joint force [6:54] and reinforcing peace through strength. [6:58] As I have said before, not fully funding this department, the Department of War, [7:03] and we know what that means, that that means $1.5 trillion, given the world that we live in [7:09] and the disaster of what the Biden administration budgets gave us, [7:12] not funding this department at $1.5 trillion, I believe, is the greatest threat that our nation faces. [7:18] Either we invest in our warriors at this moment of step change on the battlefield and growing threats, [7:26] or this is all just talk. [7:28] I look forward to working with this committee to secure those funds so that our warfighters [7:33] can continue to do their work every day to keep our great republic safe. [7:37] Thank you very much. [7:38] Thank you, Mr. Secretary. [7:41] General Kaine. [7:42] General Kaine. [7:43] General Kaine. [7:46] General Kaine, Vice Chair Murray, Distinguished Members of this Committee. [7:49] I'm honored today to appear before you with Secretary Hegseth and Secretary Rollins [7:54] to testify on the Department of War's Fiscal 2026 Supplemental Funding Request, [7:59] funding request. And I'll note I fondly remember my time at USDA earlier in my career where I had [8:05] the chance to serve there. I'm also joined today by my senior enlisted advisor, SEAC Dave Isom. [8:12] As always, I'm deeply grateful for this committee's continued partnership and support for our common [8:17] defense. I'd like to begin by expressing my deep condolences in that of the Joint Chiefs of Staff [8:25] and the SEAC for the fallen from this past weekend and their families. Today, we remember First [8:33] Lieutenant Tyler Feehan, Sergeant Michael Swinton, and Private Isabel Gonzalez, and note that the names [8:40] of our last fallen will be released when we can. I'm humbled daily by the profound commitment of the [8:47] incredible 2.8 million Americans, just like these names that I've just mentioned, who make up our [8:53] Joint Force and serve our nation every day. Also, on behalf of the Joint Force and the Joint Chiefs, [9:02] I want to express my sincere and heartfelt condolences to the family of Senator Graham [9:07] for their loss and all of you for the loss of your colleague. The Joint Force remains grateful [9:14] for his 44 years of service, both in and out of uniform. There is no doubt he made a difference to [9:21] the safety and security of our nation. On July 22, 1940, General George C. Marshall said, and I quote, [9:31] for almost 20 years, we had all of the time and almost none of the money. Today, we have all of the [9:38] money and no time. His words resonate powerfully with me today as we find ourselves in a somewhat [9:46] similar situation. I've come to you today to request the necessary funds while in the window of [9:53] opportunity, while time is still on our side. The United States of America faces a global list of [10:01] military challenges in the Middle East, in Europe, in the Pacific, both nuclear and non-nuclear challenges [10:09] and the continued threat of terrorism. We find ourselves living and leading in complex and dynamic [10:17] times. Our adversaries are aligning in their interests, creating simultaneous challenges across [10:24] multiple domains. They are sharing intelligence, combat capabilities, and technology, technology [10:31] that is accelerating the speed of war. It is an imperative that Americans understand that the character [10:40] of war is changing. Advances in technology are fundamentally and irreversibly changing the way we fight, [10:49] which necessitates capital to properly arm America's military. Rapid advancements in AI, autonomous [10:58] systems deliver critical technological advantages to our national defense and simultaneously introduce [11:07] unprecedented strategic vulnerabilities and uncertainty across the world, to include right here at home. [11:14] The low barrier to entry created by affordable, ubiquitous, unmanned systems means our adversaries, [11:22] rogue actors, state and non-state actors, and violent extremists have access to disruptive [11:28] and potentially lethal technologies at scale. We've seen this in Ukraine, and we must adopt elements of this [11:36] fight for our future fights. Conflict is never confined neatly to the land, sea, or air domains. The modern [11:46] battlefield stretches from the seabed up to cislunar space and beyond, cyberspace, and in the information [11:54] domain, all at the same time. Our nation must be prepared to fight and win across all of them, [12:02] all the time, all at once. In addition, the light speed at which information travels now has compressed [12:09] our leaders' decision space, taking what was once days or weeks in World War II down to milliseconds. [12:17] Your joint force must be ready because the United States military is America's greatest insurance policy, [12:23] And I acknowledge that all of us find it difficult at times to pay for insurance before we need it. [12:31] But we must have insurance before the storm comes. The armed forces of the United States of America [12:37] serves as our nation's ultimate safeguard and our insurance policy to preserve, protect, and defend [12:44] our national interests, security, and prosperity. To uphold this responsibility, we require predictable [12:52] and consistent funding. This will allow us to partner effectively with our defense and national [12:58] industrial bases, building on acquisition reforms that guarantee our warfighters receive capabilities [13:03] at scale before they are required in conflict or combat. I'm struck by this season of American history [13:11] the country we find ourselves in, and I continue to ask myself, if not now, then when? And if not us in [13:18] this room and the rest of the Congress in the nation, then who? I acknowledge the environment we all serve in, [13:25] but always remember that we are all Americans with deep and abiding love of our nation and our military [13:31] service members and their families. I've come today to ask for your help and your support. [13:37] America's armed forces need $1.5 trillion to meet the military challenges of the future. [13:43] This supplemental is a part of that, and to be allowed to use this capital to pay for military [13:48] personnel operations and maintenance expenses and accelerate investments on critical technologies, [13:55] as the Secretary just mentioned. It is critical that we stay ahead of our adversaries, [14:00] and we must have the funds before we're out of time. In closing, I ask all of us to remember [14:06] our deployed service members around the world right now, especially our Army teammates who [14:11] remain deployed after losing their friends and teammates this past weekend. And I again ask all of us [14:18] here in the Senate and across the American people to never forget our fallen and their families, [14:24] who continue to show us what courage, tenacity, grit, and commitment to the nation looks like. [14:31] Thank you very much, and I look forward to your questions. [14:33] Thank you, General. Secretary Rollins. [14:37] Thank you so much, Chairwoman Collins, Ranking Member Murray, [14:43] and distinguished members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. [14:49] Let me begin with the bottom line up front. The United States Department of Agriculture is joining today [14:56] the United States Department of War in a fight for America and for American flourishing. After all, [15:04] defending America's ability to feed and fuel and clothe herself is defending America full stop. [15:12] This can be easily forgotten. For centuries, we built farms and ranches and transportation [15:18] that fed not only America, but the world too. For a long time, that prosperity made America strong [15:25] and made America safe. But across the past 100 years, and especially across the last administration, [15:33] we took that source of strength in war and peace, our farms and our ranches and the communities that [15:39] surrounded them, and we hollowed them out. We made them weak, and we put them on the precipice of decline [15:46] and extinction. We sent our food production overseas. In fact, 2023 was for the first time a significant net [15:56] importer of our food for America. And in so doing, we replaced American production with massive amounts [16:03] of imports. We allowed and even encouraged the consolidation of agriculture, seed production, [16:13] processing, fertilizer, and beyond into massive industries at scale. Today, nearly 85% of our meat [16:22] packing capacity is controlled by just four companies, including two that are foreign owned. Additionally, [16:29] our largest pork company in America is owned by a China company or China. Four fertilizers in America [16:38] now represents—four fertilizer companies now represent 78% of the production versus just a couple of decades ago. [16:45] That was in the dozens. And two seed companies now produce more than 50% of the seed for America. These are national [16:54] security implications. When President Trump returned to office, America's farm economy faced one of the most [17:00] most difficult economic environments in decades. Between 2020 and 2025, the cost of seed rose 19%, crop [17:09] protection rose 30%, fertilizer rose over 50%, fuel and oils rose nearly 33%, electricity 36%, and repair and [17:20] maintenance 27%. As these costs climbed, commodity prices plummeted. Farm income fell by more than 90 billion [17:29] dollars from 2023 to 2024, representing one of the largest single-year declines in history. At the same time, [17:37] producers saw not one new trade deal across the world, resulting in an unprecedented $50 billion [17:46] agricultural trade deficit. American farmers deserve better, and our national security now demands it. [17:53] As long as we are beholden to foreign and even hostile countries for our food and our fuel, [18:00] our freedom is in jeopardy. Since my first day at USDA, we have been committed to addressing this crisis [18:06] head-on. In addition to implementing the historic working families tax cuts, thanks to so many in this [18:13] room who worked so hard, moving $40 billion in disaster and economic assistance to producers across the [18:19] country, securing 19 new trade deals and decreasing that $50 billion agricultural trade deficit in one [18:27] year by 42%. This year, our corn exports are expected to be at a record-breaking 35%, ethanol up 11%, dairy up 15%, [18:39] and tree nuts up 11%. We are making progress, but we have a ways to go. Administrator Zeldin has secured the [18:46] strongest renewable fuel standard volumes in history, and the president continues to support year-round [18:53] E15 for our domestic markets. We have led robust responses to animal health threats, including HPAI and [19:01] the New World Screwworm, and have reduced unnecessary regulatory burdens and partnered with producers to [19:07] strengthen the domestic demand for American agriculture. These are lasting reforms and will change [19:13] the trajectory of American agriculture for the future. The trade agreements will take time to fully [19:19] execute and generate even more exports. The biofuel investments take time to increase the demand for [19:26] American crops, although we're already seeing a 10% increase since just an announcement a month ago. [19:32] And, of course, on-shoring facilities like fertilizer will continue to take some time to build out. [19:38] But we are confident that the direction of American agriculture is changing for the better, but many [19:44] producers continue to face economic pressure as we build that economic infrastructure out. [19:51] Specialty crop growers across the Northeast, the Mid-Atlanta, the Pacific Northwest, and Florida [19:56] suffered devastating freeze losses this past winter. Producers across the plains continue recovering from [20:03] catastrophic wildfire and events occurring while many operations are still working to catch up [20:09] financially. That is why our proposed proposal includes $10 billion in temporary economic assistance [20:16] for 2026 row crop and specialty crop producers and also includes $1.1 billion to help producers recover [20:24] from catastrophic freeze losses suffered this past winter. Congress has taken similar action over many [20:31] decades, and we're so grateful for that, but including most recently 2023 and 2024 with economic aid and disaster [20:39] relief aid with the hurricane seasons. I want to be 100% clear as I close for the sake of American national [20:46] security, American existence, and the American future. We must in the long run in this system that has grown up [20:54] like a weed and strangled the American farmland in food production. Farmers want to farm for their products, [21:01] not for a government check. They want to be free from dependency and free to innovate. We know what happens [21:08] when they are able to do that. They build and feed the greatest republic in the history of man, but when they [21:14] aren't, well, we know the danger that we are in today. But that's why this supplemental is so important. [21:19] It provides a bridge and extends a hand to Americans who need it. It buys the nation the security that we [21:26] need, and it buys us time to deconstruct and then reconstruct a new system, putting our farmers [21:33] and ranchers first and to restore the system that originally made America great. For our farmers, [21:40] the defense of American freedom continues. They only ask to be free to fight. Thank you so much. [21:46] Thank you for your testimony. We will now begin with questions for our witnesses. As you can see, [21:54] we have a very full attendance of committee members today. So I would ask that all of our colleagues to [22:03] please keep track of the clock and stay within the allotted five minute question time. With that, [22:10] let me begin. Secretary Hickseth, General Kane, members on both sides of the aisle have questions [22:19] about the authorization strategy, objectives and conduct of operations in the Middle East. Regardless [22:27] of our differing views, the fact remains that there are must pay bills and urgent requirements facing the [22:37] department that affect the ability of our military to deter and defend against potential aggression [22:46] worldwide. Portions of the supplemental requests go toward paying these bills and are necessary to [22:56] restore readiness, repair or replace battle damage to aircraft, ships or bases and address urgent munitions [23:06] challenges. I understand and I'm told that some military services face near term solvency challenges. [23:17] What will be the impact on our troops if additional funding is not provided? Are there military exercises, [23:28] for example, that are at risk of cancellation? What message would we be sending to the world? Secretary Hickseth, [23:38] either you or Senator or General Kane? Chairwoman, I very much appreciate that question. And it's because it [23:47] it's connected to the real world realities of this budget cycle. There is training, training right now and [23:55] training in the future that would have to be curtailed if we do not get our budget needs met and met [23:59] urgently. And yes, some of that has to do with the current budget cycle and how things how things come [24:06] together. But we are a department that for four years met funding shortfalls under the previous [24:11] administration. It was not a priority to fund the Department of Defense under under Joe Biden. [24:15] It also took the munitions and a lot of the the there were five supplementals out of this committee [24:21] that took munitions one for one and sent them to Ukraine and had tried to replace them with the [24:26] same bureaucratic process that was too slow and didn't replace them in real time. And then there [24:30] were threats that were ignored around the world. So you're looking at a lot of negligence and a lot of [24:36] deferred maintenance that this department is having to catch up on. And so that's why I call this a [24:40] generational investment. It truly is. This is 1.5 trillion dollar budget with this supplemental being part of [24:46] it is how we catch up and get ahead and ensure in the process we're putting soldiers and sailors and [24:52] airmen first Marines first guardians that their pay increases that the end strength increases that have [24:58] gone up because recruiting is at historic levels are fully funded. So rather than trying to play catch up [25:03] and make sure we're not losing training we should be ahead of that curve and that's where we think 1.5 [25:08] trillion can get us. Thank you. Senator Cain, Senator Cain, General Cain, I'm going to ask you to respond [25:18] for the record because in my remaining time I do want to ask Secretary Rollins a question. Secretary [25:26] Rollins, as we heard from the previous panel, our country has many outstanding recovery needs from [25:34] disasters and other related weather related events over the past two years. As this chart shows and this [25:44] is a chart from your department many have unmet weather related agricultural losses. In Maine many of [25:54] our producers are struggling admit a combination of market volatility and disaster conditions last year [26:02] which included excessive rainfall in the spring followed by a severe drought. They need relief. Yet the [26:12] administration's supplemental request does not include funding to address these recovery needs. It does have [26:20] 1.1 billion to help Florida agricultural producers rebound from a severe freeze this past winter but nothing for prior [26:32] severe disasters in other states. Can you explain USDA's thinking behind focusing your request just on the 2026 [26:44] freeze rather than on the 2025 disaster declarations that you made? Yes, Senator, thank you for that [26:56] question. Obviously the discussions that went on over at OMB and with our teams continue but what I will say [27:04] is we are obviously 100 percent in support of any sort of disaster relief program for our farmers whether [27:11] it's hurricane, tornado, drought, freeze, etc. So look forward to working with you on that and specifically [27:19] understanding the larger context here that there's a lot of farmers, a lot of producers who are really hurting [27:25] not just in Florida and not just from the freeze. So it's important that we work together to solve for that. [27:30] Thank you. Senator Murray. Thank you, Chair Collins. Secretary Haig-Seth, your department received [27:39] 150 billion dollars last year in the Republicans big beautiful bill. It also received a record 839 [27:47] billion for fiscal year 2026 more money than you asked for last year. Combined that is a trillion dollar [27:54] budget for the year and as I already mentioned your department has yet to spend half of the reconciliation [28:00] funds. Despite that you are here today asking for tens of billions of dollars more for things that [28:06] you've already asked for in your FY27 request or that have nothing to do with Iran. This administration [28:13] has tried to sell this as an emergency request but it may be better understood as an attempt to skirt the [28:20] normal appropriations process. Here are just a few of the things requested in this Iran supplemental. [28:26] $800 million for the National Guard to patrol DC even longer. Over $1 billion for the Army to patrol the [28:34] southern border which is DHS's job. $900 million to support the administration's illegal boat strikes in [28:41] the Caribbean. Over $18 billion for munitions which you've already requested in your FY27 budget request. [28:49] And $1.7 billion to pay for your decision to recruit more people than the services need which was not [28:55] contemplated by the FY26 funding bill Congress recently passed. Now you've already submitted a [29:02] reprogramming request on this that our subcommittee is considering now which really underscores the point [29:08] I made in my opening remarks that the problem is not a lack of money but poor planning. So I'll be blunt [29:14] that the truth is your request does not make a lot of sense. So let me ask you a simple question. [29:20] Why exactly are billions of dollars more for the National Guard and this administration's illegal [29:25] strikes in the Caribbean urgently needed for the Iran war? Well Senator I wouldn't uh of course agree [29:34] with your characterization but why this kind of spending is needed is because of the gross negligence [29:38] and neglect of the Biden administration inside our department. Ran it like a bureaucracy uh abandoned uh [29:45] our our strength posture around the world so we're having to re-establish deterrence. [29:49] Uh just to you mentioned the end strength numbers and I will acknowledge that uh we are ahead of [29:53] schedule on end strength in recruiting. 8,000 in the Navy, 6,000 in the Army, 4,000 in the Air Force [30:00] because under President Trump there's been record and historic over 30-year recruiting records inside [30:05] our department since he won the election because the American people didn't want to sign up for what [30:10] Joe Biden was providing our military and they want to sign up for what President Trump is doing in his [30:15] leadership and so those are good problems to have that we need to fund and a reflection of momentum [30:20] and this budget will allow us to continue the kind of momentum that gets us ahead. My point is that a [30:24] lot of this request does not feel like an emergency and let me move on. Secretary Hague said like most [30:29] Americans I've had a lot of trouble following this administration's contradictory statements about [30:35] the war on April 8th you said and I quote their missile program is functionally destroyed launchers [30:42] production facilities and existing stockpiles depleted and decimated and almost completely ineffective. [30:49] Mr. Secretary, Iran has been firing at U.S. military bases in the region and ships for the last week. [30:56] How is it possible if their capabilities were quote functionally destroyed three months earlier as [31:02] she claimed for them to be doing this now? Senator, Iran is at the weakest point militarily it has ever been in [31:09] uh in the past decade certainly maybe in 47 years as they've gathered effectively a terror army and that [31:16] terror army was built to try to create conventional capabilities to defend against a pursuit of nuclear [31:21] weapons which meant thousands of ballistics missiles many of which we have destroyed others of which they [31:27] have put inside facilities and hidden in underground facilities that's what terror regimes would do so [31:32] I acknowledge they still have capabilities no doubt uh but the amount of the amount of damage that we've done to [31:36] them over the course of uh of the of these series of operations has put them in the worst place they've [31:41] ever been. Okay well let me move on on may 5th you claimed that Iran doesn't control the strait and you [31:46] said that there was a quote powerful red white and blue dome over the strait if that was true how did [31:53] Iran shrink ship traffic in the strait to trick to a trickle again last week? We pushed almost I believe [32:01] between 400 and 500 million bearers of oil under the nose of Iran over the course of project freedom which went [32:06] underground which I uh acknowledged after we did so covertly because it was more effective to do so [32:11] quietly than to do so publicly so we've been uh in control of moving traffic through there for quite [32:16] some time but will they retain the ability to recklessly shoot at commercial shipping and that's [32:20] what happened we had a ceasefire and then they shot at commercial shipping well you also said at that same [32:27] press conference and I'm going to quote you um you urged Iran to quote let innocent ships pass freely these [32:33] international waters belong to all nations not to Iran to tax toll or control last week President [32:39] Trump said the U.S. would charge a 20 percent toll to each ship to pass through the state so based on [32:45] your opposition to tolls did you talk to the president out of that idea or did someone else? Iran's not [32:54] charging tolls and they're shooting at ships right now but Trump said that he wanted to charge a 20 percent [33:00] toll we we have a blockade right now of all Iranian ships and Iranian ports and uh it's it's effective [33:10] Senator Murkowski thank you madam chairman and thank you all for for being here um uh challenging [33:17] challenging times I think we all recognize that Secretary Hegseth I want to ask um just specific to Iran [33:24] authorization um the administration has made the the case that the action in Iran falls under the [33:31] president's article 2 authorities and we we can have uh disagreement reasonable people can disagree [33:38] about the boundaries of the presidential war powers um and have for a long period of time but I look at [33:44] the war powers resolution and it's it's it's not ambiguous it requires the president to terminate [33:50] hostilities within 60 days absent congressional authorization so hostilities began February 28th [33:57] um uh May 1st um congress was informed that hostilities had ended but yet despite the fact that that hostilities had ended we were still seeing sailors being fired upon [34:12] um uh still activity then in June uh MOU is signed to preserve the ceasefire while negotiations continue that MOU has now collapsed [34:23] and we are seeing the uh resumed attacks in in the streets of humus on July 10 the administration sends [34:30] Congress a new war powers notification effectively starting restarting excuse me the 60-day clock again so [34:38] I'm concerned about this sequence because you have a situation where uh the claim essentially allows the [34:46] president to extinguish the war powers clock just at the moment that it becomes legally inconvenient [34:52] through declaration of temporary ceasefire then it's reset avoiding the congressional authorization that [34:59] the constitution requires and the war powers intends so we had an opportunity in previous uh probations [35:06] hearing for me to ask if you felt the administration had all the authority that it needed um you indicated at [35:13] that time that no uh it additional authority was not needed are you are you still is the administration still [35:21] taking that position about needing no authorization from congress at this time senator i know there's a [35:29] long um long-standing legal legal debate on this particular topic but we certainly as a department [35:34] take the share the position of the white house that we have all the authorities necessary at this moment [35:39] so so let me just kind of do a follow-on um uh in the clinton administration this is 1999 there was a [35:46] an operation that was launched operation allied force nato airstrikes against yugoslavia there was not [35:54] um a prior congressional authorization that was sought uh president clinton clinton notified congress under the [36:01] war powers resolution um and then uh sent subsequent to that sent congress an emergency supplemental funding [36:10] request it was about six billion dollars to cover the cost of kosovo operations congress then passed a [36:18] supplemental package that re that covered the uh president's request plus additional military funding [36:26] but congress never passed a standalone authorization for use of military force in in kosovo when the war [36:32] powers clock was set to run out then in in may of 1999 the the clinton justice uh [36:40] department's office of legal counsel issued an opinion holding that the supplemental appropriation [36:46] itself passed without any authorizing language satisfied the war powers resolution requirement [36:54] so is the department looking to that or intending to rely on that same reasoning that funding alone [37:02] can substitute for explicit congressional authorization senator i i would i would have to defer to our to our [37:11] legal department and we'll get back to you with our views on that but as of right now we think [37:15] standalone article 2 authorities exist for us to conduct this operation on behalf of the defense [37:19] of the american people that the president has those authorities and seeking this funding is important [37:23] in pursuit of that and our 1.5 trillion dollar budget but i wouldn't connect the two without [37:28] consulting with our legal folks first in my remaining time let me turn to you uh secretary rollins [37:35] um i appreciate that you have acknowledged that fishermen are farmers of the sea um i don't know [37:42] whether you are aware whether any fishermen will be eligible for any of the supplemental funding they too [37:47] have say faced many of the same challenges that our farmers have with high fuel costs uh the impact from [37:53] tariffs disasters um that we have seen uh in the 15 seconds remaining any help for our fishermen well i remember [38:02] having the conversation with you when we were going through the process and my commitment to you and [38:06] to senator collins and some of our others on the across the aisle was that it's time for usda to [38:12] recognize our fishermen as part of our farmers of the sea that's never happened before we now have an [38:17] office at usda focused on fishermen and so i think as you all move forward with the supplemental the [38:23] conversation obviously up to you all what that looks like but very supportive of treating our uh our [38:28] fishermen similarly to the rest of our farmers thank you thank you madam chair thank you senator durba [38:35] thanks madam chair mr secretary i'd like to ask you to help me reconcile some numbers it's my [38:43] understanding that this whole supplemental funding request is 87.6 billion dollars and most of the funding [38:50] 67 billion is for the department of defense yet we are told the department of defense still has 75 [38:57] billion in unobligated funding from last year's reconciliation package is that true roughly [39:06] correct numbers yes so you left some change on the dresser before you uh prepared to come for this [39:12] hearing what's going to happen to that 75 billion well that 75 is there's plans and designs on that part [39:19] of the rebuild of our military which had to be undertaken and so one big beautiful bill gave us [39:24] specific avenues but i'd have to get you the exact numbers of what that is left to be allocated [39:27] to do with the war in iran no this is this is rebuilding our military from what was not funded [39:32] in the past under the bite administration so that's these are this is from 2026 one big beautiful bill [39:38] which which helped move the president's priorities like golden dome for america move away from all the [39:42] woke priorities of of what the bite administration was pursuing give us a chance to start cutting these [39:47] deals on munitions all the things that we he the president wanted us to focus on ship building [39:52] hypersonics i mean the bite administration ignored hypersonics they just decided to pretend like that [39:56] technology didn't exist and we shouldn't invest in it there are things i i don't know what lloyd austin [40:01] did for four years i really don't i'm sure there's no amount of neglect the amount of stale thinking [40:07] and bureaucracy it was staggering when we took over so one big beautiful bill gave us let me interrupt [40:12] your speech for a minute mr secretary it's my turn to ask questions i've been listening patiently while you [40:17] made your presentation you estimated at one point that the cost of the war in iran was 29 billion [40:25] dollars but then added a caveat that there was a replacement of munitions for example do you have [40:31] a new estimate about what the war has cost us so far in this the fifth month of the first year [40:36] of this war in iran uh senator the estimate we have as of today is 37.5 billion and is the current [40:44] activity which we've been told about the exchange of fire back and forth uh in iran an indication that [40:50] that number is going to go up in the months ahead some of that number captures additional o m mill [40:56] pay and other that would be anticipated through the fiscal year so some of that anticipates what [41:00] costs would be going out in the future as well so the new number you've given me is what 37.5 [41:07] billion and that represents the cost of the war through what period of time through now for certain [41:13] aspects of it uh but also mill pay o m other anticipated costs through september 30th senator general [41:20] kane let me ask you a question i joined a group of senators somewhere here senator rounds senator coons [41:28] senator shaheen and met with president selensky in turquia during the nato summit he is very explicit [41:36] in terms of what he needed to win he feels the momentum in ukraine is moving to his side that he is [41:45] putting a foot forward instead of back is that your feeling sir i think uh the the pressure that ukraine is [41:54] putting on russia's substantive at this point do you acknowledge his request that we help them with [42:01] air defenses as a high priority sure i know he's made the request whether or not that moves forward [42:07] is always a debate at our civilian leadership but i'm aware of that request are you aware of the fact [42:12] that we appropriated and the president signed into law 400 billion dollars of supplemental funding [42:18] for ukraine including money for air defenses i am sir are you also aware the administration is [42:25] informed us that that money will not be available in many aspects until the next president is in [42:30] office sure i'm not aware of that my understanding uh my understanding was that that capital had been [42:37] allocated but i'll have to defer to my civilian leadership i'm sorry to tell you the pay plan [42:41] tells us to be prepared to spend that money in fiscal year 29 the new president whoever it may be [42:48] will make that decision if you're talking about air defenses and the momentum on side of zielinski [42:54] what impact will it have if we cannot fund this for three years that's right i want to highlight [43:00] that the incredible work that the ukraine industrial base is doing is they scale their own capabilities [43:07] it ranges from their surface-to-air capabilities to their air-to-air capabilities i'll note that [43:13] recently we had the first air-to-air kill where ukrainian f-16 shot down a russian fighter [43:19] so i think their ability to scale their layered defense has come along a long way over the past [43:26] uh couple years with the help and assistance of many general thank you for your service to the [43:32] country i'm sorry for our losses i believe 17 servicemen have given their lives in iran so far and [43:39] hundreds hundreds have been injured we should acknowledge that fact and let me also say we're in [43:44] a moment in history where we can win the war in ukraine that victory would be critically important for [43:49] those people who have fought for more than four years against the odds and proven they can put put [43:55] back on his heels but instead of finding the money that they need now for air defenses we're putting [44:00] more money into this exchange with iran a war of choice which we never should have entered thank you [44:06] general senator moran chairman collins thank you very much uh let me first begin uh with just a [44:14] statement to you uh secretary rollins thank you for your leadership uh thank you for your attention to [44:19] disaster assistance hugely significant and important uh in uh in many states represented here but [44:26] across the country and uh it is as challenging circumstances as i've seen farmers in uh in my [44:33] time and represent representing them in the united states congress uh and i appreciate my colleague [44:39] senator rounds for making that case today i appreciate the efforts by senator bozeman the chairman of the [44:44] ag committee and senator rounds and and uh his vice chairman shaheen for their efforts here on this [44:50] committee for that effort secretary hagseth let me ask you uh about your recent visit to the 101st airborne [44:57] division you saw the mv-75 cheyenne you saw it firsthand and heard from soldiers as i understand it about [45:05] the next generation capabilities how they will transform the way we fight uh the cheyenne has broken through and [45:13] it appears to me in the acquisition bureaucracy uh to deliver a capability for our war fighting much [45:20] faster than it otherwise would have happened as you look across acquisition i mean we're here talking [45:27] about appropriations but the ultimate success we'll have in defending our country is putting that money [45:32] to work as quickly as possible so as you look at acquisition uh what would you tell me we learned from [45:40] the cheyenne is it a model how the department can uh it intends to feel the next generation of capacity [45:47] going forward what does the program need from this committee uh to meet both the schedule and the [45:53] necessity of its capabilities senator i appreciate the question i think it's in part one of the untold [46:00] stories of our department is is how we try to revolutionize the speed and scale of new acquisitions [46:06] and procurement some of it through munitions and ensuring that companies pay for building their [46:10] own factories and their own assembly lines so that we're saving billions and billions as taxpayers [46:15] while companies invest and when you invest in something with your own money you want to see it [46:19] succeed ahead of schedule and on time also opening the aperture so it's not just the prime contractors [46:24] that are competing but new entrants who make uh high cost and low cost capabilities i think in particular [46:30] on the cheyenne and and and you know the black hawk and the replacement the gap that some have have [46:36] identified could exist based on the hesitation on speed and replacement is is exists because of an [46:43] austerity mindset again that goes back to the biden administration of divest to invest and so you end [46:49] up divesting in certain systems like the black hawk before the next one is online creating gaps for [46:54] actual operators and what we're funding in this supplemental and across this budget is the ability [46:59] to do both make sure the systems we rely on the battlefield right now are delivered and that newer [47:04] entrants that we're going to need for long-range fight to deliver uh to be more survivable in [47:10] contested environments which you're talking about when i had a chance to see it that the soldiers were [47:14] proud to be in it because they felt like it would give them greater advantage in the future we need [47:18] to accelerate the timelines of those and deliver them even more quickly uh and when you allow new entrants [47:24] with all the right incentives those things happen and it's happening in that will that take place [47:28] i think you may have just said this but will that will take place uh uh in this circumstance of the [47:34] cheyenne i believe in in this administration because of the policies of this administration [47:38] it is likely to do so just like the b21 just like the f47 just like so many other of our exquisite [47:44] munitions that otherwise would have taken years and years to even get into development we're moving [47:49] those things left by in some cases years so that we get them in the hands of war fighters who would need [47:54] them right now and not held up in bureaucracy in this town uh thank you sir uh let me turn to you [47:59] general kane uh the department is requesting significant supplemental to address the ongoing [48:05] operational demands our adversaries are watching how we resource this moment uh beijing moscow tehran [48:16] are all increasingly coordinating their activities and intelligence uh in your judgment do you believe [48:24] our adversaries view this moment as an opportunity to exploit u.s commitments elsewhere and how does [48:31] this supplemental ensure our deterrence posture and our commitments to allies remain credible [48:36] in every theater all at once well sir thanks for the question in in my job it's to look across [48:43] the globe and look at the range of trade-offs out there we are the strongest military in the world [48:50] our adversaries still fear america's ability to project power at the time and place of our choosing [48:57] there is no doubt that they are aligning as i've said before and i think this supplemental and whatever [49:04] funding structure the congress working with the executive branch decides to structure and give us [49:09] the capital we'll use that capital to ensure that we sustain that sir you're assuring us that this [49:14] supplemental and further efforts uh will reduce the risk to our nation and its national securities uh [49:21] that's right i i view this and i've spoken to some of you uh on the phone uh leading up to this i view [49:26] this as future investments to buy down risk similar to what i said marshall thought through in those heady [49:33] days in 1940 where the need to invest capital early to deliver scale uh is uh is an opportunity that i hope [49:42] i hope we don't miss senator general thank you thank you chairwoman senator reed thank you [49:49] madam chairman uh secretary roland i just want to reiterate a point that uh senator padilla made [49:56] we have 10 billion dollars in this request for midwestern farmers who are suffering because of the [50:03] uh interruption of fuel and fertilizers because of the president trump's war unauthorized war uh yet [50:11] that uh many states blue states particularly have submitted requests where island has one [50:18] february we had the worst snowstorm in our uh recent history uh and we've been denied by the [50:25] president in fact if you look at the numbers 20 of blue states seem to get approved and about 80 [50:31] percent of red states i'm making a point not asking a question this is unfair thank you uh secretary [50:39] hexa uh on february 28th when you initiated this war without authorization from congress the straits [50:46] of hormuz was open and providing vital fuel supplies for the whole world now they're closed effectively [50:54] impacting globally the price of oil and the economies of the whole world but the department of defense has [51:02] been planning for potential operations against iran for many many years and one of their obvious [51:09] assumptions was that the strait of hormuz could be closed uh were you unaware of that uh senator [51:20] you are correct uh nobody plans more and looks at more contingencies than our department and so of [51:25] course undertaking a historic effort like this of this scope and scale of course the strait of hormuz [51:30] was front and center in every single aspect of that hence why one of our key objectives to begin with [51:34] was to uh sink the entirety of uh iran's navy which its conventional navy was sunk now you can't get [51:41] rid of every single fast boat and every single machine gun and a fast boat or every single uh [51:45] coastal cruise missile so we acknowledge that if the state decided to become a terror state shooting [51:50] at commercial shipping that would be an ongoing and contested part of the battle uh to include their [51:55] willingness to mine international water so one side uh weaponized the strait and we've been [52:00] fighting really aware that the strait of hormuz could be closed and obviously sinking their ships [52:05] has not affected their ability to effectively close the straits did did you we had u.s boats that [52:12] surrendered to iranian ships under the biden administration uh so their navy was effective [52:16] in we're talking about the war you started not a situation in which oil was flowing freely there was no [52:25] conflict we went losing uh personnel as a result of iranian actions so uh your fallback to the biden [52:33] administration is just a very very uh obvious uh excuse for what i think is probably as you [52:41] described so often gross negligence you did not fully inform the president that you would be in a [52:47] situation where the strait of hormuz could be effectively closed oil prices could surge and effectively [52:55] the iranians could maintain their ability to strike back as they are right now they just killed [53:01] some of our servants last weekend um this battlefield and all the dynamics of it of which the chairman [53:08] and i are responsible for ensuring the president understands every branch and sequel of what could [53:12] happen and we did so the fact that those contingencies all were part of the possibility and we understood [53:17] that is all the more reason why president trump deserves the kind of praise he should get for [53:22] undertaking this effort having the courage to ensure that crazy islamists can't have a nuclear weapon [53:27] to hold us at issue and he's been willing to say excuse me that regardless of the challenge excuse me [53:33] so he should be praised he should be praised for souring war without authority creating a situation in [53:40] which the world economy is suffering tremendously we have that has extra money for our farmers and we have [53:47] no outcome uh at least no really realistic outcome in sight yet let me switch to general kane general kane [53:54] uh these airstrikes have not yet deterred and defeated the uh iranians do you think airstrikes [54:01] alone will do that sir i think academically as you look across the totality of history air power's got [54:09] limits and we always have to be mindful of those i think where america's area of exclusivity is is when [54:16] we bring the totality of the diplomatic informational economic and pair that with the military and there's [54:23] a lot of that work going on well the military the next step would be escalation by ground combat [54:29] do you anticipate that escal escalation sir i i think it'd be unhelpful for me to opine on [54:35] hypotheticals what i can tell you is we always develop an unbelievable amount of options and the [54:41] associated risks and then my main job is to always ensure that leaders understand those options and the [54:47] risks now if you employ ground troops to seize objectives which principle i would assume be the [54:53] first stage are you prepared for an extended guerrilla war which would likely happen in that area [54:59] sir with all due respect i think it'd be unhelpful for me to opine on hypothetical situations on whatever [55:06] decisions the president may or may not take in the future have you advised the president that [55:12] uh ground combat would be very expensive in the lives of armed soldiers sailors marines airmen [55:20] and also could probably lead to an extended uh uh unconventional war in that area i don't see the [55:27] iranians sort of throwing the hands of saying you know welcome to iran uh senator i always advise the [55:36] president on a range of military options and all of the risks that are contained within that but i have [55:43] to keep my military advice to the president private sir but well thank you thank you senator hoven thank [55:51] you madam chair secretary rollins uh i want to thank president trump i want to thank you for including farm [55:57] bridge assistance in this supplemental request i know i've worked very hard to get included i know [56:03] you have worked very hard to get included and i want to thank you and your whole department for your [56:08] work on it and for this vital support of our farmers and ranchers what i want to ask you about though [56:14] is actually crop insurance the number one risk management tool that our farmers have is crop insurance [56:20] and the uh buy up option is critically important it covers 67 million acres 67 million acres of farmland [56:30] land in this country it uh it was uh decommissioned and we need to get reinstated [56:38] again you and i both worked very hard on this please update me on where we are in terms of getting [56:43] that buy-up option for crop insurance reinstated we are 100 supportive of that and are moving forward to [56:50] execute that buy-up option uh thank you for your leadership on that senator thank thank you for [56:55] your support also secretary uh assistant secretary fortis for his uh support um it it's very impactful [57:04] very important and will make a big difference for our farmers right now so thank you for that [57:08] thank secretary heggseth uh are russia and china uh helping iran and if so how well senator as the [57:21] chairman alluded to there's definitely adversary alignment uh attempts to do so uh and there are many [57:28] ways that we deter that some of which are and and the depth and extent of it ought to remain classified [57:35] and it should but there are ways in which both of those countries are limiting at different levels [57:41] uh enabling some of the things iran is doing yes general kane would you like to add sir i'd rather um [57:50] not opine on the specifics because that would divulge what we know and i never want the adversary to know [57:59] what i know i just want to know it and hopefully we'll get a chance to do that yes sir yes sir happy [58:05] happy to do that in the skiff sir this so this relates both uh to the funding but also again to [58:12] how we achieve our objectives uh with iran uh starting with you secretary can we get to the point [58:19] and we're seeing continued i think improvement and progress on this but essentially where we can work [58:26] and hopefully our allies will they need to step in there with us but where we get to the point where [58:31] we can uh operate in the strato hormuz but keep iran blockaded we're continuing to get better at that [58:39] but that's how we keep they'll never do anything that they say they're going to do they've proven [58:43] that over and over we have to keep the pressure on but if we can do that effectively we keep the [58:47] pressure on and achieve our objectives tell us where we are in getting that accomplished senator i think [58:54] that's a really good point that's effectively what we did to create the pressure that led [58:59] to the circumstances of the mou which was a we're running that running a route where ships and we did [59:04] it covertly uh in cooperation with gulf countries and others who were willing to take take some of [59:08] the risk with our protection and then maintain the blockade so effectively oil is coming in and out [59:13] oil prices are coming down but our blockade is staying and the pressure is mounting on iran that's [59:17] something we have done and can continue to do we moved into an mou where iran said we won't shoot at [59:23] shipping and then they turned the irgc turned around and decided to start shooting at commercial [59:27] shipping again at which point the president i mean as he should cannot tolerate that and so we respond [59:33] as he said 10 times you shoot at ships we're going to shoot at you overwhelmingly which we have been [59:37] doing now uh for i believe it's a 10th consecutive uh evening so consequences come with the willingness [59:43] to shoot at commercial shipping our blockade has been reimposed and is effectively impenetrable we [59:49] we've uh we mount we got seized a ship inside the arabian gulf as well so there's a lot of different [59:55] angles to it a lot of levers we can pull and ultimately a lot of the strikes that admiral cooper [1:00:01] and centcom have been undertaking are taking iran's ability to see and sense away in the strait of hormuz [1:00:07] which has uh tactical benefits for us and that's what this funding is about this funding is about making [1:00:13] sure that we and our allies can operate in the strait of hormuz which helps bring down energy prices for [1:00:18] every single american consumer and that we force iran to meet our objectives isn't that what this [1:00:24] package is all about this is a peace through strength package that's what 1.5 trillion has [1:00:31] always been about a generational investment at a as the chairman alluded to a step change moment we [1:00:37] need to be able to do it at speed at scale with autonomy with ai with height with exquisite high cost [1:00:43] and low cost to be ahead and get stay ahead so that you're not just able to do what we need to do in [1:00:49] the strait of hormuz but deter adversaries like russia and china from getting involved in future [1:00:53] contingencies and just general kane for any follow-up that you would like on that issue sure i wouldn't [1:00:58] have anything to add okay again thank you and thank you to all of our men and women in uniform we [1:01:04] appreciate them so much senator shaheen thank you madam chair secretary hegseth since you last testified [1:01:14] before this committee we finally received the spin plan for the 400 million fy26 appropriation for [1:01:21] ukraine security assistance this funding was passed back in january and now there are only three [1:01:27] months left in this fiscal year and while i appreciate that we now see what most of the funding is [1:01:35] intended for i just heard from the ceo of one of the manufacturers of the defense articles that are [1:01:41] contained in the spin plan that they not only haven't received funding but they haven't even seen a [1:01:48] contract so when are we going to see a contract for those defense articles that are contained in the [1:01:54] spin plan for iraq i'm sorry for ukraine for ukraine uh senator i'll have to get back to you on the [1:02:01] specifics of the timeline of that i'll talk to our policy shop as well as the ucom commander determine [1:02:06] where that's at well you've told this committee that you've barely spent half of the 150 billion in [1:02:11] reconciliation funding and if you still have 75 billion available why are you asking the american [1:02:18] people to absorb the cost of a war they don't support instead of asking for transfer authority [1:02:24] for unspent reconciliation funding especially if you can't even get 400 million dollars in ukraine [1:02:30] funding out the door as i mentioned earlier senator that money from the one big beautiful bill is [1:02:37] otherwise allocated to the rebuilding of our military with priorities of the president like golden dome for [1:02:41] america and hypersonics and other munitions investments that we made up front as we tried [1:02:46] to adjust the biden budget budget into an america first budget and so reallocating that away from those [1:02:51] priorities is robin peter to pay paul those are allocated to rebuild my point and ultimately we're [1:02:56] committed if you can't spend it on a timeline that makes sense why do you need to come back and ask for [1:03:03] more money wouldn't it be better to spend money that you already have and one of the things i noted was [1:03:10] or at least i think that this supplemental doesn't include funding to repair damage to our bases or [1:03:15] to our military infrastructure in the region and i have not heard that we've gotten the full extent of [1:03:23] any of those damage estimates so should we expect another request to address that military construction [1:03:30] costs and at what point do you stop asking americans to foot the bill for a war they don't support on top of [1:03:37] an inflated budget um request and billions in reconciliation funds that you still haven't [1:03:43] spent well senator i obviously don't agree with your characterization of that uh i appreciate that [1:03:49] but you didn't ask but i want you to answer my question i know you don't agree with my characterization [1:03:54] i don't agree with yours either well i one of the reasons i do i care i take issue with that [1:04:01] characterization is something that senator durbin said when he talked about ukraine and he talked about [1:04:05] winning and i appreciate as much as anybody winning a war but i sit in front of a committee that wants [1:04:10] to talk about winning a war that's been going on for four years and talks about strategic defeat of [1:04:14] a conflict that's been going on for four month months to prevent iran from getting a nuclear bomb [1:04:18] i want i i would hope for some perspective in this town of the historic nature of what president [1:04:23] trump is undertaking do you want radical islamist i don't want to i don't want to hear down the world [1:04:27] because i have limited time i don't understand you can't answer my question then i will move on to my next [1:04:33] question secretary rollins the timber industry has also been hard hit as you know by trade wars by [1:04:41] drought by wildfires by other natural disasters that are increasingly common in new hampshire which is the [1:04:49] second most heavily forested state in the nation the one of the things that we really need as you know [1:04:56] because we've had this conversation is a research program and forest service staffing on the ground [1:05:03] in a variety of ways but particularly at bartlett experimental forest these small investments [1:05:10] in research and staffing and sound management help make the forest economies healthier and more [1:05:15] competitive i very much appreciate your having staff visit bartlett last week with my staff and with [1:05:22] staff from the governor's office but can you commit to restoring staffing at bartlett and to keeping the [1:05:30] facilities there open now that you've seen the critical nature of that research why don't i follow [1:05:39] up with you i have not gotten a report from their visit so i would like to do that first but obviously you [1:05:43] and i have been in a continuing conversation about that the good news there's no doubt our timber industry [1:05:49] is in distress and has been for a long time the fact that we import 90 percent or something from other [1:05:54] countries of our lumber needs is crazy we're changing that but the good news we had more board feet sold [1:06:01] last year than any time in 30 years this year we're going to exceed that target again so we're making the [1:06:07] right moves on this but there's no doubt that research is important to that as we've discussed and i'll [1:06:12] follow up with our team and then we'll we'll reconnect thank you i appreciate that as you pointed out [1:06:17] research is critical to ensuring that the timber economy continues to be successful thank you madam chair [1:06:23] senator kennedy thank you madam chair thank you all for being here today uh general in in the war [1:06:37] between russia and ukraine who do we want to win uh sir i want i want ukraine to win is russia our [1:06:49] america's friend i'm sorry sir i couldn't quite hear your question russia america's friend uh i i think [1:06:58] that depends on your definition of friend i think it's a complicated relationship but no i don't think [1:07:06] they're our friends thank you if we could cut off russia's cash flow which suspend which depends [1:07:22] substantially on its sale of oil would that help ukraine win for i think militarily anytime you can [1:07:30] restrict uh resources and cash flows against uh an adversary that's a good thing i have so much respect [1:07:38] for you yes sir but i have so little time yes sir i'll try to be briefer give me succinct answers yes [1:07:45] sir it would it would assist a uh but help would yes sir yes sir okay um if we could stop people entities [1:07:58] and countries from buying russia's oil that would help cut off its cash flow wouldn't it yes sir we have a [1:08:08] bill to do that as i'm sure you're aware we have the votes today to pass it overwhelmingly i have [1:08:23] also have enormous respect and admiration for our majority leader senator foone but i hope everybody on [1:08:33] this panel will today contact senator foone and ask him to bring that bill to the floor we should vote on [1:08:47] it at a minimum of next week some of my colleagues general want america to just stop in iran in the [1:09:03] blockade bring all of our our our warriors home what would be the consequences of that in your estimation [1:09:17] sure i think uh termination criteria is always a political decision however i assess that uh iran will [1:09:24] continue to be a challenge moving forward so we have to uh be thoughtful will they put tolls on the [1:09:31] straight i don't know sir that's a decision that's a hypothetical and will depend on what happens not [1:09:36] hypothetical we've got a blockade to stop them we do sir that's an economic pressure i'm not asking you [1:09:44] for i'm not trying to get you in trouble i know your advice to the president is uh it is is private but [1:09:53] this is serious as four heart attacks and a stroke now what happens if we come home and in the blockade [1:10:04] to the world sir iran uh has the potential to continue to be a threat and we're we will need [1:10:13] to prepare military will they toll the straight sir that's a hypothetical question and i don't know [1:10:19] the answer to that oh it's not hypothetical you come up we come home it's not going to be hypothetical [1:10:25] you know that general and i do too and and i i appreciate your discretion but we're down to it [1:10:34] we need some hard answers and some straight talk what will happen pete senator i would i would agree [1:10:43] with the chairman but the likely outcome is they would try to impose their will on the on the waterways [1:10:47] in ways that uh that would they the world would not like call it a toll call it a fee call it an [1:10:52] exchange call it control they would do something that they would try to hold it at issue yes would they [1:10:57] would they try to uh to to redevent to uh commence development again of a nuclear warhead part of [1:11:07] the reason president trump had to have the courage to do what he did after midnight hammer is that they [1:11:10] didn't give up their ambitions even though their nuclear sites had been obliterated so this is a [1:11:14] regime hell-bent on nuclear ambitions and guys we need straight answers we need straight answers do we have [1:11:24] the ability to destroy whatever is underneath pickaxe mountain a lot of senator a lot of our capabilities [1:11:35] are classified but if anybody in the world can reach anything on this on god's given god's green earth [1:11:40] it's the united states military the most powerful military in the world it's all about options and [1:11:43] trade-offs all right i'm going to take a little extra time because others got it madam chair i won't [1:11:48] abuse it secretary uh are our shrimpers farmers absolutely yes they're farmers of the sea oyster [1:11:58] harvesters farmers yes in this usda yes having to compete with other countries who grow oysters [1:12:04] and shrimp in a ditch and shoot them for a pilot for full of antibiotics 100 yes and if you eat too much of [1:12:13] that foreign foreign shrimp and oysters you'll grow an extra ear won't you i'm not sure about that but [1:12:21] i know it is not good and i also know we are 90 percent of our shrimp the shrimp and the oysters from [1:12:26] abroad well it goes much larger than that why are we importing so much from abroad which goes to the [1:12:31] president's trade agenda i'm in big trouble yes you are guys look we need straight answers now we're down [1:12:40] too senator merkley oh thank you madam chair and secretary rollins i appreciate your partnership [1:12:50] on addressing several issues in oregon and i sent you information about a couple others and you responded [1:12:56] appreciate it we'll follow up on the research service we'll follow up on the concern about in-kind [1:13:02] contributions uh serving as a as as a match but i particularly uh need your help on the fire [1:13:11] funding and i know you've indicated how and how important that is where we stand now is that uh [1:13:19] the senate seems hamstrung that they're seeking to have omb give them a number on that uh various [1:13:26] sources say the number is probably about five billion i don't really care if it's 4.5 or 5 or 5.5 the [1:13:33] point is that folks here senators are asking for a number from omb in order to go forward and when we're [1:13:41] looking at the fires right now in my home states the epicenter of of the highest risk in the in the [1:13:46] country so can we get your help to get that number and move this process yes absolutely it is a paramount [1:13:53] importance especially in the middle of fire season right now thank you thank you so much thank you and [1:13:58] chairman uh kane uh the um i think there was a a sense that the the president expressed at the start of [1:14:07] the war uh that the u.s military power was overwhelming and would likely produce unconditional [1:14:14] surrender quickly by by iran uh and that obviously hasn't happened was it your opinion as as well did [1:14:23] you feel like the the our military force could produce an unconditional surrender and quick order [1:14:31] sir i won't uh i with due respect i won't share my private advice to the president what i will assure [1:14:37] you and the american people as i always speak truth to power and offer um an accurate assessment of [1:14:43] what my assessment is of both our readiness the plans and activities that might be undertaken [1:14:49] the associated risks and the secondary and tertiary considerations that go with those opinions or [1:14:55] options uh thank you so you feel like the various risks that the iran would close this could possibly [1:15:02] close the strait despite the destruction of their navy that the possibility of assassinating their [1:15:07] political leaders and their military leaders could produce a strengthened hardline and weakened reformers [1:15:14] that iran would have the ability to sustain its ability to attack sites throughout the middle east [1:15:20] that the initial requirements of the war could surely deplete our basically high-end standoff munitions [1:15:29] that uh this could affect our our relations with our allies all those worth factors well considered [1:15:36] in this decision to go to war sir as i said i won't opine on or share my private advice to the [1:15:43] yeah i'm not asking about your vice president i'm asking you did you understand these issues or have [1:15:47] these become revelations as the wars unfolded sir my job is to understand all of the considerations [1:15:53] that go into the carefully considered use of military power let me ask you this then yes sir i i understand [1:15:59] why you don't want to respond but these are these are all massive risks that seem to be poorly weighed [1:16:06] in the in the beginning of this uh misadventure uh currently there are reports that we have hit the [1:16:13] bonji desalination plant that provides water to about 20 villages or about 10 000 people and we also [1:16:19] damaged the desalination plant at kesham island uh were these deliberate targets by the united states [1:16:25] so i'm not aware of those as being particular targets nor am i aware of those reports and i'll [1:16:31] have to go back and get back to you on that if you could i'd appreciate that you are aware that [1:16:36] infrastructure that civilians rely on to survive is not generally considered legitimate military targets [1:16:42] sir as you know we have a robust process which considers a target that goes through a system that [1:16:48] looks at a variety of considerations to include what you're alluding to around both purely civilian or [1:16:53] dual use targets i have trust and confidence in centcom uh that they're looking at the range of those [1:17:00] things on it it sounds like you are assuring us that we will the united states not target even in [1:17:06] retaliatory sense of infrastructure that is generally considered to be primarily for civilian survival [1:17:16] sir as i mentioned we have a robust process and uh you know we have the most professional military [1:17:22] force it just be nice to have you say yes because this is international law yes you understand the [1:17:27] international law i do sir i've got a lot of lawyers that help me understand thank thank you yes [1:17:32] sir uh you'll will you get back to us on that question of whether we targeted the desalination plants [1:17:37] and if so uh if if so why um my time's up but i do want to express uh encouragement to look at what the [1:17:48] negotiators have put forward or uh advisors as to whether a 10-day break could facilitate returning to [1:17:57] dialogue that might find a path forward senator height smith thank you madam chairman and i want to thank [1:18:05] all three of you for being here today i am going to direct my first question to secretary rollins and again i want to [1:18:13] commend you publicly for the outstanding job you're doing at usda you know this is my world as former ag [1:18:21] commissioner i hear from a lot of producers in mississippi and they are so pleased with your [1:18:27] performance and that is just truly genuine right there but i'm pleased to see the administration's [1:18:34] supplemental request as for ag producers because before i comment on that i just want the entire committee [1:18:41] and administration to take note of the tremendous timber losses as well in places like mississippi [1:18:47] due to winter storms and the tornadoes we've had there it is significant and i certainly look forward [1:18:53] to working with you with the concerns of the timber sector regarding this supplemental you know our row crop [1:19:02] producers as you've mentioned in your opening remarks they are truly in a serious situation i've [1:19:11] talked to multi-generation farmers back home who are the best of the best that did not even plant this [1:19:18] year because they could not make the numbers work and producers in mississippi and nationwide you know we [1:19:25] continue to face these economic conditions they're not going away anytime immediately or soon but we've seen the [1:19:33] commodity prices drop and the input costs just go through the roof if we want the next generation to [1:19:41] stay on the land congress we're going to have to take this opportunity to provide this critical market [1:19:49] assistance for our farmers and enact policies that build structural demands for commodities like the buy [1:19:58] american cotton act that year-round e15 all of which would make the paths better more favorable for [1:20:08] these producers going forward but i appreciate the administration's effort to this date including [1:20:14] the farmer bridge assistance program that was so valuable implementation of the updated farm safety [1:20:20] net with working families tax cut act and now the supplemental request before congress but will you [1:20:28] speak to why it's critical for congress to act swiftly to pass this supplemental and the need for us to pass [1:20:35] legislation that drives the demand for farmers products yes thank you senator for your kind words a couple [1:20:43] of really important points number one as we work to open the markets around the world and we're seeing [1:20:48] as i mentioned in my opening remarks uh just extraordinary numbers that 50 billion dollar agricultural [1:20:53] deficit we inherited a year and a half ago is now down into the 20-ish billion we expect it to go down [1:20:59] significantly this year again the highest price we've seen in over a year and corn is today and soybeans [1:21:06] is today etc your point senator about opening up the domestic markets is really important whether that's [1:21:11] e15 renewable fuel standards obviously the rvo's came out which is a reason for the drive up [1:21:17] and some of our row crop prices in the last month which is really important but also as i mentioned [1:21:21] bringing the cost of inputs down we are expanding fertilizer the largest ammonia plant we're going to break [1:21:27] ground in louisiana in two weeks reshoring bringing back to america real fertilizer production and then [1:21:33] also the long term we got to figure out how we are we are doing these supplementals and these bridge [1:21:39] payments which we have to do for these farmers to survive but what we're seeing is just survival [1:21:45] and we're seeing a lot of the input companies equipment seed fertilizer make record profit so we've got [1:21:51] to be able to dig into that as well but as of today ensuring that we can keep these farmers farming while [1:21:57] we're opening the markets while we're bringing down the cost of inputs is paramount for a secure america [1:22:02] and that's why this is so important today thank you very very much for that and secretary headset [1:22:08] thank you for being here and the amazing job that you're doing i have the utmost respect for you your [1:22:14] team and what you're accomplishing but i as well am committed to ensuring that our war fighters have [1:22:21] all the tools necessary to accomplish the mission in iran and whatever else that they need to defend [1:22:28] our nation's interest the supplemental request is in line with that goal and i'd like to shift my [1:22:34] conversation right now quickly to ship building which is extremely important to the state of mississippi [1:22:40] and our country's ability to protect itself the president's fy 2027 budget requests funding for one ddg 51 [1:22:51] while navy leaders have said their goal remains to build two destroyers a year and at the same time [1:22:57] the department is exploring options for using allied shipyards and overseas fabrication and future naval [1:23:03] construction which raises questions about the long-term role of the american naval industrial base or [1:23:09] shifting work away from domestic shipbuilders shipyards like ingles in mississippi which i would love to [1:23:17] invite you down to there it is amazing and the thousands of suppliers and small businesses they [1:23:23] support they need the confidence that the work will be there so they can invest in new facilities hire and [1:23:29] train skilled workers and expand capacity that we will need in the future will you help or talk to us about [1:23:36] the department's short and long-term shipbuilding plan and how it gives industry the confidence to invest [1:23:42] um you just you just made the case for this generational investment because of the under [1:23:47] investment senator in shipbuilding in the previous administration just static flat bureaucratic slow [1:23:54] we're having to revitalize that industry and one ddg is a reflection of a backlog and capability so as we [1:24:00] ramp on more capacity those numbers of ddgs the workhorse of our navy will go up as we grow that force [1:24:07] the center's time has expired thank you senator coons thank you chairman collins ranking member murray [1:24:14] thank you secretary hegseth secretary rollins general kane for your service i want to start with [1:24:19] the things i know we agree on we agree that we should honor our fallen that we should stop and remember [1:24:26] them and console and comfort their families that we should be mindful of the hundreds of americans who've [1:24:32] been wounded and injured in this war in iran general kane your observations about how our adversaries [1:24:39] are aligning more and more closely technology is accelerating and cheap and lethal and easily [1:24:45] accessible drones pose greater and greater risks to our troops our homeland and our security and [1:24:50] secretary hegseth that we need to protect our troops wherever our president directs them that [1:24:55] we need to protect our partners and allies and that the dangerous radical iranian regime should [1:25:00] never possess a nuclear weapon i think we agree on all of these core basic points where i think we [1:25:06] may disagree is on this supplemental and on the strategic choices made to achieve some of these core [1:25:13] goals we're 143 days into a war with iran a war of choice that we started with israel but did not [1:25:20] include consult or incorporate our core allies our nato allies our regional allies the american people [1:25:27] and congress and the reason to consult and include our allies and congress and the american people [1:25:33] is so that when the costs and the length of a war extend beyond what we'd initially imagined the american [1:25:40] people and their representatives in congress understand that sacrifice and can continue to support it [1:25:45] i think your first strategic mistake was to not consult the american people in congress and make [1:25:50] a clear case for the reasons behind this war there have been many lots offered and i think our military [1:25:57] has executed on the core missions attack ballistic missile sites sink the blue water navy attack their [1:26:06] proxies constrain their capacity but i frankly think it was entirely foreseeable that iran would close the [1:26:13] strait of hormuz would use cheap lethal widely available shahed drones that they've led the world in [1:26:18] manufacturing to attack our bases our troops our partners and allies and impose real costs higher [1:26:25] costs in fertilizer and fuel higher costs for the world and tragically increasingly higher human costs [1:26:31] for us and for our troops so two questions two general lines of questioning if i could mr secretary [1:26:39] your question says without these supplemental funds we will face critical shortfalls that threaten our ability [1:26:45] to pay our service members and sustain global operations without disruption you've been asked repeatedly [1:26:50] there's 75 billion dollars appropriated but unobligated can we really not avoid critical short-term [1:26:58] shortfalls what does that mean about the budget management within the department in terms of unexpected and [1:27:05] unbudgeted wars uh first operation southern spear and then um operation epic fury i would just note uh i was [1:27:16] sort of updated 95 percent of that one big beautiful bill funding will be allocated by the end of [1:27:21] september in accordance with congressional intent so these are things we are we we we said we would [1:27:26] spend and we told you we would spend the moment we plan to spend them on those things by the end of [1:27:30] september so this is a new request based on new realities of of of a world we face stepping up to meet [1:27:37] that moment uh and ultimately secretary but that that's news to me um that that 75 billion will be out the door [1:27:44] appropriated sorry allocated and spent by september and i was simply questioning how we have [1:27:52] ships running out of fuel in the open seas and planes being grounded and i didn't say ships were [1:27:57] running out of fuel in open seas or planes were grounded i'm saying we have to make trade-offs [1:28:01] maintenance accounts everything our troops need on the battlefield they're they're getting in spades [1:28:05] and beyond uh it's ultimately looking into the future can we invest above and beyond that the [1:28:10] types of munitions fast enough as we upgrade and modernize our our force that's what's at issue [1:28:16] here in this 1.5 trillion this supplemental and any other additional funding that comes two quite [1:28:21] different things a 1.5 trillion dollar a base budget request and a now 76 billion dollar supplemental [1:28:28] and i was simply going to point to a department of homeland security is sitting on nearly 100 billion [1:28:34] in unobligated funds you haven't requested reimbursement for the millions of frankly billions [1:28:40] of dollars the department has spent on law enforcement second we um requested reimbursement and are getting [1:28:47] a substantial reimbursement from dhs that's good news and that's news to me um and and frankly as we [1:28:54] reflect on the service and sacrifice of those who put their lives on the line of this war one of the [1:28:59] things i've raised over and over and over is the ways in which this administration has dragged its [1:29:04] feet on partnering with ukraine in order to deploy the best-in-class sensors detectors and counter drone [1:29:12] systems to protect everything from dover air force base to our bases in the region to our troops to our [1:29:19] partners i want to see you focus on accelerating the defense of our troops and our nation focus on [1:29:26] accelerating the defense of our troops and this region and a strategy that has a real chance at [1:29:33] succeeding at the goals that we agree on because the strategy followed i think has no credible [1:29:39] likelihood of success senator brett thank you madam chair appreciate all of you being here today [1:29:47] um so since the beginning of the um putin's aggression into ukraine this body has passed five [1:29:57] supplemental bills funding different portions of that war you mentioned in your opening mr secretary [1:30:05] about not getting those munitions munitions that had come through this body quick enough to ukraine and [1:30:14] also being able to replenish those here at home can you talk a little bit more about that because i [1:30:21] remember the previous administration dragging its feet after this body gave them directive as to what to do [1:30:28] so can you shed a little bit more light as to what you were talking about in your opening well thank [1:30:33] you for that question i sometimes we forget recent history which which under the bide administration [1:30:37] there were five supplemental requests for ukraine uh which almost every member of this body voted for [1:30:43] to to send rapidly in a bipartisan fashion for something that this committee and the administration [1:30:48] deemed to be urgent uh we president trump may take a different view but that was the view of the bide [1:30:53] administration and real quick when you say it would be urgent to make sure that our men and women in [1:30:57] uniform right now have everything that they need i would argue providing for american men and women [1:31:02] as opposed to ukrainian men and women is a higher priority for the united states senate so five [1:31:08] supplementals that went to ukraine as good as that cause may be why is that righteous to do but funding [1:31:14] troops in harm's way right now uh given the threat and what they're undertaking this is a partisan exercise [1:31:22] and it's hypocrisy and i appreciate you pointing it out real quick um uh madam secretary question for [1:31:28] you when the russia ukraine war started we saw obviously cost go up around the world in particular [1:31:35] in that region we know that supplying of fertilizer you know was tremendous we also know ukraine was top [1:31:42] five when it came to wheat and corn and other things that we utilize um you know across across the globe [1:31:49] um it's my it's my recollection that uh fertilizer went up about 55 percent obviously if we were able [1:31:57] to create stability there in the region and have peace it would it would follow that then prices would [1:32:03] likely go down over time within the agriculture world as well is that is that fair yes that's correct [1:32:10] okay and when we're looking at the ukraine and russia war and um trying to end putin's aggression trying to [1:32:19] bring peace general kane if we were to cut off the funding that russia was getting would it follow [1:32:30] that that would be a driver that could possibly lead putin to the table sarah yes and their economy is [1:32:39] struggling now thank you and we also know i saw reports this weekend that it is said that possibly [1:32:46] russia and china which i know you can't comment on right now but are actually helping iran [1:32:53] whether it is targeting our troops funding and other mechanisms so i think that we could all agree [1:32:59] that ending that would be helpful i want to just echo senator kennedy's comments that i think the [1:33:05] sooner we can get this bill on the floor and passed um it would be be huge with regards to russian [1:33:11] sanctions um also want to just talk briefly about the dysfunction of this body so my question is for [1:33:17] you mr secretary and you general kane i would have to think that our adversaries and i believe that we [1:33:24] need to fully fund our military making sure that our war fighter is the best ready trained and equipped [1:33:30] across the planet i think we have an obligation and a duty to not only meet the needs of the moment [1:33:35] but to also look at what's to come and be preparing for that you talked about an insurance policy you talk [1:33:40] about what we need to do then now is the time to do those things but i would have to think that the [1:33:45] dysfunction of this body whether it's the full shutdown a partial shutdown a partial shutdown [1:33:51] not being able to pass ndaa not being able to pass fisa i would have to think that our adversaries [1:33:57] look at that and it gives them a little bit more uh credence as to what they're doing abroad can [1:34:05] either one of you comment on that thank you senator that's why i have said and i will continue to say that [1:34:10] the inability to properly fund this department the department of war is probably the single greatest [1:34:14] threat our nation faces whether or not we will make a generational investment in not just winning [1:34:20] the wars currently but deterring the wars of the future given the step change in technology of this [1:34:24] moment and the underfunding of the previous administration you meant you didn't mention [1:34:28] continued resolutions which is a whole nother way our department has has foolishly budgeted so i [1:34:33] appreciate you highlighting that it's very true yeah and and general kane question for you [1:34:37] obviously a shutdown is just is a terrible thing for the department of war and the men and women [1:34:43] that you oversee but i would assume that a cr is not much better can you comment on the effects of that [1:34:50] ma'am the department's done a lot of work to bind together founders funders and fighters as we look [1:34:57] to the challenges that we face in the future and a cr would hurt badly the effort to properly arm the joint [1:35:04] force i hope we can work together to do the right thing thanks the people are depending on it senator [1:35:09] shots thank you chair thank you secretaries and uh general for being here i want to start by paying [1:35:17] my respects to first lieutenant tyler feehan of eva beach hawaii who was among those killed in jordan [1:35:24] this weekend while serving our country his courage selfless dedication and unwavering commitment to duty [1:35:31] reflect the very best of our armed forces we extend our deepest condolences to his family [1:35:37] his loved ones his fellow service members and remain forever grateful for his sacrifice secretary [1:35:48] about 190 000 people in the state of hawaii believe it or not voted for donald john trump and i know a lot [1:35:54] of them and i represent all of them and one of the reasons that they were enthusiastic about donald trump [1:36:01] and you mr secretary was they they thought that we were going to have a new foreign policy and that [1:36:11] i think i'm paraphrasing but i think you characterized yourself as a reformed neocon or some such thing [1:36:17] and people were pretty thrilled about the idea that we were going to that america first in their mind [1:36:24] meant that we were going to not do this kind of adventurism and so i i don't want you to answer me i [1:36:31] want you to answer them and i want to walk through the sort of stated objectives of this war at the [1:36:39] outset regime change we now have a younger and more radical regime depleting eliminating their conventional [1:36:50] missile capability it's true that we've depleted their conventional missile capability it's also true [1:36:57] that anything the department of war sets out to do it usually succeeds at so the question is not do we kick [1:37:04] gas it's when do we decide to use kinetic engagement to extend our power across the globe and it's clear [1:37:15] that iran still retains enough conventional missile capability to attack our bases and our interests [1:37:21] in the region now it's true that the blue water navy is destroyed it's also true and you know this that [1:37:28] the irgc has something that you may not call a navy but it's got capabilities to to touch us with drones [1:37:36] and missiles and lay mines in the strait of hormuz preventing their nuclear capability it's also true [1:37:45] that if you bomb the crap out of a place they're going to have less capabilities by the end of it but [1:37:49] it's also true that we have not eliminated their nuclear capability and whatever duration we've set [1:37:55] them back actually pales in comparison to the and i'll say it the obama nuclear deal which we did [1:38:02] without having to put our people in harm's way and then the last objective which has become a new [1:38:10] objective is open up the strait of hormuz but the straight of hormuz was open before this war started [1:38:18] and so you tell my constituents why this war is going so well uh i think you did accurately portray me [1:38:29] as a reformed neocon and members of our generation in iraq and afghanistan watched administrations on both [1:38:35] sides try to project some remaking of a society in the image of america that spent thousands of lives [1:38:41] i mean in iraq um you know 15 i don't know the exact number but tens of thousands between iraq and [1:38:46] afghanistan men and women lost president trump said we're not fighting stupid wars like that again [1:38:51] and he hasn't that's why we haven't been trying to remake iranian society but simply in a realist [1:38:56] america first way ensure they never have a path to a nuclear bomb full stop and he has said as a [1:39:02] candidate and he said for as a private citizen iran can never have a nuclear weapon because [1:39:07] radical islamists with nuclear weapon will wield it over our head in perpetuity so president trump [1:39:12] ran on fighting wars differently and we're doing so overwhelmingly and he was very clear as a candidate [1:39:17] that iran can never have a nuclear capability so i think he's directly on par let me get a question [1:39:22] back in here um i think we're i think we're understanding the limits of air power here [1:39:31] because we're basically at a stalemate you someone says the strait of hormuz is closed and we say well [1:39:36] we're we've got a naval blockade and we're just going to see who blinks first and the truth is in [1:39:43] order to sort of change the balance here change the equation here some kind of escalation would have to [1:39:50] be considered and if you're taking that off the table then we are in a holding pattern and i go back [1:39:57] to the original five objectives and none of them have been met some of them have changed but none of them [1:40:03] have been met and with gas at now 402 with the brent crude hit 90 today up from 72 weeks ago gas up [1:40:11] about a buck nationwide about a buck 50 in the state of hawaii people want to know why are we even doing [1:40:18] this senator fischer thank you madam chair secretary higgs i appreciated your perspective on the focus [1:40:32] on the four-year war in comparison to a four-month war with a nuclear adversary and i thought it was [1:40:42] very well said thank you uh if we if we want to support ukraine going forward i think the best way [1:40:51] to do that is to dramatically increase munition production and we need more interceptors we have [1:41:02] to be able to move forward so so do our allies and our friends and let me emphasize that this [1:41:09] supplemental does that this is what we're talking about here today it's one of the things that we're [1:41:16] talking about as a member of the armed services committee one of my priorities for over five years [1:41:23] now has been on munition production uh general kane what happens if congress doesn't fund this 21 billion [1:41:32] dollar request for additional munitions well ma'am there's there's been a lot of work done by the [1:41:38] department to partner with the private sector i'll acknowledge some of the efforts that the private [1:41:44] sector is doing to utilize their own capital to facilitize factories if we don't um as a team [1:41:50] uh figure out how to properly fund uh the department then you know we're not going to get the munitions [1:41:58] and there's going to be a lack of shared risk between the federal government and the private sector [1:42:03] and i think we're at a point in time in our history where we need to partner we need to find [1:42:07] an ability to share risk we need to be better sellers and buyers on both sides in order to make sure [1:42:14] that the young all volunteer force has the weapons that they need before uh they are asked to go do [1:42:20] something what you're saying is we need to be prepared as a country yes ma'am and i i i hope as i said in [1:42:27] my opening statement that we will find a way uh to make sure that we seize this moment and as time in [1:42:34] history uh to ensure that we've got the right mix of munitions high low scale autonomous what's what's your [1:42:41] plan b if the supplemental doesn't pass what's plan b ma'am we we will always figure things out we will [1:42:48] always have contingencies we will always uh determine a way to create multiple simultaneous dilemmas for [1:42:55] adversaries around the world in order to create time for us to do the work that the congress and [1:43:01] the department needs to do together as you've heard me say a number of times in our posture hearings on [1:43:07] armed services and also in classified briefings we don't have a lot of time do we sir no ma'am that's [1:43:14] why i said if not now then when and if not us then who and i truly believe we're at one of those moments [1:43:22] in history where we have a choice to make just given what i see on the next couple ridge lines [1:43:28] and i i encourage us to move forward thank you mr secretary how would this request scale munitions [1:43:36] production and be able to accelerate our delivery times in the past previous administrations would [1:43:42] sort of send the same amount of dollars into trying to encourage companies to build another factory and [1:43:48] add an additional shift what this munition request does is fulfills deals that our department have cut [1:43:54] with these companies first multi-year procurement where these these companies that make sm3s or [1:43:59] patriots or sads or tomahawks you priority for our ndaa a couple years absolutely and you have provided that [1:44:07] authority multi-year procurement and now those companies are spending four billion dollars five [1:44:12] billion dollars three billion dollars on building their own new factories that then produce 2x 3x or 4x [1:44:19] the amount of munitions than they did in the past and they paid for it so actually in this budget which is 21 million [1:44:25] billion as you mentioned it saves 18 billion over the phi dip on munitions because we're buying munitions [1:44:31] at today's cost and not at five or seven years from now when we will also get them i hate to interrupt [1:44:37] but we're running out of time we also have the the request includes uh 4.1 billion for our space-based [1:44:44] capabilities and that includes the amti and our space data network capabilities and these really underpin the [1:44:54] long-range kill chains and allow our war fighters to detect and also then to attract to track the [1:45:01] airborne threats so mr secretary what's the risk to the joint force if we delay these programs until [1:45:08] fy28 or beyond senator not being able to see not being able to sense before an adversary is able to [1:45:16] engage one of our capabilities and which means falling behind in the domain of space which means [1:45:20] falling behind at every other domain great thank you and general kane do you have anything to add on [1:45:25] that about why congress can't wait i think you make such an excellent uh case on that no ma'am i'll [1:45:33] i'll stick with the words that i that i offered secretary rollins thank you for your focus on year-round [1:45:40] sale of v15 for taking care of uh the horrible disasters we've had in nebraska we appreciate you [1:45:47] coming out and um i have a couple things more of course that i want to bring to your attention but [1:45:52] thank you very much thank you madam chair senator van holland uh thank you uh madam chair secretary [1:45:59] rollins uh the beltsville agricultural research center in maryland is one of the crown jewels of [1:46:07] agriculture research in the united states and my question is simple can we find some time to get [1:46:12] together in the coming weeks to discuss the situation there absolutely yes thank you madam [1:46:18] secretary uh let me let me turn to the the iran war uh we recently lost three american heroes that [1:46:27] brings the death toll for american soldiers to 18. one is still missing hundreds have been injured [1:46:35] that's on top of the civilian death toll throughout the region that now stands at several thousand [1:46:41] including the over 150 people killed in the bombing of an elementary school in minab in iran [1:46:48] meanwhile the strait of hormuz is closed gas prices today in the united states again spiked above four [1:46:55] dollars a gallon and that will also continue to push up costs for groceries and other things that [1:47:01] that families buy secretary hexeth you said in your opening statement the best way to ensure peace is to [1:47:09] prepare for war and i agree with you about deterrence i would also submit that the best way to ensure [1:47:15] peace is not to start wars because wars are a lot easier to start than they are to end general kane i [1:47:23] heard your testimony saying iran will continue to be a challenge and i think it's pretty clear that that [1:47:30] is in fact the case and general in order for you to develop a military strategy to accomplish a particular [1:47:42] objective you obviously need to know what those objectives are right yes sir it all it all starts with [1:47:51] uh uh what what is the political objective and from that we derive military objectives that support [1:47:59] uh whatever that ends and as you say that is a political objective yes sir so mr secretary you've [1:48:06] talked a lot about winning talked about winning in your testimony today you've talked about winning [1:48:12] throughout the iran war and we all like winning but i think the american people to deserve [1:48:19] a definition of what it means to win in iran because this war has dragged out for a lot longer than [1:48:30] certainly the president united states indicated indeed the president said on march 24th and i'm quoting [1:48:39] we've won this war this war has been won do you know what the president meant by that back in march well [1:48:48] senator i would just note that militarily i mean iran has been completely overmatched and and and [1:48:54] crushed from the beginning militarily their capabilities are nowhere near ours i would take [1:48:58] issue with with your characterization that we didn't start that we started this war iran started this war [1:49:04] 47 years ago and they've killed the secretary thousands of americans including our brothers on [1:49:07] the battlefield in iraq with all with iran has been targeting us back for a long time secretary secretary we [1:49:13] didn't let me let me just ask you this since you said that what the president meant by his statement [1:49:21] on march 24th i think that we had sort of defeated iran militarily but that is not the entire objective [1:49:30] of this war i don't think there was ever a question about whether the united states with its superior [1:49:35] military could destroy a lot of iranian assets military assets or other assets that was never a question [1:49:45] but when most people think of winning the war they think that that means the war is going to come [1:49:51] to an end because we've won and the president said back in march that we'd won so i guess my question [1:49:58] to you is how are we going to define winning i hear back in march you said about the iranians and i quote [1:50:09] whether they will have a ceremony in tehran square and surrender that's up to them so my question [1:50:17] mr secretary reopening the strait of hormuz is necessary in order for us to win right that's [1:50:23] just a simple yes or no question you asked me what the overarching objective is and i would say [1:50:28] ensuring iran never has a nuclear weapon that's been clear from the president from day one that's [1:50:33] why midnight hammer was undertaken to obliterate their nuclear sites that's why we're watching their [1:50:37] nuclear sites that's why that was a part of negotiations ensuring that the next generation of [1:50:41] americans don't have to deal with an iran that wields a nuclear weapon since that's what you're [1:50:45] leading with mr secretary let me let me just say this you said after midnight hammer and i'm quoting [1:50:52] our bombing campaign obliterated iran's ability to create nuclear weapons unquote clearly that is not [1:51:00] the case based on your testimony today it's also a fact that the dni tulsi gabbard testified in front of [1:51:07] the intelligence committee that it was our assessment that iran did not intend to restart its nuclear [1:51:13] program the president united states just about a week ago said iran has committed not to develop a [1:51:19] nuclear weapon which of course is a commitment they've made for many years we need to enforce that [1:51:23] that's what we are doing under the jcpoa thank you madam chairman senator browns thank you thank you [1:51:32] madam chair i had the opportunity to serve as governor of south dakota for eight years during that time [1:51:44] we deployed over 5 000 young men and women into harm's way national guard members from south dakota [1:51:53] i attended their departure ceremonies i attended their welcome home ceremonies and i attended 31 [1:52:03] funerals one of the main reasons that i decided to come to washington was because i never wanted to [1:52:17] see young men and women going into harm's way again if they didn't have the best leadership the best [1:52:25] training and the best equipment possible now this body the senate with regard to the iranian war to [1:52:39] date this body has chosen not to impose war power limitations on the president nor have we pushed for [1:52:48] the withdrawal of forces from the theater i think the decision to take out iran's nuclear program and [1:52:56] their missile production capacity was the right one and it should have been done a long time ago [1:53:04] but when the president did that we also assumed that there would be risk involved and when you [1:53:13] put young men and women in harm's way you want to do everything you can to make sure that you get [1:53:17] in you get the job done and you get out i think that's what we talk about now today it has been since [1:53:26] february that we now have the iranians that are shooting back we haven't finished the job i think the [1:53:34] question that the american people have is when the difficult decision comes because i don't think [1:53:41] diplomacy is necessarily working and i think most people would say we've got more issues in front of [1:53:47] us before this is complete for general kane when the time comes and the president is asking for the [1:53:57] decisions about the options available to him to appropriately end this war favorable to the united states [1:54:05] and to take care of this problem permanently are you prepared to provide him with the appropriate [1:54:13] options that he is going to have to make a decision to choose from sir i always provide the president [1:54:21] with appropriate options and risks that he can choose from and those options that he will have to [1:54:27] choose from will cost money and that's our role here because if we don't do it right young men and [1:54:34] women die yes question to you sir is this you've offered a supplemental request and i recognize [1:54:42] that it's part of a 1.5 trillion overall but is this enough money to get the job done or is this [1:54:50] going to just get us far enough until we've got to come back in here and in the meantime we may very [1:54:55] well not have these young men and women out of harm's way yet that's my question sure i want to first [1:55:00] uh start with recognizing your 31 fallen from home and mourn their their losses we carefully consider [1:55:08] the use of military force every single day and the most important thing that i do is make sure that [1:55:15] the president and the other leaders understand the risks and carefully consider the dover test the [1:55:19] place you've been many times and that is are we willing to go to dover as we will tomorrow to bring back [1:55:26] to falling i can't answer the question on what it will cost because the enemy has a vote um what i'll [1:55:32] commit to you as this plays out uh we'll make sure that the congress is informed but because i'm not [1:55:37] quite sure how this is going to play out yet it would be unwise for me to comment on what a future cost [1:55:43] may or may not be depending on what they choose in general you will provide a plan to congress at [1:55:51] whatever the appropriate classification level is on what resources are required to execute what [1:55:58] the president's intent will be to successfully end this conflict sure i will i will always make sure [1:56:04] that as we have to that we're moving data as appropriate to congress yes sir let me come back [1:56:11] in just in terms of follow-up on this a little bit uh someone criticized operation epic fury for expending [1:56:19] many of our munitions stockpiles were our munitions the inventories of those munitions and the capacity [1:56:27] of our munitions industrial base sufficient for great power competition with near peer adversaries [1:56:33] like china prior to operation epic fury secretary hegseth senator as i laid out because the previous [1:56:41] administration short funding shortfalls munitions transferred to ukraine and not replaced and then [1:56:47] ignoring threats it built a lot of risk that required that requires this kind of investment so you'd [1:56:53] look at the 67 billion alongside the remainder for 1.5 that's the kind of generational investment that [1:56:59] not just matches peer adversaries near but far surpasses them which i think is your expectation [1:57:05] having been to those ceremonies which is mine having been to them and going to them is that we give [1:57:09] everything possible to the warfighter that they deserve senator heimrich thank you madam chair thank you madam [1:57:16] chair uh general kane um our military is the best in the world and so i don't think any of us should be [1:57:25] surprised uh with the technical execution of its attacks on the iranian regime's forces they've been [1:57:32] flawless um i what i don't want us to confuse is flawless technical execution with long-term strategic [1:57:42] success and i think one objective that is relatively modest because it puts us back to where we were [1:57:49] when we started this but none that nonetheless is incredibly important as a critical objective is that [1:57:55] i want to see the straight open again and i want to see it open where shippers can transit that straight [1:58:02] without being extorted by iran uh and i would love to see that before our commercial and other oil [1:58:11] reserves are exhausted because of the impacts that that will then have on the pocketbooks of american [1:58:17] families is that a reasonable objective and is one is it one that you share sir i'll defer on the [1:58:25] military objectives to the political leaders who set them um what i can tell you is u.s central command [1:58:33] is working hard to ensure that iran cannot uh terrorize the southern flank down there and they're doing so [1:58:40] uh every single day and night and you and the rest of the senate would be proud of the actions and activities [1:58:46] for the forces that are down there the character of war is changing though like i said my opening statement [1:58:53] and so there's a variety of mixing munitions that are down there coming at the uh the commercial traffic [1:58:59] but i would like to be clear and unambiguous with you and the rest of the senate and the iranian [1:59:05] forces they have a choice to make and they should knock it off uh i have no doubt i would be incredibly [1:59:12] proud of uh the actions of our service members in this conflict and uh i hope we can achieve that kind [1:59:20] of strategic objection on the timeline that that obviously um avoids the worst impacts of uh the [1:59:29] limitations of of commercial oil supplies right now uh secretary rollins i want to shift gears um [1:59:36] one of the things that you mentioned in your opening statement that we appear to agree on is that there [1:59:41] is simply too much consolidation in a number of agricultural sectors you mentioned fertilizer and [1:59:48] seeds but in particular i want to talk about the meatpacking industry because in a previous trump [1:59:54] administration bailout about 90 million dollars went to the corrupt brazilian meatpacker jbs [2:00:01] i think that congress really intended those funds to go to american ranchers so i want to ask you what [2:00:08] are you going to do this time around to ensure that the proposed relief dollars that we're talking about [2:00:14] today that those funds go to american producers instead of to the very foreign corporations who have [2:00:20] created the business model where ranchers bear the risk and meatpackers reap the profits well that's [2:00:27] right and we're obviously at a 75 year herd low there are a lot of reasons for that but um working to [2:00:33] solve for that number one the department of justice is investigating right now significantly the four but [2:00:39] especially the two foreign-owned number two usda is investing significant funds in deconsolidating [2:00:46] packing and supporting uh mid-size and smaller packers around the country i know that wasn't your [2:00:51] question but just to to answer the uh the bigger question which is a really important one but from [2:00:56] my perspective what the trump usda 2.0 has been hyper focused on small and mid-sized farmers and ranchers [2:01:05] we have worked really hard on the 40 billion that has already moved through to make sure that that goes to [2:01:10] where it is intended which is not multinational foreign agricultural corporations i um i very much [2:01:18] support the efforts of the department of justice i i think there is a very important um antitrust case to [2:01:24] be made here um at the same time i've watched as your department has rescinded three important rules that [2:01:33] were put in place to protect farmers and ranchers from unfair practices by the large meatpackers those rules [2:01:40] were supported by the american farm bureau and the national farmers union explained that discrepancy [2:01:46] to me which rules i'm not the inclusive competition and market integrity rule the transparency and [2:01:52] poultry grower contracting and tournaments rule and the poultry grower payment systems and capital [2:01:59] improvement systems rules the packers and stockyards i think is what you're talking about so we are um [2:02:04] executing an additional review on that i think that the point is very well made that sometimes that [2:02:10] inures to the benefit of the larger corporations as i have begun to make a larger case and a more [2:02:18] vigorous case in the importance of deconsolidation we'll be taking a second look at that and i would [2:02:23] love your input and i would very much support the consolidation thank you senator houston thank you [2:02:31] chair collins uh thank you all for being here today in my brief time in the senate i've learned that [2:02:39] we're really good at embracing our oversight role but oftentimes there are many people who don't want to [2:02:45] do their jobs in terms of funding the government on time and actually doing the work that we're supposed [2:02:51] to do as appropriators and i'm not for blank checks i believe everybody should be accountable [2:02:58] but i also believe we should do our job and now we have a a supplemental funding request that we're [2:03:05] discussing today we're waiting on getting an ndaa done uh i despite the chair's best best efforts [2:03:13] to facilitate forward and appropriations process there's a question of whether that will get done on [2:03:18] time uh in september and um my question start with you secretary hegseth just to talk a little bit [2:03:26] about what the consequences of failure what this really means to not do this on time because i've [2:03:32] talked to defense contractors i i as a former executive if member of an executive branch i know [2:03:39] that the legislative branch often thinks well no matter when we get this done we just wave a magic [2:03:45] wand we pass the bill and it all magically happens but that's not how it happens it takes time for people [2:03:51] to businesses out there who are going to rely on to build these weapons systems who don't know if [2:03:56] they're going to get paid they can't plan they can't they can't staff up they can't order the [2:04:01] equipment they can't do any of these things unless they know that the money is actually coming so what [2:04:06] are the consequences of not just doing this but doing it on time in a timely manner senator thank [2:04:12] you i think the consequences of dysfunction in funding this department uh put at risk a i i think a [2:04:20] first time in 25 30 year reform effort to change how we do business as a department we're going [2:04:26] to war with the pentagon bureaucracy because the the bureaucracy existed to defend just a few few [2:04:31] com a few systems and processes and companies we need all of american industry coming into our [2:04:36] department and if you talk to industry they've never seen anything like what our deputy secretary [2:04:41] and our department are doing right now to run fast at speed but it counts on this body and others [2:04:48] funding this department in a way that can fulfill the deals that we're cutting that saves the taxpayer [2:04:52] tens of billions of dollars and gets weapons to war fighters years and years faster than we ever have [2:04:57] in the past so without the funding we put at issue all those deals all the reforms all the ways in which [2:05:03] we're changing our department to move at the speed of business so it's not just dollars and cents it's [2:05:09] demand it's predictability it's showing industry we will meet you at this moment and if we can't get [2:05:14] past our dysfunction to fund the warfighter we put a lot of that at issue general kane same same question [2:05:21] from military point of view not knowing if when the funding is going to come and us not doing our [2:05:28] job on time what are the consequences to the warfighter sir i'll just add to the secretary's [2:05:35] comments you know it'll manifest itself in a range of ways uh readiness capability munitions uh training [2:05:44] uh cyber uh unmanned autonomy um i this is why i'm really asking for the congress's help here [2:05:52] for us to look forward at the next couple ridge lines and to be thoughtful about the moves that [2:05:58] we make here and i understand the environment that we're operating in right now um but um whatever [2:06:04] structure uh the legislature and the and the executive branch determine we need predictable predictable [2:06:11] capital my investor had on from my previous life uh so that we can go out and procure the capabilities [2:06:18] that we need before we need them and and and those things are changing um you know the advancement of [2:06:24] of small drones and things like that we're going to have to make sure that we stay very close with the [2:06:30] congress so that as technology develops at a speed that we haven't seen before that we're staying very [2:06:36] close and partnering with the congress to enable us to adaptively use that capital with the appropriators [2:06:42] buy-in so that we're arming the force properly well i can tell you in interacting with the people who [2:06:49] are the the want to build these new generation of weapon systems because because i think you would [2:06:54] agree that we've learned a lot from ukraine we've learned a lot from this conflict about how we were [2:07:00] underprepared uh from the standpoint and and uh uh from a defense standpoint and that we we have to [2:07:07] continue to modernize our system the weapons systems i think it's very important that we not only do our [2:07:12] job but we do it on time because you cannot run a department of defense uh run businesses who are [2:07:23] supplying these things without knowing if you're actually going to get funded because the whole [2:07:27] supply chain the workforce everything gets held up when we don't get our jobs done on time yes sir [2:07:33] i used to i used to work in the private sector for a company who's headquartered in piqua ohio [2:07:38] and those leaders told me your entire job dan kane is to deliver quality parts or in this case [2:07:44] weapons on time with shorter lead times and lower costs and part of why i'm so passionate about [2:07:50] this is because i see how this capital if the congress chooses to give it to us will manifest [2:07:57] itself in real combat capability lethality and survivability for our joint force thank you and [2:08:04] thank you secretary rollins for coming to ohio meeting with all of our ag leaders it was great [2:08:08] thank you thank you madam chair senator jilla thank you madam chairwoman secretary hexath um [2:08:15] you're requesting billions of dollars in supplemental funding for a war that you said would last for [2:08:21] weeks and that the president has no plan or ability to end at the same time this still unauthorized and [2:08:29] extremely unpopular war has caused gas diesel fertilizer and other essentials that new yorkers and our farmers [2:08:39] need across the country and has become much more expensive so how do i go back to new york [2:08:47] and what would you say to them who are seeing their health care bills rise because massive cuts to [2:08:54] medicaid they've seen their grocery and gas bills rise and this unpopular and unauthorized war abroad is [2:09:03] a higher priority to this administration than their ability to feed their families and provide health [2:09:09] care to their loved ones who are sick well senator you're talking about political trade-offs and our [2:09:16] job is to to deliver for the united states military and the president united states and we we look at [2:09:21] the cost of a nuclear iran and we want to prevent that for future generations and that requires funding [2:09:26] and supplementals and this budget and next generation capabilities and that's why we're here today to [2:09:31] request some of that to ensure we can ensure that iran never gets a nuclear so you're essentially saying [2:09:36] you're asking for literally 1.5 trillion dollars for a war that president trump said he already won [2:09:42] you're asking for 1.5 trillion dollars unlimited money for bombs but insufficient money in the [2:09:49] american for the american people for their health care their food their housing and our farmers [2:09:56] secretary rollins who we have cut snap program we are not funding the losses from uh emergencies that [2:10:06] have happened in blue states particularly when we had frost that's not true false you're not funding [2:10:12] it but back to you secretary hegseth and i would like to respond to the fertilizer and have your chance [2:10:18] secretary hegseth there's no reason you are you are asking for unlimited money for bombs when people can't [2:10:24] feed their families and i don't know how this administration intends to defend those decisions [2:10:29] to the american people um not unlimited bombs senator i'm asking for the right bombs at the right time to [2:10:35] ensure we can deter our adversaries into the future and that's why this is a generational investment and [2:10:39] it was the previous administration didn't fund this department the reason why they are so upset with you [2:10:46] and this administration is because the words you have used in the past don't add up about iran [2:10:52] specifically you said that we had obliterated quote unquote iran's ability to create nuclear weapons [2:10:58] the president made the same claim yet eight months later in february of 2026 the president launched an [2:11:04] act of war claiming iran was within two weeks of having a weapon so when you say two very different [2:11:10] things the american people don't know who to believe or what to believe they just know they can't [2:11:15] afford their health care they can't afford their food they can't afford housing and our farmers are [2:11:20] continuing to suffer so which is true was it obliterated or wasn't it what's the status the [2:11:27] nuclear sites under midnight hammer were obliterated but iranians foolishly continued to attempt to pursue [2:11:33] nuclear capabilities which is why we destroyed their defense industrial base and so many of the other [2:11:38] capabilities to ensure they can't get to a nuclear weapon see we're staying laser focused on the objective [2:11:43] and you're trying to make campaign commercials no and that's fine so listen to this you also say [2:11:49] that you made the um missile program quote destroyed and made combat ineffective quote iran's [2:11:55] entire ballistic missile production capacity every company that builds every component of those [2:12:00] missiles has been functionally defeated and destroyed and that the missile program existing stockpiles [2:12:05] were depleted and decimated almost completely ineffective so why are there missiles left to hit [2:12:10] jordan and and result in the loss of life of our brave men and women as we stated from the beginning [2:12:17] the iranian defense industrial base is effectively gone but they do have underground facilities facilities [2:12:22] because they're the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism and they've spent 47 years trying to [2:12:27] hide their missiles under mountains just like they're just like their nuclear capabilities because they [2:12:32] would like to get a nuclear weapon to wield it against us of the war to believe because it's even over [2:12:37] or it's not over it's within two weeks or it's not two weeks we have no missiles or we have missiles and [2:12:42] that consternation is why so many new yorkers are perplexed stressed out and find this war to be [2:12:49] incredibly unpopular because they don't understand the choices that the president's making they don't [2:12:54] agree with those choices secretary rollins so you have cut over 160 000 new yorkers have been kicked [2:13:01] off snap what do you have against hard-working new yorkers children who need snap and seniors who need [2:13:07] snap well first of all diesel is down under biden versus today 581 versus 480 gas is down from biden [2:13:15] today from 484 to 386 today fertilizer is down 56 percent from biden highs prices are higher than when [2:13:24] you took office well all of those prices are higher than when you took office so you are not that is not [2:13:29] true that is not true senator and let me tell you what new york is stressed out about is the fact that [2:13:34] your state is taking prime farmland and turning it into a solar farms that is absolutely inexcusable [2:13:42] i have visited the new york farmers two times two times in upstate new york has expired [2:13:49] senator bozeman uh thank you madam chair very much and uh thank all of you all for [2:13:56] your service to our country and our national security and i think it's easy for the public to understand [2:14:03] how you uh uh mr hagseth are you know your contribution in the position you're in in general [2:14:12] kind of the position you're in but uh some don't understand uh the position that uh our secretary [2:14:19] of agriculture's in i gave a presentation a couple years ago when senator rubio then senator rubio was [2:14:26] over here in the middle of it i was talking about agriculture you punched me he said john [2:14:31] always tell them food security is national security now senator cotton who's head of the intelligence [2:14:37] committee now has taken his place he's doing the same thing so again uh what we're talking about today [2:14:43] is very very important to our country um right now we're in a generational crisis uh our banks [2:14:53] our economists tell us that if we don't start doing things differently and the good news [2:14:57] is the administration is doing things differently uh is doing things differently we're going to lose [2:15:04] 20 25 percent of our farmers in the next two or three years uh i'm this is almost daily with farmers [2:15:11] about the difficult farm economy uh wildfires flooding all the things we've talked about today [2:15:19] my only concern is is that the supplemental is very much appreciated uh after hearing the testimony [2:15:26] today and the concerns uh we might need to to look at bumping that up a little bit but again that's [2:15:33] we'll we'll discuss that later uh the the supplemental though the supplemental assistance is important in [2:15:41] keeping our farmers going but it's not the answer will you just reiterate again what we're trying to do we're [2:15:48] trying to give farmers a a bump an edge to keep going until the programs that we're putting in place now [2:15:56] kick in you mentioned fertilizer you mentioned e15 you mentioned value adding our products [2:16:03] both overseas finding new markets can you talk a little bit about that the importance of [2:16:08] not only the supplemental but again what we're doing in conjunction with that so we won't have [2:16:14] supplementals in the future that's exactly right the effort to bring the cost of inputs down is real [2:16:20] fertilizer seed labor um interest rates etc number one and if we can just get inputs back down to where [2:16:28] they were in trump one we're going to have a remarkable recovery in farm company country but then you add [2:16:34] that to the 19 new trade deals more coming online every day the record-breaking exports that we're going [2:16:42] to see in a lot of our row crops but also in dairy and tree nuts and others that's going to be a game [2:16:47] changer then you look at expanding the domestic market as you talk about whether e15 obviously [2:16:53] all of the biofuels we've already seen corn and wheat hit record highs or of the highest number for [2:16:58] the year after announcing the new renewable fuel standards so we're seeing some pretty incredible [2:17:04] movement in the right direction then you marry that to all of your work under the working families [2:17:08] tax cut act the new reference prices that under the last administration couldn't get a farm bill [2:17:13] you all did that with the president's leadership the first time we're going to increase reference [2:17:18] prices in more than a decade combined with a 250 billion investment in rural america the largest [2:17:25] investment in rural america in american history this congress did that with the white house's [2:17:31] leadership all of that together is going to change the trajectory for the long term of farming and [2:17:38] ranching in america but to get to that point that's why this supplemental is so very very important [2:17:44] uh madam secretary i have a letter from farm bureau that i want to put into the record that [2:17:49] just outlines uh requesting relief to sustain america's farmers and ranchers [2:17:58] secretary hexath uh general kane uh one of the things that we're concerned about is that [2:18:08] in the military construction aspect of things we're really not asking for that in uh in the supplemental i [2:18:16] i know that uh the success of operation epic fury uh particularly for our missile interceptors and [2:18:24] short-range aircraft uh really uh basing was a large part of that can you tell us how we can help [2:18:31] you again try and uh plus up our military construction uh in some way so that we're not going to be faced with [2:18:41] this in the future you know trying to double up senator i think by congress finding the ability to meet [2:18:47] uh up to close to our uh the totality of 1.5 trillion means we're not making the kind of trade-offs this [2:18:53] department has made now for decades those are the types of things construction maintenance that fall [2:18:58] off when trade-offs occur and so you dig the hole even deeper and what this budget does it first of all [2:19:04] it fully funds the upper list which is the unfunded priority list of paycom uh a priority theater and [2:19:09] then it gets at every single substandard barrack that we have across the department uh so we're funding the [2:19:15] military construction in a way that we've never done before to get out of the hole that we've had for [2:19:19] a while very good thank you madam chair thank you senator bozeman to the very patient senator baldwin [2:19:29] thank you uh madam chair and madam vice chair um and thank you for appearing before our committee today [2:19:37] um to many i represent and to me this supplemental request is another example of this administration's [2:19:49] misplaced priorities instead of spending tens of billion dollars more for this president's war of [2:19:59] choice in iran that both houses of congress i may add have voted to end absent explicit authorization by [2:20:08] congress we should be focusing on the needs of american families we could invest this money to [2:20:16] accelerate new cures and treatments for cancer and alzheimer's we could use it to help more families with [2:20:22] rising home energy costs we could use this funding to help more families afford quality child care we could [2:20:31] use this funding to help more kids get free school lunch we could use this funding to restore health care for [2:20:38] working families we could use this funding to support our public schools and special education this is [2:20:47] a war of choice and every dollar spent on this war is a dollar not spent helping families afford housing [2:20:58] health care groceries child care at home investing in the opportunities for the american people [2:21:08] first i want to express my condolences and my respect for the 17 american service members killed in this war [2:21:16] since february including three over the past few days their lives are the price this country has paid for [2:21:25] this war the deadliest day for u.s forces was on march 1st when an iranian drone struck an army facility at port [2:21:38] chweba kuwait killing six soldiers and injuring more than 30 others including soldiers from wisconsin [2:21:48] soldiers from the unit stationed at port chweba told reporters that the facility did not have adequate air defense [2:21:59] capabilities these soldiers and their families believe they were sent into harm's way without the defenses they [2:22:08] needed secretary hegseth what would you say to those soldiers and their families first of all that [2:22:16] we uh honor and recognize their sacrifice and what they've given i've been in touch with at least one [2:22:21] of those families on a regular basis and understand the the pain of losing a loved one is unfathomable [2:22:26] and which is why we we greeted them at dover and we'll greet those again uh tomorrow i would say in in [2:22:33] talking to admiral cooper the centcom commander before all of this was undertaken [2:22:37] maximizing defensive capabilities mostly by moving as many people as possible off the x which we did [2:22:42] in historic fashion moving almost 90 percent of americans in theaters off of where they could be a [2:22:47] target first of all bunkers that they would move into early morning for chweba and i will quote from [2:22:54] the washington post article of july 12th chweba this is a quote chweba did not have any of the systems [2:23:01] that would take down the one-way attack she had drones and initial security assessments found that [2:23:08] the base was not adequately protected end quote soldiers at port chweba have also been quoted in [2:23:16] news reports saying that requests for additional medical and drone defense systems were denied prior to [2:23:25] the conflict with iran beginning why were those requests denied secretary heads up um i would i [2:23:31] would confer with admiral cooper but there were it's not a single drone or defense request denied [2:23:37] at any level that i'm aware of we did everything we could to move heaven again in every single location [2:23:41] to protect every single american july 12 washington post also quoted a soldier saying that the unit's [2:23:48] request for an eagle's drone defense system was denied because of lack of assets that's an end quote [2:23:58] u.s army central has conducted an investigation into that attack do you commit to releasing the [2:24:04] findings of that investigation publicly yes or no we'll get you the status of that i would argue if it [2:24:10] was if it was a resource resource constraint that's precisely why we're having this hearing today to [2:24:15] speed up systems to the battlefield to war fighters as fast as humanly possible it's been too slow in [2:24:20] the past it needs to be faster reforms we're undertaking the findings of that investigation [2:24:25] publicly yes or no i will i will work with admiral cooper to make sure it's handled properly yes senator [2:24:31] thank you uh secretary hagseth i traveled to washington walter reed military hospital and met with [2:24:38] soldiers who were injured in that attack what they told me confirmed what other soldiers have said [2:24:45] publicly that most of these soldiers injured in the attack did not receive proper medical care in [2:24:52] kuwait in germany or during their initial days back in the u.s the u.s military has been fighting wars [2:24:59] in the middle east for 25 years why was proper medical care not immediately available to these injured [2:25:07] soldiers and why were they not immediately screened for traumatic brain injuries i i'm not taking issue [2:25:16] with the characterization of individual soldiers but i would argue that every effort was made to [2:25:21] provide every level of medical care possible understanding how centcom operates the senator's [2:25:26] time has expired and there is a vote on senator capito thank you madam chair thank you all for being here [2:25:34] thank you for service i want to begin because the last time that i saw you secretary headseth and [2:25:38] general kane was at the pentagon when you honored uh andrew wolf who was uh attacked in here in dc in [2:25:47] november and then the honor that you have given to sarah beckstrom and her family who lost her life that day [2:25:53] as well uh i think that i know that you've been in constant contact with uh andrew and his family and you [2:26:01] also know that the great faith that they have uh in in the lord above is what's really brought them to the [2:26:06] point where they are now so let's keep them all in his prayer i'm interested in senator baldwin's [2:26:11] question because i do have a soldier from west virginia who is making a very similar complaint so [2:26:17] whatever follow-up we can do i would like to do that i'd also like to recognize the three most recent [2:26:22] uh service member that we lost because we talk about them as service members and soldiers but we [2:26:27] haven't i haven't heard them say their name and they're so young first lieutenant tyler james freehand [2:26:32] uh private isabella gonzalez and sergeant michael uh swinton uh you will be uh i guess uh greeting [2:26:40] their families and uh unfortunately their caskets as they come forward tomorrow um so my question is [2:26:49] we've heard a lot about why we shouldn't be uh voting for this supplemental or questions as to [2:26:57] is that really necessary or why i guess my question general kane is what's the consequence of not [2:27:03] passing this supplemental where do you see that hitting us most deeply yes ma'am um it uh it will [2:27:12] manifest itself in a in a few different places uh most significantly it'll be in military personnel [2:27:18] related matters we'll figure out how to pay soldiers and sailors but that that would be a strain [2:27:24] operations and maintenance costs and then the ability for the department to take some of this [2:27:30] capital and wisely invest it in future combat capability and things like ai uas counter uas [2:27:37] hypersonics and space so not only would it hit us today but it could hit us tomorrow as well yes ma'am i [2:27:43] i actually view this um uh as as forward looking as we look at the future picture and the various risks [2:27:51] that we're facing the supplemental and and the budget uh frankly uh help to ensure that we are [2:27:58] properly arming the joint force for the myriad of potential contingencies that we face in the future [2:28:04] thank you so as as we look at one of the i think best successes under your your all's leadership uh at [2:28:10] the department of war has been the uh the fulfillment of the recruit recruitment in every branch [2:28:16] uh i remember last year i think or maybe the year before only the marines could brag that they had [2:28:22] had made their records and now i think that many many uh the other branches are you're far exceeding [2:28:29] what has previously done so that tells me that american young men and women want to serve their [2:28:35] country they want to be safe they want to do the right thing so how does not funding them and if they [2:28:43] think that uh if they think that their their salaries may be short or we're going to have a continuing [2:28:48] resolution we're going to shut down the government how can this chill what has been one of the greatest [2:28:53] successes i think in terms of not just today's force but the force of the future and mr secretary i'll [2:28:59] ask you to answer that question well you know in a brass tax sense uh this 1.5 trillion dollar budget in [2:29:05] its totality sees a seven percent pay raise for junior enlisted uh six percent for your ncos and junior [2:29:12] officers and five percent for senior officers so it's significant reflection of the value we place [2:29:17] on top of the other increases that that congress has provided them if we were to have to and we're [2:29:22] going to do right by the troops we're going to make sure they get paid but it's going to put strains [2:29:26] on training and readiness and all the other aspects of o m uh over time which makes its way down to the unit [2:29:32] level i you know when you're saying we're focused on training and readiness and lethality but we have to [2:29:38] cut back on training because congress can't get the money we need to the department that's discouraging [2:29:43] at every single level and when young men men and women join this war department uh we want them [2:29:49] moving immediately into the training pipeline at the highest possible level with the best possible [2:29:53] equipment and they've seen that thus far and that's led to historic recruiting uh momentum we need [2:30:00] to keep that momentum yeah and i would say that it could have the reverse effect if if if this is [2:30:05] troubled waters here uh and lack of confidence which we see on the other side of the aisle there [2:30:10] and and questions that i think um uh wouldn't be asked if it were not of a political nature we're [2:30:16] going to chill our recruiting efforts here uh for our young people as they look forward to serving [2:30:21] their country and and becoming that patriot they want to be you're right or return to the valley [2:30:26] under the bide administration where not only do they not meet the goals but they had to lower the [2:30:29] goals and then didn't meet the lowered goals and then now we're we don't have the readiness we need [2:30:33] as a force thank you very much thank you all very much thank you secretary agricultures i'll get to [2:30:38] you another time thank you senator murphy thank you all for being here today secretary heigset [2:30:46] the american people either didn't want this war from the start or were deeply skeptical of this war [2:30:52] because they have seen this country make the same mistake over and over again in wars in the middle east [2:30:58] and that is to create either unrealistic or open-ended objectives um you said in march that the united [2:31:05] states was quote on plan to defeat destroy and disable all of iran's meaningful military capabilities [2:31:13] at a pace that would that we the world has never seen before obviously as we've discussed here today [2:31:19] that objective has not been achieved and is not going to be achieved um iran is adept more [2:31:27] depth than even at the start of the war at hiding their capabilities or repairing after damage we [2:31:34] have done there's an open report that when it comes to their missile sites along the strait of formus [2:31:41] 30 of 33 are still operational i wouldn't believe all the open reports senator but i've also heard you [2:31:47] say in this hearing that the objectives now seem to be more limited than they were at the outset of the [2:31:55] war that this is about reopening the strait and this is about dismantling their nuclear capability and [2:32:01] the president of course has said himself that he thinks iran has a right to a missile program um so [2:32:08] my question is pretty simple is it correct that it is no longer a war objective to destroy all of their [2:32:17] military capacities this is what the president has said have our goals been simplified to reopening the [2:32:24] strait and to getting into a negotiation over a nuclear program now i don't think you have a [2:32:29] realistic plan to do either of those things but i think it's important for us to know what we're [2:32:34] funding are the objectives much more limited today than they were when you made that statement in march [2:32:39] so i think the objectives have been consistent and clear from the beginning and i i would compare [2:32:44] i would contrast it to north korea where a conventional buildup was used to hide a nuclear capability [2:32:49] that eventually evolved to a point where it couldn't be contested and what iran continued [2:32:54] to do even after midnight hammer was try to build that conventional capability to dare anyone to stop [2:32:59] them from pursuing nuclear weapons so getting after their conventional capabilities missile launchers [2:33:04] defense industrial base their navy was all part of it ensuring they can't blackmail us into into [2:33:09] pursuing a nuclear capability laser focused on iran will never have a nuclear capability that's the [2:33:15] promise the president has made and that he will keep i think i think it supports it is still a war [2:33:19] objective either through military action or through a diplomatic agreement to destroy and disable all of [2:33:29] iran's meaningful military capacities including their missile program as far as all when we talked about [2:33:34] that from the podium for at the outset of this we were talking about their defense industrial base and if [2:33:40] you look at the metrics of their ability to make more uh that it's been overwhelmingly uh destroyed [2:33:46] not everything but overwhelmingly now do they have missiles in in underground bunkers because they're [2:33:51] a terror state sure they do and we've acknowledged that from the beginning but their capacity is less [2:33:55] today than it's ever been they obviously they obviously have significant capacity to effectively disrupt [2:34:02] the entirety of the middle east and oil flows out of the middle east and that's not going to change [2:34:06] um let me ask you one more question this is a request for supplemental funding because you don't [2:34:11] have the funding in your base budget to do what you need to do which makes questions about the base budget [2:34:17] relevant um there's been a lot of attention mr secretary on the modernization of a luxury jet that was [2:34:22] gifted to the president by the government of cutter reports suggest that maybe as much as one billion [2:34:27] dollars in your base funding an extraordinary amount of money has been used for an upgrade and the plane is [2:34:33] back in the shop for a second upgrade as far as i can tell never before has an administration not made [2:34:39] public the amount of money for an upgrade or a construction contract on a presidential airplane [2:34:44] obviously we don't need or want disclose the details of that upgrade but never before have you withheld [2:34:50] from congress and the public the total amount of money i think there are two really important [2:34:55] questions here one will you make public the amount of money that you are spending to upgrade this plane [2:35:02] and two can you commit to this congress and this committee that the president isn't going to take [2:35:08] this plane with him when he leaves office the only thing more insulting to the taxpayers of spending money [2:35:14] on a jet they don't need would be for the president to take it with him to take it out of our military [2:35:20] inventory when he leaves office say the air force has done an incredible job uh making that a capable jet [2:35:29] that ultimately uh but its capabilities are and and and investment are are classified and shouldn't [2:35:34] be talked about considering security will you disclose the amount of money publicly uh i would [2:35:41] imagine and as part of the regular budget process that's something that we would look at and and will [2:35:46] you commit that the president will not you have to look at the classification level of certain things [2:35:50] that are not devolved for reasons of natural security will you commit that the president will not [2:35:54] take this jet with him out of federal inventory when he leaves office it's that's not a decision for [2:36:00] necessarily me to make and ultimately we're grateful to have it in the fleet with the air force to [2:36:04] protect the president united states that's a deeply unsatisfactory answer to the american public senator peters [2:36:14] thank you mr chairman uh folks uh welcome to the hearing today i apologize i said is senator [2:36:21] ossoff still here oh i'm sorry i didn't i went out of order senator ossock i'll yield my time to senator [2:36:30] thank you thank you madam chair and uh thank you all for your testimony and uh general kane let me just [2:36:38] begin by expressing on behalf of all georgians our immense gratitude and admiration for the service members [2:36:46] who are making tremendous sacrifices and conducting themselves with extraordinary selflessness and [2:36:51] professionalism on behalf of the united states and our state's unified condolences and grief for the [2:36:58] families of the four killed in action uh and our hope for a swift recovery for the the nearly 100 wounded [2:37:04] over the last two weeks and thank you to you for your service to the nation um mr hegseth you're requesting [2:37:12] roughly 68 billion dollars for the department through the supplemental correct 67 yes and yesterday your [2:37:22] department stated publicly quote u.s forces struck iranian military command centers maritime [2:37:29] capabilities missile and drone launch sites and air defense systems to degrade iran's ability to continue [2:37:36] attacking commercial vessels that was a press release from your department is that a broadly accurate [2:37:41] characterization of ongoing operations that sounds broadly accurate yes on day 14 of this conflict [2:37:50] mr secretary day 14 nearly five months ago you stated that iran's military had been quote destroyed [2:37:56] and quote made combat ineffective that was on day 14 of the war was that an accurate statement um they [2:38:04] didn't have a navy any longer it's completely sunk their missiles were buried underneath a lot of their [2:38:09] underground facilities and their defense industrial base has been almost completely destroyed so as far as a [2:38:14] military assessment of iran's capabilities it doesn't didn't mean by any stretch of the imagination [2:38:19] absolute zero but they're considering the lowest level you stated very long on day 14 of this [2:38:24] conflict in the second week of the conflict you stated that iran's military had been quote destroyed [2:38:31] and quote made combat ineffective was that an accurate statement yes or no iran's ability to [2:38:38] challenge the united states of america at the level of which we're capable of that's not what i asked [2:38:42] you mr secretary you said on day 14 iran's military had been quote destroyed and quote made combat [2:38:49] ineffective yes or no was that an accurate statement what the american military has done to the iranian [2:38:57] military is a historic military will you answer the question in effect in that context three weeks [2:39:03] later you declared victory that was now nearly four months ago three weeks after you'd already said [2:39:11] iran's military was destroyed and combat ineffective you said quote operation epic fury was a historic and [2:39:17] overwhelming victory you said iran's military had been rendered quote combat ineffective for years to [2:39:24] come and you stated we had quote achieved every single objective were those accurate statements [2:39:32] uh it certainly was on behalf of the men and women in uniform a historic military victory over iran [2:39:37] had iran's military been rendered quote combat ineffective for years to come that was a statement that you made four months ago [2:39:43] they had 160 naval vessels you need to answer the questions mr secretary their air force you said [2:39:49] four months ago combat ineffective you said they don't have a defense industrial base excuse me [2:39:53] describe to me a country that doesn't have an air force a navy or a defense industrial base [2:39:56] and i will describe to you a company that the country that does not have an effective [2:40:00] secretary you can lob missiles mr secretary you stated four months ago that iran's military had been [2:40:06] rendered quote combat ineffective for years to come has iran's military been for the last [2:40:13] four months combat ineffective it's been set back not just years but likely decades you stated we [2:40:19] can't quote that the level stated before not stated we doesn't mean it doesn't have capabilities mr [2:40:24] secretary you stated we had quote achieved every single objective was that an accurate statement four [2:40:30] months ago the main objective of this was to ensure that iran never gets a nuclear weapon their main [2:40:35] sites were obliterated we're watching over them and we're holding that issue if they don't give them up [2:40:39] at the table there's other ways we can take early in the car ron will never have a nuclear weapon [2:40:44] secretary early in the conflict day three you said one of those core objectives was to quote destroy [2:40:49] the missile threat and as you restated on day five to quote obliterate iran's missiles and drones those [2:40:56] were clearly and repeatedly stated core objectives of the campaign which four months ago you declared [2:41:02] had been completed victoriously with every single objective achieved were those objectives achieved [2:41:08] four months ago no one ever stated that every single missile was gone ultimately combat ineffective [2:41:14] means they're not able to dig them out of their ugf since she had the missile it doesn't mean they [2:41:17] don't have underground facilities where they put missiles in them and hold on to them because [2:41:21] they're the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism so we never expected they would stop having [2:41:26] capabilities to shoot the question is at scale against opponent like the united states of america [2:41:31] which went toe-to-toe with them and iran couldn't you stated on march 8th day nine of the war on 60 [2:41:37] minutes you assured the american people of iranians surrender does that remain your prediction [2:41:43] ultimately iran will never have a nuclear weapon to threaten the united states of america that has [2:41:48] been the objective and it remains so so just to review you will not answer whether your statement [2:41:54] made on the 14th day of the war that iran's military had been quote destroyed and made combat [2:42:00] ineffective was a truthful statement to the american people as you sit here and ask for tens of billions more [2:42:06] for the senator's time has had a historic and effective military campaign against the [2:42:11] largest state sponsor of terror won't answer the question senator peters is recognized thank you [2:42:20] and uh thank you to our witnesses here today i want to uh begin by first uh echoing my colleagues uh [2:42:27] comments that we've heard throughout the hearing here and join them in mourning the loss of american [2:42:32] service members who were killed in action these last few days my thoughts are with their families [2:42:39] with a service member who remains missing and with all those injured during the strikes and i will [2:42:45] continue to pray for their families secretary hegsaf over the course of the war with iran i have [2:42:53] repeatedly expressed concerns regarding the administration's lack of a winning strategy and [2:42:59] repeated contradictions about the state of the war it frankly doesn't help that you uh and your [2:43:06] president continues to mislead of the american people you and the president have repeatedly said that [2:43:12] the war as we've heard over and over again uh is almost over or already won in fact the president [2:43:19] alone has said the war is almost over more than 30 times on march 1st the president said uh we'll be done in [2:43:27] four or five weeks on march 9th he said the war was very complete on april 8th he declared total and [2:43:33] complete victory 100 no question about it on the same day you declared operation epic fury was a [2:43:40] historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield a capital v military victory by any measure and yet [2:43:47] today july 21st we have soldiers whose remains are sadly going to be returned to their deeply grieving [2:43:57] families tomorrow clearly the war is not over yet after months of conflict our strategy to win [2:44:05] remains unclear i have long said the united states has the strongest military in history in the world [2:44:12] and i have no doubt that our brave service members can execute any mission and prevail in any battle [2:44:18] but without a clear winning strategy we're at risk of being in another forever war that'll put our [2:44:24] service members in continued harm's way and continue to cost taxpayers billions of dollars [2:44:30] secretary hegs said despite our your failure to win this war you are back now before congress asking [2:44:37] for almost 70 billion dollars in additional funding you're asking the american people for a blank check [2:44:43] because once again the trump administration's efforts have been an utter and complete failure to [2:44:49] win this war to this point so my question for you sir is how is your strategy different than what we've [2:44:56] seen in the past so far we have not seen a strategy that's been successful you mentioned nuclear material [2:45:02] is the primary goal of the war it still exists we haven't dealt with that issue yet you talk about [2:45:08] the destruction of missiles and yet the missiles that we saw hit recent targets are actually somehow more [2:45:13] lethal more deadly more maneuverable than what we have seen in the past so they're obviously [2:45:19] improving their immune munitions the strait of hormuz is still closed reminding everybody it was open [2:45:27] before the war prices were lower for everybody until the war and it still remains closed and of course [2:45:35] tragically people service members our war fighters who we care deeply about are still dying so what's [2:45:42] different mr hegs said secretary i think your characterization of this incredible effort as a [2:45:48] failure is reckless and i think it's irresponsible and i think it smears the sacrifice of the troops [2:45:54] that are out there making on behalf of the american people to ensure that iran never gets a nuclear [2:45:58] weapon shame on you and others who call this a quagmire and a failure and then you want to turn around [2:46:02] and say you support the war fighter either you do or you don't is the nuclear material still there i [2:46:07] can get you a ticket out to centcom and talk to what those americans are doing how committed they [2:46:10] are to this effort and how they want to ensure that iran never threatens their families with a nuclear [2:46:15] weapon it's it is that that's the kind of intensity that our war fighters have about making sure that [2:46:20] iran isn't capable of victory hegs if did you if you listen to my comments you told you would have [2:46:24] heard me say how amazing our war fighters are i heard failure the word heard i will tell you how [2:46:30] i use the word failure because i use the word failure to their leaders you sir are the failure [2:46:36] not the men and women who are on that front line not the the men and women who hold up their honor [2:46:41] with the distinction but if there's a lack of a winning strategy they're in harm's way their leaders [2:46:47] have failed them and that's what's happening we have political leadership you you don't have a [2:46:52] strategy you don't have a long-term plan to actually win this war win the war the men and women are [2:46:58] going to be able to do it but they need to have leadership of course we have leadership when will [2:47:03] you show you show some leadership and stand up for your fellow democrats who won't fund the troops [2:47:07] who stand and play partisan politics why you don't give us the money you want to stand up here and talk [2:47:11] about the troops you won't show any political courage to actually fund our department because you [2:47:15] have trump trump derangement syndrome and can't actually commit to anything meaningful so i put this on you [2:47:21] senator senator hagshoff you have trillions you have over a trillion dollars you're asking for one [2:47:26] and a half trillion dollars it's not a question of money it's a question of leadership and understanding [2:47:32] what it takes to actually win political cowardice of democrats who won't fund the troops senator's time [2:47:41] has expired this will conclude our hearing i want to thank our witnesses for being present [2:47:50] and the committee for what has certainly been a vigorous discussion for any senators who wish to submit [2:48:00] additional questions for the record those questions will be due in seven days on tuesday july 28th by 5 [2:48:11] pm i'm going to ask the rink the vice chair if she has any final comments i do very quickly and thank you [2:48:21] chair collins this was really an important discussion about the state of this tragic and disastrous [2:48:27] war and how we should be spending americans tax dollars on families instead of this president's war [2:48:32] of choice unfortunately this hearing has done exceptionally little to justify the president's [2:48:38] request or to instill confidence that this administration has an exit plan for a strategy to end [2:48:44] the war this war has cost us a lot the last thing we should be doing is rubber stamping another 70 billion [2:48:50] dollars to help trump keep it going thank you well vice chair murray i'm compelled to respond to your [2:48:57] comments by pointing out that it is the duty of this committee to have a hearing when we have this [2:49:07] kind of supplemental request so i think that your comments was not appropriate this hearing is now adjourned thank [2:49:18] thank you