'What Would You Say To Those Soldiers And Their Families?': Tammy Baldwin Grills Pete Hegseth

[0:00] Thank you, Senator Bozeman. To the very patient, Senator Baldwin. Thank you, Madam Chair and Madam Vice-Chair. And thank you for appearing before our committee today. [0:15] To many I represent, and to me, this supplemental request is another example of this administration's misplaced priorities. [0:28] Instead of spending tens of billion dollars more for this president's war of choice in Iran, that both houses of Congress, I may add, have voted to end absent explicit authorization by Congress. [0:46] We should be focusing on the needs of American families. We could invest this money to accelerate new cures and treatments for cancer and Alzheimer's. [0:57] We could use it to help more families with rising home energy costs. [1:02] We could use this funding to help more families afford quality childcare. [1:07] We could use this funding to help more kids get free school lunch. [1:12] We could use this funding to restore health care for working families. [1:15] We could use this funding to support our public schools and special education. [1:21] This is a war of choice. And every dollar spent on this war is a dollar not spent helping families afford housing, healthcare, groceries, childcare, at home. [1:38] Investing in the opportunities for the American people. [1:42] First, I want to express my condolences and my respect for the 17 American service members killed in this war since February, including three over the past few days. [1:58] Their lives are the price this country has paid for this war. [2:03] The deadliest day for US forces was on March 1st, when an Iranian drone struck an army facility at Port Shweiba, Kuwait, killing six soldiers and injuring more than 30 others, including soldiers from Wisconsin. [2:25] Soldiers from the unit stationed at Port Shweiba told reporters that the facility did not have adequate air defense capabilities. [2:37] These soldiers and their families believe they were sent into harm's way without the defenses they needed. [2:45] Secretary Hegseth, what would you say to those soldiers and their families? [2:50] First of all, that we honor and recognize their sacrifice and what they've given. [2:56] I've been in touch with at least one of those families on a regular basis and understand the pain of losing a loved one is unfathomable, [3:03] which is why we greeted them at Dover and we'll greet those again tomorrow. [3:08] I would say in talking to Admiral Cooper, the CENTCOM commander before all of this was undertaken, [3:13] maximizing defensive capabilities, mostly by moving as many people as possible off the X, which we did in historic fashion, [3:20] moving almost 90% of Americans in theaters off of where they could be a target, first of all. [3:25] So I want to focus fully in on Port Shweiba, and I will quote from the Washington Post article of July 12th. [3:33] Shweiba, this is a quote, [3:35] Shweiba did not have any of the systems that would take down the one-way attacks had drones, [3:41] and initial security assessments found that the base was not adequately protected, end quote. [3:48] Soldiers at Port Shweiba have also been quoted in news reports saying that requests for additional medical and drone defense systems were denied prior to the conflict with Iran beginning. [4:03] Why were those requests denied, Secretary Hegseth? [4:07] I would, I would confer with Admiral Cooper, but there were, it's not a single drone or defense request denied at any level that I'm aware of. [4:14] We did everything we could to move heaven in every single location to protect every single American we possibly could. [4:19] The article from July 12th, Washington Post also quoted a soldier saying that the unit's request for an Eagles drone defense system was denied because of lack of assets. [4:32] That's an end quote. [4:34] U.S. Army Central has conducted an investigation into that attack. [4:39] Do you commit to releasing the findings of that investigation publicly, yes or no? [4:44] We'll get you the status of that. [4:46] I would argue if it was a resource constraint, that's precisely why we're having this hearing today, [4:51] to speed up systems to the battlefield to warfighters as fast as humanly possible. [4:55] It's been too slow in the past. It needs to be faster. [4:58] The reforms we're undertaking will do that. [4:59] Do you commit to releasing the findings of that investigation publicly, yes or no? [5:02] I will work with Admiral Cooper to make sure it's handled properly. Yes, Senator. [5:06] Thank you. [5:08] Secretary Hegseth, I traveled to Walter Reed Military Hospital and met with soldiers who were injured in that attack. [5:17] What they told me confirmed what other soldiers have said publicly, [5:23] that most of these soldiers injured in the attack did not receive proper medical care in Kuwait, in Germany, [5:30] or during their initial days back in the U.S. [5:33] The U.S. military has been fighting wars in the Middle East for 25 years. [5:39] Why was proper medical care not immediately available to these injured soldiers, [5:45] and why were they not immediately screened for traumatic brain injuries? [5:50] I'm not taking issue with the characterization of individual soldiers, [5:55] but I would argue that every effort was made to provide every level of medical care possible, [6:00] understanding how CENTCOM operates. [6:01] The Senator's time has expired. [6:04] ... [6:14] ... [6:15] ... [6:16] ... [6:17] ... [6:18] ...