WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air And Land Forces, made the following remarks, as prepared for delivery, ahead of the Subcommittee's hearing on the Army's conventional ammunition industrial base:
"Thank you Mr. Chairman.
"Conventional ammunition and the associated industrial base have tended to be an after-thought at times when discussing the defense budget and we’ve seen where ammunition procurement accounts have been used as bill payers in the past.
"There’s a tendency to take for granted that we will always have a responsive and resilient ammunition industrial base capable of rapidly surging to meet operational demands.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified a problem that has been prevalent for quite sometime… that the defense industrial base especially at the supply chain level is fragile and may not be as resilient as we need it to be.
"This includes the Army ammunition industrial base where we see many single points of failure and supply chain dependency on overseas sources for many critical materials.
"So I am very pleased the Chairman is holding this hearing today so that we can better understand what actions the Army is taking as the single manager of conventional ammunition to modernize this critical industrial base.
"I want to work with you both to ensure we have a resilient ammunition industrial base that is modernized and affordable, as well as ensure we have a healthy stockpile that can serve as insurance for Army readiness and credible deterrence.
"Today I plan to focus primarily on the status of the government owned-contractor operated army ammunition plants. There are five of these critical facilities to include Lake City located in Independence, Missouri.
"These plants are vital to nearly all munition programs, and most have been around since World War II and many are considered to be single points of failure.
"Over the past three years the Army budget requests has averaged approximately $455.6 million per year to address modernization efforts for all five of these facilities.
"Despite this increase in steady-state funding, there still appears to be significant upgrades needed for manufacturing, safety, and environmental issues among others.
"I’m wondering if there is a significant discrepancy between documented need and planned investment to sufficiently address all five facilities. I expect our witnesses today to address this concern.
"In closing, I want to thank our witnesses for their dedicated service to this Nation, for your support to every soldier and each of their families and I look forward to hearing your testimony.
"I yield back."