Sep 1, 2021
Press Release
Washington, DC - U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL), Lead Republican of the House Armed Services Committee, delivered opening remarks at the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) markup.
Lead Republican Rogers' remarks as prepared below:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I look forward to today’s markup and spending some time with all my colleagues.
Mr. Chairman, I was disappointed in the President’s defense budget he submitted earlier this year.
It failed to keep pace with inflation.
It failed to keep pace with the bipartisan recommendation for 3-5% growth every year.
I haven’t been quiet about my frustration with this budget.
We face near-peer adversaries that now spend more combined on defense than we do.
I’m concerned we risk losing our qualitative and quantitative advantage.
And I fear what that means for our security in the future.
Later today, I will offer a bipartisan amendment to increase the defense top line to align with what our Senate colleagues did earlier this summer.
My amendment includes member priorities from both Republicans and Democrats, and unfunded priorities from the combatant commands and services.
I anticipate its adoption with a strong bipartisan vote.
Mr. Chairman, the bill before us does represent a good, bipartisan effort to fund and authorize programs in the Department of Defense.
I want to thank you and our colleagues for their hard work in producing this bill.
This bill invests in new and emerging technologies to provide the warfighter with the best tools to ensure victory.
It focuses on improving our ship building capabilities, as well as our air and ground superiority.
But most importantly, we will start to divest to invest.
We must all understand that parochial issues need to be weighed against the defense of the nation.
I am a strong supporter of moving away from legacy systems that cannot help us win a confrontation with China or other near-peer adversaries.
We will debate several important issues today.
We will disagree, but we all have the same goal - to support the men and women who serve our nation.
Our military represents the greatest force for good the world has ever seen.
Thirteen of our bravest Americans paid the ultimate sacrifice last week in Afghanistan.
Their selfless service to our nation was marked by their dedication, patriotism, and willingness to put their lives on the line to help the most helpless.
These Americans, who stood in harm’s way so that others could be afforded a better life, will never be forgotten.
What we saw in Afghanistan this last month was devastating.
The decisions that President Biden have been making are disastrous.
I fear America is less safe because of them.
These self-inflicted wounds have made our job even more important and difficult.
Today’s markup begins our duty to conduct oversight on the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
But it cannot end here.
We must find out what advice President Biden ignored in making these disastrous decisions.
We must find out exactly how many Americans President Biden left behind.
We must find out how much military equipment President Biden has left to the Taliban.
Finally, we need a plan from the President counter and defeat terrorists in Afghanistan.
There are many more questions about what happened in Afghanistan that must be answered.
It is the duty of this committee to find the answers.
There is a tremendous amount of anger among Members on my side of the aisle over the blunder that unfolded in Afghanistan.
I am as angry as I have ever been.
But I ask all Members to channel that anger into productive debate.
Let’s get started today making our Nation safer and more secure.
Mr. Chairman, I look forward to the debates we will have today and tonight.
I yield back.