Opening Statement (As Prepared)

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Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

And thank you to our witnesses for being here today.

I will be very brief and allow us to get right into the question portion of the hearing following our witness testimonies.

It has been just over two years since the AUKUS security agreement was formally announced – based on a shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific fortified by a 3-way enhancement of critical defense technologies. The centerpiece of which was recapitalization of Australia’s undersea fleet, all of which want to be executed “at the earliest possible date.”
 
Immediately following the September 2021 announcement, David Ignatius, the longtime journalist covering foreign policy at the Washing Post, describes AUKUS as “the most important strategic move in decades.” As we have seen a constantly evolving environment in the Indo-Pacific, I could not agree more with that statement.

I had the opportunity to travel to Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego for the announcement of the Optimal Pathway back in March of this this, where three heads of government and three navies laid out the roadmap to implement AUKUS using the “earliest possible date” creed.

Since then, the administration and Congress have had various conversations to craft legislative proposals and enable the success of this agreement, specifically to authorize the transfer of submarines to Australia, accept Australia’s three-billion-dollar investment into the US submarine industrial base, and provide training for Australian personnel in the field of naval nuclear propulsion.

So far, we have seen each chamber act on these requests, providing a framework for inclusion in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act. I’ll reiterate that it is critical we get those proposals passed this year and implement those enabling authorities.

I look forward to hearing your testimony today and continued engagement on this issue.

With that I yield back.

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