Opening Statement (As Prepared)

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Thank you, Dr. Jackson. Thank you to our witnesses for their testimony today on how the Defense Intelligence Enterprise is postured for strategic competition and, most importantly, how it can enable the warfighter to fight and win our nation’s wars.

The global security environment is increasingly volatile, and we cannot overstate the need for an agile, capable, and synchronized Defense Intelligence Enterprise.

Malign actors like China and Russia are adapting their strategies to counter U.S. influence in real time, all while deepening ties with other authoritarian regimes like Iran and North Korea who seek to challenge America and its allies.

Global events over the last year have reinforced the need for today’s discussion.

Russia continues its illegal and unjust war in Ukraine, relying on the PRC, Iran, and North Korea to provide Putin with the revenue, troops, and weapons needed to continue this deadly conflict.

The Chinese Communist Party continues to use its coercive actions in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world to increase its standing and try to undercut U.S. influence. They also provide the economic resources that countries like Russia, Iran, and North Korea need to conduct their destabilizing activities.  

Iran continues its malign behavior:
•    Leveraging its proxies in the Middle East;
•    Working to delegitimize the new Syrian government;
•    Backing militia groups in Iraq; and
•    Prolonging conflict between Israel and Hamas to assert its regional hegemony.

Recently, India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed powers, engaged in several military exchanges, threatening to pull the region, and possibly the world, into conflict.

And we need to be mindful that violent extremist organizations continue to pose a threat to our national security as they look for ways to plan and execute attacks against the US and our allies and partners.

These turbulent times demand that our leading intelligence professionals continually evolve.

That is why I remain deeply troubled by this administration’s actions that impact our Intelligence Community, including removing respected career intelligence officials and jeopardizing our intel sharing relationships with partners and allies.

I am also deeply concerned by proposals to slash personnel by 8%, cuts that go deep into the muscle and bone, not just fat, of these agencies. These decisions have the potential to affect the Defense Intelligence Enterprise’s ability to meet this moment.

Still, I know you all remain committed to your organizations, the mission, and the dedicated men and women you lead. And I remain committed to working with you all to ensure your organizations have the resourcing and authorities to continue providing the intelligence needed to support our operations and strategic goals.

We’ve seen great examples of this critical work over the past few years:

Last fall the NSA, in coordination with the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), released a report on the various threats that Russian military cyber actors pose to U.S and global critical infrastructure.

A few weeks later, the DIA issued a report detailing how Russia, China, and North Korea are modernizing their legacy nuclear stockpiles by incorporating advanced technologies to penetrate or avoid our missile defense systems.
 
We also continue to see public reporting on the growing relationship between Russia and the PRC – especially in the information space where the PRC is reportedly spending billions of dollars globally in support of Russian disinformation.

These are just a few instances that reflect the need for increased focus and agility from the Defense Intelligence Enterprise when it comes to strategic competition.  

Lastly, as I have stressed in previous hearings, our partners and allies play a critical role and support our ability to counter destructive behavior outside of the framework of shared values and norms.

To effectively deal with these challenges, the Defense Intelligence Enterprise must remain agile, be collaborative across the enterprise, provide releasable and actionable intelligence throughout the department, and collaborate closely with allies and partners.  

I look forward to hearing from the witnesses on these and other issues today. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.