Opening Statement (as prepared)

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Thank you and good afternoon, Chairman, colleagues, General Reed, and Administrator Carmel. 

I want to welcome Administrator Carmel to his new role and thank both you and General Reed for your recent joint visit to Cal Poly Maritime Academy, as well as to Military Ocean Terminal Concord. I am glad you had the opportunity to see firsthand the critical work being done in California to train our next generation of mariners and support our Pacific logistics hub.

They, along with Travis Air Force base and others across the district, represent essential components of our mobility enterprise and I’m proud to Represent them here in Congress. 

Before proceeding, I want to acknowledge the service members currently in harm's way around the globe and mourn the tragic loss of life that has occurred since the beginning of the conflict in Iran. Our thoughts and prayers are with the service members who put themselves in harm's way in service of our country.

Whether transporting cargo, refueling assets or sustaining our forces, the men and women supporting our mobility enterprise, both in and out of uniform, are a critical source of our nation’s strength.
 
I am grateful that our subcommittees are meeting jointly to ensure these forces have the resources, policies and guidance they need to ensure their success in providing transportation, sustainment, and distribution to our nation’s warfighters.

Today, as we assess the posture and readiness of our mobility enterprise, I want to emphasize the critical role of our air, land, and sea mobility capabilities in ensuring our national security. 

Each year, when we conduct this hearing, we talk about how important our mobility enterprise is and how underappreciated it is. 

Unfortunately, this remains all too true, although I am cautiously optimistic that we are starting to belatedly appreciate the critical importance of our air, land, and sea mobility capabilities.
 
I am concerned about the President’s decision to unilaterally go to war without congressional consultation, but if nothing else, the immense logistical demands of the current conflict with Iran have made crystal clear the importance of our mobility enterprise. 

As much as I enjoyed and valued our conversations and look forward to working together, I must say that I am concerned about the recent decision of the Defense Department to apply for a Jones Act waiver without any detail or clarity. 

The alleged justification, that we have insufficient vessels available to move fuel and other materials from the Gulf Coast, is an inadequate and insufficient explanation for such a significant request. 

The idea that we were so unprepared for the outcomes of our war of choice that we allegedly need foreign-flag vessels to move our domestic commerce is unacceptable.

Administrator Carmel, as someone with a lifetime spent in the U.S. maritime industry, you know how important it is to have a resilient, ready fleet of U.S. vessels. I hope to hear more today about how you remain committed to supporting a fleet of U.S. vessels.

Supporting our country’s maritime leadership is why I am proud to lead the SHIPS Act with Chairman Kelly. This legislation will revitalize the U.S. maritime industry by creating incentives for vessels to be built and flagged in America and funding long-overdue infrastructure upgrades. As reinforced by the President's recent Executive Order on the maritime industrial base, we must put Americans back to work in our shipyards and ensure that the vessels carrying our military's lifeblood are built, flagged, and crewed by Americans
It is my hope that the SHIPS Act will transform our country’s maritime industry and strengthen our nation’s maritime leadership.

But it’s not just maritime where we must focus our efforts. We must return to the unglamorous basics of maintaining our critical assets and building our workforce. Too often, we  become overly focused on cutting-edge technologies while neglecting the resources we need to sustain and maintain our fighting forces. After all, it is the work of USTRANSCOM and MARAD that will ultimately win, or lose, us the next conflict.

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today on how we can address these challenges and strengthen the backbone of our mobility enterprise.