Opening Statement (As Prepared)

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Thank you, Chairman Kelly. I’d like to echo your words of condolence and sorrow over the loss of the KC-135 aircrew and to all the families who have lost service members in the war with Iran. Our thoughts and prayers are truly with you in this time of mourning.

We hold this hearing every year and, unfortunately, face perennial challenges and continue to revisit the same questions. I have discussed at length the pressing need to recapitalize sealift and continue to reiterate my support for the Tanker Security Program. Similarly, I’d like to highlight the importance of maintaining our Ready Reserve Fleet and welcome the witnesses to expand on how MARAD and TRANSCOM coordinate on this program and potential implications if the Fleet is activated.

The Seapower Subcommittee remains committed to enabling the Navy, TRANSCOM, and MARAD to meet their mission as fast as possible. One of these longtime priorities for the subcommittee is the vessel construction manager model, which we first legislated in the FY17 NDAA to mandate the use of a VCM or similar entity for the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel used by our Merchant Marine Academies. This subcommittee further extended authorities to continue this model in FY25 for up to 10 new vessels for our National Defense Reserve Fleet, and in FY26 for a series of ships, including the Landing Ship Mediums. I hope to hear from witnesses today about where we stand with this recapitalization and how the VCM model has been employed.

I would also like to highlight my concerns about the current state of the air component of the mobility enterprise. I would like to align myself with the Chairman’s concerns about our tanker fleet.  But I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about airlift. The C-17 has been a workhorse for decades, yet we are woefully behind in developing its replacement.  Recent comments from acting Air Mobility Commander, General Sonkiss, have expressed the importance of moving forward with the next generation air-lifter or NGAL. But how do we quickly field a survivable aircraft that meets our needs, in terms of the numbers required, and at an affordable cost? I am very interested in hearing your thoughts on that point too.

I look forward to a robust discussion of these topics and with that, I yield back.