[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                    
                         [H.A.S.C. No. 118-36] 





                               MEMBER DAY

                               __________


                      COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES 
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION
                               __________

                              HEARING HELD

                              MAY 16, 2023







                                     
               [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 




               


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                  U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE  

53-021                    WASHINGTON : 2024 
















                                     
                      COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
                    One Hundred Eighteenth Congress

                     MIKE ROGERS, Alabama, Chairman

JOE WILSON, South Carolina           ADAM SMITH, Washington
MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio              JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut
DOUG LAMBORN, Colorado               JOHN GARAMENDI, California
ROBERT J. WITTMAN, Virginia, Vice    DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey
  Chair                              RUBEN GALLEGO, Arizona
AUSTIN SCOTT, Georgia                SETH MOULTON, Massachusetts
SAM GRAVES, Missouri                 SALUD O. CARBAJAL, California
ELISE M. STEFANIK, New York          RO KHANNA, California
SCOTT DesJARLAIS, Tennessee          WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts
TRENT KELLY, Mississippi             ANDY KIM, New Jersey
MIKE GALLAGHER, Wisconsin            CHRISSY HOULAHAN, Pennsylvania
MATT GAETZ, Florida                  ELISSA SLOTKIN, Michigan
DON BACON, Nebraska                  MIKIE SHERRILL, New Jersey
JIM BANKS, Indiana                   VERONICA ESCOBAR, Texas
JACK BERGMAN, Michigan               JARED F. GOLDEN, Maine
MICHAEL WALTZ, Florida               SARA JACOBS, California
MIKE JOHNSON, Louisiana              MARILYN STRICKLAND, Washington
LISA C. McCLAIN, Michigan            PATRICK RYAN, New York
RONNY JACKSON, Texas                 JEFF JACKSON, North Carolina
PAT FALLON, Texas                    GABE VASQUEZ, New Mexico
CARLOS A. GIMENEZ, Florida           CHRISTOPHER R. DELUZIO, 
NANCY MACE, South Carolina             Pennsylvania
BRAD FINSTAD, Minnesota              JILL N. TOKUDA, Hawaii
DALE W. STRONG, Alabama              DONALD G. DAVIS, North Carolina
MORGAN LUTTRELL, Texas               JENNIFER L. McCLELLAN, Virginia
JENNIFER A. KIGGANS, Virginia        TERRI A. SEWELL, Alabama
NICK LaLOTA, New York                STEVEN HORSFORD, Nevada
JAMES C. MOYLAN, Guam                JIMMY PANETTA, California
MARK ALFORD, Missouri                MARC VEASEY, Texas
CORY MILLS, Florida
RICHARD McCORMICK, Georgia

                      Chris Vieson, Staff Director
               Walker Barrett, Professional Staff Member
               Jeanine Womble, Professional Staff Member
                    Brooke Alred, Research Assistant 
                    













                    
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

              STATEMENTS PRESENTED BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

Smith, Hon. Adam, a Representative from Washington, Ranking 
  Member, Committee on Armed Services............................     1
Wittman, Hon. Robert J., a Representative from Alabama, Chairman, 
  Committee on Armed Services....................................     1

                               WITNESSES

Allen, Hon. Rick W., a Representative from Georgia...............    14
Case, Hon. Ed, a Representative from Hawaii......................     8
Crenshaw, Hon. Dan, a Representative from Texas..................    15
Garcia, Hon. Sylvia R., a Representative from Texas..............    10
James, Hon. John, a Representative from Michigan.................     4
Kaptur, Hon. Marcy, a Representative from Ohio...................    13
Larsen, Hon. Rick, a Representative from Washington..............    11
Obernolte, Hon. Jay, a Representative from California............     5
Thompson, Hon. Glenn, a Representative from Pennsylvania.........     6
Wenstrup, Hon. Brad R., a Representative from Ohio...............     2

                                APPENDIX

Prepared Statements:

    Allen, Hon. Rick W...........................................    43
    Case, Hon. Ed................................................    35
    Crenshaw, Hon. Dan...........................................    46
    Garcia, Hon. Sylvia R........................................    37
    James, Hon. John.............................................    30
    Larsen, Hon. Rick............................................    38
    Obernolte, Hon. Jay..........................................    31
    Thompson, Hon. Glenn.........................................    32
    Wenstrup, Hon. Brad R........................................    25

Documents Submitted for the Record:

    Chavez-DeRemer, Hon. Lori, a Representative from Oregon......    51
    Griffith, Hon. H. Morgan, a Representative from Virginia.....    53
    Levin, Hon. Mike, a Representative from California...........    56
    McGovern, Hon. James P., a Representative from Massachusetts.    59
    Pfluger, Hon. August, a Representative from Texas............    62
    Phillips, Hon. Dean, a Representative from Minnesota.........    63
    Radewagen, Hon. Aumua Amata Coleman, a Delegate from American 
      Samoa, and Hon. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, a Delegate 
      from Northern Mariana Islands..............................    67
    Sablan, Hon. Gregorio Kilili Camacho, a Delegate from 
      Northern Mariana Islands...................................    69
    Sorensen, Hon. Eric, a Representative from Illinois..........    72
    Wexton, Hon. Jennifer, a Representative from Virginia........    73

Witness Responses to Questions Asked During the Hearing:

    [There were no Questions submitted during the hearing.]

Questions Submitted by Members Post Hearing:

    [There were no Questions submitted post hearing.]
 
                              MEMBER DAY

                              ----------                              

                          House of Representatives,
                               Committee on Armed Services,
                             Washington, DC, Tuesday, May 16, 2023.
    The committee met, pursuant to call, at 9:59 a.m., in room 
2118, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Robert J. Wittman 
(vice chairman of the committee) presiding.

       OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ROBERT J. WITTMAN, A REP- 
         RESENTATIVE FROM VIRGINIA, VICE CHAIRMAN, COMMIT- 
         TEE ON ARMED SERVICES

    Mr. Wittman. I would like to call to order the U.S. House 
Armed Services Committee. Good morning, and welcome to the 
House Armed Services Member Day for fiscal 2024 National 
Defense Authorization Act.
    The committee expects to mark up the NDAA soon and very 
much values the input of members who have submitted testimony 
regarding their priorities. In addition to our colleagues who 
are appearing here in person, the committee has also received 
several statements for the record.
    I ask for unanimous consent that all members' written 
statements will be made part of the record. Without objection, 
so ordered.
    The committee will recognize members to give their 
statements in the order in which they arrived. We will receive 
statements in panels of three members and then pause for 
questions for those members before proceeding to a new panel of 
three members.
    I welcome the members who have joined us today to share 
their views, and I yield to the ranking member.

       STATEMENT OF HON. ADAM SMITH, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM 
            WASHINGTON, RANKING MEMBER, COMMITTEE ON ARMED 
            SERVICES

    Mr. Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the chance 
to be here. I appreciate hearing from the members as we talk 
about a lot. This--the defense bill is always a collaborative 
process amongst all members of the House, not just the members 
of the committee.
    There are national security, DOD [Department of Defense] 
interests in districts all across the country. We try to 
represent all those as best as we can in this process. So it's 
great to hear from the members as we begin--as, theoretically, 
we begin that process here soon, I hope.
    But look forward to the testimony today. I look forward to, 
again, putting together a good piece of legislation. Thank you. 
I yield back.
    Mr. Wittman. Thank you to Ranking Member Smith.
    Now we will go to our first panel. The first panel consists 
of Dr. Brad Wenstrup from the Second District of Ohio, Mr. Jay 
Obernolte from the 23rd District of California, Mr. John Jones 
from the 10th District of Michigan, and we will go in that 
order.
    Dr. Wenstrup, we will begin with you.

              STATEMENT OF HON. BRAD R. WENSTRUP, A  
                   REPRESENTATIVE FROM OHIO 

    Dr. Wenstrup. Chairman Wittman, Ranking Member Smith, thank 
you for the opportunity to----
    Mr. Wittman. Is your--Brad, is your mic on?
    Dr. Wenstrup. I'll start over.
    Mr. Wittman. Got it.
    Dr. Wenstrup. All right.
    Mr. Wittman. Yes. Thanks.
    Dr. Wenstrup. Chairman Wittman, Ranking Member Smith, thank 
you for the opportunity to testify today regarding the fiscal 
year 2024 NDAA. I'd like to discuss three issues that I feel 
are necessary for this committee to consider and address in the 
fiscal year 2024 NDAA.
    One is the role of podiatric surgeons in the Armed Forces. 
First, I'd like to express my strong personal support for an 
amendment submitted by Representative Lisa McClain for this 
year's NDAA which would revise the Defense Health Agency's 
policy regarding credentialing and privileging under the 
Military Health System to include certifying boards recognized 
by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education, including the 
American Board of Podiatric Medicine and the American Board of 
Foot and Ankle Surgery.
    Recruiting and retaining the best and brightest physicians 
to the Armed Forces is of utmost importance to the health and 
well-being of our military's greatest asset, our people.
    Every medical professional serving in uniform must have the 
knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to serve our people 
well and engage fully in the operational mission.
    I am a podiatric surgeon. In 2005-2006 I served as chief of 
surgery for the 344th Combat Support Hospital stationed at Abu 
Ghraib Prison, Iraq. Podiatric education, training, and 
practice have evolved considerably from four to five--since 
four to five decades ago.
    The present day podiatric surgeon completes 4-year medical 
school curriculum, completes a 3-year surgical residency 
program, is trained in all aspects of surgical principles, 
patient admissions, performing history and physicals, taking 
emergency call, and full prescription licensing.
    Today, the military faces a tremendous shortage of surgeons 
and it is essential that podiatric surgeons in the Armed Forces 
meet the highest possible standard and have the training and 
certification needed to indicate they are prepared for the 
operational mission.
    I appreciate Representative McClain's effort and urge this 
committee to support the inclusion of her amendment in the 
final committee product.
    Second, I want to emphasize my strong desire to see my 
legislation, the Patriot Retention Act, included in this year's 
NDAA. Last Congress I introduced this act with my friend, 
colleague, and member of this committee, Representative Jimmy 
Panetta.
    This legislation aims to provide our Armed Forces with the 
needed authority to retain specialty positions that are in 
critical shortage in the Ready Reserve. The Patriot Retention 
Act would provide a pathway for certain qualified retiring 
specialists in an area where there are critical shortages to be 
placed in the Ready Reserve without financial disincentives to 
their already earned pension--retirement pension.
    In fact, this committee has previously supported including 
such language in the NDAA including 703 of the House-passed 
fiscal year 2022 NDAA contained this language structured as a 
pilot program to place certain members of the Armed Forces in 
the Ready Reserve.
    While the language did not survive conference, I urge the 
committee to reconsider this language for this year's NDAA and 
work towards a viable solution that aims to improve recruitment 
and retention for our Armed Forces.
    Finally, I urge our committee to continue the necessary 
work of reforming our Military Health System. MHS is a vital 
component of our National Security Strategy, and the Defense 
Health Agency is a critical element of the MHS that was 
established as part of a larger effort to reorganize military 
healthcare programs and services.
    Last Congress section 743 of fiscal year 2023 NDAA required 
the Secretary of Defense to update prior studies regarding the 
feasibility of establishing a new defense health command under 
which NDAA would be a joint component.
    Such an update would review potential structures such as 
unifying combatant command, specified combatant command, or 
other command structure the Secretary determines appropriate 
for consideration.
    As the committee looks to develop the policies that will 
ensure DOD continues to operate a beneficial healthcare 
integrated delivery network with no adverse effects on 
readiness, I urge this committee to continue to take a look at 
the reforms that may be needed to ensure we have a ready 
medical force, a medically ready force, and high-quality 
beneficiary care.
    I yield back.
    [The prepared statement of Dr. Wenstrup can be found in the 
Appendix on page 25.]
    Mr. Wittman. Very good. Thank you, Dr. Wenstrup. Thank you 
for your observations. Obviously, very important. Thanks so 
much for your service to our Nation and for your service on 
this committee.
    Next, we're going to go to Mr. James. Mr. James, I owe you 
an apology about my ineptness in properly addressing you 
initially. I promise you that will not happen again.
    So, Mr. James, the floor is yours.
    Mr. James. Thank you, Mr. Wittman.
    [Laughter.]

          STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN JAMES, A REPRESENTATIVE  
                         FROM MICHIGAN 

    Mr. James. I'm here to speak on behalf of the most 
remarkable Air National Guard Base in the Nation, Selfridge Air 
National Guard Base, which is special in many regards. Its 
unique physical environment as well as its industrial 
capabilities in the surrounding area, Michigan's and the 
Nation's number one manufacturing district, Michigan's Air 
National Guard is poised to lead the Nation in providing a 
cutting-edge integrated force.
    We are steeped in innovation and possess some of our 
Nation's finest all-domain training resources. Our training and 
manufacturing environment, bolstered by unique and vibrant 
partnerships, is unrivaled. These assets will enable the Air 
Force to prepare for today's global joint fight and stay one 
step ahead of our adversaries.
    Speaking of our adversaries, we hear a lot about preparing 
for our adversaries and we are woefully behind. You're going to 
hear from our colleagues who are speaking directly about what 
we can do to get caught up.
    One of those critical areas is in our Air Force and our air 
defenses, maintaining air supremacy. Our greatest and most 
likely future threats--China, Russia, and North Korea--all 
originate from northern latitudes. Yet, all of the attention is 
being pushed toward the coasts.
    The most recent airframes that were approved are being 
pushed to California, Louisiana, and Massachusetts. Meanwhile, 
we are leaving our heartland, our manufacturing base, and the 
bulk of our Nation's population vulnerable.
    Selfridge can provide a four-seasons training area in the 
largest inland range complex east of the Mississippi, second 
only by a couple thousand square miles to Nellis.
    With an area cover of over 12,000 square nautical miles our 
airspace provides ideal joint and large-scale opportunities in 
littoral environment directly integrated with ranges that allow 
for all altitude, all ordnance deliveries, as well as moving 
and fixed target capabilities in an atmosphere that boasts 
impressive threat replication and electronic warfare training 
capabilities; not to mention making sure we protect our Soo 
Locks--critical infrastructure--the Ambassador Bridge, number 
one commercial river crossing in the Western Hemisphere, and 
also a third of the Nation's population; not to speak of our 
allies in Canada, which would encompass within three--a 
hundred-mile radius most of Ontario, which has the capital city 
of Ottawa and Toronto.
    Our next-gen fighters are trending away, as I said, from 
our heartland and our industrial base toward the coasts. This 
leaves our strategic and expensive assets evermore vulnerable 
to both enemy attacks and the increasingly frequent and severe 
effects of changing climate.
    Not only is Michigan surrounded by the largest body of 
fresh water in the world but those Great Lakes also ensure that 
meteorological extremes are far below average compared to other 
parts of the country.
    Furthermore, Michigan is already home to national defense 
complements such as the United States Army Tank Automotive and 
Armaments Command, Fort Custer, Camp Grayling, and the number 
one manufacturing district, as I mentioned, in America.
    Investing in Selfridge Air National Guard Base is 
imperative, which is why I have requested F-15 EXs, direct $579 
million for six more planes above the President's budget, also 
$184 million for fiscal year 2025 advanced procurement to 
increase capacity.
    In my research I've learned that with a few very 
expensive--a hundred million dollars--we can not only increase 
the number of planes in these number of years but also our--
address our industrial base and our ability to defend ourselves 
in succeeding years.
    I've also requested F-35 EXs, an increase of six more F-
35--excuse me, F-35 Alphas for an increase of six more F-35 
Alphas in line with the unfunded priorities list in the Air 
National Guard. This would increase the PBR [President's budget 
request] from 83 total to--F-35s to 89.
    And then, finally, not just fighters to replace the A-10s 
that are being divested but also hypersonics--not just fighters 
but futures. We need to support, please, $100 million for 
hypersonic defense that provides R&D [research and development] 
at a capable air base that can best protect the Great Lakes and 
critical infrastructure.
    Again, Mr. Chairman, I would respectfully request that we 
consider not only the necessity for these airframes but the 
unique ability for Selfridge Air National Guard Base and the 
National Guard to maintain a national defense mission to 
protect the--to protect America against our most likely threats 
in northern latitudes.
    And with that, Mr. Wittman, I yield.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. James can be found in the 
Appendix on page 30.]
    Mr. Wittman. Very good. Mr. James, thank you. Thanks again 
for your thoughts, for your observations, for your request. 
Incredibly important.
    Thanks so much, too, for your service to our Nation and 
thanks for your service to the voters--well, for that matter, 
everyone in Michigan's 10th District. Thanks so much. 
Appreciate it.
    Now we will go to Mr. Obernolte.

       STATEMENT OF HON. JAY OBERNOLTE, A REPRESENTATIVE 
                       FROM CALIFORNIA  

    Mr. Obernolte. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for 
the opportunity to appear before the committee and highlight a 
critically important problem that is occurring at remote and 
isolated military bases.
    I represent several of those bases--the Air Force base at 
Edwards, the Marine Air-Ground Combat Center at Twentnine 
Palms, the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, the Marine 
Logistics Base at Barstow, and the Navy Weapons Center at China 
Lake.
    There are 43 of these bases scattered throughout the United 
States. They form a critically important part of our military 
readiness.
    For our military men and women service at these bases 
involves some sacrifices. It's very difficult to be stationed 
at a remote or isolated base, to have a family and try and 
support a family in that environment, and we rely on our 
military and the Department of Defense to make the quality of 
life for those military men and service women at a point that 
will allow them to have their families at those bases.
    As part of that mission we rely on our civilian workers and 
contractors to provide services for our service men and women, 
things as prosaic as childcare, teachers for schools, 
healthcare professionals to provide access to healthcare to men 
and women who would not otherwise have it, food service workers 
to prepare their food.
    Unfortunately, we are critically short in filling those 
positions at those bases, including those in my district. 
That's why I would like to offer an amendment to the National 
Defense Authorization Act that would direct the Comptroller 
General to prepare a report quantifying the scope of the 
problem and making recommendations to the DOD on how to 
incentivize civilian workers and contractors to work at our 
isolated military bases serving our men and women.
    This amendment was included in the fiscal year 2023 NDAA. 
Unfortunately, when it came back from the Senate the amendment 
was not part of the bill. I'd like to offer that amendment this 
year. Hopefully, we can get this problem solved and protect our 
military's most critical asset, which is the men and women that 
work in it.
    I thank you for attention, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Obernolte can be found in 
the Appendix on page 31.]
    Mr. Wittman. Very good. Mr. Obernolte, thanks so much for 
your advocacy for our men and women in the military as well as 
those that support them. So we appreciate your amendment and we 
will make sure that we do everything we can on what we can do 
on our side with that amendment. So thanks again. Thanks so 
much for your time.
    Very good. Any questions? All right. Mr. Obernolte, thank 
you.
    We'll now go to our next panel.
    I'd like to welcome our next panel, Mr. Glenn Thompson from 
the 15th District of Pennsylvania and Mr. Ed Case from the 1st 
District of Hawaii, and Ms. Sylvia Garcia of the 29th District 
of Texas.
    Mr. Thompson, we will begin with you.

      STATEMENT OF HON. GLENN THOMPSON, A REPRESENTATIVE  
                      FROM PENNSYLVANIA 

    Mr. Thompson. Chairman Wittman, Ranking Member Smith, and 
members of the House Armed Services Committee, good morning and 
thank you for the opportunity to share my priorities for fiscal 
year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.
    As a Member of Congress I strive to meet the needs of our 
service men and women. I'm the father of an Active Duty soldier 
who received a Purple Heart during Operation Iraqi Freedom, 
continues to serve today, a firm believer in the importance of 
a strong national defense, and I greatly appreciate the 
opportunity to be here today and to share my priorities.
    The most critical asset in the defense of our Nation are 
the men and women who choose to serve. Not only do they 
themselves make life-changing sacrifices but so do their 
families. Therefore, we--to have the most lethal and effective 
military in the world our personnel and families deserve to 
have their most basic needs addressed and that starts with 
military housing.
    For several years now military housing has been plagued 
with widespread complaints of neglect and unsafe conditions. 
The committee addressed this issue in the fiscal year 2020 NDAA 
that directed the Secretary of Defense to develop a centralized 
assessment tool for members of the Armed Forces and their 
family members to identify, rate, and compare housing options.
    I've recently introduced H.R. 3165, the Military Housing 
Transparency and Accountability Act, which expands the 
assessment tool to include all military housing including 
privatized housing, barracks, and housing for service members 
unaccompanied by dependents.
    My bill would also enhance the reporting section by 
requiring the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Housing 
to submit an annual report to both the House and the Senate 
Armed Services Committee and the respective Secretaries within 
the DOD.
    Therefore, it's my hope the committee will consider 
inclusion of my bipartisan bill in the fiscal year NDAA. Given 
the ongoing recruitment and retention challenges in our Armed 
Forces, ensuring adequate housing for service members and their 
families is an important necessary part of the solution.
    As the United States continues to develop trade ties in 
regions of the world where service members were once engaged in 
combat, we should make every attempt to ensure prospective 
trading partner countries are active participants in recovery 
of our service members.
    Currently, more than 81,000 service members from World War 
II, the Korean War, and Vietnam remain unaccounted for. Over 
the past couple of years I've been proud to introduce a 
bipartisan resolution which encourages our trading partners to 
continue search and recovery activities for POW/MIA [prisoner 
of war/missing in action] members.
    The family and friends of these American heroes deserve no 
less than our greatest efforts to bring their loved ones home.
    Therefore, I respectfully request the committee to 
authorize robust funding for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting 
Agency in fiscal year 2024.
    Our service members dedicate their lives and well-being to 
protect our Nation's values. That is why we must remain 
committed to providing them with the resources they need both 
during and after their time of service.
    One way the DOD fulfills this commitment is by being the 
largest Federal partner of the AbilityOne program. The 
AbilityOne program helps thousands of Americans who are blind 
or have significant disabilities provide an array of products 
and services for our military personnel, employing more than 
36,000 people, including over 2,500 veterans with a visual 
impairment.
    And then I want to touch just briefly on one more thing, 
healthcare research. As a former healthcare professional, I 
respectfully request we continue to support and fund vital 
Department of Defense research programs.
    These include research programs for multiple sclerosis, ALS 
[amyotrophic lateral sclerosis], breast and ovarian cancer, 
traumatic brain injury, PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder], 
suicide, and the Peer Reviewed Orthopedic Research Program.
    I want to thank the committee and the members of this--all 
the members of this committee for your continued dedication to 
the matters within the jurisdiction of the House Armed Services 
Committee, and I have additional priorities that I have 
submitted in my written testimony and I appreciate your 
consideration.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Thompson can be found in the 
Appendix on page 32.]
    Mr. Wittman. Very good. Mr. Thompson, thank you. Thanks so 
much for your proposals and, as always, this committee will do 
all that it can to accommodate requests from the members.
    So now we will go to Mr. Case.

             STATEMENT OF HON. ED CASE, A REPRESENTATIVE  
                             FROM HAWAII 

    Mr. Case. Thank you Mr. Wittman, Mr. Smith, my Indo-Pacific 
partner from Guam, Mr. Moylan, committee members. Aloha, and 
thank you very much for the opportunity to testify today on 
your fiscal year 2024 NDAA.
    This committee will have another extensive discussion of 
the Indo-Pacific in this year's NDAA, as you should. But today 
I'd like to highlight my home State of Hawaii, which plays a 
central role in our National Defense Strategy.
    The NDS, of course, identifies the People's Republic of 
China as our most consequential strategic [competitor], our 
pacing challenge, and an opponent to a free and open Indo-
Pacific, all of which must be countered through integrated 
deterrence, campaigning, and building an enduring advantage.
    Hawaii has been central to our presence in the Indo-Pacific 
over the last century-plus but never, given this challenge, has 
our role been more critical than today and over the next 
generation-plus.
    To preserve and fully leverage our strategic importance I 
want to address four specific issues with you today: number 
one, the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, or PDI; number two, the 
defense of Hawaii; number three, our Red Hill crisis; and 
number four, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
    These all relate in one way or another to, first, 
maintaining a superior force posture in Hawaii; second, 
maintaining the support of the people of Hawaii for that 
posture; and third, projecting our presence out of Hawaii into 
the broad Indo-Pacific.
    PDI. Of course, this is an instrumental part of integrated 
deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, which we have now funded at $7 
billion-plus with the administration requesting $9 billion-
plus, and highlights key elements and investments needed to 
maintain our competitive advantage and lays the foundation that 
will be indispensable to our efforts for decades to come.
    These investments will only be fully realized through a 
whole-of-government approach that combines multiple lines of 
effort and fosters mutually beneficial cooperation with like-
minded countries that prioritize a respect for sovereignty, 
human rights, and a rules-based system.
    We cannot do this without the help of our allies and 
partners, and a continued investment in the security and 
development of these countries will provide us with the 
enduring advantage that we need.
    Second, the defense of Hawaii. In addition to partnerships, 
another instrumental part of our National Defense Strategy is 
simply defending our homeland, which includes my Hawaii, home 
to Indo-Pacific Command and numerous other force-multiplying 
defense assets.
    Hawaii's location in the Indo-Pacific provides us with a 
strategic competitive advantage and expands our operational 
reach into the Indo-Pacific. But if left insufficiently 
defended it will also leave us highly vulnerable to the 
proliferation of advanced missile threats.
    The military agrees and has stated that Hawaii lacks 
modern, quote, ``surveillance capabilities to meet today's 
mission needs such as an inability to characterize and classify 
targets or cover all required airspace.''
    This is not acceptable and I urge the committee's attention 
to accelerating this investment and planning to adequately 
defend Hawaii.
    Third, Red Hill. Thank you so much for this committee's 
continued support for the people of Hawaii in our efforts to 
address the Red Hill crisis, including full implementation of 
the Secretary of Defense's directive to defuel and close the 
Red Hill bulk fuel storage facility.
    This has also fostered the benefit of requiring us to 
rethink our strategic bulk fuel storage capabilities out into 
the Indo-Pacific that is being carried out with the support of 
this committee, and I urge your continued support.
    And finally, on PFAS. As elsewhere in the country, Red Hill 
has highlighted the dangers caused by PFAS which has leaked 
from this facility. These have to be addressed, identified, and 
addressed over the long term to maintain the force posture 
throughout our country.
    I thank the committee again very much for your efforts not 
only in the Indo-Pacific but in my home State of Hawaii, stand 
ready to help you wherever I can. Mahalo.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Case can be found in the 
Appendix on page 35.]
    Mr. Wittman. Very good. Thank you, Mr. Case.
    Thanks so much for your proposals, for your thoughts, and 
in your direction to this committee. Thanks so much, too, for 
all that you do not only for the citizens of Hawaii but for our 
committee. So thank you. Appreciate it.
    Mr. Case. Thank you.
    Mr. Wittman. Now we'll go to Ms. Garcia from Texas.

      STATEMENT OF HON. SYLVIA R. GARCIA, A REPRESENTATIVE 
                          FROM TEXAS

    Ms. Garcia. Thank you, Mr. Chairman--I apologize.
    Thank you, Mr. Chair and Ranking Member and committee 
members for allowing me to speak here today.
    Our service members do represent the best of our country. 
As Members of Congress it is our duty to ensure that those that 
have served, are currently serving, and will serve in the 
future maintain access to those rights and protections, going 
forward.
    This body has made significant strides in recent years 
legislating and overseeing improvements to protect and prevent 
sexual assault and abuse. But our kids are still vulnerable.
    The New York Times released an article in July of 2022 that 
uncovered the sexual abuse of teens in the military Junior 
Reserve Officers' Training Corps program and reported 33 Junior 
ROTC instructors that were criminally charged.
    The Department of Defense did acknowledge an unprecedented 
58 instances of sexual abuse within the Junior ROTC since 2017. 
Teen cadets enrolled in the Junior ROTC programs face the 
unique challenge of a particularly uneven power dynamic with 
their adult instructors also serving as their commanding 
officer.
    As a result, predators could leverage these power dynamics 
to coerce young victims and commit acts of sexual abuse. 
According to the Child Molestation Research and Prevention 
Institute, 95 percent of sexual abuse is preventable through 
education.
    That means that direct access to sexual abuse prevention 
training is the most effective method of protecting our kids, 
which is why Representative David Joyce and my partner to 
introduce the bipartisan Shielding America's Youth from 
Exploitation Act to ensure that these abuses never happen again 
and that these teens that are enrolled in these programs are 
protected.
    The SAYFE Act requires the Department of Defense to provide 
age-appropriate sexual assault and abuse prevention trainings 
to all Junior ROTC cadets across the Nation.
    The lack of protection for Junior ROTC teen cadets is not 
only a moral failing but it also undermines military readiness. 
At a time when the United States is suffering from a 
recruitment crisis across all branches of the Armed Forces our 
Nation cannot afford to see a program as important as Junior 
ROTC undermined by growing accounts of sexual abuse.
    Congress has a fundamental duty to protect these cadets and 
the SAYFE Act will do just that. I am grateful for the 
opportunity to share this consequential legislation for the 
committee's awareness and ask for your support as I encourage 
all members of the Armed Services Committee give this bill 
serious consideration for inclusion in this year's NDAA markup.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the time and I yield back and 
will be happy to take any questions.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Garcia can be found in the 
Appendix on page 37.]
    Mr. Wittman. Thank you, Ms. Garcia. Thanks so much for you 
and Mr. Joyce's bill on this issue. Incredibly important. 
Thanks for all that you are seeking to do to protect our Junior 
ROTC cadets. That's incredibly important.
    As I grew up I served as a Junior ROTC cadet for 4 years so 
I know how incredibly important it is, and it is a formative 
stage for those young leaders. The last thing we want for them 
is to be subjected to sexual assault or sexual abuse. So thank 
you for doing that.
    Any questions for Ms. Garcia?
    Hearing none, thank you so much.
    Ms. Garcia. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. Wittman. We will now have our next panel.
    If we could, since Mr. Crenshaw isn't here, Ms. Kaptur, if 
you'd like to join us on this panel we can do that. And we will 
fix the nameplate. All right. Very good.
    We'll have our next panel. We're joined by Mr. Rick Larsen 
from the 2nd District of Washington, Ms. Marcy Kaptur from the 
9th District of Ohio, and Mr. Rick Allen from the 12th District 
of Georgia.
    Mr. Larsen, we'll begin with you.

        STATEMENT OF HON. RICK LARSEN, A REPRESENTATIVE  
                      FROM WASHINGTON 

    Mr. Larsen. Thank you, Mr. Chair and Ranking Member, for 
the opportunity to testify today. It's a little bit different 
being on this side of the dais after 22 years on the committee.
    I welcome you to come testify before the Transportation 
Committee at any time and we'll treat you as nicely as you will 
treat me later after I'm done with my testimony.
    [Laughter.]
    Mr. Larsen. Although I won't participate in the committee 
markup of this year's NDAA, I will take the next few minutes to 
highlight some of the priorities that are important to the 
district that I represent.
    So in communities surrounding military installations the 
jet noise from flight operations is a frequent concern and in 
previous NDAAs I've secured funding for jet noise reduction 
research.
    In my district the sailors at Naval Air Station Whidbey 
Island are working to reduce the impact of flight operations on 
surrounding communities so I would just request the committee 
continue to require the Navy to support this research and 
provide a report and briefing on the status of this research.
    Second, the bipartisan Electromagnetic Warfare Working 
Group, or EW Working Group, works to promote electromagnetic 
warfare systems and raise awareness of the importance of EW in 
the National Defense Strategy and last year's NDAA included my 
request for an updated EW force structure and it is important 
that the DOD deliver on this report. It has not yet delivered 
on that report and I would hope the committee presses the 
Department to do just that.
    America's women and men in uniform sacrifice greatly as 
well. They should not have to sacrifice, however, their dreams 
of having a family. I've met with veterans and service members 
who struggle with having children due to medical complications 
because of their service in the military. And establishing a 
pilot program to cryo preserve gametes prior to training and 
deployments would enable service members to choose to have a 
family should a dramatic injury occur. And I'd ask that all 
members support this effort to help our veterans and service 
members start a family.
    Last year on the committee I asked General Milley how the 
DOD is integrating AI [artificial intelligence] education into 
professional military education. His response revealed that the 
DOD has work to do to ensure that junior officers and the 
enlisted ranks have access to AI education.
    I request the committee require the DOD to establish an AI 
education program for all ranks, officers and enlisted, to 
ensure service members understand AI concepts and ethics and 
have the tools they need to solve problems and create 
efficiency through the use of artificial intelligence.
    As a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly as well, I'm 
a strong supporter of NATO's efforts on the Defense Innovation 
Accelerator for the North Atlantic, or the DIANA program.
    DIANA will enable NATO allies to adopt and integrate 
innovative technologies. In last year's NDAA I requested 
funding for DIANA and pushed for the DOD to select a U.S. 
representative to the DIANA board.
    I am pleased that Ms. Barbara McQuiston was elected to 
chair at the DIANA board of directors and that the Pacific 
Northwest Mission Acceleration Center in Seattle was selected 
as the second DIANA site in the United States. And I ask the 
committee to support emerging technology and NATO by continuing 
to invest in DIANA.
    Two final issues. First is the DOD recognizes financial 
readiness as a crucial component of not only service members' 
lives but the lives of their families and, more specifically, 
their children.
    Financial literacy education in the Department of Defense 
Education Activity schools is critical to prepare military 
children for the future and I ask the committee to include a 
provision in the NDAA requiring DODEA schools to add a 
financial literacy course in their high school graduation 
requirement.
    And, finally, on the Constellation-class frigate program, 
they will protect U.S. interests and they will also--the Navy 
has also selected Everett, Washington, as their first home 
port. And I hope that the committee can continue to support 
reliable predictable shipbuilding schedule and funding to 
prepare for the frigate's scheduled arrival in 2026.
    And with that, I'd like to thank you for taking time to 
consider my priorities for this year's NDAA.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Larsen can be found in the 
Appendix on page 38.]
    Mr. Wittman. Mr. Larsen, thank you, and the issue of 
shipbuilding, obviously, is going to be front and center. 
Thanks so much for your advocacy for timeliness of pending 
reports. We know how incredibly important that is for us to 
make our decisions.
    And making sure we're helping service members and their 
families with having families; that, too, is important for 
quality of life. As well as issues on artificial intelligence 
and the NATO accelerator as well as financial literacy.
    So thanks so much for all of your issues that you brought 
before us and, as always, we will do all that we can to 
accommodate you in every way possible. So thanks again. Thank 
you.
    We will now go to Ms. Kaptur.

       STATEMENT OF HON. MARCY KAPTUR, A REPRESENTATIVE 
                          FROM OHIO 

    Ms. Kaptur. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member 
Smith. I thank you both for the opportunity to testify before 
your committee today as a member of the Defense Appropriations 
Committee and look forward to working with you to refine these 
proposals as the bill moves forward.
    I'm grateful for our partnership across our committees to 
ensure that the brave men and women of the United States Armed 
Forces have the tools they need to keep our country safe both 
at home and abroad. And when they return home, we must afford 
them the respect and recognition their service has earned.
    I wish to address two issues for which I seek inclusion as 
your committee develops the 2024 defense authorizing bill.
    First, my proposal is to authorize the Department of 
Defense to strike a new service medal entitled ``Last Soldier 
Standing.'' And second proposal is to authorize an unmarried 
only adult lone child of lifelong service members the 
opportunity at their own expense to be cremated or 
conventionally interred above or alongside their career 
military parents who are interred in military cemeteries.
    First, on the medal. I seek your committee's authorization 
for the Department of Defense to perform necessary research and 
create criteria including character, circumstance, nature of 
battle, war wounds, and medical records to define, strike, and 
administer the award of a new category of service medal 
acknowledging the heroism and exceptional valor of the last 
soldier standing.
    Presently the Department of Defense only processes medals 
for soldiers who have served in battle if there are two living 
witnesses that can verify their service. For soldiers who have 
served in horrific battle with all soldiers dead but one 
remaining alive and critically wounded yet standing his ground, 
this regulation simply makes no sense.
    In furtherance of this objective, I have the distinct 
privilege and responsibility of sharing a story with your 
committee I wish to place in the record that serves as an 
example of the situation that would warrant the medal I am 
proposing.
    I respectfully ask for this soldier's story for inclusion 
in the record. It is a true story of the late Army cavalry 
platoon leader in the Vietnam war veteran Sergeant John Eid of 
Toledo, Ohio. His story well illustrates why I believe such a 
medal deserves a place in our Nation's military service awards.
    His meticulous handwritten maps and battle notes 
methodically recount his recollections as an Army combat 
soldier who fought against Vietnamese regular forces at La 
Drang Valley landing zone Albany beginning November 17th, 1965.
    That battle is recorded as the costliest battle and the 
turning point of the Vietnam war and his note states, and I'll 
read just one sentence: ``My statement does not engage certain 
issues but the lack of intelligence, our sketchy mission order, 
why transport helicopters were unavailable, why hours passed 
with no air or artillery support. Why did the battalion and 
brigade commanders behave as they did? There are a thousand 
questions. I can only say that more than 1,000 Americans and 
North Vietnamese infantry men died in what is called, quote, 
`the most savage one-day battle of the Vietnam war.' ``
    Sergeant Eid was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star 
but was not eligible for additional medals because DOD 
regulations state there were not two living witnesses who 
survived to attest to his and his colleagues' fight to subdue 
the enemy. All were dead but one.
    Secondly, on the request for burial of unmarried children 
of a career U.S. soldier and spouse buried in military 
cemeteries, the unmarried only child should be afforded burial 
rights if the applicant pays for burial expenses.
    My proposal suggests that on a case-by-case basis the 
cemetery would make decisions on space constraints and whether 
cremation or traditional burial is suitable and whether a 
nameplate of the child could be affixed to the parents' grave 
marker.
    Thank you, Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Smith, for 
the opportunity to speak to your committee today and present 
these proposals on very vital matters. I look forward to 
working with you and your staff to develop these proposals and 
move them across the finish line.
    I thank you and yield back.
    Mr. Wittman. Thanks much, Ms. Kaptur, and without objection 
your story of the last man standing in the battle in Vietnam 
will be entered into the record and we appreciate your advocacy 
for that--it certainly makes sense--and then also to allow an 
only unmarried child to be interred with their military 
parents.
    So we will make sure we take that as part of our task to 
include that. So thanks again. Thank you.
    [The information referred to was not available at the time 
of printing.]
    Mr. Wittman. We will now go to Mr. Allen.

       STATEMENT OF HON. RICK W. ALLEN, A REPRESENTATIVE  
                        FROM GEORGIA

    Mr. Allen. Thank you, Chairman Wittman and Ranking Member 
Smith, for hosting this Member Day for Members of Congress to 
discuss priorities for the National Defense Authorization Act 
for fiscal year 2024.
    My district, the 12th Congressional District of Georgia, is 
home to Fort Gordon, one of the fastest growing military 
installations in the country. Fort Gordon is home to the U.S. 
Army Cyber Center of Excellence and the U.S. Army Cyber Command 
and the Signal School headquarters.
    I am proud to represent thousands of service members from 
all branches who continue to make sacrifices to ensure the 
safety and the security of the United States.
    Building a 21st century military is critical to fielding 
the threats of today, tomorrow, and years to come in the ever-
changing cyber environment and that starts with the investments 
being made at Fort Gordon.
    Cyber is the new frontier. Every day our Nation faces a new 
type of threat in this domain. We must ensure that our cyber 
warriors have access to the ranges and training environments 
they need to adequately respond to emerging threats as well as 
the readiness and training funding necessary to address the 
full spectrum of cyber threats.
    Included in the President's budget for fiscal year 2024 was 
$163 million for the design and construction of the U.S. Army 
Cyber Center of Excellence Signal School, also known within the 
Department of the Army as MCA 3.
    This funding will go towards facility and mission 
capabilities consisting of Signal School headquarters, cyber 
noncommissioned officer academy headquarters, secret training 
capability for signal advanced individual training, 38 
classrooms, and 38 labs.
    Additionally, my district borders the Savannah River Site 
where they are completing critical missions toward nuclear 
modernization to ensure our nuclear deterrent is safe and 
reliable.
    As you continue to work on crafting a National Defense 
Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024 it is my request that 
full funding is included for construction of this important 
facility at Fort Gordon as well as fully funding the important 
missions at Savannah River Site.
    I appreciate this opportunity to submit my request and 
thank the committee for your great work on this National 
Defense Authorization. And I yield back.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Allen can be found in the 
Appendix on page 43.]
    Mr. Wittman. Thank you, Mr. Allen. We deeply appreciate all 
the things that Fort Gordon does for our United States military 
as well as our Army.
    That cyber center there, as you said, is an incredibly 
important and growing mission and making sure we properly 
resource that is, indeed, our job.
    So we will make sure we give that all due consideration in 
the context of all the other great requests that we have. So, 
Mr. Allen, thank you so much. Thank you.
    I think we have one member left.
    Mr. Crenshaw. Mr. Crenshaw, welcome. The floor is yours. 
Thank you so much for all you do for the folks in the Second 
District of the great State of Texas.

        STATEMENT OF HON. DAN CRENSHAW, A REPRESENTATIVE  
                           FROM TEXAS 

    Mr. Crenshaw. Thank you. Thank you for having me today. 
Thank you for hosting this.
    I want to tell a story----
    Mr. Wittman. Yes.
    Mr. Crenshaw [continuing]. To start this off. About 3 years 
ago I was having dinner at a friend's house. He was ex-Marine. 
He had served in Afghanistan as a civil affairs Marine during 
the historic push through Marjah so it was heavy combat.
    He is a childhood friend of my wife's, so we've known each 
other for quite a long time and he suffered serious traumatic 
brain injuries from a vehicle-borne IED. Rocked him pretty bad. 
He couldn't speak for a while. He had terrible memory loss.
    It crushed him for many years. You know, eventually he 
gained back a lot of those motor functions, but the internal 
issues were, of course, still there.
    And as we're having dinner he tells me about some treatment 
that he had just done down in Mexico through a--through an 
American nonprofit and American doctors but it was a 
psychedelics treatment where you go down for 1 day and you take 
a dose of Ibogaine, and the effects last for about 12 hours and 
there's doctors involved and the next day they do another 
treatment and then they leave.
    And he talked to me about how it changed his life, how he 
stopped drinking alcohol, how he stopped needing any pain 
medications. His wife, more importantly, told me how it changed 
their lives.
    I thought that was really interesting. I never heard this 
kind of testimony before. They live in Maryland. So we drove 
back here. At the time I was renting an apartment in Navy Yard, 
and I get in my elevator and in that elevator is a guy named 
Jon Lubecky. And I don't know him, but he knows who I am and he 
says, hey, sir, just want to let you know I'm an old Marine and 
I tried to kill myself four times until I did this treatment.
    He was talking about the exact same treatment and the exact 
same clinic that my good friend Mike was talking about. So, all 
on the same night this happens to me.
    That's why I decided to take on this issue because, as it 
turns out, I have a lot more friends than I even realized who 
were affected by this. Some of those are on this committee 
actually. The Lutrell brothers, they've told me about their 
experiences. My friend Henry Berkowitz, who is an advocate for 
vets--may have come by your offices one or two times--have 
advocated for these treatments.
    Twenty-seven percent of post-9/11 veterans are diagnosed 
with PTSD and the truth is we haven't made a whole lot of 
progress in actually treating it. And so we have to think 
outside the box. We have to do something new.
    So that's why I'm here once again, actually, pushing for 
further research into the use of psychedelics to treat PTSD, 
traumatic brain injury, and CTE [chronic traumatic 
encephalopathy]. CTE is, of course, another form of brain 
injury.
    And I'm calling on Congress to use this year's NDAA to 
direct the Secretary of Defense to provide grants for 
psychedelic research to treat service members living with PTSD, 
TBI, and CTE.
    It's worth noting we all voted for this already. We've 
passed this out of the House, and where all good things die, it 
died in the Senate.
    So why am I pushing for this? The studies are pretty 
promising. Recent private sector research into the use of MDMA 
to treat PTSD found that 88 percent of trial participants had a 
significant reduction in symptoms and 67 percent no longer had 
PTSD.
    And the study is not an outlier. The first use of MDMA-
assisted psychotherapy for PTSD in 2010 found that 83 percent 
of the patients given MDMA no longer met the criteria for PTSD 
and follow-up results revealed that the positive effects 
persisted for years.
    Perhaps more compelling than the data are the personal 
testimonials you'll hear from veterans that I just spoke about. 
SEAL Team Six operators like Marcus Capone, Jonathan Lubecky, 
and countless others who say this treatment turned them away 
from suicide, rescued their marriage, rescued their families, 
and pulled them out of the depths of despair that only veterans 
living with PTSD can describe.
    Here's the issue. Under current law Active Duty service 
members suffering from PTSD must travel abroad to receive this 
treatment, risk losing their Active Duty status if they do so. 
This creates some problems.
    First, losing their Active Duty status means they're taken 
away from their community and friendships that are integral to 
their lives, only making the problems worse.
    They also no longer have the benefits of Active Duty 
status, which will further disrupt their lives and their 
families.
    Second, this prevents us from gaining the research we need 
to determine the true efficacy of psychedelic therapy. We still 
never understand the extent to which psychedelics can help our 
service members unless we start doing the necessary testing.
    So, to be clear, this policy and the bill I'm proposing 
would not grant every single service member the ability to go 
out and try psychedelics on their own. It would not provide 
over-the-counter psychedelics at military pharmacies.
    It would not even dictate that psychedelics are effective 
and people with PTSD should seek them out as treatment options. 
All this would do is direct the DOD to begin the research and 
allow service members to keep their Active Duty status if they 
participate.
    It's a simple but positive step in the right direction and 
I hope this committee will include this policy in the NDAA so 
we can truly study this innovative way to treat our service 
members and give them a chance to continue to serve while they 
take part in the treatment. I think they deserve that option, 
and we should not stand in their way.
    Thank you. I yield back.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Crenshaw can be found in the 
Appendix on page 46.]
    Mr. Wittman. Thank you, Mr. Crenshaw. Thanks, too, for 
sharing those stories. We know the tremendous suffering that 
members of the military and their families go through in 
dealing with PTSD and anything that we can do to help them on 
the path to recovery from that, I think, is key and research is 
going to be incredibly important to that.
    So thanks so much for your advocacy, and as we do with all 
of our members we'll do everything we can to keep that in 
consideration as we put together the NDAA.
    So thanks so much for your advocacy, for your sharing of 
stories of others, and making sure that we're doing everything 
we can to support our Active Duty and our veterans community 
that are dealing with PTSD. So thank you.
    Mr. Smith. Mr. Chairman, if I could----
    Mr. Wittman. Please. Please. Yes.
    Mr. Smith. I appreciate it and I think this is something 
that we really need to take a look at because your point is 
let's study it. Let's make it available.
    And the thing that I find--well, idiotic is the word--the 
military and, by the way, doctors all across the country they 
will give you all the opiates you want, like that, without even 
thinking about it, and also much less reported is they will 
also give you all the benzodiazepines that you want and the 
studies make it pretty clear that both of those drugs have 
severe long-term negative consequences whatever they may do for 
you in the short term, and yet we have no problem prescribing 
those all day long.
    And yet we won't look at this and I feel the same way about 
cannabis for that matter. I don't know if it's going to work or 
not but it's just mind boggling to me that we won't study it, 
that we have this absolute prohibition on figuring out whether 
or not it will work while meanwhile we're throwing all these 
other drugs.
    I mean if we're--we're not anti-drug, obviously. Okay. We 
just seem to be anti a specific kind of drug. I don't know. 
Maybe we can figure out some way for the pharmaceutical 
industry to make money off of those drugs and then they'd be 
more interested in allowing it.
    But you get the gist. I'm 100 percent with you and 
definitely want to try to figure out a way to move this 
forward. I know others on the committee have worked the issue 
as well. So I look forward to working with you on it.
    Mr. Crenshaw. I appreciate that. There's a wide-ranging 
support on the committee and I think it's time for Congress to 
get this done and get some advocates from the Senate as well. 
So I appreciate it.
    Mr. Wittman. Mr. Crenshaw, thank you.
    Mr. Moylan, any questions? Okay.
    Mr. Crenshaw, thank you. I agree with the ranking member 
and that is we need--when we have this discussion to make sure 
we distinguish between abuse, which none of us are in favor of, 
and prescriptive use, which when you have a substance that is a 
net positive, you know, especially something as problematic as 
PTSD, I agree with the ranking member we need to look at every 
one of those options and why wouldn't you want to do it in a 
very structured, scientific way?
    Mr. Crenshaw. Worth noting, too, because we talk about 
recreational drugs versus nonrecreational drugs, you know, 
these--some of these painkillers you're talking about--MDMA as 
well--but others--these are recreational drugs, but others are 
absolutely not.
    Mr. Wittman. Yeah.
    Mr. Crenshaw. You're talking about--these testimonies that 
I'm talking about you ask Morgan Luttrell. You ask Marcus 
Capone, SEAL Team Six operator, Jonathan Lubecky. You ask my 
friend Mike. They would never want to do this experience again. 
This is not a recreational experience. It's a terrifying 
experience but it saves their lives.
    Mr. Wittman. Yeah.
    Mr. Crenshaw. And so, you know, there's so much to study 
there. There's so much potential benefit.
    Also worth noting, there's--one of the outcomes that they 
see often and I hear this time and time again from my friends 
who've been through this, they stop drinking, they stop self-
medicating, just because they don't--something happens to them 
that they don't want it anymore.
    They feel they don't need it. They feel they don't want it. 
It's a fascinating outcome and there's--you know, we're 
watching these people over extended periods of time with no 
downside to it.
    So something we absolutely need to look at and study. This 
bill would direct the Department of Defense to issue grant 
money to conduct those studies.
    Mr. Wittman. Very good.
    Mr. Crenshaw. And thank you. I yield back at that.
    Mr. Wittman. Thanks. Thanks again. That's very compelling. 
Thank you. Thank you.
    Very good. I think that that----
    Mr. Kelly. [Inaudible.]
    Mr. Wittman. General Kelly, welcome. Are there any other 
members that have any requests to come before the committee?
    Hearing none, the committee stands adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 10:51 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]


      
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