[House Hearing, 119 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.A.S.C. No. 119-1]
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING FOR THE 119TH CONGRESS
__________
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
HEARING HELD
JANUARY 15, 2025
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TONGRESS.#13
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
61-513 WASHINGTON : 2026
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
One Hundred Nineteenth Congress
MIKE ROGERS, Alabama, Chairman
JOE WILSON, South Carolina ADAM SMITH, Washington
MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut
ROBERT J. WITTMAN, Virginia, Vice JOHN GARAMENDI, California
Chair DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey
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 CHRISSY HOULAHAN, Pennsylvania
DON BACON, Nebraska JASON CROW, Colorado
JACK BERGMAN, Michigan MIKIE SHERRILL, New Jersey
RONNY JACKSON, Texas JARED F. GOLDEN, Maine
PAT FALLON, Texas SARA JACOBS, California
CARLOS A. GIMENEZ, Florida MARILYN STRICKLAND, Washington
NANCY MACE, South Carolina PATRICK RYAN, New York
BRAD FINSTAD, Minnesota GABE VASQUEZ, New Mexico
MORGAN LUTTRELL, Texas CHRISTOPHER R. DELUZIO,
JENNIFER A. KIGGANS, Virginia Pennsylvania
JAMES C. MOYLAN, Guam JILL N. TOKUDA, Hawaii
CORY MILLS, Florida DONALD G. DAVIS, North Carolina
RICHARD McCORMICK, Georgia GILBERT RAY CISNEROS JR.,
LANCE GOODEN, Texas California
CLAY HIGGINS, Louisiana ERIC SORENSEN, Illinois
DERRICK VAN ORDEN, Wisconsin MAGGIE GOODLANDER, New Hampshire
JOHN J. McGUIRE III, Virginia SARAH ELFRETH, Maryland
PAT HARRIGAN, North Carolina GEORGE WHITESIDES, California
MARK B. MESSMER, Indiana DEREK TRAN, California
DEREK SCHMIDT, Kansas EUGENE SIMON VINDMAN, Virginia
JEFF CRANK, Colorado WESLEY BELL, Missouri
ABRAHAM J. HAMADEH, Arizona
Chris Vieson, Staff Director
Zach Steacy, Legislative Operations Director
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING FOR THE 119TH CONGRESS
----------
House of Representatives,
Committee on Armed Services,
Washington, DC, Wednesday, January 15, 2025.
The committee met, pursuant to call, at 9:35 a.m., in room
2118, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Mike Rogers (chairman
of the committee) presiding.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MIKE ROGERS, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM
ALABAMA, CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
The Chairman. The committee will come to order.
I ask unanimous consent that the chair be authorized to
declare a recess at any time.
Without objection, so ordered.
Without objection, members have 5 legislative days within
which to submit statements to be made a part of the record.
So ordered.
We have four items of official business to consider today:
adoption of the committee rules; approval of the committee's
security procedures; approval of the committee's authorization
and oversight plan; and, finally, the appointment of committee
staff.
Before we begin consideration of the business for us today,
I want to recognize myself for a few minutes to welcome
everyone to the Armed Services Committee.
This committee's fundamental responsibility is to provide
for our Nation's common defense. The work we do here is
critical to the security of our country and that of its allies
and partners around the world. And while we have our
disagreements, we have a long tradition of carrying out our
responsibilities in a bipartisan fashion, and we guard that
jealously.
That tradition will continue. I look forward to working
closely with my good friend, the ranking member, to enact an
NDAA [National Defense Authorization Act] that strengths our
national defense and provides for our warfighters. That effort
starts in the next few weeks with a series of hearings and
briefings focused on the very complex and growing threats we
face from our adversaries, especially China; the challenges
facing our defense industrial base, which is enormous; and the
ways we can reform acquisition and field innovation more
quickly.
Following these hearings, we will begin our aggressive
schedule of hearings and briefings from the defense leaders in
defense in the Pentagon and combatant commanders that will lead
us through the NDAA markup.
We will also continue our oversight work on key defense
programs to determine if they actually provide the capabilities
that we need. If they don't, they will be cut. At the end of
the day, I expect that we will find significant savings at the
Pentagon.
But I want to be clear: Buying the new capabilities we
need, paying the long-overdue bills for readiness, and
providing for our servicemembers will be very expensive. We
cannot shy away from those investments. Our adversaries are
fielding new capabilities at an astonishing rate. We can't sit
idly by as our adversaries outpace us. We need to make
significant and sustained investments in national defense.
But that is not the path we are on today. Under the FRA
[Fiscal Responsibility Act], we are essentially cutting defense
by more than 2 percent. This is the lowest level of defense
spending as a percentage of GDP [gross domestic product] since
before World War II. That is not sustainable or acceptable, and
it will not deter our adversaries.
You will be hearing me talk a lot about getting defense
spending back above 4 percent of our GDP. If we are serious
about peace through strength, we need to get back to that level
of investment.
I look forward to working with all of you to accomplish
these goals.
With that, I want to quickly introduce our seven new
Republican members.
First, Mr. Derrick Van Orden, Wisconsin. Derrick served in
the U.S. Navy for 26 years, retiring as a Navy SEAL senior
chief, with multiple combat tours across Africa, Asia, Europe,
and Latin America.
Next, Mr. John McGuire from Virginia. John served as a
United States Navy SEAL for 10 years. Following his military
career, Rep. McGuire founded a small business preparing young
men and women for service in our military and law enforcement,
and he served in the Virginia House of Delegates.
Next we have Mr. Pat Harrigan from North Carolina. Pat is a
West Point graduate and a combat-decorated Green Beret who
served two tours in Afghanistan. Following his service, he
founded a thriving defense manufacturing business in North
Carolina.
Next we have Mr. Mark Messmer from Indiana. Mark represents
Indiana's Eighth Congressional District, which is home to Naval
Surface Warfare Center-Crane Division, the largest Naval
installation in the U.S. and the third largest Naval
installation in the world. Mark is a former member of the
Indiana State House and Senate, serving his last 4 years as the
Senate majority leader.
Next we have Mr. Derek Schmidt from Kansas. Derek is a
fifth-generation Kansan who served for 12 years as the attorney
general of Kansas. He represents Kansas's Second District,
which includes Fort Riley, Fort Leavenworth, and the
headquarters for both the Kansas Army and the Air National
Guard.
Mr. Jeff Crank from Colorado is also joining us. Jeff is
filling the shoes of our former colleague, Doug Lamborn, and
represents the home of the Air Force Academy, NORAD [North
American Aerospace Defense Command], several significant Army,
Air Force, and Space Force installations.
And, finally, we have Mr. Abe Hamadeh from Arizona. Abe
represents Arizona's Eighth Congressional District. Since 2016,
he has served in the U.S. Army Reserve as an intelligence
officer, deploying to Saudi Arabia in 2020.
I welcome all of you to the committee, and I look forward
to working with you.
And, with that, I yield to my friend, the ranking member,
Mr. Smith.
STATEMENT OF HON. ADAM SMITH, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM WASHINGTON,
RANKING MEMBER, COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
Mr. Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate that. And
I appreciate your opening remarks. I think they are a spot-on
description of what we do here on this committee and why it is
so important. I want to echo your comments; this is a terrific
partnership.
Mike and I work incredibly closely together and have for a
number of years. I look forward to continuing that partnership.
And I think the two biggest things that drive this
committee are: number one, absolute commitment to
bipartisanship; and, number two, absolute commitment to getting
our bill done every year--64 consecutive years. And it is never
easy, by the way. It always seems like, ``You get it done? Ah,
you got it done. You always get it done.'' Sure. But it is
always a very, very difficult process.
But the reason it survives is because of, I believe, the
culture that has been built on this committee, certainly by
Chairman Rogers, but also, I think, by a long succession of
chairs and ranking members--many of whom are reflected on the
walls behind us here that made sure that everybody on the
committee, no matter how long you have served on the committee,
no matter how new you are, understood that is what we do here:
We work together, we get things done.
We argue. We disagree. That is, you know, democracy. That
is the way it works. But we are very focused on getting the
bill done because we understand how important our mission is,
exercising oversight of the Pentagon and making sure that the
men and women who serve in the military have the tools they
need to perform their mission. It is incredibly important. This
committee does a great job.
I also want to thank you will see a symbol behind us here
the House Armed Services Committee staff, far and away the
greatest asset that we have on this committee. So, for the new
members, I would urge you, get to know the staff. They will
save you, time and time again. So, great knowledge base, very
dedicated public servants. I appreciate their incredible work.
And I agree with the chairman on the priorities that we
have. I always, you know, list them as four top priorities, two
of which the chairman really emphasized.
One is acquisition reform. The Pentagon has to move more
quickly to buy the innovative technologies that we need for
modern warfare. We are seeing that play out in real-time in
Ukraine, and we are still frustrated by how long it takes, in
many instances, to purchase the new, innovative equipment and
ideas that we need for the Pentagon. It is a lengthy, lengthy
requirement, process-driven thing that we are dedicated to
reforming here.
Second is production capacity. We have all read about how
the war in Ukraine has strained our resources. We need to
rebuild the arsenal of democracy basically, get back to being
able to build the equipment and munitions that we need in a
timely manner.
Number three is the personnel. We have to be able to
recruit and retain the people necessary to serve that. I want
to give a special shout-out to the Personnel Subcommittee but
also to the task force that focused on quality-of-life issues
last session. I think we made incredible progress in last
year's bill on helping meet those recruitment requirements, but
it continues to be a priority.
Lastly, partnerships and alliances. Big, complicated world.
We cannot do it all on our own. AUKUS [Australia-United
Kingdom-United States] is a great example. I will give a
special shout-out to my good friend Joe Courtney here.
They are going to, like, elect you President of Australia
at some point, I think.
You know, dedicated to that. But the submarines aside, it
is about the relationship and really benefiting from the skill
sets that we have amongst the wide range of partners and allies
that we have.
Lastly, I agree with the chairman, it is going to take
money. But I also agree with his first statement. Let's take a
look at how we are spending the money that we have. It is
always easy to say, ``Gosh, just give us more money.'' $900
billion is a fair amount of money. I think it is worth it to
exercise the oversight and see, are we getting the most out of
that money that we are spending?
So we are going to work on all of those issues.
So I think it is a great committee. I think, those of you
who are joining us, you are joining the best committee in
Congress. We are happy to have you and look forward to a
productive year.
And, with that, I will introduce our new members. We have a
couple--the first two here, I think, are--I don't know if they
count as new members they are coming back. That might be the
better way to put it.
Jason Crow, in particular. He only left us for one term to
go over to the Foreign Affairs Committee, but he is back. He
represents Colorado's Sixth Congressional District, which is
home to Buckley Space Force Base and a robust defense and
aerospace industries. And he is a combat veteran who served as
a paratrooper in Iraq and as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan.
Another that we are welcoming back, and that is Congressman
Gil Cisneros, who represents California's 31st Congressional
District. He is a veteran and former Under Secretary of Defense
for Personnel and Readiness and previously served on HASC
[House Committee on Armed Services] in the 116th Congress.
We have joked that he went off to the Pentagon and now he
is very, very happy to be back here. Left the building going,
``Oh, my God.'' So, anyway.
But we can use those insights to help us do our oversight
responsibilities. In his position as Under Secretary, he worked
tirelessly to ensure that we have the strongest fighting force
possible and military that represents the best of America.
And now to the truly new members, first time on the
committee.
Congressman Eric Sorensen represents the 17th Congressional
District in Illinois. He was elected in 2022. Brought nearly 20
years of experience as a trusted TV meteorologist, serving
western Illinois communities. And his district is home to the
historic Rock Island Arsenal on the Mississippi River and the
182nd Airlift Wing at the Peoria Air National Guard Base.
Next, we have Maggie Goodlander, representing New
Hampshire's Second District. Before being elected to Congress,
she served as an intelligence officer in the United States Navy
Reserve for over a decade. And she began her career as an
advisor to Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman, both of whom
served on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Next is Sarah Elfreth from Maryland's Third Congressional
District. Before being elected to Congress, she represented the
U.S. Naval Academy for 6 years in the Maryland General
Assembly. She fought tirelessly for the well-being of our
servicemembers and veterans in the statehouse. This included
legislation on mental health advocacy, suicide prevention,
voting rights, and education.
Next, we have George Whitesides, representing California's
27th District, and his district includes the United States Air
Force Plant 42 in Palmdale and multiple military design and
manufacturing operations. Congressman Whitesides is a former
NASA [National Aeronautics and Space Administration] chief of
staff and served as the CEO [Chief Executive Officer] of Virgin
Galactic, a space technology company. He has experience with
hypersonics, space technology, aerospace manufacturing and
test, and procurement reform.
Next, also from California, we have Derek Tran,
representing California's 45th District. As the son of
Vietnamese refugees, Derek represents Little Saigon, Orange
County, the largest Vietnamese diaspora in the country. And he
is a military veteran who served in the U.S. Army Reserve for 8
years and who was deployed to Iraq.
Next, coming to the other coast, we have Eugene Vindman
from Virginia's Seventh District. It is home to thousands of
uniformed personnel and Department of Defense civilian workers
at Quantico Marine Corps Base, Fort Wolters Army Reservation,
and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. He is a
25 year Army veteran, paratrooper, and JAG [Judge Advocate
General] prosecutor.
Lastly, we have Wesley Bell from the middle of the country,
Missouri's First District. He is the son of a police officer
and county jail servant and has dedicated his life to justice,
fairness, and service to his community. As the former St. Louis
County prosecutor, he championed reforms and commonsense
solutions to build safer, stronger communities while ensuring
accountability and opportunity for all.
Welcome, all of you. It is great to have such a terrific
group of folks on the committee.
And, with that, I yield back to the chairman.
The Chairman. I thank the gentleman.
I would note, Adam made the point that our staff is
outstanding. And there is a lot of them. So if you will look in
the drawer of your desk, you will find a sheet that has a
picture of their pretty mug and their name and title
underneath. So if you are ever sitting in the room wondering,
what does that person do and what is their name, you can look
at that little chart. And if you don't have one, let us know;
we will get you one. But that will stay in your desk. And if
you want one to take home or to your office, we will get you a
copy.
All right. On to business.
I call up Resolution No. 1, regarding the Committee Rules
for the 119th Congress.
The clerk shall read the resolution.
Mr. Greene. ``Committee Resolution No. 1. Resolved, That
the Committee on Armed Services, U.S. House of Representatives,
adopt the committee rules for the 119th Congress, which are
stated in the copy distributed to each Member.''
The Chairman. The proposed committee rules have been
developed jointly with Ranking Member Smith and made available
to members' offices on Monday, January 13.
I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be considered
as read and that the resolution be open to amendment at any
point.
Without objection, so ordered.
At this time, is there any discussion or are there any
questions concerning the committee rules?
If there is no discussion, are there any amendments to the
committee rules?
No amendments.
The chair now recognizes the gentleman from Virginia, Mr.
Wittman, for the purpose of offering a motion regarding
Committee Resolution No. 1, the committee rules.
Mr. Wittman. Mr. Chairman, I move to adopt Committee
Resolution No. 1.
The Chairman. The question is on the motion of the
gentleman from Virginia.
So many as are in favor will say aye.
Those opposed, no.
A quorum being present, the ayes have it, and the motion is
agreed to.
Without objection, a motion to reconsider is laid upon the
table.
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The next order of business is the Committee Resolution
No. 2, regarding the committee's security procedures for the
119th Congress.
I call up the Committee Resolution No. 2. The clerk will
read the resolution.
Mr. Greene. ``Committee Resolution No. 2. Resolved, That
the Committee on Armed Services, U.S. House of Representatives,
adopt the committee security procedures for the 119th Congress,
a copy which has been distributed to each Member.''
The Chairman. Security procedures were coordinated with Mr.
Smith and were made available to members' offices on Monday,
January 13.
I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be considered
as read and that the resolution be open to amendment at any
point.
Without objection, so ordered.
Is there any discussion or are there any questions
concerning the security procedures?
If there is no discussion, are there any amendments to the
security procedures?
Ms. Houlahan. Mr. Chairman, I have a quick question.
The Chairman. Who is talking?
Ms. Houlahan. Chrissy.
The Chairman. Oh, Chrissy.
Ms. Houlahan. Hi. I am just wondering, in the security
clearance procedures, has there been any accommodation for
training on the management of classified information,
particularly maybe for the new members? And can there be?
The Chairman. Yeah, I am informed the Office of House
Security coordinates that, but we can make sure that they are
put in connection with them for that purpose. That is a good
idea.
Ms. Houlahan. Thank you. I appreciate it, sir.
The Chairman. Okay. If there is no further discussion, are
there any amendments?
The chair now recognizes the gentleman from Virginia, Mr.
Wittman, for the purpose of offering a motion regarding
Committee Resolution No. 2, the security procedures for the
119th Congress.
Mr. Wittman. Mr. Chairman, I move to adopt Committee
Resolution No. 2.
The Chairman. The question is on the motion from the
gentleman from Virginia.
So many as are in favor will say aye.
Those opposed, no.
A quorum being present, the ayes have it, and the motion is
agreed to.
Without objection, a motion to reconsider is laid upon the
table.
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The next order of business is the Committee Resolution
No. 3, regarding the committee's authorization and oversight
plan for the 119th Congress.
I call up Committee Resolution No. 3. The clerk will read
the resolution.
Mr. Greene. ``Committee Resolution No. 3. Resolved, That
the Committee on Armed Services, U.S. House of Representatives,
adopt the committee authorization and oversight plan for the
119th Congress, a copy of which has been distributed to each
Member.''
The Chairman. The authorization and oversight plan has been
coordinated with Mr. Smith and made available to members'
offices on January 13.
I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be considered
as read and that the resolution be open to amendment at any
point.
Without objection, so ordered.
Is there any discussion or are there any questions
concerning the authorization and oversight plan?
If there is no discussion, are there any amendments to the
authorization and oversight plan?
The chair now recognizes the gentleman from Virginia, Mr.
Wittman, for the purpose of offering a motion regarding
Committee Resolution No. 3, the authorization and oversight
plan for the 119th Congress.
Mr. Wittman. Mr. Chairman, I move to adopt the Committee
Resolution No. 3.
The Chairman. The question is on the motion of the
gentleman from Virginia.
So many as are in favor will say aye.
Those opposed, no.
A quorum being present, the ayes have it, and the motion is
agreed to.
Without objection, a motion to reconsider is laid upon the
table.
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On to the final order of business. I call up Committee
Resolution No. 4, appointing committee staff for the 119th
Congress.
The clerk will read the resolution.
Mr. Greene. ``Committee Resolution No. 4. Resolved, That
the persons listed on the sheet distributed to the Members, and
such other personnel as may be required by the committee within
the limits and terms authorized under the Rules of the House of
Representatives, are hereby appointed to the staff of the
Committee on Armed Services, U.S. House of Representatives, for
the 119th Congress, it being understood that according to the
provisions of law, the Chairman will fix the basic salary per
annum.''
The Chairman. As many of you know, our committee is unique
in that the combined staff--I mean, the staff is a combined
staff. The committee staff here is here to provide advice and
counsel to all of you, Republicans and Democrats alike. Please
feel free to avail yourself of their services. They are a very
talented group of professionals.
A copy of the committee staff for the 119th Congress was
prepared in consultation with the minority and made available
to member offices on Monday, January 13.
I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be considered
as read.
Without objection, so ordered.
Is there any discussion or are there any questions
concerning the committee staff? I know some of them are
questionable looking, but that is not my question.
All right. The chair now recognizes the gentleman from
Virginia, Mr. Wittman, for the purposes of offering a motion
regarding Committee Resolution No. 4, appointing committee
staff.
Mr. Wittman. Mr. Chairman, I move to adopt Committee
Resolution No. 4.
The Chairman. The question is on the motion of the
gentleman from Virginia.
So many as are in favor will say aye.
Those opposed, no.
A quorum being present, the ayes have it, and the motion is
agreed to.
Without objection, a motion to reconsider is laid upon the
table.
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You all have jobs now.
Without objection, committee staff is authorized to make
technical and conforming changes to reflect the action of the
committee in adopting Committee Resolutions 1 through 4.
Let me recognize Mr. Smith for any closing remarks that he
might have.
Mr. Smith. I don't have anything, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
The Chairman. Nor do I.
Welcome to the Armed Services Committee.
We are adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 9:57 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]
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