Mazie Hirono Questions Trump Nominees If They've Ever Committed Sexual Harassment

Forbes Breaking News

At today's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) questioned pending Trump Administration nominees.

Transcript

00:00Thank you very much, Senator Budd. Senator Hirono.

00:04Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome to both of you and your families.

00:08Going to the fitness to serve question, I ask the following two initial

00:12questions of all nominees before any of the committees

00:16on which I sit. So I will ask you to start with

00:20Mr. Cadenazi. Since you became a legal

00:24adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors

00:28or committed any verbal or physical harassment or

00:32assault of a sexual nature? No. Mr.

00:36Rapano? No. Have you ever faced discipline

00:40or entered into a settlement relating to this kind of conduct?

00:44No. No. For Mr. Cadenazi.

00:48I championed a provision in last year's NDAA that

00:52created a program focused on advanced manufacturing

00:56capabilities in the Indo-Pacific to more quickly

01:00construct unmanned systems and

01:02parts for ships and

01:04submarine repairs. And this

01:06program is essential to bolstering

01:08deterrence in the

01:10region. DOD and the services

01:12have always struggled to coordinate

01:14industrial-based modernization

01:16efforts. How do you plan to

01:18foster greater integration

01:20across the services

01:22for this important program?

01:26Senator, I appreciate the question. This is a critical

01:28issue. Hawaii represents a

01:30significant portion of the organic industrial

01:32base and our broader defense industrial

01:34base. There are many tools

01:36we have to bring

01:38alignment across the industrial

01:40base initiatives that are there and the groups that are

01:42responsible for it. The first thing

01:44is leadership. That is

01:46the wherewithal to go ahead and get

01:48into the weeds. The macro issues, I think

01:50thankfully there's a substantial number of

01:52authorities and resources available that are

01:54made available by the Congress over time

01:56to the DOD to take action on these issues.

01:58At the micro level we need to get into

02:00the details to understand where

02:02individual organizations

02:04may not be getting it with regards

02:06to the opportunities here. In particular

02:08the new, I think

02:10acquisition and industrial base executive

02:12order does a good job to highlight

02:14the acquisition personnel to

02:16workforce training initiatives and things

02:18that we can do to go ahead and drive more understanding

02:20into the leaders at the tactical level

02:22who need to make decisions to invest

02:24in the integration of the industrial base.

02:26I hope that you will focus

02:28on this aspect

02:30of what we need to do because I know you

02:32are aware that Indo-Pacific is the

02:34largest AORR

02:36and we need to provide flexibilities when the

02:38ships are out to sea

02:40and they need to have flexibility

02:42and repair and doing all the things that

02:44will keep them going. So

02:46I hope that you visit Hawaii

02:48and see for yourself the capabilities

02:50that we need to strengthen.

02:52Again, for you,

02:54I have met with small businesses

02:56in the past as they struggle

02:58to comply

03:00with the requirements

03:02to meet the cybersecurity

03:04maturity model

03:06certification

03:08requirements and it's pretty complicated

03:10and they have a hard time

03:12complying as I said. So

03:14I am prioritizing a provision in this

03:16year's NDAA that would require

03:18the DoD to provide additional

03:20support and

03:22innovative tools for small businesses

03:24to ensure that they are aligned

03:26with DoD's

03:28CM&C requirements.

03:30Allowing them to save money

03:32and

03:34continue to contribute to diversifying

03:36the defense industrial base

03:38that you are very focused on

03:40strengthening. What are your

03:42thoughts on the provision

03:44that would require DoD to provide more

03:46assistance to small businesses to

03:48enable them to work with you all?

03:50Senator, this is a critical topic

03:52and it has been a bit of a roadblock

03:54for small businesses over time.

03:56It's great that you're bringing this issue up.

03:58Within the small business office,

04:00within the industrial-based policy office,

04:02there's a program called Project Spectrum

04:04to go out to small businesses

04:06that are operating the defense sector

04:08to help them go ahead and get the

04:10resources and understanding and analysis

04:12they need to accelerate and reduce the

04:14cost of their compliance with CMMC.

04:16If confirmed, I'm eager to work with you

04:18on this provision, your proposals going

04:20forward. I think anything we can do to

04:22streamline the requirements while also

04:24ensuring a more robust and resilient

04:26security base for our cyber infrastructure

04:28is a critical opportunity for the department

04:30and we should look at that.

04:32should you be confirmed as I believe

04:34you will be that I would like

04:36to work with you on how we can better

04:40strengthen this part of our supply chain

04:42because without our small businesses,

04:44many of whom are dropping out of working

04:46with the DoD for a number of reasons

04:48including complying with the security requirements.

04:52So this is something that I would want to be

04:54very specific in following up with you.

04:56One more question for you. The COVID-19

05:00pandemic and geopolitical competition

05:04with China has exposed the deep fragilities

05:08in the U.S. defense supply chain as we

05:10mentioned. So for example, we remain heavily

05:13reliant on foreign sources for critical

05:16earth elements. So what steps do you plan to take to

05:20address this significant issue?

05:24Senator, I appreciate the question.

05:26The issue of access to raw materials,

05:28rare earths in particular, is one that is

05:30particularly challenging.

05:32The industrial price policy office has invested

05:34over $540 million in the past on these topics.

05:38I think we need to accelerate and invigorate those investments

05:40but also align them to the most critical

05:42and impactful opportunities that will have

05:44the most impact on our most critical

05:46and near-term needs.

05:48Whether that's munitions, lethality,

05:50or readiness.

05:52We should make those decisions and those investments

05:54promptly and get them moving so we can see

05:56the impact as soon as possible.

05:58If confirmed, I look forward to looking at you on that issue.

06:00Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

06:02Thank you, Senator.

Category

Transcript

Recommended