Trent Kelly Tells Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth To ‘Have The Navy Get Us A Ship Building Plan’

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During Thursday’s House Armed Services Committee hearing, Rep. Trent Kelly (R-MS) questioned Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth about Navy shipbuilding plans.

Transcript

00:00I recognize this is a gentleman from Mississippi, Mr. Kelly.

00:04Thank you, Secretary Hegseth and General Cain, for being here today.

00:08Under President Trump's leadership, America has restored deterrence and secured our southern

00:12border.

00:13Thanks to this renewed strength, we're seeing positive momentum in both recruiting and retention.

00:18Our adversaries are thinking twice, not just because of our advanced capabilities, but

00:23because of the courage and dedication of the men and women in uniform who defend this nation

00:27every day.

00:29Until we face serious, growing challenges, China remains a pacing threat.

00:33Deterring that threat requires more than just strategy.

00:36It requires a strong, responsive defense industrial base.

00:41That starts with the timely and adequate investments, and investments begin with a budget.

00:46We have to have a budget.

00:48Despite defense spending is the price of deterrence, we've got to stay focused and strong.

00:53With that being said, Mr. Secretary, I've championed the Ships for America Act with Mr. Garamendi

00:57from California, and Senator Young and Senator Kelly in the Senate.

01:01I know the administration is behind this.

01:05Right now, are you committed to getting this Ships Act and getting our maritime industry and base

01:12to where we need it to do to be a strong maritime nation, which means a great nation?

01:18Sir, I would refer to Bryn for the actual details of what is included from that bill in our budget,

01:25but I can say, top line, we are historically committed.

01:29$47 billion in shipbuilding in this budget alone.

01:32It was mischaracterized because of baseline versus reconciliation, but when you look at the total investment, historic.

01:39Same with defense industrial base, so we recognize the failures and failings of the past.

01:45We're also not just pouring money into the same processes.

01:48We're hiring innovators, and we've got secretaries who are driving change,

01:52personally reviewing each shipyard across the country to recognize what's failing and what isn't,

01:58how we address workforce issues, how we address modernization.

02:01I'm going to take that as a yes where I can get something else, because we work with the administration,

02:05the Senate, and the House, bipartisan, bicameral, throughout the administration to get that done.

02:10Acquisition reform.

02:12General Cain, thank you for your leadership.

02:14As the committee works to streamline acquisitions through the SPEED Act and give program executive offers,

02:20PEOs, more agility, I want to make sure that we're doing the right things at DOD writ large,

02:26especially when we're talking about Navy and Air Force and some of the programs that we do.

02:30Requirements cannot be shifted on a yearly basis.

02:34They at least need to stand steady through an administration, so we need requirements that are steady.

02:40We can't tell them how to build things.

02:43What we need to tell them is the capabilities we need and let industry build that.

02:48We can't always let perfect be the enemy of good.

02:52We need to keep and maintain, during the acquisition process, intellectual property rights so that we can repair those things ourselves,

03:00so that we can 3D print.

03:02There are so many things that we can do better that we put artificial barriers because we have a risk-averse DOD now,

03:09especially in acquisitions.

03:11And finally, we need to make sure if we say we're building four destroyers next year,

03:18we don't need to next year say, well, we're going to change that to three.

03:22We have to send a steady demand signal.

03:24We have to do block buys, and we have to hold these PEOs responsible for finishing the program

03:32or at least getting it to a point where it's in production.

03:35We cannot rotate every two or three years.

03:38Are you committed to make sure that we do everything we can to help our industrial base give the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines

03:45the products they need to win?

03:47Well, sir, there was a lot of goodness in this statement.

03:53And by the way, thank you for your service yourself here in the uniform for so many years.

03:58You know, you covered a lot of ground between requirements to PEOs.

04:04One of the things that I think we, both the military and the Congress, are going to have to think through

04:10is how do we buy aligned with the technology development curve?

04:15Back to your point about requirements.

04:17And what I need to try to think through with you is how do we ensure that the force of the future

04:24has the relevant and current combat capability to dominate on the battlefield?

04:29And technology is evolving so incredibly fast that we need both a requirement system, an acquisition system,

04:36leaders that understand that, and I think that's going to require some partnership between the department

04:42and the Congress to think through that and clarity around what are we solving for.

04:48And finally, real quick, Secretary Hickseth, please have the Navy get us a shipbuilding plan that is not an option.

04:55We have not had one for the last seven years.

04:57Please get us a 30-year shipbuilding plan of which the first four years are locked in.

05:02The gentleman's time has expired.

05:03The gentleman's time has expired.

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