Roger Wicker Presses Military Nominee About Getting Naval Acquisitions And Ship Building 'Back On Track'

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During last month’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) questioned military nominees about ship building.

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00:00Thank you very much, Mr. Gillis, and thank you for mentioning the fact that as an ROTC cadet,

00:09you learned in the Pentagon the almost sacred principle of civilian control of the military.

00:18It's a tradition that goes back to George Washington, and it's part of the great foundation

00:25of our free society and the separation of power.

00:28So thank you for mentioning that.

00:31I now move to a series of standard questions that this committee poses to all civilian nominees.

00:42And I guess I ask you to answer simultaneously yes or no, and we'll watch the head nods.

00:54Have you adhered to applicable laws and regulations governing conflicts of interest?

01:00Yes, Chairman.

01:01Yes, Senator.

01:02Have you assumed any duties or taken any actions that would appear to presume the outcome of

01:10the confirmation process?

01:11No, Chairman.

01:12Exercising our legislative and oversight responsibilities makes it important that this committee, its

01:18subcommittees, and other appropriate committees of Congress receive testimony, briefings, reports,

01:23records, and other informations from the executive branch on a timely basis.

01:27Do you agree, if confirmed, to appear and testify before this committee when requested?

01:33Yes, Chairman.

01:33Do you agree to provide records, documents, and electronic communications in a timely manner

01:43when requested by this committee, its subcommittees, or other appropriate committees of Congress

01:48and to consult with the requester regarding the basis for any good faith delay or denial

01:52in providing such records?

01:55Yes, Chairman.

01:56Will you ensure that your staff complies with deadlines established by this committee for

02:02the production of reports, records, and other information, including timely responding

02:08to hearing questions for the record?

02:11Yes, Chairman.

02:12Will you cooperate in providing witnesses and briefers in response to congressional requests?

02:19Yes, Chairman.

02:20Will those witnesses and briefers be protected from reprisal for their testimony or briefings?

02:25Yes, Chairman.

02:26Thank you very much.

02:28And now I guess the timekeeper can start the clock because these questions will be coming

02:34on during my five minutes.

02:38First question is about reconciliation.

02:43Much of the funding in the defense reconciliation bill is unspecific because of House and Senate

02:50rules and will technically be at the discretion of the department.

02:54though the Congress will write specific recommendations for the funding items.

03:01A quick yes or no, which has received affirmative answer from each witness who has come before

03:09us this year.

03:10A quick yes or no question to each of you.

03:12Do you commit to follow the Congress's spending recommendations in the defense reconciliation

03:18unequivocally?

03:19Mr. Hurst?

03:20Yes, Chairman.

03:21Mr. Cow?

03:22Yes, Chairman.

03:22Mr. Dodd?

03:23Yes, Chairman.

03:24Mr. Ingram?

03:25Yes, Chairman.

03:25And Mr. Gillis?

03:27Yes, Mr. Chairman.

03:27Thank you very, very much.

03:29Now, Mr. Cow, let me explore with you.

03:33I understand from our previous conversation that you have read over the Forged Act, which I

03:41helped author.

03:42Is that correct?

03:43Yes, Chairman.

03:43And I hope you're enthusiastic about it.

03:46Let me ask you, of course, the idea is to make acquisition more modern, flexible, and

03:54effective for our war fighters.

03:59The Forged Act is designed to ensure that the program manager cannot be overruled by low-level

04:08career bureaucrats.

04:10If confirmed, you would oversee Forged Act reforms, which are proposed to improve naval

04:17acquisition.

04:18How would you align authorities to get our acquisition programs back on track?

04:23Thank you for that question, Chairman.

04:25We need acquisition reform.

04:27I mean, the way the military has been working is not working, and that's why we are falling

04:32short on ship and submarine production.

04:35And if confirmed, I plan to oversee this and make sure that we are on track and that we

04:41don't have any impediments on acquisitions and shipbuilding.

04:45Let me give you an example.

04:46The technical warrant holders in charge of design and engineering led to numerous change orders

04:52on the Constellation-class frigate that reportedly reduced its design commonality, with the parent

04:59ship, which started out at 85 percent, down to just 15 percent in common.

05:08This is not untypical.

05:13Can we count on you to combat this and to get us back to where we need to be?

05:22Yes, Chairman.

05:23Just like we discussed in your office, there is ways for us to keep those tech warrant holders

05:27accountable.

05:30Thank you very much.

05:31Now, Mr. Gillis, we have placed in the NDAA, in the FY25 NDAA, a provision that would require

05:44the department to budget the commercial industry standard minimum 4 percent plant replacement

05:51value by the year 2030.

05:59We want to get to 4 percent by 2030 by starting the budgeting now and ramping up to 2030.

06:08Do you understand that?

06:10Yes, Mr. Chairman, I do.

06:12Okay.

06:12We've led the charge on this and, you know, there's so many needs out there that all five

06:19of you have outlined that this gets ignored over time.

06:24So the reason that we put this in on a bipartisan, bicameral basis is that a change needs to be made

06:33and we need to pay attention to the failing facilities that our servicemen need.

06:39So if confirmed, will you ensure that this law is enforced and will you commit to this committee

06:46to report to Congress if there are those in the department that are knowingly refusing

06:53to follow the law or not following the law for whatever reason?

06:58Mr. Chairman, I welcome that guidance in the NDAA.

07:01As you know, it's a knife fight for budget in the Pentagon every day.

07:04And that gives me, as the advocate for Army installations, ammunition that helps me in that fight.

07:09And that's exactly how it's intended.

07:11Thank you very much, Senator Reid.

07:13Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

07:15And gentlemen, thank you for your testimony.

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