During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last month, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) delivered an opening statement about funds in the FY 2026 Defense Authorization Act.
00:00Thank you Chairman Sullivan. I want to thank each of our witnesses for your
00:06years of service and to the many hard-working civilians in your
00:11respective organizations. I thank them. This subcommittee remains focused on
00:16ensuring that the Department of Defense is equipped not only to meet today's
00:21operational requirements but also to strengthen the long-term resilience
00:25readiness and well-being of our military installations and I appreciate your
00:32engagement on each of these critical issues. I have been very focused on
00:36infrastructure and I'm glad that the chair recognizes the importance of
00:40modernizing and repairing our infrastructure which we have not done a
00:45very good job on and I want to begin by expressing concern regarding this
00:51department's ability to deliver timely, efficient, and cost-effective
00:58infrastructure. Construction delays and cost overruns undermine readiness and public
01:04trust. I will ask each of you to identify specific areas where the military
01:10construction process can improve and what steps are being taken to enhance
01:16accountability and performance. I recognize this is a perennial, pretty much a perennial
01:24problem but when I ask each of you to identify some very specific ways that we
01:28can do better I mean very specific things that are doable, things that we can see the
01:34outcomes of the improvements. So please you know think about that as as I'm
01:39finishing my remarks. Another priority area is the quality of military housing and
01:44apparently both the chair and I certainly have visited military housing and see the
01:49needs there. So both for families and unaccompanied service members quality
01:54housing directly affects morale retention and overall readiness.
02:00Significant work still needs to be done. For example the department's March report on
02:07its use of waivers highlighted 32 substandard facilities on army installations yet we know the
02:17problem is broader. That is why I'm troubled to learn about the army's plan to divert 1 billion
02:25of facility sustainment restoration and modernization funding to pay for operations
02:33at the southwest border. These funds were originally intended for the repair and maintenance of
02:40facilities like barracks. This is only occurring because the Secretary of Defense has chosen at every turn to waive reimbursement as an option in the many requests for assistance from the Department of Homeland Security
02:55Security. And it's a curious choice made by the Defense Secretary especially since the DOD's FY 24 agency financial report cited a deferred facility maintenance backlog of 267 billion dollars.
03:17That is a significant part of the DOD's whole budget. We got it we have to do better people we know that.
03:26So we need to understand how the department plans to ensure that soldiers have access to safe well-maintained housing considering this shift.
03:37This committee asked the army asked the army three weeks ago for simple details on planned
03:46versus executed facility sustainment restoration and modernization projects in fiscal year 25 yet we've not received anything to date.
03:58So Dr. Waxman, I expect the army to deliver answers as soon as possible to our request.
04:05Pivoting to the Indo-Pacific, as each of you know, several of the military's more essential training areas across Hawaii are leased from the state and are set to expire in the coming years.
04:17The training areas are foundational to joint readiness in the region and at the same time they hold cultural and historical significance to the Native Hawaiian community.
04:29It is essential that any path forward respects that significance while ensuring our forces have access to the ranges and facilities that they need.
04:39The department must work in good faith with state officials and the community to ensure these leases are renegotiated in a way that is equitable to all parties.
04:53Regarding military construction in the Indo-Pacific, we have previously authorized the extensions of the H-2B visa programs to ensure sufficient labor for projects in Guam
05:08and the Northern Mariana Islands, Secretary Marks, as construction in the region accelerates, we need to understand the potential cost and readiness implication of these mission-critical visas that they are extended.
05:23And I realize that the chair has asked a question as to the continuing spending that's going on in Guam,
05:30but if we intend to continue to do what we need to do in Guam, these visas are very necessary.
05:38Next, I'd like to touch on demand reduction and installation resilience.
05:44The department's investment in operational energy programs not only reduces the logistics footprint for our warfighters,
05:52but also enhances their combat capabilities as well.
05:57It is critical these programs continue to garner the bipartisan support they've had for years now.
06:04Meanwhile, initiatives like the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program and Sentinel Landscapes strengthen our installation readiness.
06:14These programs strengthen our installations, sorry, these programs not only improve energy security and mission assurance,
06:23but also protect surrounding ecosystems and prevent encroachment on military basis.
06:30Finally, I want to address the growing risks posed by extreme weather and natural disasters to our installations.
06:38Secretary Marks, as you experienced firsthand, these events have cost the department tens of billions of dollars
06:46and directly impact mission readiness.
06:48It is imperative that DOD approaches these risks proactively so that joint forces better postured to adapt to the risks to military installation resilience.
07:02So we can expect a lot more of these unpredictable weather events.
07:09We have a lot of ground to cover today, so I thank each of you for being here, and thank you, Mr. Chairman.
