Hearing – Innovative Techniques in Military Construction
House Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
2025-03-11
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Source: Congress.gov
Participants
Transcript
In today's hearing, we will examine opportunities for the use of innovative technologies in military construction. First, I want to take a moment to welcome new subcommittee members. For the majority, I'd like to welcome Representative Alford from Minnesota, Missouri, I'm sorry, who will be serving as Vice Chair and Representative La Lota from New York. Joining the Subcommittee for the Minority from my great state of Texas is Ms. Estevor. Welcome. And from California, Representative Levin. This subcommittee serves the people who serve our nation and provides vital investments for the members of our armed services, their families, and veterans. We have a long history of bipartisanship on this subcommittee, and I'm committed to maintaining that tradition in this Congress. I urge all of my members of this subcommittee to keep this in mind today and in all committee hearings in the future. We're here today to examine the potential use of innovative technologies for military construction. While current military construction possesses and produces high quality infrastructure, the construction timelines for projects may be lengthy and many believe that the DoD pays too much for what it buys.
One study found that military construction cost premium was as much as 35% for some types of facility. Given today's fiscal challenges, we must find efficiencies that reduce construction timelines and cost. If we harness the power of new technologies, such as 3D printing, We can deliver high-quality infrastructure for warfighters and their families and be better stewards of taxpayers' money. Joining us today is four distinguished witnesses. Mr. Dave Marra, Director of Military Programs for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Mr. Keith Hamilton, Chief Engineer, Naval Facilities and Engineering Command. Mr. Thomas Healy, Chief Executive Officer for Hylion Incorporated. And Mr. Brent Richardson, Principal Research Scientist of Energy and Infrastructure Environment for CNA. As a reminder to members, today's panel is here to discuss emerging construction methods, their facilities, feasibility, cost effectiveness, and durability. I ask you to refrain from discussions not germane to the reasons we're here. And now I'd like to recognize Ms. Wasserman-Schultz for her opening remarks.
I look forward to another year of working together to invest in quality services and benefits for our veterans, ensure our military readiness, and improve the quality of life for our service members and their families. And I appreciate the interest my friend Judge Carter has in this important topic. And I look forward to a productive conversation about the ways in which this subcommittee can help bring innovation into military construction. Before I address this hot topic, however, I want to take us back to the last fiscal year's hearings, where I, along with other Democratic members of this subcommittee, shared our concerns with reported proposals for 22% cuts to funding levels. At that time, there was a bipartisan consensus that cuts to the vital programs funded in this subcommittee should not happen. Yet now, a couple of months into the Trump administration, we are seeing cuts under a different name, implementing the illegal playbook of Project 2025. Under the guise of, quote, waste, fraud, and abuse, the administration is planning to cut 80,000 VA jobs and is canceling nearly 600 contracts, endangering veterans' access to timely and sufficient care and benefits. Beyond the VA, the administration is firing veterans in numerous agencies across the country and cutting other programs that veterans rely on, like SNAP and Medicaid. I refuse to let veterans and the direct services we provide to them be defined as, quote, government waste. That is utterly appalling and a complete betrayal of the men and women who have put their lives on the line in service to our country. Veterans and people who care for them are not government waste. These cuts and firings are causing immediate impacts on veterans like Ben, who was recently interviewed by the publication Task and Purpose.
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