Oversight Hearing – The Department of Defense

House Subcommittee on Defense

2025-06-10

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Source: Congress.gov

Summary

The Subcommittee on Defense convened for an open oversight hearing to receive testimony from Secretary of Defense Pete Hexhoff and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Koehn regarding the Department of Defense budget and priorities. [ 00:08:32-00:08:37 ] Members expressed both support for the department's mission and concerns about fiscal transparency and strategic direction. [ 00:12:36-00:12:46 ]

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Budgetary Transparency and Fiscal Responsibility

The subcommittee emphasized the importance of balancing national security priorities with fiscal responsibility and responsible taxpayer stewardship. [ 00:09:42-00:09:49 ]

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 However, significant frustration was voiced over the administration's delay in submitting a complete budget request for fiscal year 2026, leading to a rushed appropriations process and concerns about relying on reconciliation for substantial funding. Secretary Hexhoff stated that the budget includes a 13% increase and identified $30 billion in savings by eliminating wasteful programs. [ 02:11:36 ]

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 Specific concerns were raised regarding the funding source for National Guard and Marine deployments in Los Angeles, which Ms. McDonald confirmed would come from FSRM accounts, potentially impacting other programs. [ 02:20:22-02:20:23 ]

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Military Readiness and Modernization

Members highlighted the critical need for continuous investment in personnel, equipment, and modernization to counter evolving global threats, especially from China and Russia. [ 00:09:31-00:09:34 ]

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[ 00:10:25-00:10:29 ]

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 Secretary Hexhoff outlined priorities including rebuilding the military, reestablishing deterrence, and reviving the "warrior ethos," supported by investments in the Golden Dome initiative, nuclear forces, F-47 fighters, shipbuilding, autonomous systems, and hypersonics. [ 00:09:52 ]

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 General Kane emphasized deploying properly armed, globally integrated, and ready forces, utilizing innovation and technology to maintain a decisive edge. [ 00:39:43-00:39:51 ]

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[ 00:40:07-00:40:12 ]

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 Discussions also touched upon the challenges of retiring legacy systems like the E-3 AWACS, the need to strengthen the defense industrial base, address supply chain vulnerabilities, and invest in counter-drone technologies given recent advances in drone warfare. [ 02:05:24-02:05:34 ]

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Personnel, Recruitment, and Quality of Life

The committee addressed the welfare of service members, particularly junior enlisted personnel, acknowledging the need for competitive pay raises. [ 00:11:40-00:12:32 ]

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 Secretary Hexhoff detailed initiatives aimed at improving quality of life, such as enhanced barracks and housing, streamlined Permanent Change of Station (PCS) processes, and improved healthcare. [ 00:28:05-00:28:11 ]

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[ 00:27:53-00:27:56 ]

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 He also reported a significant increase in recruitment and retention, attributing this success to President Trump's leadership and a renewed focus on "meritocracy" and "warfighting," with a stated policy of "DEI is dead." [ 01:35:31-01:36:09 ]

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Domestic Deployments and the Role of the Military

A contentious point of discussion revolved around the administration's deployment of National Guard and active-duty Marines to Los Angeles for domestic law enforcement, which several members criticized as premature, escalatory, and potentially illegal without proper state consultation. [ 00:47:37-00:47:48 ]

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[ 01:57:52-01:58:19 ]

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 Concerns were raised about the cost, impact on training, and whether such deployments fall within the legal parameters of Title 10 U.S.C. [ 01:59:47-02:00:02 ]

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 Secretary Hexhoff defended the actions as necessary to protect federal ICE agents and maintain law and order, asserting the President's authority to deploy forces for such purposes.

International Alliances and Global Strategy

The importance of international partnerships and alliances, including the AUKUS agreement, was acknowledged as central to U.S. defense strategy. [ 00:11:17-00:11:20 ]

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[ 02:16:21-02:16:31 ]

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 However, members expressed strong criticism regarding the administration's perceived alienation of allies, undermining of humanitarian missions, and reduced funding for international assistance, which they argued weakens national security. [ 00:25:59-00:26:01 ]

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 The administration's approach to the conflict in Ukraine also drew scrutiny, particularly the reduction in security assistance funding and the Secretary's statement that "victory has not been well-defined" in the conflict. [ 01:11:29-01:11:34 ]

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[ 01:51:03-01:51:27 ]

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Tone of the Meeting

The meeting maintained a largely respectful but often tense and contentious tone, particularly during exchanges between committee members and Secretary Hexhoff. Members were frank and direct in their questioning, emphasizing the committee's crucial role in oversight and expressing visible frustration over the lack of detailed budgetary information. Despite the disagreements, there was a shared underlying patriotic sentiment and gratitude for military service, coupled with a collective commitment to ensuring national security and supporting troops. [ 00:08:40 ]

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Participants

Transcript

Good morning.  Subcommittee on Defense will come to order.  Today the subcommittee will convene for an open oversight hearing to receive testimony regarding the Department of Defense from the Honorable Pete Hexhoff, Secretary of Defense, General Dan Koehn, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.   Mr. Secretary, General Kane, congratulations to you both on your new roles, and welcome to your first hearing before the subcommittee.  We look forward to working with you closely to provide for our common defense.  And a very special welcome to Mrs. Bryn McDonald.  Bryn, it's great to have you back here in this room.  You sat beside me on this side of the dais, so it might be a new feeling.   sitting where you are now, so I'm sure it's a bittersweet that you're no longer serving as a dependent member of my staff, but I commend your service to the nation, and Mr. Secretary, you're lucky to have her.  I have no doubt that she'll provide you with the same level of faithful advice that she provided for me.  The work we do in this committee has never been more important.  We are navigating an increasingly complex and uncertain global environment.   with adversaries like China and Russia pursuing aggressive actions and challenges in regions like the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East and beyond.  Our military must be prepared to meet those challenges, and that preparation requires substantial investments in both personnel and equipment.  But we also must be responsible stewards of the taxpayer dollars.  Balancing national security priorities with fiscal responsibility is a delicate but necessary task.   Mr. Secretary, I commend you for quickly hitting the ground running and focusing on your key priorities of reviving the warrior ethos, building our military, reestablishing deterrence, and ensuring the defense of our homeland.  The American people expect their borders to be secure.  The challenges of our southern border, including the ongoing flow of illegal drugs, human trafficking, and other illicit activities, are growing threats to our security.
and must be addressed.  The cartels exploiting our border are increasingly sophisticated and dangerous.  The Department of Defense has a critical role in this fight.  Mr. Secretary, I applaud your efforts in focusing resources to ensure the border is secured.  I look forward to more discussion about what resources are necessary to keep the momentum going without compromising our ability to meet threats abroad.  I also want to hear from you both about the readiness of our force   I have heard from senior military leaders and service members alike about the ongoing concerns related to the health of our force, including the need for modernization, the ability to respond quickly to emerging threats.  While this committee has consistently provided funding for investments in next generation systems from hypersonics to autonomous platforms, we're still seeing troubling delays and cost overruns in a number of programs.  We simply cannot deter near peer competitors like China by falling short   in sustaining our defense and industrial base.  That is why it's critical that we continue to focus on the pace of modernization, particularly in areas like air superiority and munitions production.  The committee has been steadfast in our support of entities within the department that challenges the status quo, such as DIU, the Office of Strategic Capital, and APFID.   These innovation entities are alternative pathways to deliver capability quickly to the war fighter and I would appreciate the opportunity to work with you to bolster these activities as a way to bring disruption and competition.   into the department, which in my experience can yield better and faster results.  I also want to discuss the critical importance of our partnerships and alliances.  The AUKUS agreement is one of the most significant defense initiatives in recent years, with the potential to reshape the strategic landscape in the Indo-Pacific.  As we pursue these initiatives, we must ensure that we are maintaining our own military capability   Our shipbuilding programs remain over budget and behind schedule and under-delivered.
This is simply not acceptable, and we need to have credible, executable naval force structure planned to keep pace with threats that we face, particularly from China, while ensuring taxpayer accountability.  Finally, we must always remember the men and women who wear the uniform.  Far too long, we heard from too many junior enlisted service members who were struggling with basic needs.   These men and women, the backbone of our own forces, they perform the tough and often dangerous work that keeps our country safe.  I was proud to help secure a 10% raise for our junior enlisted service members on top of the 4.5% raise that all service members received last year.  It's critical that we continue to provide support for all those who fight in defense of our great nation.   We ask a lot of our military, and the strategic landscape is more complex than ever.  I look forward to a frank discussion on how we are matching resources, priorities, and honoring our commitments to both readiness and to our people.  I now recognize the distinguished ranking member, Ms.
McCollum, for her opening remarks.  Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I'd like to thank all of you for appearing here today.  I'd like to thank all the men and women who serve in our military, both wearing the uniform and as civilians.   As I say often, national security is holistic and not just defense spending.

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