Statement : Defense
July 30, 2020
Statement
"This package prioritizes the lives and livelihoods of the American people, and makes the strong investments needed to build a stronger future for every person."
July 14, 2020
Statement
"This bill provides the Defense Department with the appropriate level of resources to address an evolving threat landscape and to ensure the security of our nation and our allies. It ensures that our servicemembers are well-trained and equipped and that they are prepared for future military needs. We have the most capable and advanced military in the world, and this bill honors their mission by adequately funding programs to care for servicemembers and their families, and by including provisions to end the Trump administration’s theft of defense funds to pay for a wasteful border wall."
July 14, 2020
Statement
"This legislation recognizes the complex challenges the members of our Armed Forces and intelligence community face every day throughout the world, and it aims to ensure that they are able to continue to meet these challenges and complete their missions to the best of their abilities. To support this forward-looking posture, the bill makes major investments in operations and maintenance, procurement, and research and development."
July 8, 2020
Statement
"This bill strengthens our national security with robust funding for cyberspace operations and continued support for the Israeli Cooperative Program and for other defense partners."
July 8, 2020
Statement
WASHINGTON — Congressman Pete Visclosky (IN-01), Chair of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks at the Subcommittee’s markup of its fiscal year 2021 bill:
I thank everyone for attending today’s subcommittee markup and for your contributions to this bill.
March 11, 2020
Statement
"It is in this environment of uncertainty that the Committee must review the Administration’s budget request for Afghanistan, which is dated. General, we need your best assessment of the situation as it is today. With respect to plans for U.S. troop withdrawal, the Committee needs to understand which bases are closing, which of our units are coming out, and when. We need to know the costs attributable to the drawdown and where the money would come from. This is made more problematic since the Administration has used of nearly all of its transfer authority to build the border wall."
March 10, 2020
Statement
"We recognize that this is an extraordinary time for the United States Army. Our nation presently has over 187,000 soldiers deployed in 140 countries around the world. These soldiers are the Army’s most critical resource. We will talk today about the training, equipment, and resources needed to give our soldiers the skills and tools needed to accomplish their missions. But we would also like you to know that the members of this Committee care deeply about the welfare and quality of life of our men and women in uniform. We want to make sure we take care of these needs, as well."
March 5, 2020
Statement
"There are serious questions on how medical reforms have been accounted for in the President’s Budget request for Fiscal Year 2021. Across the spectrum of the military health system, from medical readiness to beneficiary care, in many cases the budget justification lacks the adequate detail for the subcommittee to make informed decisions."
March 4, 2020
Statement
"Further, such a significant reorganization cannot be approached lightly or haphazardly, as it is critical that the foundation crafted is well constructed and provides a path to success for the Service, and the Department as a whole. It is essential that those forming the policies and procedures for the Space Force actively engage the Congress, particularly the Appropriations Committee, to build and sustain support for the Space Force and its mission. This will require that the Department provide unprecedented transparency to ensure that there is a common understanding and expectation of what this new Service will do, how it will do it, and what resources are needed."
March 4, 2020
Statement
"What is even more disturbing to me, is the fact that the Department of Defense chose to transfer $911 million of fiscal year 2020 shipbuilding funds to support the President’s misguided effort at the southwest border. We hear time and again that more ships are required but then actions like these are taken, severely undercutting the credibility of that argument. Needless to say, these wall reprogrammings have completely broken the trust between the Department and the Committee."