Ranking Member Norcross Statement on Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee Markup for FY24 National Defense Authorization Act

Hearing

Thank you, Mr. Chairman,

The long-standing bipartisan tradition of this subcommittee is something for which we have worked very hard and should take great pride.

Our tradition has earned for this subcommittee a reputation on and off the Hill for strong bipartisanship built over many years of shared commitment to our national security and transparency and collegiality among our Members and our staffs that is clearly visible in everything we do.

The subcommittee mark before us today, and those items in the jurisdiction of the subcommittee that we look forward to considering at full committee markup next week, captures our shared commitment to national security.

We continue our close oversight of many of the Department's most expensive and complex programs, including:

Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps tactical strike-fighter and all Services rotary-wing aircraft programs to improve program management, reduce operational risk, remedy aircraft performance deficiencies, and support a sufficient capability and capacity to meet current and future requirements;

The Department's manned and unmanned intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft and how we are meeting Combatant Command requirements for these systems;

We increase attention to defensive counter-unmanned aerial system capabilities; and

We continue to watch carefully the Army's ambitious modernization strategy and the Marine Corps' Force Design 2030 with its supporting modernization priorities.

Critically important for the United States, as well as for our friends and allies around the world, this year we continue to provide much needed support for our munitions industrial base.

This is an issue upon which Mr. Wittman's predecessor, and I focused for the last few years and for which I think we've made real progress.

But the Ukraine situation certainly highlights that we must work even harder to modernize and improve the safety of our munitions industrial base. We must continue to look for and provide any additional authorities and resources that the department can use to rapidly increase industrial capacity and capability.

And, of course, we look forward to the recommendations in this subcommittee and the full committee marks addressing many other policies and programs of subcommittee and Member interest.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, I want to thank our subcommittee staff for their hard work: Professional Staff Members: Jay Vallario, David Sienicki, Heath Bope, Michael Kirlin, and Max Huntley, and our Research Assistant, Brooke Alred.

And with that Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

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