▶ 0:00:58e e
▶ 0:01:32afternoon today the subcommittee uh will hold an open hearing so uh we will come order in which all members of the House have been invited to testify on their priorities for fiscal year 226 Department of Defense Appropriations Act of course we haven't done FY 25 but I just bring that up the subcommittee obviously receives thousands of member requests per year ranking member McCollum and I take requests from both sides of the aisle very seriously we also take
▶ 0:02:02our constitutional responsibility to provide for our nation defense seriously as well as we are well aware the world is in chaos not just the world Washington DC China is increasingly aggressive by the day and it continues to act as a bully in the Indo Pacific the war in Ukraine continues Israel remains under threat from Iranian proxies and continues to recover following a brutal un provoked attack by the terrorist group Hamas therefore
▶ 0:02:32it is vital that the United States have the capability and capacity to respond to those who wish us harm while I recognize we must complete our work on fy2 we must uh also begin to lay the foundation for fiscal year 26 Department of Defense Appropriations act in order to respond to these threats again I'm hopeful we can soon complete uh fy2 Bill and buil upon the great work the subcommittee has put into delivering that product we must continue to find ways we can work together
▶ 0:03:03to increase efficiencies within the Department of Defense invest and innovate in the capacities and capabilities our service members need and provide them with the quality of life they deserve I thank the members that are here provide testimony and support of those goals I now recognize the distinguished ranking member Miss McCullum for her opening remarks thank you Mr chairman and I look forward to hearing more about the priorities of the members testifying for us uh before us today as you said there are many challenges uh that we are
▶ 0:03:33facing as a country and we are facing some challenges very serious challenges in my opinion here as a as a nation as we try to organize ourselves to make sure that we provide the services the American people need uh you pointed out China and some other hot spots but I would just uh uh take a second to reflect on the citizens of Ukraine um who are under constant bombardment and threat for unproc War by Russia trying to um change maps
▶ 0:04:04and um questioning rule of law and as you uh we we think about the hostages in in in Gaza and the the Palestinians that are also being released let us keep in mind the children of Ukraine who have been kidnapped and held captive in Russia with that I yield back I thank uh the gental lady we'll now begin with members testimony without objection all testimony submitted by members will be entered in the record so ordered each member will have 5 minutes for their remarks
▶ 0:04:34when their timer turns yellow you have 1 minute remaining the gentleman from Indiana is recognized for five minutes thank you chairman Calbert and ranking member McCollum for holding this hearing today I'm grateful for the opportunity to come before this committee and share my defense priorities for the upcoming fiscal year throughout my tenure in Congress my top appropriation priority has always been ensuring that the Humvees maintain strong funding that continues to support milit Readiness and the US industrial base this remains my top priority
▶ 0:05:04this year Mr chairman you and I have spoken several times about the importance of the light tactical vehicle programs especially the Humvees to my constituents our war Fighters and the broader industrial base it is essential that we continue strong funding to support this vital program as well as the joint light tactical vehicle program AM General has proudly been manufacturing Humvees in mishak Indiana for the past 40 years am General's Innovation resourcefulness and constant
▶ 0:05:34modernization has made the Humvee the Cornerstone of the LTV Fleet for the past four decades the humy has served on countless Missions at home and abroad currently the National Guard is deploying with Humvees in their mission to secure the southern border am General's long history of manufacturing Humvees has positioned the company to be a new manufacturer for the Army's joint light tactical vehicle A2 variant or jltv the jltv
▶ 0:06:04A2 has a greater payload blast protection and armoring capability due to its weight and size relative to the lighter more mobile Humvee the jltv A2 is now in production in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility that features more than 250 enhancements to the original jltv which provides greater Mobility reliability and Technical capabilities as you know the humy and jltv are essential to ensuring the Army and Marine corps's Readiness
▶ 0:06:35for today's missions and potential future threats the Army has publicly stated that there will be over 49,000 jltvs and 55,000 Humvees in the fleet until at least the 2050 however the humy fleet continues to suffer from inadequate budgets from the defense department requiring Congress year after year to step in and fund these critical Vehicles by 2030 the average age of our Humvee Fleet will be 20 years old and the old oldest Vehicles
▶ 0:07:05will be over 40 years old this shows the pressing need to start replacing these aging vehicles with new modernized variants the new Humvee model has uh increased safety measures uh increased power reliability and crew protection which is critical to the success of our war Fighters your leadership is critical to ensuring the Army and the Marine Corp LTV strategy is properly resourced in order to to com combat the constantly changing threats posed to the United States vehicles are
▶ 0:07:35often deprioritized in the budget process as they aren't as exciting or high-tech but the fact remains that they're a critical part of military operations from mobilizing uh to uh meet Global threats to securing our border here at home these Investments must continue to uh be made and maintain Readiness levels of our Armed Forces AM General alone uh proudly employs more than 11 00 hardworking Americans through across their Midwest facilities the broader LTV industrial base stretches
▶ 0:08:05across 43 States into over 1,100 supplier businesses chairman Calbert and ranking member McCullum I specifically ask that you include $200 million for the National Guard Humvee modernization program as well as the highest possible funding for jltvs in fiscal year 2026 defense Appropriations Bill the National Guard Association of the US proudly supports this funding uh year after year with over 25 adjunct adjuncts General
▶ 0:08:36including mine and my home state of Indiana all voicing support These funds are essential to maintaining a robust domestic industrial base and the strongest military Readiness additionally Humvees are playing a critical part in executing president Trump's directives to secure the southern border and strengthen National Security thank you for your time today and I look forward to continuing to work with you during during this year's defense Appropriations process
▶ 0:09:30Mr chairman if I could attest to my friend's uh District here and having taken this into combat uh myself both up armored and uh unarmored uh it is it was a stwart for us in for US forces in Iraq and uh protected many of our uh of our service members lives and delivered them on target uh uh rapidly and and uh and safely and so um I'm I'm a a strong proponent of both of these programs so thank you for coming today
▶ 0:10:01I thank the gentleman from Indiana if you have no other questions you're you're by relieved thank you chairman thank you member and you chairy appreciate it is there any other member of Congress would like to testify in front of the committee we had a list but they're not here so if there's no other members uh we will conclude I want to thank the members again for our member for testifying to the subcommittee today inputs of vital as we move forward fiscal year 26
▶ 0:10:32at this time I'll recognize Miss McCollum for any comments no uh we just as you pointed out we need to get 25 done start working on 26 and I'm ready to do it with you all right let's uh let's do it okay with that thank you and hereby adjourned that was a e