REED: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.  I join you in welcoming General Lloyd Austin to today’s hearing.

General Austin, I want to thank you for your four decades of military service to our country, and I appreciate your willingness to return to public service, this time in a civilian capacity.  In addition, I want to welcome your wife, Charlene.  I also want to recognize and thank former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta who spoke on your behalf, along with our colleague, Senator Sullivan.

Today’s hearing is also very different from previous Secretary of Defense nomination hearings.  Due to recent security threats, the Acting Secretary of Defense has authorized the deployment of up to 25,000 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C.  I never thought I would see such a large display of U.S. military force on the streets of our country.  I thank the servicemembers, and other federal agencies for ensuring the U.S. Capitol and the inauguration is safe and secure.  In addition, the world continues to be engulfed in a global pandemic that has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths in the U.S. and sickened millions more.  This has not only affected the way we conduct our hearings, but has become the paramount issue facing the new Administration, including the Department of Defense.

General Austin, you have a long and distinguished career.  You have served at the highest echelons of the Army and capped your service as the Commander of U.S. Central Command.

If confirmed as the next Secretary of Defense, you will face a daunting array of current and emerging security threats.  U.S. strategic priorities have shifted in recent years, as reflected in the 2018 National Defense Strategy, to focus increasingly on the near-peer competition with China and Russia.  At the same time, the Trump Administration, through its disruptive behavior has eroded faith in U.S. global leadership with adverse strategic consequences. Indeed, our national defense strategy must be a component of an overall national security strategy that embraces all aspects of soft power as well as military power.

As a former Commander of U.S. Central Command, you have valuable experience to addressing security threats in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and elsewhere in the CENTCOM area of operations.

The incoming Biden Administration faces an immediate challenge with respect to Iran’s growing nuclear, ballistic missile, and proxy capabilities.  The Department of Defense will play a key role in deterring these threats while supporting diplomatic efforts.  In Iraq and Syria, while the physical ISIS caliphate has been defeated, the underlying factors that gave rise to ISIS and al Qaeda remain largely unaddressed.

Defending against transnational violent extremist groups will require continued vigilance.  In Afghanistan, our allies and partners need to be reassured that going forward they will be consulted up front on any changes in U.S. force posture.  The incoming Administration will need to assess the conditions on the ground, including whether the Taliban is in fact living up to their commitments and what level of support is required to protect U.S. national security interests and invigorate a diplomatic solution.

In addition to these broad strategic challenges, as Secretary of Defense you must also grapple with issues specific to the management of the Department.  The Fiscal Year 2022 budget will be the first that is unconstrained by the Budget Control Act (BCA), and some view this as an opportunity to redirect the overall defense budget.  This year will mark an inflection point in how the Department prioritizes the resources it needs to accomplish its missions.

The Department must focus its efforts on critical technologies like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology, and cybersecurity, while also emphasizing rapid delivery of advanced new weapon systems on timelines that keep pace with technological change.  The Department of Defense must partner with Congress to find ways to retire legacy systems without incurring too much risk operationally or economically.  The Department also has management challenges that require investment in great people to manage the complexities of the Pentagon and its processes, rather than an endless search for budget cuts and workforce reductions.

Ensuring robust funding for full spectrum readiness including additional home station training, flying hours, steaming days, depot maintenance, and installation sustainment has been a high priority for this committee, and I expect that it will be yours, too.

The Department must also hold privatized housing companies and the defense chain of command accountable to ensure families live in the homes they deserve.

Our men and women in uniform, and the civilian workforce that supports them, remain this Committee’s top concern, and they must be yours as well.  Recruiting and retaining a sufficiently sized, trained, and equipped military, of the necessary quality of character and talent to meet national defense requirements, is always a paramount goal of the Secretary of Defense and this Committee.  Successful recruiting and ensuring the health of the force has been and will continue to be a challenge while we finish the national fight against COVID.

General Austin, as I have recounted in great detail, if confirmed, you will manage a Department coping with many extraordinarily difficult issues.  It will require strong civilian leadership to address these challenges and to reverse the erosion of civil-military relations over the past several years.  However, in order to serve as the Secretary of Defense, Congress must provide an exception to the statutory requirement that prohibits individuals from being appointed if they are within seven years of their military service.

Last week, this committee heard from expert witnesses on the state of civilian control of the Armed Forces.  Some Members expressed concern that providing an exception for you to serve as the Secretary of Defense, particularly so soon after Secretary Mattis, could harm civil-military relations.  It is a valid concern, but as our witnesses testified it is possible to mitigate the effects if you demonstrate your commitment to empowering civilians in the Department.  Further, we must also hear how you view the role of the Secretary of Defense, and how that position is different from your days of honorable service as a military officer.  This distinction is critical as the Secretary of Defense is an inherently political position requiring a skill set for managing a vast bureaucracy while balancing personalities within the Department and across other federal agencies.

Relatedly, an effective Secretary must be transparent with Congress.  Tensions often exist between the executive and legislative branches regardless of political party.  However, the Department must keep Congress fully informed on critical national security developments so that we can conduct congressional oversight.

General Austin, with these broad categories in mind, I hope you will candidly share what actions you will take to ensure your tenure reflects, and protects, the principle of civilian control of the military.

Finally, strengthening civil-military relations is not the sole responsibility of the Secretary of Defense.  Congress has a role, too.  This includes expeditiously confirming qualified civilian nominees to serve in the Pentagon.  Furthermore, I believe Congress should revisit the headquarters reductions implemented over the past several years.  While well-intentioned, these budget cuts have sapped the Department of experience, expertise, and institutional knowledge, all of which degrades the Department’s ability to oversee the critical policy issues that are integral for robust civilian oversight.

Again, I thank you Mr. Chairman, and I look forward to hearing from our nominee.