I thank Ranking Member Banks for his partnership in holding these hearings with us.

If we are not failing, we are not learning.

Well, I certainly think that DIU deserves our support. It certainly has mine and we want to continue to leverage the model that they bring to the table and engaging with these small innovative companies.

The subcommittee will come to order.

I couldn't agree more.

Madam President, I am here for the 14th time to keep unmasking the scheme to control our Supreme Court--a scheme that is now poised to destroy a woman's right to make her own reproductive health choices and to smash foundational Supreme…

Despite this, the FY23 budget request has cut all funding for a critical directed energy effort--specifically the Diode-Pumped Alkali Laser (DPAL)--despite its recent history of success, and the proven value DE technologies provide to our…

I'm very proud that our Nation's finest nuclear submarines are built right in the great State of Rhode Island.

Many would agree this is the greatest national security threat that we face or one of them that we face in the 21st century.

We have heard multiple concerns about the state of the Navy's cyber forces, and the Secretary's 28 pages of written testimony for today's event--meant to reflect the highest priorities of the Navy--doesn't mention cyber once.

I am not certain that a plan which aims to fix a supposedly urgent problem by 2027 demonstrates that the Navy takes cyber seriously.

I have been a big fan of the electromagnetic railgun program for a very long time, and was very disappointed to see that the Navy has opted to pause this program in FY23.

This has got to be a priority for us and I hope that it will continue to be so.

As we know, directed energy weapons, such as lasers and high-powered microwaves, can effectively engage a variety of threats with speed, flexibility, precision, and on a low cost-per-shot basis.

I will tell you this, we are very early stages, the initial outreach to U.S. industry has been excellent.

Let this hearing serve as a warning to the Putin regime we will do all we can to hold you and your enablers responsible for your crimes.

As I said to Senator Reed, it is an issue of national security.

China is showing up, more and more aggressively in technical standard setting bodies internationally, and NIST is planning to really reassert ourselves.