I am very concerned about the lack of, frankly, assets within the Reserve components, especially on the Air National Guard side...

We passed a piece of legislation back in December of 2022, that was actually signed into law by the President in January of 2023 on the Active-Duty side called the Military Spouse Licensing Relief Act.

I have been very adamant that I don't know that we have a capability gap relative to China.

The other request I have is that you continue to remind the young marines and sailors that the military spouse licensing relief law is now law of the land.

We passed, out of HAC-D, a bill that took the starting salary for an E-1 from $22,000 to $31,000, which is the equivalent of $15 per hour.

If we can get the local communities to pay for that second income to augment the total household income and get quality of life above the poverty line, then we can save American taxpayer dollars.

I personally have no doubt that we would win a war against China. I think it would be protracted, very bloody, extended, probably not popular after time.

I was encouraged that the President signed my military licensing, Spouse Licensing Relief Act, into law, and I think that helps.

I would like to expand that and enable that on the authorizing side with HASC to get that to apply to the Reserve side.

It is a game changer, absolutely.

I see our biggest near-term tactical threat is our open southern border, and obviously the biggest strategic threat, which I treat as an existential threat to our country, being China, as well as our debt, but that is not your fault.

In California last week, and we brought this up in an earlier hearing with SECNAV as well, and we have had discussions with SecDef about it as well.

It warms my cockles to hear an Army four star say that he asked for six F-35s and additional F-15EXs.

I would encourage you to look at my RAISE Act, which takes the starting salary of an E1 from $22,000 and brings it up to $31,000.

I think getting that dual income, allowing the spouse to be able to stay in the workforce, but then the collateral benefit of also having that community...

Last year, we missed our recruitment numbers, retention numbers by a net 41,000 personnel, recruits across all the services.

An E-1 right now even with the 5 percent raise last year and the 4.5 percent increase in this President's budget request is still $22,000, $23,000 a year.

I thank the chair and ranking member for bringing this bill here today. Mr. Speaker, as Californians, our relationship with our Tribes and bands is different from that of many other places in the United States. The Kumeyaay Indians…