Mike Rogers

Mr. Chairman, H.R. 1612 will benefit the Department of Veterans Affairs and the people of Tuskegee, Alabama.

I am eager to discuss each of these proposals in depth to ensure a thorough understanding of their purpose, intended benefits, and unintended consequences.

Thank you Mr. Chairman for holding this important hearing.

Many of us have concluded that promoting information-sharing through the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, CISPA, that he and Representative Ruppersberger have now twice assured through the House with large bipartisan votes…

What assessments or surveillance are we doing related to aging in the ICBM force?

We recently saw senior lawmakers in South Korea calling for South Korea to consider developing its own nuclear weapons.

I would like to ask each of you to affirm that you would be willing to cooperate with that advisory committee in its efforts.

I do want to touch on one thing before we leave to vote.

I believe that is correct, and shows a consistency of bipartisan practice that this Administration needs to remember.

The President came up with the idea.

We will not be providing any of the New START reduction funding, the $75 million requested in fiscal year 2014 budget submission until we get the plan required in the fiscal year 2012 NDAA.

I appreciate the fact that things will come to a grinding halt if you don't get the money.

We want the Administration to understand that your compliance is going to require money.

This hearing of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces will be called to order.

Were you satisfied that we had sufficient missiles available to the PACOM commander during the escalation in tensions and the threat of medium-range rocket launches by the North Korean regime?

As you know, the United States has had no boost phase missile defense program since approximately 2009, when the Obama Administration terminated the Airborne Laser and the Kinetic Energy Interceptor.

Can you help me understand how the budget request supports technology development to build on the efforts of the Phantom Eye, DPALS, the Army's HELMD, the Navy's LaWS, to deploy missile defenses capable of engaging enemy missiles as the…

While I am pleased that the President adjusted his missile defense strategy to one more closely resembling the plans of the previous administration in recognition of the threat this country faces, I have to say that I continue to be…

Aren't there obvious advantages to engaging a missile in this phase of flight, such as precountermeasure and decoy release?

Well, it just seems inconsistent, when you look at the threat in North Korea and what is happening with Iran, and China's buildup of their regional capability, that we ought to not be spending less; if anything, should be enhancing our…

I am concerned about Secretary Kerry's comments to the Chinese while in that country. He said to the Chinese that if they would help rein in North Korea and their behavior that it could have a quid pro quo of withdrawal of some of the U.S…

I just think that is an area we really need to--and I have talked with Admiral Syring about that--I think we really need to focus a lot more on that.

Yet the threat to the homeland is considerably greater this year than last: Why are we waiting for enemies to field capabilities before we build defenses?

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our witnesses for being here today and investing their time in preparing their written and oral statements.

I expect additional persons of interest to surface and perhaps additional suspects. This isn't over yet.