Susan Collins

I would suggest to you that pausing or delaying the delivery of weapons to Israel is a decision, and it is a decision that most Members of Congress would take issue with.

Thank you very much, Chairman Tester for holding this very important hearing.

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, is the gold standard, just to get that on the record

I can't imagine a more timely hearing than this one, given Iran's deliberate attack against the sovereign nation of Israel.

We cannot forget... how many adversaries we have and Iran is certainly among them.

Are we at the point where we are risking an Air Force that is too small to accomplish the missions that it is assigned?

This budget request would result in a real decrease in funding available for the Air Force and Space Force.

I would also note that it does not help the process that the President is late by a month in submitting his budget.

Unfortunately, we then ran into roadblocks in getting the bills brought to the Senate floor.

It is the role of Congress to ensure the American taxpayer dollars are used the most effective way possible to achieve superiority.

I realize that you have a period of time that you can use. But is it accurate that about half of the funding appropriated over the last 3 years is still unobligated?

I think that is totally inconsistent with the tremendous contributions that each of the components make to our national security.

It is difficult for us to make the case, which we want to make, if you are not obligating the money.

I think that is a really important point, that it is going to be more expensive, and plus, that is where the capability is.

I want the Army and all the Services to be able to trigger state crisis intervention laws.

Such funding levels, in my judgment, make it virtually impossible to field the new aircraft and weapon systems in Guard and Reserve units

It is so disappointing that the President's budget request for fiscal year 2025 cuts the Guard and Reserve budget by nearly $2 billion

The need to properly resource, ready, well-equipped, and integrated Guard and Reserve components could not be more clear

I hope we will continue to support.

It seems to me that this is a perfect example of something that should have been in the budget request.

I think that has been lost in this debate, that it gives you better capabilities.

I am a very strong supporter of assisting both Ukraine and Israel.

I want to ensure that we are taking every action necessary to try to lessen or prevent the chances of such a tragedy ever happening again.

The proposed active duty end strength represents the smallest Active Duty Army since the start of the Volunteer Force in 1973.

It is also the Army, more than any other Service that is providing the lion's share of equipment and training to help Ukraine's own army defeat and defend against Russia's brutal invasion.