Ted Budd: “I thank my colleague and the ranking member for his comments and his leadership on Armed Services. We meet at a time of…”

“I thank my colleague and the ranking member for his comments and his leadership on Armed Services. We meet at a time of increasing peril for our country. The threats we face are demanding attention in a way that we haven't seen in decades. From the Middle East to Europe, to the Indo-Pacific, weakness and moral bankruptcy from the Biden-Harris administration have allowed chaos to spread around the globe. In the Middle East, Israel is in a fight for survival against genocidal Hamas terrorists and other terrorist proxies from Iran. These forces of evil are bent not only on the complete annihilation of the Jewish State but on the destruction of the United States as well. In Ukraine, Russia continues its vicious war of aggression by continuing to commit war crimes against innocent civilians and threatening the very stability of Europe. In the Indo-Pacific, China is saber-rattling and taking provocative action toward Taiwan and the Philippines. The aim of the Chinese Communist Party is clear: They are determined to displace the United States as the dominant world superpower. If this were to occur, the consequences would be staggering for America and, I say, yes, the world's security and economic well-being. We know that the answer to all these crises is the one thing that has been missing for the last 3\1/2\ years, and that is American strength, particularly America's military superiority.…”