And thank you very much, Congresswoman Stefanik. And Secretary Whelan, best wishes on your new duties.

I am pleased to welcome everyone here today to discuss our special operations forces in an evolving threat environment.

Our special operations forces [SOF] remain essential and sometimes sole line of effort across the globe.

10 days ago Congress expected the President to submit his plan to counter the rise of Islamic terrorism in the Middle East. American families deserve to know that the President has a strategy to defeat ISIL and keep us safe. The 2016…

I'm very grateful that Speaker Paul Davis Ryan has provided shocking admissions of how Iran will use sanctions relief to fund terrorism, which I believe the American people need to know puts families at risk.

Yesterday the President announced a dangerous proposal, to close Guantanamo and bring terrorists to America. One of the proposed locations is near Charleston, South Carolina, creating a risk of attacks to adjacent schools, churches…

Well, now they can finance terrorists in this country. Mr. Secretary, this is not right. I yield.

Well, as a very grateful dad of four sons serving in the military, I appreciate you thinking ahead on how to protect our service members and protect the American people.

And so we are counting on you to figure out how to address the headaches.

Well, thank you very much. And thank you for citing about human trafficking. I am very grateful. My home State of South Carolina, by State legislation and prosecution, has been one of the leading States to address what is just horrific.

And, to me, you are a living example of America's alliance with Japan.

Today is our first opportunity to remember and honor the life and legacy of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, with a further tribute tonight by Congresswoman Barbara Comstock of Virginia. I am grateful for Justice Scalia's lifetime of…

I am grateful to recognize the accomplishments of Michael Lumpkin, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict, and congratulate him on his new position as director of the newly established Global…

I thank Chairman Ed Royce for his leadership on freedom and liberty. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2016. Recently, we have seen overwhelming evidence that the monarchy in North Korea, led by…

That the Middle East policy is one of willful ignorance.

It does concern me that the law was clear, section 3119, and so I hope whatever the baseline is, it can be provided.

Last week I was grateful to chair the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities hearing to receive outside views on biodefense for the Department of Defense and review the bipartisan report of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on…

I have still not forgotten 283 U.S. Marines killed in Beirut by the Iranian regime. We should not forget that.

And American families are at risk. In fact, last month in Baghdad it was Iranian-backed terrorists that kidnaped four Americans.

How could you not recognize that by releasing $100 billion to a state sponsor of terrorism that a significant amount of that money would be used to kill American families?

What you have really described, and the American people need to know this, no Americans, no Canadians.

The real use of an ICBM is to use with a nuclear capability, not to make some type of conventional attack.

I really appreciate the extraordinary efforts of Chairman Ed Royce's leadership to expose the increasing threats to American families by the Iran deal.

What is the DOD's plan to ensure that the medical countermeasures advanced manufacturing facility is fully utilized?

Can you give us a quick update on the timeline for U.S. Chemical Weapons Destruction Operations at the last two remaining sites in Colorado and Kentucky?