Rob Wittman

Addressing America's transportation infrastructure is a shared responsibility between Federal, State, and local governments.

The I-64 Peninsula Widening Project in the Hampton Roads area is vital to increase vehicle capacity.

Federal investment in this project will allow the port to remain a prominent economic hub for the Nation.

I represent the First Congressional District of Virginia, which is home to some of the most unique traffic challenges in the country.

I fear that if we do it any other way, we're going to fall victim to the whims and be subject to the ideology of local commanders.

I think we have to be very careful about how we characterize this particular effort.

I want to make sure we get after extremism in the ranks. No two ways about it.

We can't afford the wasting of those dollars and we can't afford the interruptions.

It resulted in the waste of $4 billion just for the United States Navy.

As you know, we have long-term funding needs to do things like build aircraft, to build ships.

Get it in the hands of sailors and Marines. Get it in the hands of the fleet. Let them push it and try it and figure out what works and what doesn't.

The Navy needs to develop an unmanned, long-range, carrier-based, penetrating strike capability.

We would like to have success, but we understand this is a very innovative and creative process, so if there is a failure, we want to make that sure we acknowledge that early.

But I fear the zeal to deliver the future could possibly lead to waste today.

This is incredibly important, but it is incredibly important to make sure that we get it right.

Well, very good. Well, thank you, Chairman Courtney. Thanks again for your leadership and your vision in really pushing this forward.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Gentlemen, thanks so much for coming to join us today.

I just hope to follow up with not just with Newport News but other companies that perform critical functions for our military to make sure that there is no interruption in vaccines there.

I am prepared to close, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I commend Congressman Greg Walden for his sponsorship of the House companion bill, H.R. 7116, that makes the needed noncontroversial technical corrections…

Do you believe that if we do not address these issues now, much of the good work undertaken by the Department and industry to maintain the viability of the defense industrial during this crisis could be undone?

I agree, and I think you all bring up great points.

Logistics will continue to matter greatly.

What I see in the United States is, we have the United States Navy; we have the United States Marine Corps; we have the Merchant Marine; we have the Coast Guard.

The new technologies that are so promising, I think that we are often overly optimistic in how quickly they will arrive.

I do not believe that there is going to be a significant increase in allied naval force structure.