At today's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) questioned pending Trump Administration nominees.
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00:00Thank you very much, Senator Budd. Senator Hirono.
00:04Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome to both of you and your families.
00:08Going to the fitness to serve question, I ask the following two initial
00:12questions of all nominees before any of the committees
00:16on which I sit. So I will ask you to start with
00:20Mr. Cadenazi. Since you became a legal
00:24adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors
00:28or committed any verbal or physical harassment or
00:32assault of a sexual nature? No. Mr.
00:36Rapano? No. Have you ever faced discipline
00:40or entered into a settlement relating to this kind of conduct?
00:44No. No. For Mr. Cadenazi.
00:48I championed a provision in last year's NDAA that
00:52created a program focused on advanced manufacturing
00:56capabilities in the Indo-Pacific to more quickly
01:00construct unmanned systems and
01:02parts for ships and
01:04submarine repairs. And this
01:06program is essential to bolstering
01:08deterrence in the
01:10region. DOD and the services
01:12have always struggled to coordinate
01:14industrial-based modernization
01:16efforts. How do you plan to
01:18foster greater integration
01:20across the services
01:22for this important program?
01:26Senator, I appreciate the question. This is a critical
01:28issue. Hawaii represents a
01:30significant portion of the organic industrial
01:32base and our broader defense industrial
01:34base. There are many tools
01:36we have to bring
01:38alignment across the industrial
01:40base initiatives that are there and the groups that are
01:42responsible for it. The first thing
01:44is leadership. That is
01:46the wherewithal to go ahead and get
01:48into the weeds. The macro issues, I think
01:50thankfully there's a substantial number of
01:52authorities and resources available that are
01:54made available by the Congress over time
01:56to the DOD to take action on these issues.
01:58At the micro level we need to get into
02:00the details to understand where
02:02individual organizations
02:04may not be getting it with regards
02:06to the opportunities here. In particular
02:08the new, I think
02:10acquisition and industrial base executive
02:12order does a good job to highlight
02:14the acquisition personnel to
02:16workforce training initiatives and things
02:18that we can do to go ahead and drive more understanding
02:20into the leaders at the tactical level
02:22who need to make decisions to invest
02:24in the integration of the industrial base.
02:26I hope that you will focus
02:28on this aspect
02:30of what we need to do because I know you
02:32are aware that Indo-Pacific is the
02:34largest AORR
02:36and we need to provide flexibilities when the
02:38ships are out to sea
02:40and they need to have flexibility
02:42and repair and doing all the things that
02:44will keep them going. So
02:46I hope that you visit Hawaii
02:48and see for yourself the capabilities
02:50that we need to strengthen.
02:52Again, for you,
02:54I have met with small businesses
02:56in the past as they struggle
02:58to comply
03:00with the requirements
03:02to meet the cybersecurity
03:04maturity model
03:06certification
03:08requirements and it's pretty complicated
03:10and they have a hard time
03:12complying as I said. So
03:14I am prioritizing a provision in this
03:16year's NDAA that would require
03:18the DoD to provide additional
03:20support and
03:22innovative tools for small businesses
03:24to ensure that they are aligned
03:26with DoD's
03:28CM&C requirements.
03:30Allowing them to save money
03:32and
03:34continue to contribute to diversifying
03:36the defense industrial base
03:38that you are very focused on
03:40strengthening. What are your
03:42thoughts on the provision
03:44that would require DoD to provide more
03:46assistance to small businesses to
03:48enable them to work with you all?
03:50Senator, this is a critical topic
03:52and it has been a bit of a roadblock
03:54for small businesses over time.
03:56It's great that you're bringing this issue up.
03:58Within the small business office,
04:00within the industrial-based policy office,
04:02there's a program called Project Spectrum
04:04to go out to small businesses
04:06that are operating the defense sector
04:08to help them go ahead and get the
04:10resources and understanding and analysis
04:12they need to accelerate and reduce the
04:14cost of their compliance with CMMC.
04:16If confirmed, I'm eager to work with you
04:18on this provision, your proposals going
04:20forward. I think anything we can do to
04:22streamline the requirements while also
04:24ensuring a more robust and resilient
04:26security base for our cyber infrastructure
04:28is a critical opportunity for the department
04:30and we should look at that.
04:32should you be confirmed as I believe
04:34you will be that I would like
04:36to work with you on how we can better
04:40strengthen this part of our supply chain
04:42because without our small businesses,
04:44many of whom are dropping out of working
04:46with the DoD for a number of reasons
04:48including complying with the security requirements.
04:52So this is something that I would want to be
04:54very specific in following up with you.
04:56One more question for you. The COVID-19
05:00pandemic and geopolitical competition
05:04with China has exposed the deep fragilities
05:08in the U.S. defense supply chain as we
05:10mentioned. So for example, we remain heavily
05:13reliant on foreign sources for critical
05:16earth elements. So what steps do you plan to take to
05:20address this significant issue?
05:24Senator, I appreciate the question.
05:26The issue of access to raw materials,
05:28rare earths in particular, is one that is
05:30particularly challenging.
05:32The industrial price policy office has invested
05:34over $540 million in the past on these topics.
05:38I think we need to accelerate and invigorate those investments
05:40but also align them to the most critical
05:42and impactful opportunities that will have
05:44the most impact on our most critical
05:46and near-term needs.
05:48Whether that's munitions, lethality,
05:50or readiness.
05:52We should make those decisions and those investments
05:54promptly and get them moving so we can see
05:56the impact as soon as possible.
05:58If confirmed, I look forward to looking at you on that issue.
06:00Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
06:02Thank you, Senator.