U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Saks), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, had a warning Wednesday about the state of America’s U.S. defense industrial base.
"We cannot prevail in any conflict without a ready, strong, and adaptable industrial base." Chairman @RepMikeRogersAL https://t.co/0ZIzkNeQwu pic.twitter.com/HtXDlNuAtf
— Armed Services GOP (@HASCRepublicans) February 8, 2023
“We cannot prevail in any conflict without a ready, strong, and adaptable industrial base,” Rogers said during a hearing on the subject. “Yet the defense industrial base is experiencing a multitude of challenges.”
The congressman discussed what put the country in a weaker position when it comes to national security.
“Some of these include inflation, workforce shortages, bureaucratic hurdles, and supply chains that remain too dependent on foreign sources of materials,” he said. “Inflation continues to wreak havoc on the cost of materials, driving up costs for suppliers and small manufacturers who are hemmed in by fixed price contracts.
“Making matters worse, the administration refuses to use the authorities and resources Congress gave them last year to provide necessary relief. Recruiting and retaining a skilled workforce was a problem before COVID and it’s only gotten worse since. Bureaucratic contracting hurdles continue to slow things down and compound our ability to scale when needed. They also continue to present barriers for new entrants into the defense industrial base, which we need to advance innovation.
“We took steps to overcome some of these hurdles in last year’s NDAA, but I am confident more can be done.”
Rogers also warned of the continuing threat from China, and expressed concern about the lack of preparedness to combat it.
“But the greatest concern I have with the defense industrial base is our continued reliance on China as the source of raw materials,” he said. “The Chinese Communist Party maintains a tight grip on many of our material supply chains, including critical minerals and semiconductors. We will never prevail in a conflict with China, if they’re the source of our military supply.
“While we’ve made some progress in recent years, I won’t stop until we’ve completely rid our defense supply chain of Chinese goods and materials.”
The warning from Rogers on this issue comes as a new report released by Defense News detailed America’s dependence on China when it comes to accessing key materials needed in manufacturing ammunition.
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
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