On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., the top Republican on the U.S. House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and the first Green Beret to serve in Congress, delivered the opening statement at the subcommittee markup for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023.
Waltz emphasized the importance of the Fiscal Year 2023 Readiness Subcommittee mark as it fulfills “our commitment to readiness and military infrastructure to support training, sustainment, and quality of life for military personnel and their families.
“Russia’s aggression in the Ukraine, the Chinese Communist Party’s continued military buildup, and recent missile launches by North Korea highlight the global threat landscape,” said Waltz. “These events make clear that we must maintain a high level of readiness today, even as we invest and modernize for the future.”
Regarding inflation and its impact on military construction, Waltz attacked the Biden administration, saying it failed to account for actual inflation, “leaving us treading water at best.”
Waltz also highlighted the provisions contained in the mark “that focus and make progress on:
• Resiliency, so that we can better protect our installations, assets, and people;
• Efforts to ensure weapons systems are ready, sustainable, and affordable over time;
• Support for our aging depot infrastructure,
• and the safety of our service men and women, among many others.”
Waltz also insisted “the mark before us is a good product, reflective of the bipartisan nature of this subcommittee’s work, and I encourage its adoption.”