This week, U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., announced he will lead a new congressional task force to “modernize U.S. foreign military sales processes in several key areas so that it is responsive to U.S. national security needs and those of our partners and allies.”
Waltz and U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., will lead the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Technical, Industrial, and Governmental Engagement for Readiness (TIGER) Task Force.
“The task force will bring together State and Defense Department experts, as well as industry experts and regional subcommittee leadership on the House Foreign Affairs Committee in its oversight of the U.S. government’s foreign military sales process. It will hold regular briefings and issue recommendations to committee leadership for legislative consideration,” Waltz’s office noted.
U.S. Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, who leads the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, named the leadership of the new task force on Tuesday.
“It is vital that when we make a deal with our partners and allies to send military systems, that we provide them as quickly as possible,” said McCaul. “I am proud to announce this important, bipartisan task force to address this issue and am confident Congressman Waltz will get the answers we need. I look forward to moving forward any legislation that comes from the task force within my committee’s jurisdiction.”
“For years U.S. foreign military sales have been plagued with delays that have put many of our allies and partners across the globe at risk,” said Waltz. “I’m proud to lead this bipartisan TIGER task force to examine why many of these shipments have been delayed or have seen increased costs, putting the security of some of our most critical allies at risk, and implement legislative solutions to streamline these sales.”
“Foreign military sales are a crucial tool of American diplomacy and national security. Our partners, like Taiwan, order American military equipment because they need it. They should receive that hardware as quickly as possible,” said Moulton. “It is an honor to co-lead this task force with Mike Waltz. We will examine where Congress needs to cut bureaucratic red tape and where industry needs to invest in addressing bottlenecks. All parties will be held accountable so that equipment gets out the door in time for it to be relevant on the battlefield.”
U.S. Reps. Jason Crow, D-Col. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., and French Hill, R-Ark., will also serve on the task force.
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