Transcripts For CSPAN National Guard Chief Project Warp Spe

CSPAN National Guard Chief Project Warp Speed Confirmation Hearing July 12, 2024

The Senate Armed Services committee met to consider the nominations of the Lieutenant General to be chief of the National Guard bureau and an army general to lead operation warp speed which is tasked with developing a coronavirus vaccine. In his testimony, he told lawmakers it was likely the u. S. Will have a vaccine by the end of the year. Their confirmation hearing is almost 2. 5 hours. Good morning. The Committee Meets today to consider the nominations of Lieutenant General David Hokanson to be chief of the National Guard bureau, and general Gustave Perna to be chief operating officer of the project warp speed. I think both of you for being here today particularly under the current circumstances of what we are facing now, we are doing things differently. I know you are down there but i can barely see you. Anyway, we enjoyed meeting the families and all of that. We were not going to be able to do with the same way. When you do your Opening Statement, you may want to introduce family that may be looking on. What we are facing now we are doing things differently. I know you are down there but i can barely see you but anyway, we enjoyed meeting the families and all of that. We will not be able to do it the same way that when you do your Opening Statement you may want to introduce the families that may be looking on, if that sounds all right. You both were nominated for positions at the forefront of the current challenges and as we consider your nominations we will consider to ensure that you can provide the solutions, expertise and reassurance needed for these circumstances. General hokanson as our nation demands more from our National Guard and your expertise is extensive in the National Guard bureau, north, and as a state general will be essential across the country with tens of thousands of guardsmen are on the frontline of the Coronavirus Response and they deserve strong measured and mature leadership from their advocate on the joint chief of staff. General perna, we are facing down a virus that has tested our health system, our economy, our military and every other part of our everyday life. President trump has taken you in the team and others with an Ambitious Mission to not only develop a vaccine but also to manufacture and distribute some three and a million doses by january of 221. Your extensive expertise in logistics and in leaving the United States army command will be key to complete this mission. I speak for the committee when i say we appreciate your willingness to serve and look forward to serving with you. It is standard for this committee we have seven required answers and questions and its standard for the committee to ask certain questions in order to exercise legislative and oversight response abilities but before i begin general perna, i commend the integrity that you have shown in bringing to the committees attention the fact that while continuing to serve in your current position as commander of u. S. Army material you have ensured that amc provided all necessary support to operation warp speed as directed. In addition, you have taken prudent steps to prepare for the new duties and response abilities that you would assume to the chief operating officer, operation warp speed. The committee has reviewed the information provided and deemed your actions appropriate under the circumstances so gentlemen, when i asked these questions we want to audible yes or no. General perna, we appreciate the fact that you pointed out some of the things you have done that would not be a violation of a no answer. Okay . Number one, have you adhered to laws and regulations governing, looks of interest . Yes, sir. Will you ensure that your staff complies with deadlines established or requested communications, including questions for the record in the hearing . Yes. Will you cooperate in providing witnesses and briefs in response to congressional request . Yes. Will those witnesses be protected from reprisal or their testimony of briefings . Yes. Do you agree if confirmed to appear and testify upon request for this committee. Yes. Do you agree to provide documents including copies of electronic forms of medication in a timely manner when requested by newly constituted committee or to consult with the Committee Regarding the basis for any goodfaith delay or denial in providing such documents . Yes. Lastly, have you assumed any duties or undertaken any action which would appear to presume the outcome of the confirmation process . No. Very good. I dont have to tell you about the challenges facing the nation here and across the world. Every year it seems that this committee is focused on turning to an emerging issue. Last year it was the privatization of housing which we handled in a great way and people did respond to the satisfaction, i believe, of those who had brought their problems to our attention. Throughout it all we also remain focused on ensuring the dod has the authorities and resources and needs to submit the National Defense strategy that quite often we refer to as Senior Leaders in the department and in the positions for which you have been nominated and you have and will continue to play heroes, both in winning and the great power of competition and in taking care of the people. We are talking Great Power Competition and of course with china and russia. We look forward to hearing from you in your views. Senator reid,. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. I want to join you in welcoming our nominations this morning. I appreciate the fox ability along with the cooperation of our colleagues as we continue to do the important work of the committee on these challenging circumstances. I would like to think the families of those nominations, general hokanson is joined by wife kellyanne they are the proud parents of victoria, air force base army special offices and mckinnon army and perjury officer general is not here in the room but i would like to knowledge his wife susan and their son cody who is a Navy Lieutenant with three children and their son, ryan who is navy civilian. Thank you for those of sacrifices your family had given to you in the nation for Lieutenant General, youve been nominated to be chief of the National Guard bureau and come to us with extraordinary qualifications for this position. Currently serving as the director army National Guard you have also served for the device of the National Guard bureau and of the general of oregon. You check every box one would want for a nomination for this position. The chief is a joint chief of staff and is a principal advisor to the secretary of defense. To the chairman involving the non federalized National Guard forces in support of Homeland Defense and civil support mission and in this role the chief of the National Guard bureau plays a Critical Role in facilitating and mediating the interest of these states for the programs. The unique role in the National Guard has been more visible than ever in the past few months. In march members of the guard were called to help with the coronavirus pandemic and while on the frontlines of the pandemic they have risked their own health and the infection rate have been high and we thank those in their families for their sacrifice and dedication. While covid19 is a very real threat we are battling many guard members have also called in recent weeks to insist governors and Law Enforcement during a recent nationwide protests. For this mission the guard has had to strike their fine balance between forming their duties while ensuring that they do not engage in any unlawful acts or even the perception of unlawful acts against the citizens of our nation. Recent weeks show just how difficult the position of the chief National Guard bureau is and will remain perhaps throughout your tenure in this position. General hokanson, i look forward to hearing your approach on how you will approach this job in these trying times. General perna, youve been nominated to serve as the chief operation officer of operation warp speed with Publicprivate Partnership crated to develop, manufacture and she viewed a safe and effective covid19 vaccine to the American People by january 2021. You bring an important skill set and expertise to this endeavor having served your entire career as an [inaudible] you recently mo served as the carmi overseen more than 109,000 military civilian contractor and employees and managing Global Supply chain that provides material and sustainment army forces around the world. General perna, i want to commend you for being within weeks of retirement and yet you do not hesitate to accept another position and a challenging one at that. The committee, indeed the entire country, are waiting for more details about operation warp speed and we are interested in hearing from you about the role of the defense model will plate in this effort to resource it will need and the way in which a vaccine will be equitably distributed among the American People to include dod, military and civilian personnel. We have great confidence in your skill and in your integrity and dedication to the constitution. I look forward to hearing from both the nominees. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator reid. This will be the committees first hearing with some senators attending remotely so i want to let everyone know how we will run this thing. Since it is impossible to know exactly when our colleagues who will be joining us via computer arrive we will not be following the normal standards that we do on the firstcome, firstserved, earlybird and so forth. We will handle the order of questions by seniority, alternating the sides and once we reach the end we will start back at the top and until we reach everybody. Finally, to allow for everyone to be heard whether in the room or on computer i ask all colleagues to please be sure to move your microphones so senator whiting, i assume you are down there someplace. Chairman. Oh, oh, i see. You are recognized for an introduction. Thank you, very much mr. Chairman and Ranking Member reed and i want to thank my colleague, my classmates, senator reid for an extraordinarily good statement with respect to the exemplary role of the National Guard is plain right now. I think both of you, chairman for the chance to come. Its a privilege to be able to introduce a long time friend, general Daniel Hokanson and i understand that it is why kelly is there and i think perhaps even his four kids there. They are all military all the time and oregonians are thrilled that he has been nominated to serve as the next chief of the National Guard bureau. I will tell you you all have got the right guy for the job. As both of you, the chairman and senator reid have touched on we need sensible leaders with sound character and strong morals now more than ever and if you look at general hokanson what you will see is somebody who embodies those values. He is a west point with a long and distinguished career and he has led our troops in iraq and has led them in peaceful nations at home in oregon and has served as some of the highest levels of National Guard leadership. At home in oregon i can tell my colleagues on the committee we really dont have the big military bases that you see for example, in the east and south. We have got so many oregonians pressing their patriotism through the National Guards and many of them served two, three, four tours of duty and we are so proud of them and general hokanson, i can tell you its been a source of inspiration for many of those oregonians who have served in the guard. I will wrap up with just one kind of simple statements. If i were to go through chairman inhofe and senator reid the list of the awards and decorations general hokanson has earned, i would still be talking at breakfast time tomorrow. I dont want to be accused of filibustering you all and we want to get to this good man confirmed and i will close her way of saying i believe he will be a suburb chief of the National Guard bureau. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to come. I certainly hope the committee will report this Outstanding Public Service favorably in the senate will confirm him in short order. Thank you. Thank you, senator wyden. We now recognize senator jones to introduce general perna. Senator jones. Yes, thank you, mr. Chairman and ranking a member. It is my honor today to introduce my friends general gus perna to the city, someone who really needs no introduction but i am honored and humbled to be here with him today. First met general perna in 2018, shortly after my election to the senate, he was kind enough or early on to arrange an indepth tour of Redstone Arsenal where he is based as the chief Army Material command. It was an amazing experience for me and shortly after that he came up to washington and met with me in my office to talk with me about the Important Role of redstone and how it plays to alabama and importantly during our nations security. To say that i was impressed early on would be an understatement. I was impressed not with just his command of his command but also with his commitment. The commitment to service, commitment to his command, commitment to the people that served under him and commitment to the United States of america. He came to huntsville as the deputy chief of staff of the Army Material command where he served for a couple of years before taking the helm and answering the call to be the chairman to be the chief on the army serial command in huntsville, alabama. He has done a mix infant job and i will tell you candidly, over the last two years my tenure on this committee and my staff have quietly tried to step into the nda language that would prevent his retirement so that we could keep him in alabama but unfortunately your staff in the Ranking Member staff were able to catch that quickly but we did not want to lose him from alabama but i am getting [inaudible] he is not retiring at this point but will take on the duties of the coo of operation warp speed and i am very proud of him and there is not a better man for the job and i am happy to say he is assured me that he and my wife susan and their lab or doodle will be retiring to alabama and taken up residence on beautiful smith lake and cullman county. I will tell you as everyone should no, gus perna is a Problem Solver and he is a logistic expert and the Army Material command is one of the armys largest command with almost 200,000 military civilian and contractor employees. With impacts in all 50 states and 152 countries. He not only is a logistic expert, in my opinion, but a logistics wizard with an unparalleled depth and breadth of experience in acquisitions for sustainment. As i said, simply put, he delivers. It is important as this position is there was another position that he had also undertook in the last year or so since i have been on this committee which indicates that the army and the United States competence in him. When asked the committee knows the military and counter problems with Privatized Housing which became crisis proportions in 2019 it was general perna who the army turn to to help solve the crisis and was appointed as the officer in charge of correcting the deficiencies of the armys installation. While still ate work in progress he answered that command. General perna has brought together civilian agencies, military personnel, contractors, corporations, Senior Leaders and other stakeholders in order to correct the military housing problem and ensure the adequate housing is available on all military basis. Again, that was in addition to his duties as material commander. The country needs a vaccine. A country needs countermeasures from novel coronavirus. We needed it yesterday. But i know and i am confident that with general perna at the helm we will receive that vaccine and it will be distributed as soon practical and as soon as possible and in a fair and efficient way. He has answered the call again and i believe that the president has made absolutely the right call and i commend, not only the president s for this nomination, but i commend general perna for his, once again, answer the call to service and leading this effort. Gus, congratulations on your nomination. Thank you for your service and your willingness to tackle this vertical challenge where it is not just our families but for all america and in fact, the world. Thank you, good luck. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator jones buried the gentleman will begin with Opening Statements and as you are aware we would like to keep those brief and your entire statement will be made a part of the record and we will start with you. General hokanson. First of all, id like to think senator wyden for that kind introduction paired senator inhofe,

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