WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, led his colleagues in examining the efforts of U.S. Strategic Command and U.S. Space Command to defend our Nation against some of the most dangerous military threats imaginable.

In his opening remarks, Senator Wicker stated that this administration’s nuclear policies have not kept pace with an increasingly perilous strategic environment. Russia and China are both building up nuclear forces as well – a concern echoed by both combatant commanders.

“While the United States has stayed complacent, Russia and China have advanced by leaps and bounds in their nuclear and space programs… One would expect these threats to generate a sense of urgency in Washington,” Senator Wicker said. “Today’s nuclear and space dangers should prompt us to reassess our assumptions about the threat environment and realign our resources accordingly. This is the unanimous recommendation of the Congressional Strategic Posture Commission. Instead, we see more of the same. The current administration consistently delays nuclear and space modernization programs.”

To address this growing challenge, Senator Wicker also suggested several solutions that Congress can consider to improve sustained nuclear deterrence.

“We can start reclaiming lost ground by following the recommendations of this bipartisan [Strategic Posture] commission. We must accelerate the National Nuclear Security Administration’s restoration of our basic industrial capabilities. The current, slow pace is out of touch with the reality of today’s threats. Likewise, we must make progress on the Sentinel ICBM and Columbia submarine programs,” Senator Wicker said. “These programs require sustained investment and innovation. But the benefit is worth the price tag and elbow grease that it will require. The advances made by our adversaries demand both defensive and offensive military solutions.”

Read Senator Wicker’s opening statement as delivered below or watch it here.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you to the witnesses for their service.

Last year’s Congressional Strategic Posture Commission was disquieting. Its conclusion was that the United States must fundamentally update our nuclear and space programs if we have any hope of countering growing threats from Russia and China. Unfortunately, the current administration has naively maintained the status quo.

I am choosing my words carefully in making this statement.

While the United States has stayed complacent, Russia and China have advanced by leaps and bounds in their nuclear and space programs.

As we enter the third year of Putin’s war against Ukraine, Russia remains a major strategic threat to the United States. Moscow owns the world’s largest, most modern nuclear arsenal, giving it a 10 to 1 advantage over the United States in tactical nuclear weapons.

Russia has also developed new weapons unlike anything in the U.S. inventory. It stocks nuclear-powered, trans-oceanic, autonomous torpedoes and intercontinental cruise missiles. Against such weapons, we are currently defenseless.

As bad as this sounds, China is rapidly becoming an even greater threat. Beijing is modernizing and expanding its nuclear forces at breakneck speed. It will likely outpace the U.S. in the early 2030s. Already, it successfully deployed an operational strategic triad of nuclear missiles, bombers, and submarines.

Over the past three years, China has tripled the size of its nuclear arsenal and built an ICBM network larger than our own. The Chinese have flown a missile that can drop nuclear warheads from orbit anywhere on earth, with virtually no warning.

Both Russia and China are also openly developing and testing counter-space capabilities. Each country has used kinetic weapons to obliterate orbiting satellites. When this is done, the blasts scatter thousands of debris fragments, endanger hundreds of other satellites, and preview a frightening future. Unfortunately, these aggressive actions only scratch the surface of their real capabilities.

One would expect these threats to generate a sense of urgency in Washington. Today’s nuclear and space dangers should prompt us to reassess our assumptions about the threat environment and realign our resources accordingly. This is the unanimous recommendation of the Congressional Strategic Posture Commission.

Instead, we see more of the same. The current administration consistently delays nuclear and space modernization programs. It chooses to dawdle instead of actively confront a pair of dire truths: The United States’ nuclear capabilities are falling behind, and the future of war will extend to space.

Collaboration between Congress and the White House could replace that inaction with progress. We can start reclaiming lost ground by following the recommendations of this bipartisan commission.

We must accelerate the National Nuclear Security Administration’s restoration of our basic industrial capabilities. The current, slow pace is out of touch with the reality of today’s threats.

Likewise, we must make progress on the Sentinel ICBM and Columbia submarine programs.

These programs require sustained investment and innovation. But the benefit is worth the price tag and elbow grease that it will require. The advances made by our adversaries demand both defensive and offensive military solutions.

I would like to hear from our witnesses about how this committee can help create a sense of urgency when it comes to accelerating the modernization of our strategic arsenal and adapting our forces to the new threat environment.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.