Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Inhofe
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today submitted the following statement for the record at the committee nomination hearing for Lt. Gen. Laura Richardson to serve as General and Commander of United States Southern Command.
As Submitted for the Record:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Lieutenant General Richardson, we thank you for your decades of service, and for you and your family’s continued willingness to serve the country.
If confirmed, you’ll be responsible for overseeing military activities in a region of growing importance to the National Defense Strategy.
China and Russia are expanding their access and influence in the SOUTHCOM theater through arms deals, military deployments, and economic and diplomatic coercion.
As Admiral Faller, the current SOUTHCOM Commander, told this committee earlier this year: “Our strategic competition with China is global, not just in the Taiwan Strait or the South China Sea. China is quickly growing its influence here, in our hemisphere.” I agree with him.
At the same time, much of the drugs poisoning American cities and the migrants at our southern border are coming from the SOUTHCOM AOR.
We also see growing turbulence in the region in places like Haiti and Cuba.
Despite these threats, SOUTHCOM has never had enough resources to do its job. That’s why I’m pleased that this committee adopted my amendment to the NDAA that increases the defense budget topline and addresses many of the unfunded requirements of our combatant commanders, including SOUTHCOM.
General Richardson, your experience makes you well qualified to lead SOUTHCOM as it confronts these challenges, and I look forward to supporting your nomination.
Thank you again for your willingness to serve. Senator Reed.