Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Inhofe
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement after the committee received a classified briefing from Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks on the 2022 National Defense Strategy:
“I’m encouraged by what I’ve heard from this administration so far on its new National Defense Strategy, and I appreciated the opportunity to discuss some of my questions and concerns with Secretary Hicks today. Anyone can see that the world has only gotten more dangerous since our last National Defense Strategy was released in 2018 — in particular, China has accelerated its already unprecedented military modernization, and this strategy document helps us expand our understanding of this pacing threat. This is a threat beyond anything we’ve seen before.
“I remain deeply concerned that the White House has given us no timeline for when we can expect to receive the National Security Strategy, which would allow us to discuss the unclassified version of the National Defense Strategy. We know that our budget needs to align with our strategy, and Congress needs all this information to do our jobs well. In addition, the American people deserve a robust open debate on these materials. I urge the administration to get these documents to us as soon as possible.”