[inaudible conversations] good morning the Committee Meets today to consider g nominations for the chief of the National Guard bureau and the project warp speed and in those circumstances what we are facing to do things differently we enjoyed meeting theee families and when you do your Opening Statement and you have both been nominated for positions and then to consider the nominations and then to provide the solutions general wilkinson from the National Guard and your expertise of the National Guard bureau north carolinian and those that will be essential across the country on the front lines of the Coronavirus Response leadership from the joint chiefs of staff testing the Health System and the economy and military and every other part of everyday life, President Trump is taking you and others not only to develop a vaccine but also to manufacture and distribute 300 million doses by january the 2021 extensive expertise and that is key to complete the mission. We appreciate your willingness to serve and i look forward to serving with you. The standards and with that oversight. I commend the integrity you have shown to bring to the committee and then continuing to serve in the current position and that to provide ryall necessary support and then that as directed and then those steps to prepare with those that with the responsibilities you would assume to be the chief operating officer the committee has reviewed the information provided and deemed actions appropriate so when i asked g these questions and then to appreciate the fact and thats the no answer. [laughter] have you adhered to laws and regulations governing companies of interest . Yesns sir. With your staff comply with deadlines and requested communications including questions for the record inn hearings . Yes. We cooperate and toes provide witnesses in response to congressional request . Yes. With a be protected with those briefings . Do you agree to appear and testify before request with this committee . And eu agreed to provide documents with communication . And then to consult with the Committee Regarding the basis and then to provide such documents. And do you have any duties and those actions that would havect appeared to presume the outcome and i have to tell you and that hearing every year it seems this committee is focused on the emerging issue last e year and then to privatize housing. And people did respond and that it was brought to our attention. And then to ensure the dod to implement the National Defense strategy and Senior Leaders to the department for which you have been nominated and in a great power of competition with china and russia with forward to hearing from you and your views. I want to join you to welcome the nominee i appreciate their flexibility as we continue to do the important work of this committee with these challenging circumstances. General hogans and joined today by his wife kelly and proud parents of victoria and danny and also the alleging his wife susan his son cody and the navy civilian. That general hogans and you been nominated to come to us with qualifications for this position serving as the director of the army National Guard t Deputy Commander of north con you check every box as a member of the joint chiefs of staff and principal advisor toef the secretary of defense on matters on those National Guard forces and Civil Support Missions and in this role to play a Critical Role to facilitate and mediate the interest of the programs of the department of defense it has been more visible than ever g as we were called to assist the Health Care System while on the frontlines of the pandemic they risk their own health and infection rates have been high with think those guard members and their families for the sacrifice and dedication while covid19 is still a very real threat many of also being called in real weeks and then to strake a fine balance before performing theiror duties all they do not engage in any unlawful acts our the citizens of nation to show just how the position is will remain throughout your tenure in this position. And then with these trying imtimes and with the chief Operations Officer at work speed the Publicprivate Partnership to develop a straight safe covid vaccines to the American People by 2021. You have an important skill out and expertise to this endeavor and most notably and then to oversee moreil than 109,000 civilian and contract employees. And then to commend you within weeks of retirement but yet you do not hesitate to accept another position and a challenging one at that. O and that operation warp speed and that this will play in the effort and those resources in the way it would be equitably distributed among the americanin people with civilian personnel we have great confidence in your skill and integrity to the constitution i look forward to hearing from both the nominees. Thank you senator the this to be the committees first hearing sense it is possible to know our colleagues joining us through the computer live with first come first serve of those questions by seniority so once we reach the end we will start back at the top and not until we reach everybody whether in the room to ask all colleagues of your microphone. I assume youre down there someplace. You are recognized for an introduction. Thank you very much Ranking Member read i want to think my colleague and classmates for an extraordinarily good statement with the role of the National Guard. Itss a privilege and dan hawkinson and i understand and even the four kids there are all military and then has been nominated for the next chief of the National Guard bureau. You have the right guy for the job. And with those now more than ever what you see is somebody that embodies the values. With a long and distinguished career to leave them then peaceful missions to serve in some of the highest levels of National Guard leadership. I can tell my colleagues on the community we really dont have the military bases that you see so often in the east and the south in so many oregonians for their patriotism to the National Guard and we are so proud of them and has been a source of inspiration so i will wrap up with one simple statement the list of awards and decorations i would still be talking at breakfast time tomorrow. I dont want to be accused of filibustering we went to get this good manco confirmed. And then to be a superb chief to the National Guard bureau. That the committee will report favorably in the senate will confirm them in shortt order. Thank you mr. Chairman. Its my honor to introduce my friends to this committee someone that needs no introduction but i am humbled to be here with him today. I first met the general in 2018 shortly after my election to the senate he was kind enough to arrange the indepth to her as the Material Command it was an amazing experience and shortly after that meeting with me in my office to talk about the Important Role of redstone and also to our nation security. To say i was impressed early on is an understatement and not just of his command but also his commitment to service and the people that serve under him and to the United States ofs america. He comes to huntsville as the deputy chief staffer he served a couple ofl years before taking the home to answer the call to be the chief of the army Material Command he has done a magnificent job and i will tell you can to the over the last two tea years we have quietly tried to slip into the nda a language to prevent his retirement so we can keep him in alabama but fortunately you can catch that quickly but we did not want to lose he is not retiring at this point. But will take on the duties of the coo operation at work speed there is not a better man for the job im happy to say he has assured me him and nds susan and elaborate dinner will be attending eventually. Everybody should know he is a Problem Solver a logistics expert the army Material Command is one ofal the largest was 200,000 military civilian contractor employees with impacts in all 50 states and 152 countries not only a logistics expert but a logistics wizard with the and parallel depth of experience in acquisition and procurement. He delivers and as important as this is there is another position he undertook in the last year since i have been on this committee which indicates the army and the United States confidence. With the military to encounter pounds of prioritize housing that they turn to to solve the crisis to be appointed as the officer in charge of correcting the deficiencies of the Army Installations and to answer that command to bring together civilian agencies military personnel Contractors Corporation and other stakeholders and to ensure adequate housing is available on all military bases and as Material Commander the country needs a vaccine that needs countermeasures for the Novel Coronavirus we need it yesterday that i know with the general at the helm we will receive the vaccine and it will be distributed as soon as possible as soon ase and a fair and efficient way he has answered the call again. I believe the president has made absolutely the right call i commend him not only for this but the general for answering his call to service thank you for your service for this critical challenge not just families but all america. Thank you and good luck. G and these Opening Statements and then to be made the record. First of all thank you for that kind introduction. Chairman in half Ranking Member read thank you for that longstanding support and then actually help the be before the committee as you consider my nomination. And those to make my appearance today possible. And those who served in world war ii and korea a tireless advocate for military families to make sacrifices for our family her daughter victoria is an Operations Officer is a marine Corps Officer and the wife jenna and son is an Army Infantry officer with the regiments. So living in california where i was born and raised and my father taught high school over 36 years god has blessed me beyond words and their unwavering support and as you are well aware this is an important and pivotal time we face complex Dynamic Missions overseas in here at home they must continue to effectively navigate the unprecedented landscape to work closely with stakeholders at the International Federal state and local levels over the past 34 years to be shaped by incredible opportunities and experiences and those people i bring before you today and confirmed i will work with. This committee wherever we are needed. And in recent months the National Guard of the frontlines ofhe the Pandemic Response in every state and territory and district of columbia members are helping to fight this invisible enemy. And those key functions at testing sites and longterm care facilities hospital in food banks facemasks and so much more. At the same time the National Guard responded to civilt unrest as part of the call for justice we are there to protect First Amendment rights and preserve Public Safety in the communities where we live. Are citizen soldiers have responded to these and other events in the homeland for simultaneously meeting all overseas deployment requirements with the National Defense strategy and as a result we reached a new peak earlier this month the 120,000 citizen soldiers and airmen mobilized worldwide what makes this possible does not change since the founding of 1636 and that is the incredible men and women in our formations they have been and always will be the highest priority to balance their military careers and civilian careers and families to the sacrifices they must make to the true to the motto always ready always there and thank you to secretary trump on dash President Trump and secretary esper and also also those of 39 years of Selfless Service the example they said has a Lasting Impact on the National Guard. And as a prepared to return home to texas thank you for the opportunity to be before the community i look forward to your questions. Thank you now we will hear from general. Distinguish members of the committee i am grateful and deeply humbled to be with you in my fellow nominee. The servicemembers and the nation. Thank you to senator jones for his kind and generous remarks it has been my privilege to work with him as the senator inork alabama or the workforce army i very grateful while my family could not be here today to remain my number one supporters my wife susan today is our 37th anniversary married me and made the journey with me throughout our careers. Always in support always there for me. My son, the supply core officer and then noncommissioned officer with three lovely daughters adriana and priscilla and our son who serves the navy as a gs 13 contracting officer, without them i would not be here today it is their support i am incredibly grateful and always love for them. Nor can i be there about the friendsie or mentors who have helped me over the years. Thank you. And defense secretary mark esper and hhs secretary as are for their trust and ncconfidence in me to support the president s nomination to have operation for nearly 39 years in uniform culminating and then to cement the Strategic Operational and those sustained foundation. This has prepared me for this opportunity leading amc highly skilled and workforce all 190,000 plus soldiers and contractors was challenging but incredibly rewarding but if confirmed that National Experience will enable me and in my new responsibilities. Chairman and members of that committee if confirmed i am 100 percent committed to support the efforts of our nations best scientist and researchers to develop a safe and effective vaccine. With that distribution to deliver a fax by the end of the year. This will require everyone to do more than their best. We must do what is required. We must win to embrace the whole government approach to collaborate daily with academia partners we will prioritize our efforts on potential candidates that are netermined to be safe and effective that would be ready by the end of the year and to be distributed accordingly at the right numbers. The key to success is to rely on science and those protocols are executed to standards for simultaneously executing protection at risk i am be and then we could reduce delivery time by months if not years i swore an oath to the coconstitution it is impacting our way of life. And then to defeat this enemy and i and i look forward to your questions. And those statements so lets just are with you general hogans and kevin the biggest p problem that we have is retention and recruiting. And we were not able to meet our goals. Ninetyseven. 6 percent. And then to have that same situation. It has to be more difficult now and then the word gets out its a lot of hard work and recruiting and retention is to be more difficult now if we are unable to meet our goals fiscal year 18ca and 19 are you confident something has changed . If so what is it . Thank you for the opportunity to address that importantor question and look at the National Guard prior to covidien in february 1 of the best recruiting months in the past five o r years and since covan 18 our ability to interact with recruits has been greatly reduced but we have leverage the internet and other social media to reach out those individuals if you look at march and april and may we read 99 percent april and may below that and so if you look at the remaining months of the year s s they are lower recruiting months but from what i am hearing and that is what they can make up the shortages. And did you do anything different . The chairman. And social media that has been very beneficial. I have a question for the general its a very Ambitious Program that everybody appear knows that and with the victory of this program are predicated on the assumption we will have the necessary vaccine and all of that by yearend so give us your insurance if we have it by then whyd it is based on . Chairman what i thought was aspirational goal 30 days ago it is more and more likely to occur. And then based on the updates received in those partnerships with industry. And the efforts and their presentations to myself have indicated they have the right formula to produce to execute Clinical Trials and then to distributed accordingly. And then still working their way through human science leads us to her conclusions so that we can determine the effectiveness of the vaccine because it must be safe first and foremost and that the fda makes the decision may have Better Grounds to understand how much can be distributed and when. You know more about the progress b made than anyone appear so it is reassuring that you are confident and thank you for that. These guys have been overworked to the last three months. Have you learned anything fromha that . And there is some hope they will follow in the footsteps. Thank you for that question and over the past three months away fast the guardsman to do overseas it is a tremendous value to america with amazing men and women in the communities volunteered to do this. Forward and then those that than the communities and also in the formation. We love them all. Thank you very much for your excellent statements. We had a great discussion yesterday afternoon and the way the military hope for the best. Here in dc and this is a bipartisan model that it is usually a plan for the best to ignore the worst. You will be put right in the middle of that and i think it goes back to the point that we reiterated, you have to base your activities on science, on facts and on committing to speak truth to power and to say not only the good news but also to bring us the bad news. I hope you will do that. Could you commit to that . I 100 will commit to that, senator. Thank you very much, general perna. General perna, i also hope given our experiment with pte, the protective equipment, that we will rely cynically on the prevents defense production act. I think it is the most powerful tool to organize the distribution and as we mentioned that is a very, gated process. Distribution involves every Health Department in every state in the United States and production involves multiple manufacturers. Do you anticipate that the defense production act will be the primary tool that you use . Senator, i dont think it will be our primary tool. I feel, and based on Mission Analysis that we have capability and capacity in our authorities to use now. With that said, i do have direct access to the defense planning act production act through hhs and the department of defense and i feel 100 confident i can access when i need. We do not want to replicate the ppp situation. I acknowledge. In which states were out internationally trying to hustle equipment and that is not an exaggeration from china. Pain extraordinary prices for equipment that they could have had and i think the essence of the defense production act is the federal government to establish reasonable prices and also to control distribution so it is not a firstcome, first serve or, you know, the favored son gets the supplies versus somebody else. Let me just make that point once again. Your point is clear. I acknowledge and will comply. Thank you. As you indicated in your response to the chairman of the fda will make the call when the vaccine is ready. The question they are and that is out of your lane or i think we want to put it on the table is that they could make a call even if there is relatively low efficacy of the drug, maybe they say it is ready and we saw a little of that in this issue of the hydrochloric when situation. They had a temporary approval and then recently they pulled it back discovering that it was actually causing serious collateral damage. We do not want to find ourselves in a ppe position or the hydrochloric line position two. That is why im not a doctor, by the way. Among many other reasons. I think we want to be very careful and i know that is not your lane but if we should understand all of us that the fda has two demand on a rather significant, efficacy for this drug before they say it is okay. We want a vaccine, not a headline. Thank you. When we turn to general hokanson, i thank you are remarkable backgrounds and very few seconds remaining it is a difficult question. How do you view the parameters of the National Guard in these cooperative efforts with Law Enforcement in terms of civil disturbance . I know so much depends on the specific facts but could you give us your general view of how you will approach this problem . Yes, senator. Working closely with the governors and you look over the past few weeks the ability of the National Guard to mobilize 43000 soldiers and airmen in support of their governors needs within their states of the district i think its a good news story. The key here is we have to make sure that our soldiers are trained and equipped and the intent is to deescalate and if you look at we are 43000 a couple of weeks ago and are down to 4000 today and that shows their ability to help the communities. Thank you very much. General, thank you for your Extraordinary Service to the nation. Thank you, senator reid. Senator wagner smacked thank you. This is a impressive presentations from both our nominees. General hokanson, congratulations on your nomination. I want to thank the president , secretary esper and also secretary mccarthy for working with us to truly consensus nominees so i look forward to working with you and want to congratulate you. Correct me and lets talk first of all, general hokanson about the mobilization and annual training equipment site mates at camp shelby. You are familiar with this and we have had a bit of a problem with the unfunded requirements. Right now the facility would not be funded because it is a little low on the ufr list and this benefit camp shelby if we can get it done but the entire National Guard in the entire nation and the proposed project would expand the facility to add 12 vehicle base and at a cost of 15 million. I cant ask you to absolutely commit that you will move this up but tell us your view of the facility and the importance of getting this done sooner rather than later . Senator, thank you for that question but we look at our main facilities across the country and they provide tremendous value, not just to the National Guard but to our nation and their ability to maintain our equipment that they have divided for National Guard forces. They have absolutely critical that we do every thing we can in a transparent process to get that funded so that they can repair and maintain the equipment so it is ready whenever our nation calls. Okay. I hope you will work with us and this is a priority down the mississippi and i think youll agree that it benefits everybody, not just the one state they are. Let me ask you, also, general hokanson, talk about the effort underway to align all National Guard brigade combat teams with National Guard divisions. This is something that is gaining support and i just wondered if you could give us your thoughts on that idea of aligning these longterm programs. Senator, thank you. If we go back to prior to world war i are National Guard was throughout the country and then regionally we created divisions in all 17 deployed world war i and then we had 19 that deployed to world war ii. In 2018 when we came up with a new National Defense strategy the stress Great Power Competition and within the army National Guard we had Division Headquarters that were solely just that, Division Headquarters. With no down trace units. However, if you look across the entire army National Guard we have virtually all of the down trace units. The proposal we brought up within the army National Guard is to develop a Training Association not only for our brigade combat teams but for all formations so that instead of just having ten active Army Divisions we would have a total of 18 Army Divisions and senator, that provides not only great deterrent value but it provides the opportunity from some of our smaller states who have outstanding leaders to get opportunities to serve at higher levels. This idea would promote longterm growth and prosperity for the guard, would it not . Yes, senator, it would. Great. Let me turn to general perna, youve quite a task ahead of you and a short timeframe. The Ranking Member asks you about the defense production act of the tool but not your primary tool that we are learning. You may not have looked at this and you may not be aware but i have been an advocate sometimes of a voice crying in the wilderness for prize competitions. Let me just suggest that you and your team consider that as you try to get something done egg scaled in a small time. Humankind responds to incentives. Innovators have been shown over time, over the centuries, to respond to financial incentives. I would just ask you not to rule out among your bag of tools some prize competition to financially incentivize these competitors to get there when we need them to get there and if they do so and the award of a prize would be money well spent because the taxpayer would be well served. Dont rule that out. You may not want to comment on that and it may be a matter of First Impression but hope you will consider and use it as one of the ideas. I fully agree with you, senator. Thank you, sir. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Senator gillibrand. Okay, we will be going down a list here and we dont know for sure who might be here remotely. I will go down the democrat side until we have someone here. Senator shaheen. Senator blumenthal. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you both for your service and happy anniversary, general perna. Your families, i think, shows something very enduring and important about our men and women in uniform which is often a family tradition, family affair. I congratulate you as well on your children and it emphasizes, to me, general hokanson how the multiple tours of duty of our National Guard over the 20 years have taken a toll on our families. I know you will be mindful of the enormous sacrifice made by military families as well as the men and women who actually serve in uniform and that is particularly true, i have found, and connecticut. I know are National Guard leaders in connecticut think highly of you and so do i. I thank you for your service and i look forward to working with you. General perna, i know you have one of the most challenging and important tasks in our nation today. It has made all the more difficult, i think, by the administrations refusal to work with other countries and developing vaccines. Arent you working with one hand tied behind your back because the administration has, in effect, rejected and spurned combined world efforts to develop effective vaccines. Senator, as we are working right now we are open to all ideas that will allow us to achieve our mission of obtaining a safe and effective vaccine. I have not been constrained to a decision to eliminate somebody from that competition. Will you commit to the committee and to the nation that you will work with any nation that offers cooperation or information relevant to developing vaccines or therapeutic i commit to working with all nations that we deem friendly to our national security. Well, but we often work with nations that are sometimes hostile and certain arenas. We trade with them and we work out agreements with them and will you commit that you will urge both diplomats and fellow leaders in this effort to develop a vaccine that we work with every nation that offers promise in the world of medicine connects connect senator, i will commit that i give my best military advice so that we can achieve our mission of a safe effective vaccine to that end. I dont want to dwell on it but i regard the answer with all due respect as insufficient. I would like to see a much more robust commitment to cooperation with other nations which i think serves our national interest. Im very concerned about the youth of non fda vaccines on Service Members without effective, informed consents. As attorney general of connecticut i was active in writing a letter to then secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld and acting deputy [inaudible] in response to the mandatory anthrax vaccination program. I understand trials are beginning in july and that is correct . Correct, senator. And the vaccine may be used in tests on Service Members. Is that correct . I am not checking out right now, senator. I would like you to commit that you will offer a robust policy with informed consent without any course of influence so far as Service Members are concerned, if there is testing apply to them. I do commit to that, senator. My understanding is that your goal is to have one in a million doses ready in november of 2020 and an additional 200 million by january 2021. Is that realistic . As i see the numbers i do think it is potentially possible and with that said is that possible . It is possible. Well, we have to work through the trials and the trials could be lengthy and as they work through the science of the effectiveness of the vaccine and only after the science is provided to the fda and the fda makes their independent assessments will we be able to do to beat the vaccines that we are producing. That may be in effect month from july of this year. Correct, senator. And those numbers of dosages are a possibility and a hope but you cant make any promises or commitments as to the number or when they will be available . I am working on the goal to achieve as you articulated but i cannot promise that end state right now. I thank you for your candor and thank you for your service but thank you very much. Senator fischer. Thank you, mr. Chairman and thank you for holding the nomination hearing today. General perna, you mentioned leveraging the work being done at universities for operation warp speed and [inaudible] in nebraska were proud at the university of the Medical Center has done performing Clinical Trials of treatment candidates and also preparing for some of the very first covid19 patients to arrive in the United States. Some of the unique capabilities of the universities and how specifically do you see them sitting into this effort . Senator, we are open to all recommendations on how to potentially solve this problem. We are taking or i am personally taking phone calls, daily basis from academia and industry meeting with groups accordingly to assess their ideas and understand the practicality of their ability to deliver. At the end of the day we must have safe and effective vaccines and it must meet, be speedy enough with quality to achieve our goal and then we must ensure that we can garner a capability for quantity. We work through those assessments but i am open to any conversation of anyone that wants to contribute. In addition to seeking that vaccine one of the operation work speed is to develop new treatments and those affected with covid19. As you know, the very limited capacity of our national net Healthcare Network has been a comp gating factor and that is one of the reasons for that night work include an expansion of a dod pilot on medical Surge Capacity in the senate nda that we passed out so i hope that you do take a look at initiatives such as this pilot and exploring how to speed the delivery of [inaudible] to patients. Maam, we are looking at therapeutics and we believe they have a great opportunity to introduce or introduce a new therapeutics to the nation potentially as early as early october or november as we work through the medical protocols which i will not allowed to be short coded and in final decision accordingly so acknowledge or agree with you. Thank you, sir. General hokanson, the National Guard does play a very unique role in the realm of our security, operation by linking state forces with the International Partners that we capitalized on this and its a unique ability to build those lasting relationships. It does provide numerous benefits for both the United States and with [inaudible] but these benefits, how do you see a state partnership evolving to meet the needs of the National Defense strategy. Thank you, for highlighting one of the great programs within the National Guard but if you look at the Estate Partnership program we have partnerships with 89 nations around the globe and not only will help with Combatant Commanders but with our National Guard because it gives them to train with allies and partners and develop longterm relationships with many of these go back to 1993 with the original Estate Partnership Program Countries that have gone on to become nato members. When we look at the national strategy, National Defense strategy with respect to allies and going partners this provides us another avenue to do that developing those lowlevel relationships that start out with mandatory and assistance in Disaster Response but then grow to not only help their militaries improve but also learn from them and it gives us another opportunity to be or create additional partners around the globe. One of the Core Principles of the nds is that we work to attract new partners, new allies and something that you have highlighted. How specifically can you offer that we will work to advance those partnerships in the near future . Senator, if you look at 2020 you added five new state partners and we work very closely with the Combatant Commanders and our state department as well as our state and National Guard to identify those best candidates that provide benefits, not just urination but also to the relationship between our National Guard in these countries. I promise that we will continue to look for that and look for partnership opportunities. Thank you, sir, thank you very much great thank you mr. Chairman. Thank you. Senator her mono. [audio difficulties] sense you became a legal adult heavy made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical assault or of a sexual nature . No. Have you ever face discipline or entered into a similar event related to this conduct . No. I have a serious question for general perna. You are nominated to be chief Operations Officer of operation warp speed which aims to deliver 300 million doses. 300 million doses of a vaccine to the American Public by january 2021. That is a very ambitious goal and while i certainly commend this goal i am concerned about the lack of transparency and accountability for operation warp speeds. This is a massive use of taxpayer dollars and a mission that is of intense importance. I know hundreds of millions of taxpayer money has already gone out to various contracts for the development of the vaccine and the distribution. So, there is little clarity though of the divisional response abilities within this project. [audio difficulties] and what safeguards are in place to ensure Americas Health and safety is the First Priority so general, can you explain to me the specific responsibilities to undertake [inaudible] and operation warp speed and specifically with regard to decisions related to the development and the manufacturing and the distribution of a vaccine. Senator, at the end of the day i am responsible and accountable for all decisions made in execution of our mission. I commit to you that it will be legal, ethical and moral as i prioritize, assess and determine what courses of action we do as we move forward. Would be my best military advice. Thank you. China might be the one that develops in effective vaccine and then where does that put us . Once its developed is it vital that it is nationwide as it has already had major problems in the distribution of. To make sure they are not repeated when it comes to this vaccine and we need to prioritize the distribution of the vaccine and are those going to be made public . The priority will be a policy decision and it will execute based on guidance from the policy. We are already working on our plans for distribution of the vaccine. They are working several courses which go from all government approach to next government and commercial approach and we are working through the pros and cons accordingly. Im glad you mentioned the effectiveness based on science. It will take place before we do the trials. Can you give me a commitment he will brief congress and the public every two weeks because we do not know how that was done and with the terms of the contracts are a high world report as directed. You are not making a commitment. We are going to go down the line and give time for each member to get the equipment working now we will go to senator browns. Thank you mr. Chairman and thank you for the service to the country. I would like to begin just a little bit with the general who speaks very highly of you and believe that you have the appropriate concept regarding the realignment that he believes are consistent with the National Guard unit. Weve also appreciated the time you spent speaking earlier and men and women receive this department is available and if they are expected to fight alongside our regular men and women in the army they have similar training and access to a joint flight technical vehicle with a most certainly these are items it is to be a champion to make certain for the longterm good of the country when we send guard units and they also have the opportunity to have access and acquiring that equipment is interoperable and we look at the current Global Situation so they have the absolute best equipment the country can provide to make sure that its modernized alongside this active component. Thank you, general in the difference of saving thousands of lives in this particular project and speed to i know that theres always a question as to whether or not we sacrifice nothing in the plan project that would delay the safe deployment of a vaccine that rather to do two steps at the same time the number one go through all of the trials necessary to assure the efficacy of the importance is that the government has taken upon itself the financial cost of looking at the multiple vaccine possibilities and the development of vaccines prior to the determination of the efficacy of they should have one or two of them actually to be found to have the efficacy and to be ready immediately for production or for distribution. Right now the position we find ourselves in, the current situation, the kind of place that you walk into to confirm or agree with in terms of what that might mean and how much time that actually saves us in the delivery of vaccines we are already working and have made Great Strides working with industry to determine which vaccines we think are most probable to be successful. They have to go through trials and will determine the effectiveness and then there will be a decision by the fda. Simultaneously, we are already working on a mass production of vaccines to determine the right capacity we need to achieve the volume of the vaccines we need for the nation. And i feel very good that we will have a vaccine and then we are working through the manufacturing now to ensure the quantity that will be available to the American Public. Very quickly any doubt in your mind at all that we will be saving months in this Development Process using warp speed. Absolutely, months if not years. Thank you mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator. Two of the members were actually on but had mechanical problems. So im going to go back to senator gillibrand and the senator kaufman in the regular rotation. Thank you mr. Chairman. Thank you for being here today and for your answer. I just want to go back over some testimony that you said earlier. But before the adequate testing. The i will personally committed to ensure that we will execute all medical protocols the decision to provide emergency relief efforts have been made to ensure the diversity of trial participants are you involved at all in making sure with women, children and older adults and people with disabilities. I have been in updates where ive given special items to that end and the other is a. What criteria are you using currently we are working now with the Industry Partners who will be responsible to execute the Clinical Trials with guidance from nih, National Institutes of health so we are working through the determination of how they go and select the persons that they will require for the trials. I dont have the specificity and i can come back and talk at a later date. We would like if you could update the committee to keep us up to the update with the specificity of certain milestones. Is this somethin that somethingu arent planning on doing . And then what is the cost for developing each of these, which is the most expensive and why are they being tested in Clinical Trials with allergies and infectious diseases. Its a study of the 14th 2 million to date. Do you have information about cost . We have already worked with both to be a part of the research and development. We are in negotiations to expand into production so weve put money into them accordingly. The variance of how much it will cost is under negotiation and im unable to talk to you about that, but i can. I put Due Diligence into Holding People accountable and make sure that the vaccine is priced within reasonable means of execution in producing and delivering. Only ten of the vaccines are trial when are the first expected to conclude . For us they havent started yet. Throughout the months of july, august and september. Thank you, mr. Chair. The senator cotton. You are up next. Can you hear me, i can, senator. Id like to talk about the balance that we have a safe and effective vaccine as quickly as possible. Can you speak to that issue a little bit. In their recommendations and advice to ensure a the recommendations accordingly from the chief medical advisor and the other scientists and researchers have allowed us to assess the capability of potential vaccines all these things instead of waiting for the sequential method the fda approves and wheapproved and whe are doing them in parallel with the means we might end up buying [inaudible] to say that its wasteful but the reason we are doing that is to accelerate the production timeline so that the vaccines are effective we can develop and produce on accelerated timelines that is 100 correct, senator. We are taking production risks and make it appear to have squandered a lot of money but that is a risk that we are bearing up front the people that are fda approved as quickly as possible with the limitations of Scientific Research and manufacturing capability. You mentioned the chief advisor for the cultivation to be the chief medical advisor by the secretary i have a very close relationship with him. I didnt know him until the 15th of may in the white house. Since then, ive spoken with him every single day about what we are doing. I rely on him heavily in their e recommendations and advice as he really is a renowned expert in vaccine development. Currently 14 vaccines are contributed directly to him in his effort are going to help us achieve his goal. Congratulations on your nominations. Senator came. I have a very warm spot in my heart for the National Guard as governor i have a strong belief in the efficacy and importance of the guard. A specific question the guard is being called upon as you mentioned in your testimony and areas of the protests around the country. The i rely on the state to make sure any of the soldiers that are employed in this manner are trained and equipped for assuming those duties. Thank you. General, youve got one of the most important right now and i wanted to touch on a couple of points made previously in the disdain for the International Cooperation organization i hope that they will continue to cooperate. I do committed to that, senator. All of the questions today revolved around the relationship between safety and speed. I think its important to revert back to 1955 and cutter vaccine which was administered to 250,000, 40,000 of whom ended up contracting polio. If we are going to inject something into the arms of the 300 million, we better be sure that its efficacious and also safe. There is going to be tremendous pressure to do this in a hurry. I hope that you will exercise all possible efforts to be sure the vaccine thats been used well in fact protect us and also not make us sick. I give you my personal insurance on that. Have you been told if you need if you have it . I do not have the authority at this time, but i do 100 know that i have immediate access to it through the secretary. I hope that you will ensure that this is the case so that when the moment comes, there isnt a long delay waiting for that authority is to be granted. Final question, how will the price be determined if this vaccine we are going to obtain the right price for the vaccine. I commit to you i will personally be involved in those conversations and we will not be [inaudible] thank you for that and i hope that people pay close attention to that. It isnt an equal opportunity killer and we dont want the vaccine to be anything but equal opportunity for all the americans who need it. Thank you, general, i appreciate the willingness to take on this important project. Thank you for being with us today. I applaud them for their service and dedication we have had over 120,000 that includes not only those within the United States but those employed overseas. 120,000 National Guardsmen. Can you tell us a little bit about the various missions that the National Guardsmen are involved in get close to 40,000 with unrest and we are also also mobilized for a Tropical Storm at the time. We also have the guardsmen on the southwest border. We have numerous others ongoing. Remediation in some states with respect to natural disasters. And then we have the daytoday if we look at the error control of the sites around the nation as well as the groundbased defense and that isnt even counting th the folks that deply 29,000 at that time deployed overseas in support of the Combatant Commanders. That is extraordinary. Beyond those missions that you listed, of course there are others of the National Guardsmen have performed in the past. Wildfire fighting activities. As governor kin dean stated, ice storms and so forth. So the they do respond to the crisis in the United States. What would our governors do if they did not have the National Guard . I hesitate to think about that, because the governors realize the tremendous value that it provides every single day. It would require a significant investment in many other capabilities as you mentioned today in arizona the value they are in our 2800 communities around the nation every day. They are usually the closest and we consider them the departments First Responder for anything that occurs. You mentioned that we do have a number of National Guardsmen are responding for coded 19 covid19. Serving in close proximity they should receive hazardous duty pay. I believe they have earned it. So, General Health is the National Guard plan to address medical issues that come up after the deployment . When we look for those on the federal workers would we have done is build in an additional 14 days so they can quarantine or self isolate when they come off of the orders and if they do it in that time we will address them to make sure they get the care they deserve, they and their families. Thank you very much. In a brief period of time, general, i had a provision to support important work that is being done in the vaccine area some of which is happening at the institute at iowa state university. Placed into the Senate Version which passed the Committee Last week and for those universities that are already performing this type of work does your project with the proper tools and authority to leverage those universities or do they have to go through private partners clucks we can access them and institute accordingly if they have the vaccine recommendation that will be able to meet our instinct. My time i has expired thank u mr. Chair. Senator, going twice. Senator peters. Okay. Senator manchin. We are going back to the republican side. Senator tillis. Thank you mr. Chairman for allowing us to do the same thank you to the leader and shes the one in the hot seat right now. I have every intention of supporting thank you for being here in your decades of service. I want to talk about the plumbing you are puttin youre o place for the manufacturing and distributing a vaccine. Its my understanding through some of the authorities, youve already got manufacturers who figured out a way to create some of the ability to increase the capacity by as much as 50 can you give me an idea of what positive steps we are taking to get the plumbing in place before we have a vaccine . I can come back to you. What we have done is we are working and funding the advanced purchase of materials so that we garner them and have bee them ie right place to establish the production. And then we are working through execution or the capacity need needed. The key steps that have to be worked through. Additionally, we worked through the efforts to make sure that the data is transferred within all protocols so the organizations are ready to execute two standard. Then last week moved out where we are doing the production you said that you are implementing further between the National Guard and active components. How are you going to balance that against, i think that that is an important objective but how do you balance that against the work that we need to do with the National Guard focusing on the states civil authorities . A lot of times we will have a conversation with them but need further assistance to meet any requirements and also balancing the federal Mission Requirements of first. Doing the kind of things we want the guard to be prepared to do with the active Service Members warp speed focused exclusively or are you also attracting the therapeutics that can get into the supply chains i hope we get a promising therapeutic we have to understand a timeline. Theyve already proven their efficacy and have already identified side effects in your testing them for efficacy. I would hope if it starts we dont hear people say they should look at the science and not to say its not associated in the election. The American People have all eyes on you and if so it is the arbitrary data that doesnt make sense to me but i believe as rapidly as possible how you are building up the plumbing and ready to go that is going to give a lot of americans a lot of confidence and i know that they will. Last question. Ive only got 20 seconds. What role would you say i think there will be the potential to help us augment and deliver rapidly as required. So we are working through those courses of action now. Thank you. Senator warren. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Congratulations on your nomination. On the use of the military in response to the peaceful protest and other. The National Guard soldiers were deployed in washington june 1 to disperse people in the systemic racism. How would you ensure that they clearly understand how theyve been activated and the activities that are within the scope of their mission . Senator, thank you for the timely question. When we look at the National Guard called to duty by their governors, we rely heavily on the state to make sure they are properly trained and equipped. One of those concludes that the escalatory measures. If you look at the height of where we were almost 43,034 state just a couple of weeks ago and we are now down below 4,000, we think that shows the ability to help the situations. And also the expectations of the citizens. Thank you very much. I appreciate this. Working to participate in this photo op i also found it disturbing that they were there to observe the National Guard operations. I believe these actions were highly inappropriate and the underlying the civilian military relations. With the joint chiefs of staff which are the president s most Critical Military advisers. So, it is important for all of us to know if you can resist political interference. The general apologized for his presence in Las Vegas Square and heres part of what he said. We are aware of the cloth of the nation that come from the people of our nation the principle of the apolitical military that is so deeply rooted in the absence. So, general, a simple yes or no will do. Do you agree or they underlined the urgency of confronting racism against black americans. Some use it as an opportunity. In a recent letter titled we must do better, the chief said if we are to fulfill our obligation and service we have to take our oath seriously. We cannot tolerate racism, discrimination or casual violence. We cannot abide the divisiveness and hate. We cannot stand by and watch. So, general, do you agree that if confirmed what message he will send to our citizen soldiers, airmen and communities they protect about valid use of the guard especially as the country works to make a change to address systemic racism . If confirmed, i would follow the same. I appreciate it. If confirmed, you will be responsible for training the next generation of leaders at this critical moment in the nations history it is important to send a clear message so i appreciate the commitment, thank you very much. Thank you mr. Chairman. In general what is this normal timeline to develop a vaccine b. Stays . As i understand somewhere between five and ten years. And i know that your expertise is more on the logistics side of things, but this task and gold that within year we would put all of the leadership on their researchers together in order to develop the vaccine for the American People its coming together dont you agree quebecs 100 . There are cynics out there. This is us reaching for the stars to protect the American People and it comes with challenges for sure, but we have to give all we have, so i appreciate your leadership on this has awakened us to raise our reliance on our adversary communist china for the pharmaceuticals and many other elements of the supply chain. So, as we are increasing the capability both for the vaccine and for the potential treatment, can you talk about whether you are looking at the Industrial Base of america and the supply chain holistically for not just the treatment of the vaccines that really bringing back home . We saw that it wasnt just developing the test for example, but that it was about we dont have the transport and are they bringing home the supply chain for these back to america and away from the adversaries . It wouldnt be about corralling all of the supply chains and bringing it back to america as you articulated. It would be to ensure that we are able to enable manufacturing and then to deliver an administration so buying forward to make that require. So what im getting is not just manufacturing of the vaccine if we are going to be successful here in the statements in the vaccine we need everything that goes with it so looking at the ma senator, i just specified by responsibility isnt enabling the country to have all that capability. Its about the execution to the vaccine. As far as the Leadership Team i just want to make sure that that is part of the focus but it is everything we need to deliver it as well as the treatment. Are you aware of any ongoing efforts on the defense and Industrial Base for medical supplies and pharmaceuticals to dispense reduction act do you know how the project might be coordinating and leveraging . They are being involved and executed and as far as the operational work speed, i have to write access to the plan through the secretary. Okay. Great. I appreciate it. General, the National Guard has been vital to help arizona and we still are as we confront and deal with this pandemic. We worked alongside of the themd i am just so proud of the men and women at the guard to help arizona in this challenging time. Just yesterday they announced 300 more will be involved in contraccontact tracing so we cot be getting through this time without the men and women of the arizona guard. Im so proud of them. Is there anything else that you need in order for the guards men ancard ofmen and women to be abo accept the mission to get us through this challenge . We appreciate your support in the committee. Fantastic. Thank you for your service. Thank you mr. Chairman for your service and for being here today. General, as i mentioned in my opening remarks youve integrated so while with the state. Yoyoure in adopted states now f alabama and i find the providing of resources that they are offering up its my understanding the university of alabama system is working on this as well as other folks across the state involved in developing and manufacturing a vaccine and i think some therapeutics as well. Could you tell us the contribution folks in alabama are making and what it means Going Forward . We are working with a variety of industry and academia. Alabama is contributing to those thoughts and recommendations at all that demonstrate the potential we are really paying attention to. Thank you. Following up a little bit. I was reading through the explaining operation work speed but there were some aspects i am not clear on and it states manufacturing capacity developed will be used for whatever vaccine is possible given the nature of the product regardless of which firms have developed the capacity. Am i to understand from that of the web is by way of example say that there are five firms working on a vaccine is only one is successful out of the five, does that mean we will try to get the other four to also produce and then you factor or are we simply going to rely on the one that was successful . Scientifically to be successful we are having them each manufacture and in that capacity for all of them to achieve our end state of the 300 million. So the failure would only be determined at the end primarily by the fda of course. So at this time there is no plan to jump capabilities as you just suggested that the Something Worthy for me to look into as we go forward. Right now they are all beginning to ramp up the manufacturing of what they are working on so we have that capacity. It hasnt been determined yet whether or not if we only have one or two that we would then share that information so there could be more manufacturing. That hasnt been determined yet at this point. Very good. Thank you. General, again, thank you for your service. Im very proud of the alabama National Guard. We have had some incredible success. We are going to miss him a lot. I want to talk for a minute and its kind of a followup from an earlier question about what the country is facing in trying to end the systemic racism and discrimination in the country. I want to talk about it from a little bit different angles and that is diversity and the National Guard. Back in 2011, the military leadership had a report on diversity in the military which included several recommendations for the National Guard. But also the officer ranks. Can you tell us to extend the National Guard bureau has been implemented in those recommendations and if confirmed, or are there specific steps were initiatives he would like to take to help build diversity within the National Guard range . If confirmed, my intent would be to make sure we are reflecting the diversity of the communities which they come from. And that is and jus isnt just t within the structure as well be diversity and ethnicity of the nation reflected in every level in the organization. Do you have any specifics to try to do that or is this something that ithatsomething ta work in progress . Looking at the branches within the Army Air Force does have a tendency to make sure the soldiers and airmen and having those formations reflect the communities in terms of the city and diversity civic at the same level of the highest ranks. Thank you again for your service and i will look forward to confirming you both. I think i may be the last one. Thank you mr. Chairman i want to talk about what youve done. You are coming through very quietly. Can you hear senator blackburn . Proceed. I am sorry to interrupt. As the director of the card realigning the decision they think its important to look at and we are thinking about this realignment and we look at what is happening what i wanted to hear from you is we talk about the Division Level commanders and being responsible across the state for training plans talk to me a little bit about how that would affect. Thank you for that question. The position is now with the secretary and we would be able to execute that. If we look at the teams across the nation as you mentioned the 278 and ten and there would be to align the Division Headquarters for multiple reasons. One of those being in the states where they do not have a Division Headquarters but the highest potential it gives them the opportunity to go to higher levels of authority commensura commensurate. The second thing is the coordination of the Division Level it gives them that training and experience that is critical we are able to execute at that level and so by aligning the divisions its great for the nation and also standardizes across all components within the u. S. Army. Are there any other tools you need to complete this . Not at this time. Its been coordinated with the state and we look to support them and the effectiveness of the National Guard. Lets talk a little bit about the cyber. As you know the airlift wing that is there in nashville we have the permanent cyber unit that is the air and we are proud of the work they are doing and they are allowing them to more effectively communicate to strengthen the entire network. Address what you see as the role of the units would play as we talk about adapting to the highend work. You bring up a great point and cyber is one of those fields where they can provide a great benefit to the nation because what it allows us to do is higher the cyber professionals but they also do that under civilian capacity. So, they bring a lot of the skill sets that they have learned to the formations and its critical as baseball in texas and louisiana last year to help them integrate the Cyber Attacks on public systems for schools or any other part of the communities. And congratulation on your nomination i very much appreciate your willingness to take on these roles. General thank you for your phone call yesterday and i will begin with in the interest of New Hampshire which is important to the country that the kc 46 has the first air National Guard base and we are excited about that and concerned about those that affected the ability that one of the challenges we discussed in New Hampshire with a 157th refueling wing those that have been assigned to other bases and as we discussed, its very important that commitment to their return as soon as possible and in the meantime if there are ways to provide missions like air medical evacuations that can keep those working out of the 157 we think it is important can you agree that something we will work on in this new position . Getting the final aircraft later this fall it is important we have personnel to work with the air force to get those issues resolved as quickly as possible. Thank you very much and as we also discussed states are facing financial challenges and as we look at the National Guard are there things that can be done to help address the readiness piec piece . Absolutely looking at the state expenditures the last couple of months but the smaller states and to have the right Resources Available to maintain the required levels of readines readiness. Talk about your role of the newly created space for us and how you see that playing out . When you look at those of the National Guard we have been doing that for over 25 years with 18 units and as a space force has stood up we have been staunch advocates the National Guard units should be part of that as a space National Guard. General, thank you for taking on the leadership that life really will not get back to life is not available against the coronavirus. And i have heard and i have heard from a company that makes syringes that they need to order in advance because of the supply chain issues that we have. Another agencies to plan to get that vaccination out to people once we have the vaccination networks . And to figure out the Distribution Plan working through the Mission Analysis to determine those issues in an effective way. And those secondary items the needles and syringes and ppe necessary to administer and we already put in a mass order on that and to be coordinated and tracked. To inform them how we will do both and then it will be in the very near future. To come back to the critical supply chain there were reports there were 150 pharmaceutical drugs that were threatened by the shutdown of chinese factories and with export controls. As important imports with the diagnostic kits. So let me just ask you how do you assess the current reliance for current medical supplies in our estimation . And the biggest vulnerabilities . I am not in a position to provide you the answer that you deserve to the question. Can i follow up with you and get an answer once you have a chance to study it further . I commit i will present to you what we are trying to achieve. And those that affect the ability with those pharmaceutical ingredients and what we may to develop vaccines now and into the future. Expect questions for me and all of those friends. Lets shift and talk about the 100 airlift wing in my home state of missouri and then provide Tactical Airlift that is absolutely critical to maintain deterrence all of the rolling including the indo pacific that is identified is our priority here. So what other unique capabilities are capacities that guard can give the implementation. Thank you for that question and with respect to the National Defense strategy and in addition for trained and ready forces wherever they are needed, another great opportunity as we look at the growth of the state Partnership Program that consist 89 nations around the globe and we added five this year. Look king at the Combatant Commanders and the state department and then develop those state partnerships that has one more connection and with those facing challenges from others as well. I can refer back to my experience in the state of oregon was state partnerships in vietnam. And initially it started out as humanitarian and Disaster Relief we help them to plan for disasters within the communities and learn from them as well and to build that relationship over time it allows us to train with us on events within the military they want to improve that one of the great things it does it starts to build up the enduring relationship between us and them that shows the great values that america brings as a trusted partner. The very large sustained mobilization. And with that civil unrest. And if that extensive mobilization with guard training with the combatant command. If you go back to earlier this month with 120,000 mobilized had no impact to me all Combatant Commanders National Defense strategy around the globe and all of those scheduled to deploy to make sure they are able to meet those timelines throughout the process and Going Forward. Five on final question if it persists for whatever reason and in order to maintain readiness levels . Not at this time but we remain in close communication to make sure we can make those and identify issues we resolve at the lowest level as quickly as possible. I have been informed and those that are asking questions. Its been a little longer and it does show the interest we all have and we appreciate the fact the two of you i cant think of those that are more qualified to carry out these missions. So thank you very much for your time and effort and service. We are adjourned. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]
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