Subcommittee hearing spotlights China, Russia and gaps in U.S. deterrence and supply chains

Chairman Timmons opened the Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs hearing by saying the United States faces “strategic drift” and weakening global deterrence after recent policy choices.

At the top of the hearing, retired U.S. Navy Capt. Brent Sadler, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told lawmakers the U.S. strategic posture “is shooting behind the duck, to use a Southerner's term here,” and warned that China and Russia have increased capabilities while U.S. capacity and readiness have lagged. “We have to do all three of those things” — readiness, capacity and new capabilities — he said.

Why it matters: witnesses said allies and partners, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, are watching U.S. commitments closely. Lawmakers and witnesses tied readiness shortfalls to tangible risks: long backlogs in foreign military sales, limited domestic munitions production, and reliance on global supply chains that adversaries can leverage.

Sadler and others cited several specific shortfalls and dependencies raised during testimony. Lawmakers were told the U.S. had allocated about $124.9 billion in security assistance to Ukraine in nearly three years, compared with roughly $89 billion committed over 20 years in Afghanistan. Sadler said a U.S. foreign military sales backlog to Taiwan totaled about $20.5 billion as of September 2024 and said U.S. artillery production stood at roughly 14,000 rounds per month at the start of the Ukraine war while Ukraine was expending about 20,000 rounds per day. He argued those constraints amplify the urgency of reforming procurement, clearing foreign military sales backlogs, and scaling industrial capacity.

Lawmakers pressed witnesses on ways to get equipment to partners faster. Sadler said timely processing and industrial capacity are both required: “It is processed as much as it's money, but it's also industrial capacity,” and that sustained demand and funding are necessary to rebuild production lines.

Witnesses also raised maritime and force-posture concerns in Asia. Sadler noted China’s naval growth to more than 370 warships compared with roughly 295 U.S. ships and cited confrontations in the South China Sea and at Second Thomas Shoal as evidence of rising risk. Several members asked whether the U.S. should move faster on arms sales to Taiwan and on clearing bureaucratic backlogs.

What remains undecided: lawmakers and witnesses discussed fixes — reorganizing government processes akin to the 1947 National Security Act, prioritizing munitions and allied deliveries, and strengthening the defense industrial base — but the hearing did not produce formal committee directives or votes.

The hearing moves into subsequent oversight topics including cybersecurity, foreign aid and diplomatic posture.

Ending: Members said they will continue oversight and press for reforms to procurement, foreign military sales processing, and industrial mobilization to reduce the risk of being outmatched in high-end competition.