By U.S. SEN. DAN SULLIVAN
This weekend, I traveled home to give my annual address to the Legislature on key issues we’re facing in D.C. that impact our great state. I talked about how the Biden administration continues the attack on Alaska’s economy and access to our lands, with 56 executive orders and actions levied against our state. I’m fighting this war on our state every day.
I also talked about the weakness shown by this administration on national security. Each year since taking office, President Biden’s proposes military budget cuts that shrink the Army, the Navy, and the Marine Corps. In next year’s budget, President Biden will bring the United States below 3% of GDP on military spending, which has only happened a handful of times in the past 80 years. Our military has also never faced such a serious recruiting crisis in its history, and yet, many Biden administration Department of Defense officials focus on woke and social issues that have nothing to do with military readiness and lethality.
This administration’s unserious approach to national security has wide-ranging consequences, including America’s withered defense industrial base—our ability to produce weapons and defend our nation. This vital capacity is a shadow of its former self. This weakness and atrophied defense base couldn’t come at a worse time. We are in the midst of one of the most dangerous times since World War II—a new era of authoritarian aggression. Dictators in China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are on the march, threatening their democratic neighbors, and increasingly working together across the globe to undermine America’s national security and that of our allies. Just this week, we saw reports that the North Korean dictator has shipped 3 million artillery shells to the Putin regime to help him in his brutal invasion of Ukraine.
In recognition of the threats our country faces, I voted earlier this month to advance national security legislation that, first and foremost, strengthens our country’s industrial base. We cannot wait until the bullets start flying to start building up our industrial base. We have to be proactive.
I’ll give you one example: America’s nuclear-powered submarine fleet is one of our greatest asymmetric advantages over China. One of the things that keeps the dictator Xi Jinping up at night is America’s submarine capacity. Yet, 37% of our attack submarine fleet—about 18 subs—is currently in maintenance, or idle and awaiting maintenance. They’re just sitting there because we don’t have the industrial capacity to maintain our submarine base.
The Senate national security supplemental bill provides $3 billion to build up our submarine capacity. Once this is enacted, it will unlock another $3 billion paid for by our ally, Australia. That is over $6 billion invested in our industrial base for submarines.
But that’s not all. This bill also provides billions of dollars to produce 155-millimeter artillery shells, counter-UAS systems, Patriots, GMLRS, Javelins, Harpoons, Tomahawks, HARMs, TOW missiles—all built by Americans for America’s defense.
Sixty percent of this bill—over $50 billion—goes directly to manufacturing lines and our own industrial capacity manned by hard-working Americans who are producing weapons and ammunition stocks for the U.S. military and, yes, for our allies—Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine—to purchase, all of whom are facing existential threats.
The United States has never been forced into a war because we were too prepared or too strong. On the other hand, when we’ve been unprepared, there have severe consequences, including the unnecessary loss of tens of thousands of American service members. We would be wise to learn from these difficult lessons in our country’s history, and act to prepare for a conflict before one breaks out.
But our national security goes beyond just weapons manufacturing. We also need to address the catastrophe that has engulfed our southern border as a result of the Biden administration’s willful open border policies. I hammer this issue every chance I get, including in my speech to the Legislature last week. It is an unprecedented disaster.
Fentanyl is pouring in and making its way up to our state over four thousand miles away. President Biden is on track to hit over 10 million illegals entering our country during his tenure. Alaskans and Americans are dying because of President Biden’s dereliction of duty.
My colleague, Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, worked on a bill to address border security. However, because he was negotiating against a Democratic Senate Majority and a Democratic White House, the bill just did not go far enough, and I opposed it. How can you trust the same administration that, from day one, deliberately opened the southern border to suddenly enforce new immigration laws? Make no mistake: President Biden could act on our wide-open border at any time. He chooses not to.
I am convinced it will take a new president to seriously address the border crisis, which is one of many crucial reasons why I endorsed Donald Trump.
President Trump, working with a Republican Senate, demonstrated during his term that a great country like the United States is fully capable of doing two very important things at once: securing our border and reinvigorating our defense industrial base. The world was a safer place when America was strong and equipped.
The national security supplemental bill is now being reworked in the House. I believe this bill could be better. I had an amendment in the Senate version to remove direct budget support for Ukraine, which I strongly believe should be the responsibility of our European allies.
Unfortunately, it never got a vote in the Senate. I have encouraged House Republicans to improve the bill with these kinds of provisions, and advance this overdue investment in our own military industrial base.
Alaskans have a unique appreciation of the importance of investing in our military and national security. Our state is on the frontline of defense for the entire country. More than any other state in the Union, Alaska has a critical role to play during these dangerous times. Our lethal military assets are a huge source of American power. These assets must be ready to defend our country and our allies.
Authoritarian dictators in Tehran, Beijing, and Moscow are watching us. Deterrence is not divisible. You can’t show weakness in one part of the world, and strength in another, without jeopardizing America’s security and that of our allies. President Biden’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan demonstrated this fact.
The world—and the American people—are not safer when our president shows weakness or when America retreats from its leadership role in the world.
Throughout my time in the Senate, I have been guided by President Ronald Reagan’s time-tested principle, “peace through strength.” I believe that nothing would do more to chill the tyrannical aims of Putin and Xi than for Republicans and Democrats to come together on a robust, serious investment in our capacity to produce weapons—everything from nuclear-powered submarines to 155mm howitzer rounds—defend our country, and help our allies.
Now is the time act.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican, has represented Alaska in the U.S. Senate since he was first elected in 2014. He sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee. He recently retired from the Marine Corps Reserve after 30 years of service.
