During a Senate Armed Committee hearing last week, Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) questioned Vice Admiral Scott W. Pappano, nominee to be Principal Deputy Administrator National Nuclear Security Administration, about the U.S. nuclear weapon stockpile.
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00:00I can ask for the first questions, Chairwoman Fisher, who is chair of the Strategic Subcommittee
00:08and along with Senator King, has done yeoman work in the subject matter of nuclear security.
00:18So, Madam Chairwoman, you are recognized.
00:21Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Ranking Member Reed.
00:24Thank you, gentlemen, for being here today and for your willingness to continue to serve this country.
00:31Admiral, thank you for coming in to visit.
00:34I appreciated you taking time in the conversation that we had.
00:38If confirmed, can you tell me how you will work to ensure that NNSA weapons production remains on schedule?
00:48Thank you, Senator.
00:49Yes, if confirmed, obviously the production, shifting to production is a key element right now for us.
00:54to modernize the nuclear weapons stockpile right now.
00:57We've done a very good job of stockpile management in a science-based manner and kept that up over the years.
01:03However, now we have to transition that from the science-based stockpile management to actual production facilities
01:09and make sure we modernize facilities, making sure that we don't lose the science and the process
01:13and continue that going forward.
01:14I'll do that by looking across how we are modernizing our facilities right now
01:21and try to bring as much advanced manufacturing capability as we can.
01:25As we look at the Manhattan-era project buildings that we're dealing with a lot of these facilities with,
01:31as we modernize those, bring in modern technology so that we can be much more effective going forward
01:36in our production of nuclear weapons stockpile.
01:39We talked a little bit about NNSA's 25-year enterprise blueprint,
01:45a roadmap to modernize the infrastructure there,
01:48and some of which, as you brought up in our discussion, it dates back to the Manhattan project.
01:55We won't be able to produce the weapons that we need without the facilities needed to process materials
02:02like uranium, lithium, high-explosives that go in those nuclear weapons.
02:07So anything we can do as you look at that modernization process, please let us know.
02:15Mr. Kaden, can you say your last name?
02:18I think the chairman mispronounced it.
02:20No, not at all.
02:21I've heard it all, ma'am.
02:22Katanazi.
02:23Katanazi.
02:25I take that back.
02:26I take that back.
02:27Both the Department of Defense and NNSA have similar challenges with their industrial bases,
02:34and I believe that we have an opportunity now to address underlying issues in a way that strengthens
02:40both the nuclear industrial base and the defense industrial base.
02:46If confirmed, do you commit to working closely with NNSA and the Department of Energy on policies
02:53like increasing our skilled manufacturing workforce that would impact both of those industrial bases?
03:01Senator, I appreciate the question, the significance of it,
03:04particularly in light of the workforce issues and access to materials that we're facing across the industrial base.
03:09These are major challenges that both the NNSA and the broader defense industry face and are dealing with.
03:15And if confirmed, I'm thrilled to the opportunity to speak to you about how and where the industrial base policy office
03:20and I might be able to focus.
03:22Great.
03:23What we've seen happen in the Ukraine war has shown us that militaries in modern conflicts,
03:30they expend munitions at a much faster pace than we ever expected before.
03:37And our stockpiles must be adjusted to account for this,
03:40and we must expand our munitions production capacity.
03:45We have to expand that.
03:47We've taken some steps to address it in recent years,
03:50and we have the opportunity to make those generational investments through the reconciliation process.
03:56In your opening statement, sir, you said that production must be scaled now before conflict starts.
04:04I agree with that.
04:05If confirmed, what steps would you take to accomplish that goal?
04:12Appreciate the question again, Senator.
04:13The issue of munitions production is the top of the priority list and something I've discussed with multiple senators on this committee.
04:21I'm excited to work with the committee, if confirmed, on this topic.
04:24There are a couple of major things that I think will drive this.
04:27One is predictable and stable defense budget and program spend.
04:30So the more we can stabilize that, the more industry will be able to align around it.
04:34A better understanding and industry of what the expectations for surge capacity are will make it clear what the potential opportunities are for them
04:42and the level of capital required to increase facilities and workforce.
04:46That's a major opportunity for the department to articulate what would be a big, hairy, audacious goal in business school terms
04:52and to go ahead and say, we need a lot more capability from you, and we need to agree then on the investment required to meet that point.
04:59We need to scale the workforce as well.
05:01There are many initiatives underway to improve workforce capabilities across the country.
05:06We need to grow those and take advantage of small businesses as well.
05:09If confirmed, these are all exciting opportunities for us to help address what is an obvious and well-reported gap on this issue.
05:16Are you familiar with the department's national defense industrial strategy?
05:22I am, Senator, yes.
05:23Do you have any concerns with that strategy or think that there are gaps there that still need to be addressed?
05:30Senator, I think the strategy is solid.
05:32One, given the expectations of the previous administration and the goals they were looking to achieve,
05:37I've reviewed the external open-source material for that and the associated implementation plan.
05:42If confirmed, I'm eager to work with the Industrial-Based Policy Office, the administration, and the committees
05:47to understand what changes you believe are necessary.
05:51I'm happy to work with you on that and to make sure that we tune that to meet the current needs of the moment,
05:55particularly in light of the changing requirements of the new administration.
05:59Thank you, Mr. Chairman.