March 02, 2021

Manchin Questions National Security Experts On Global Security Challenges And Strategies

Video of Senator Manchin during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on global security challenges and strategy can be found here

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), questioned retired Lieutenant General Herbert McMaster, Jr., Former United States National Security Advisor and Dr. Thomas Wright, Director of the Center on the United States and Europe and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution during a hearing on global security challenges and strategy. Senator Manchin questioned the witnesses on cybersecurity threats to the United States and our allies, economic and natural resources warfare with Russia and China, and reassessing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) two percent requirement on defense spending.

Senator Manchin said in part, “I’m now Chairman of the SASC Cyber Subcommittee and I’m particularly concerned about our adversaries, both large and small… How can we ensure our allies are effectively prepared and monitoring for destabilizing attacks and how do we hold those perpetrators accountable...how do we make sure that our allies are prepared but also let our adversaries know we will not allow these attacks to go without a response? Based on work resuming on the Nord Stream 2 Project and China’s near monopoly on critical minerals that we are using every day in America, depending on China for the ingredients if you will. A line must be drawn between the typical economic growth and economic warfare because China can hold some of these resources from us, which would really cripple our economy pushing us into an economic warfare… In 2020, we had ten NATO nations meet the mark on defense spending, that still fell short of the full 30 members. Do you believe the two percent is an adequate figure and do you believe we should put pressure, or keep the pressure on to making sure the others join in their commitment?”

Senator Manchin, as the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Cybersecurity Subcommittee, will continue to be outspoken on the need to keep America’s military strong and capable of confronting cybersecurity threats.

A video of Senator Manchin’s questioning of the Witnesses can be found here.