HIRONO VOTES TO CONFIRM ASHTON CARTER TO BE NEXT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

Washington, D.C. – Senator Mazie K. Hirono, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s (SASC) Subcommittee on Seapower and member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, released the following statement on the Senate vote to confirm Ashton Carter as the next Secretary of Defense:  

“Ashton Carter’s wealth of experience and institutional knowledge will serve him well as he steps into his new role of Secretary of Defense. As a Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I had the opportunity to personally meet with Dr. Carter and question him during his confirmation hearing and I look forward to working with him into the future.

“As the nation rebalances to the Asia-Pacific, I will continue to remind our leaders, including Dr. Carter, that Hawaii holds strategic importance for our force structure in the Pacific. Additionally, I will continue to stress to Dr. Carter and my colleagues in the Senate that we should eliminate the sequester, which has negatively impacted our military’s readiness and therefore impacted the overall effectiveness of our military.”

In last week’s SASC confirmation hearing, Senator Hirono publicly questioned Defense Secretary nominee Carter on the military’s continuing focus on the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific. Senator Hirono also met with Defense Secretary nominee Carter ahead of his SASC confirmation hearing. During that discussion with Defense Secretary nominee Carter, Senator Hirono stressed  Hawaii’s strategic importance for our force structure in the Pacific and how sequestration cuts have negatively impacted our military’s readiness and therefore impacted the overall effectiveness of our military.