Chairman John Moolenaar and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi, both from the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party, appeared on Fox News' Special Report with Bret Baier last Wednesday. The discussion centered on concerns regarding the U.S. defense industrial base's capacity.

Moolenaar shared insights from a recent war simulation involving China, stating, "What we learned is that in a protracted war, our defense industrial base does not have the resources it needs to win that war. It's stretched thin with different regional conflicts around the world. We need to make sure we shore up [our defense industrial base] so that we can win a war if it were ever necessary."

Krishnamoorthi highlighted disparities between U.S. and Chinese industrial capacities: "Right now, our defense industrial base is in such disrepair that it shows weakness and that invites aggression." He further noted, "Just as one example in the ship building arena [shows]: For every one ocean going vessel that we can produce, China can produce 359 in one single year."

Krishnamoorthi also pointed out gaps in long-range anti-ship missile production and manpower shortages within the U.S. defense sector: "We also have gaps in terms of manpower to actually fill the vacancies in our defense industrial base to produce the stuff that we need to deter aggression."

The full interview and transcript are available for those seeking more details on their discussion.