Benton Times

Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) recently joined his fellow members of the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense (HAC-D) on a bipartisan Congressional Delegation (CODEL) to New Zealand and Australia. The trip, led by HAC-D Chairman Ken Calvert (CA-41), aimed to provide an overview of operations in the Pacific region.

During the visit, the delegation engaged with senior leaders from Australia and New Zealand on national security issues and received briefings on current and future operations, with a special focus on threats from the Chinese Communist Party. The trip offered insights into the U.S. national defense posture in the Pacific region, including collaborations with international allies and partners on theater security matters.

Congressman Womack commented, “Being on the ground allows my colleagues and I to gain a strategic understanding of threats abroad and how to strengthen America’s defense capabilities through our work on the Appropriations Committee. It’s our priority on the Defense Subcommittee to work with our allies in the Pacific region, specifically the AUKUS partnership, to counter the pacing threats of the Chinese Communist Party. I thank my friend, Chairman Calvert, for his steadfast leadership on this issue.”