{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=1494E900-2C79-462B-B0DF-215BEEBE7ED2", "Fischer, Wicker in The Wall Street Journal: Pacific Allies Need U.S. Support", "2025-10-07", "2025", "2025-10", "Republican", "Senate", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", "fischer", "https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "In case you missed it: U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, penned an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal recounting their recent travels to the Indo-Pacific, including meetings held with leaders in Taiwan, the Philippines, and Palau.\n\nRead the op-ed here or below.\n\nWe set out across the Indo-Pacific in August to assess U.S. military readiness and consult with allies. In the Philippines, Palau and Taiwan, we found partners determined to resist Chinese coercion and willing to share the burden.\n\nIn Taiwan we spoke with President Lai Ching-tse and senior officials. They understand the gravity of the threat and are responding with urgency to meet it. Mr. Lai has committed to increasing defense spending and mobilizing the public behind a resilience plan.\n\nIn Manila, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has placed restoring the alliance with the U.S. at the center of his foreign policy and deepened cooperation with Japan, Australia and Taiwan. With a fleet that dwarfs the Philippine navy, China has tried to use its muscle to dominate the South China Sea. Manila has stood firm.\n\nIn Palau, China is working to undermine the government of President Surangel Whipps Jr. by exporting criminal elements and applying economic pressure. Palau is allied with the U.S., and Mr. Whipps refuses to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing.\n\nOur allies are resolute and determined to resist China, and the U.S. is indispensable to that mission. Our military presence in Guam, Palau, Hawaii and the Philippines forms the kind of logistics chain that wins wars. Tougher infrastructure, backup communication cables and stockpiled supplies are crucial to victory.\n\nOver the past few years, we have worked closely with Adm. Samuel Paparo, who commands U.S. forces in the Pacific. We have sought to understand his requirements and cut through the bureaucracy that has for years prevented key investments in the Western Pacific. The defense investments in this year\u2019s reconciliation law are designed to deliver capabilities relevant to the China fight, focusing on space capabilities, logistics systems, and low-cost weapons. The legislation expands munitions lines and will lead to more than a dozen new weapons production lines.\n\nThe new law also strengthens our ability to operate from Guam and accelerates construction projects in Palau and at the Filipino military bases from which U.S. forces operate. These investments are complemented by historic new funding for strategic economic competition with China, including the creation of an Economic Defense Unit and supercharging the Office of Strategic Capital.\n\nA strategy based on peace through strength is the best approach for deterring China, Russia and Iran\u2014the axis of aggression. It requires sustained defense spending that equals 5% of gross domestic product.\n\nSome have said this is too costly\u2014but we can\u2019t afford an underresourced military. We don\u2019t get to pick the threats we face, only how to respond. The axis requires a comprehensive strategy that accounts for the contributions of our partners and is backed by the resources necessary to execute it.\n\nMr. Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Ms. Fischer, a Republican, is a U.S. senator from Nebraska.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=1494E900-2C79-462B-B0DF-215BEEBE7ED2"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2340880930423737, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}