[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 834 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 834

  Regarding the readiness decline of the Army, Marine Corps, National 
    Guard, and Reserves, and the implications for national security.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 15, 2007

  Mr. Ortiz (for himself and Mr. Abercrombie) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Regarding the readiness decline of the Army, Marine Corps, National 
    Guard, and Reserves, and the implications for national security.

Whereas non-deployed Army and Marine Corps units currently in the United States 
        are reporting lower levels of readiness;
Whereas in order to meet ongoing operational demands, members of the Army and 
        Marine Corps face multiple deployments, extended combat tours, and a 
        limited time at home, which create stress and strain on the service 
        members and their families;
Whereas faced with these demands, the Army and Marine Corps are experiencing 
        retention and recruiting challenges while trying to meet operational 
        demands and ``Grow the Force'' initiatives;
Whereas to address personnel shortfalls, the Army offers inflated bonuses as 
        incentives, and has lowered service standards, to create a higher number 
        of eligible personnel;
Whereas the inability to offset personnel shortfalls continues to increase the 
        demands and hardship experienced by active-duty military members and 
        members of the Reserve Forces;
Whereas the high operational tempo of combat operations overseas has decreased 
        the useful life of ground and aviation equipment;
Whereas the destruction or damage of equipment in battle results in equipment 
        inventory depletion;
Whereas in order to address equipment shortages, the Army and Marine Corps have 
        drawn from prepositioned war stocks of equipment that are needed to 
        rapidly deploy military units worldwide and are strategically stationed 
        around the world, and plans to restock the equipment drawn are not near-
        term, thereby hindering the capability of the Army and Marine Corps to 
        rapidly respond to any emerging crisis;
Whereas equipment is often left behind in theater to support the incoming unit, 
        resulting in severe equipment shortages in the United States for non-
        deployed units;
Whereas due to time constraints, many Army units are skipping vital pre-
        deployment training;
Whereas due to equipment shortages, Army and Marine Corps units do not train as 
        they fight, instead receiving the necessary force protection and other 
        essential equipment just prior to their deployment or when they arrive 
        in theater;
Whereas shortened dwell time has negatively impacted the ability of the Army and 
        Marine Corps to provide soldiers and marines with full-spectrum 
        training, possibly limiting the ability of the ground forces to respond 
        to all types of conflict;
Whereas these training shortfalls increase the personal risk associated with 
        serving in the Army and Marine Corps and limit the ability of service 
        men and women to perform their assigned duties;
Whereas the National Guard and Reserves have mobilized into an operational 
        backstop to meet Army and Marine Corps active-duty shortfalls and thus 
        are experiencing declining readiness shortfalls in personnel, equipment, 
        and training;
Whereas the Army Reserve is experiencing a fundamental personnel shortfall in 
        battlefield leaders and is now deploying training brigades because all 
        deployable brigade-level units have been deployed in support of 
        operations in Iraq and Afghanistan;
Whereas the Nation is accepting an unacceptable amount of risk because the 
        National Guard equipment inventories in the United States are depleted 
        and the Department of Defense has not measured or tracked the National 
        Guard's readiness for domestic missions, with the result that the 
        National Guard may not be prepared to respond effectively to unexpected 
        terrorist incidents or large-scale natural disasters like Hurricane 
        Katrina;
Whereas all Army National Guard Brigade Combat Team units have been deployed in 
        support of ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as the Army 
        switches from deploying individual units to whole brigades, at-home time 
        is decreasing, leaving Guardsmen facing multiple deployments that 
        negatively impact families and communities throughout the United States;
Whereas the Army and Marine Corps are reporting personnel shortfalls;
Whereas the Army and Marine Corps are reporting equipment shortages;
Whereas the Army and Marine Corps are reporting training deficiencies;
Whereas the National Guard and Reserve are experiencing declines in the 
        readiness of personnel, equipment, and training;
Whereas the readiness of the military is critical to the national security 
        interest of the United States, its citizens, and the integrity of the 
        entire military force;
Whereas the readiness shortfalls within the Army and Marine Corps pose an 
        immediate risk to the integrity of the military force and the national 
        security of the United States; and
Whereas section 8, article 1, of the Constitution empowers the Congress ``To 
        raise and support Armies'' and ``To make Rules for the Government and 
        Regulation of the land and naval Forces'': Now, therefore, be it;
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
because serious readiness shortfalls exist within the Army, Marine 
Corps, National Guard, and Reserves, severely limiting the ability of 
the ground forces to respond effectively to any contingency or threat, 
at home or abroad and thus creating a potentially dangerous level of 
risk to the national security of the United States, Congress should 
restore and maintain the ground forces at the highest levels of 
readiness in the interest of national security and to ensure the 
integrity of the entire military force.
                                 <all>