[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4982 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4982

   To limit the authority of the President to carry out large-scale 
                           military parades.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 8, 2018

Mr. Schneider introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To limit the authority of the President to carry out large-scale 
                           military parades.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Preparedness Before Parades Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) President Donald J. Trump has ordered the Department of 
        Defense to carry out a large-scale military parade.
            (2) There have only been a select handful of large-scale 
        military parades in the United States in the last 100 years, 
        including in 1946 following the victory in World War II and in 
        1991 following the victory in the Persian Gulf War.
            (3) Estimates place the cost of the military parade in 1991 
        following the Persian Gulf War around $8,000,000 to 
        $12,000,000, including some funding having come from private 
        sources.
            (4) A large-scale military parade costing millions of 
        dollars will divert essential funding desperately needed for 
        investment in military readiness.
            (5) Budget uncertainty and continuing resolutions have had 
        a severe negative impact on the Armed Forces, as demonstrated 
        by the following statements:
                    (A) In December 2017, President Donald J. Trump 
                stated that ``In recent years, our military has 
                undergone a series of deep budget cuts that have 
                severely impacted our readiness, shrunk our 
                capabilities, and placed substantial burdens on our 
                warfighters.''.
                    (B) Congressman Mac Thornberry, Chairman of the 
                Committee on Armed Services of the House of 
                Representatives, stated in September 2017 that ``it is 
                hard to remember a time when our military readiness 
                crisis has been on such sharp display.''. Thornberry 
                further stated, ``We have too few planes that can fly, 
                too few ships that can sail and too few soldiers who 
                can deploy.''.
                    (C) In February 2018, Secretary of Defense Jim 
                Mattis said, ``Let me be clear: As hard as the last 16 
                years of war have been, no enemy in the field has done 
                more to harm the readiness of the U.S. military than 
                the combined impact of the Budget Control Act's defense 
                spending caps, worsened by operating in 10 of the last 
                11 years under continuing resolutions of varied and 
                unpredictable duration.''.
                    (D) In January 2018, Secretary of the Navy Richard 
                V. Spencer said in regard to the impact of continuing 
                resolutions on the Navy's budget, ``We have put $4 
                billion in a trash can, poured lighter fluid on it, and 
                burned it.''.
                    (E) In December 2017, Pentagon Chief Spokesperson 
                Dana W. White said, ``Nothing's had a greater impact on 
                combat readiness than C.R.s. So--and at a time where 
                security threats are high, we really do need the 
                predictability in the budget, certainty that we don't 
                have with C.R.s.''.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) providing budget certainty to the Department of Defense 
        and all other Federal agencies by passing appropriations 
        legislation on time through regular order is of the utmost 
        importance;
            (2) in a period when United States warplanes and ships are 
        not at operational capacity, personnel are not fully trained, 
        military families require significant financial assistance, and 
        veterans' programs require substantial increases, a large-scale 
        military parade would be wasteful to the United States taxpayer 
        and harmful to military readiness;
            (3) the President should express support for members of the 
        Armed Forces, honor their service, and thank them for the great 
        sacrifices they have made and continue to make to protect the 
        United States by appropriately funding the military, supporting 
        service members and their families, and promoting opportunities 
        for veterans once they transition out of the Armed Forces; and
            (4) military parades should not be used for the personal 
        pleasure of the President.

SEC. 4. LIMITATION.

    The President may not direct the Department of Defense to carry out 
a large-scale military parade unless--
            (1) the Secretary of Defense certifies to Congress that--
                    (A) the parade will have no effect on the military 
                readiness or budgetary needs of the Armed Forces;
                    (B) the diversion of personnel and equipment 
                associated with the parade will have no effect on the 
                military readiness of the Armed Forces; and
                    (C) the financial costs associated with the parade 
                will have no effect on the military readiness of the 
                Armed Forces;
            (2) the Government of any municipality where the parade 
        will be conducted approves the parade not later than 90 days 
        before the date on which the parade occurs; and
            (3) not less than 50 percent of the costs of the parade are 
        paid for by funds appropriated to the Executive Office of the 
        President.
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