[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 995 Engrossed in House (EH)]

<DOC>
H. Res. 995

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                         July 17, 2018.
Whereas the United States now faces a more complex set of threats than at any 
        time since the end of World War II;
Whereas the National Defense Strategy released on January 19, 2018, highlights 
        these threats and acknowledges a return to great power competition;
Whereas countries like Russia and China are heavily investing in military 
        modernization and developing capabilities that the United States may not 
        be able to defend against while also expanding their influence across 
        the globe;
Whereas North Korea's nuclear program continues to be a serious threat;
Whereas the National Defense Strategy states that ``Iran continues to sow 
        violence and remains the most significant challenge to Middle East 
        stability'';
Whereas the National Defense Strategy states that ``terrorist groups with long 
        reach continue to murder the innocent and threaten peace more broadly'';
Whereas the United States continues to fight a war against terrorism and has 
        troops deployed in hostile regions throughout the globe;
Whereas, on January 19, 2018, Secretary of Defense James Mattis stated, ``As 
        hard as the last 16 years have been on our military, 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 cuts, 
        worsened by us operating, 9 of the last 10 years, under continuing 
        resolutions, wasting copious amounts of precious taxpayer dollars'';
Whereas fiscal year 2009 was the last fiscal year the Department of Defense 
        received on-time funding;
Whereas the House of Representatives has passed an annual appropriation bill for 
        the Department of Defense before the start of the next fiscal year in 
        each of those fiscal years;
Whereas article I, section 8 of the Constitution gives Congress the 
        responsibility to ``provide for the common Defence and general Welfare 
        of the United States'' and calls on Congress to ``raise and support 
        Armies'' and ``provide and maintain a Navy''; and
Whereas Secretaries of Defense appointed by Presidents of both parties have 
        warned about the damage funding uncertainty has on the readiness of our 
        Armed Forces: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--
            (1) failing to provide our military with full, stable, and on-time 
        funding allows our adversaries to close critical military capability 
        gaps, putting our servicemembers at increased risk, and severely harms 
        our military's ability to prepare for, deter, and, if needed, defend 
        against these capabilities, putting United States national security at 
        greater risk;
            (2) providing full, stable, and on-time funding for the Department 
        of Defense is critically necessary to preventing these increased risks; 
        and
            (3) the House of Representatives is committed to ending the funding 
        uncertainty for the Department of Defense and providing the resources 
        United States servicemembers need to defend the Nation, and that the 
        Senate should join the House of Representatives in these efforts.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.