[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 96 (Wednesday, July 9, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S7038]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      STORM CLOUDS ON THE HORIZON

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I am very honored to be serving as the 
chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services 
Committee.
  Today at 11 o'clock we will begin again the discussion on the passage 
of the defense authorization bill.
  As chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee, I have jurisdiction over 
the readiness of our forces to defend America: Such things as military 
construction, such things as military pay, such things as training, and 
the like.
  In carrying out my responsibilities, I have visited many, many bases 
throughout the world and here in the United States. I have had occasion 
to be recently in Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base; Fort Hood, TX; Corpus 
Christi Naval Base; and the Dyess Air Force Base.
  My concern is that with all the people we have talked about and 
talked to in the committee meetings that we have had in the Readiness 
Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee, we keep getting 
assurances from the administration that we are in a state of readiness 
that would meet the minimum expectations of the American people, and 
yet the information that we get as we go around certainly contradicts 
that. We have statements made by a number of people who are in the 
field. When you get past the top brass here in Washington, we find that 
we have very, very serious problems.
  Mr. President, I plan to make several statements concerning this as 
the development of and discussion on this bill takes place after 11 
o'clock, but I would just suggest that we have not found ourselves and 
put ourselves in a state of readiness that meets the minimum 
expectations of the American people. The administration has said many 
times we are in a position to defend America on two regional fronts, 
and I can assure you that is not the case. In fact, as we watched the 
Persian Gulf war, I regret to say that we are not in a state of 
readiness today to be able to defend America against that type of 
aggression.
  With that, I will yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I would first like to say I appreciate 
the leadership of the Senator from Oklahoma. Senator Inhofe has done an 
outstanding job in working to preserve the defense of his Nation, and 
his comments about our lack of preparedness are very serious. I think 
this body, as a body traditionally considered to be the long-term 
evaluator of national security interests of this Nation, needs to 
listen to what he says. I thank him for those comments.

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