[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 146 (Wednesday, October 14, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S12594]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      ADDRESSING READINESS ISSUES

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I rise in opposition to proposed 
increases in military spending contained in the supplemental 
appropriations provisions for FY 1999, and to comment on even larger 
anticipated proposals for increases in the military budget for fiscal 
year 2000 and beyond that will be the subject of ongoing debate in 
Washington in the coming months.
  I have always been a strong supporter of our men and women in 
uniform, and I believe we must provide the best possible training, 
equipment, and preparation for our military forces, so they can 
effectively carry out whatever peacekeeping, humanitarian, war-
fighting, or other missions they are given. But certain Republican 
proponents of increased defense spending here in Washington are trying 
to use an alleged ``readiness crisis'' to get $1 billion or more 
additional funding included in the omnibus appropriations bill to be 
considered before adjournment. And this is just the first step. Some 
Pentagon officials, and Republican defense hawks here in Congress, are 
reportedly already pressing the Administration to increase next year's 
budget request by up to $15 billion, and by an estimated $50-75 billion 
over the next five years. These numbers are in addition to the grossly 
wasteful and unnecessary military spending of recent years, much of 
which was over and above what the Pentagon itself had requested from 
Congress to complete its mission.
  These large increases are unjustified. Yes, I recognize that to a 
certain extent there are problems with readiness. There are shortages 
of spare parts in some areas, for example. It is reportedly difficult 
to retain pilots and other key personnel; certain of our armed forces, 
especially enlisted personnel, are suffering a declining quality of 
life. But if we look carefully at the military budget we can see that 
these readiness problems are not caused by inadequate military budgets, 
but rather by a wasteful and irresponsible, often politically-motivated 
misallocation of existing defense dollars to military programs and 
projects in states of key members of Congress. This is the crux of the 
matter. There is more than sufficient funding in the current budget to 
fix these problems if priorities are reassessed and money is redirected 
from wasteful and obsolete weapons programs to crucial readiness 
measures.
  We continue to pour billions into Cold War era weapons programs that 
are essentially massive pork projects for the states and districts of 
various members of Congress. Congress has also contributed to the 
readiness problems by refusing to close military bases which the 
Pentagon acknowledges are unneeded and obsolete, and has pressed to 
have closed. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and his colleagues on 
the Joint Staff, testified to this recently before the Armed Services 
Committee--they effectively said if you want us to fix these problems, 
then stop ramming down our throats weapons systems, ships and planes 
that we don't need, don't want, and haven't requested--and start 
closing down antiquated or outdated military bases that we can no 
longer afford to maintain, for which there is no reasonable purpose.
  Mr. President, as I've said, I believe in maintaining a strong 
national defense. We face a number of credible threats in the world 
today, including terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass 
destruction. But let's make sure we carefully identify the threats we 
face and tailor our defense spending to meet them. Let's not continue 
to maintain military spending based on the needs of the Cold War.
  Mr. President, we do not need to spend more on the military. We only 
need to spend what we have already allocated more intelligently and 
more honestly. We do not need to give more money to an already bloated 
Pentagon for wasteful pork projects when we have so many urgent 
problems in this country that need attention. We need to focus on 
adequate funding for the hundreds of domestic programs that protect the 
vulnerable; protect our lakes and streams; provide health care for the 
vulnerable elderly; and create expanded opportunities for the broad 
middle class, such as student loans and job retraining.
  The real ``readiness'' crisis, Mr. President, is not in the military 
budget but in the readiness of the Congress to give up its attachment 
to wasteful pork projects, and in the readiness of Pentagon officials 
to make the hard choices about what programs are really necessary for 
the restructured military force we need to face the challenges of the 
21st century. I expect that an omnibus bill will pass, and that some 
additional defense spending will be included in it for Bosnia and other 
needs. But I hope my colleagues will keep these concerns in mind as the 
defense spending debate moves forward next year.
  I intend to press forward my efforts here in the Senate to make sure 
we more responsibly balance our defense and domestic priorities, by 
scaling back wasteful defense spending, and reallocating existing 
military funds to address our readiness problems, so that we can invest 
more in the skills and intellect and character of our children; in 
basic health care for all; in decent education, affordable housing and 
jobs that can sustain families.

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