[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 22 (Thursday, February 15, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1446-S1447]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 NATIONAL SECURITY AND OUR ARMED FORCES

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, another high priority for our Congress 
is our national security, making sure the men and women in the military 
have the tools they need to do their job, because their job is 
protecting our freedom. They are laying their lives on the line every 
day to do that. I think they deserve the respect, attention and the 
tools they need to be successful.
  Ten years ago, President Bush, Secretary Cheney, and General Powell, 
developed a plan to downsize the military while keeping it strong and 
ready. Their plan envisioned a leaner force, consisting of fewer 
troops, ships, and aircraft, but one that was 100-percent manned and 
supported. This is not the force we have today.
  Today's military has been cut in half since 1991, but the half is not 
whole. Our services are struggling to recruit and to retain personnel. 
We are cannibalizing ships, aircraft, and other weapons systems to 
support deployed units. The military is completing the missions today 
on the backs of our overworked and overextended troops. As they have 
done in the past, they are spending an extraordinary amount of time and 
effort doing whatever it takes to get by.
  Congress and the administration must work together to help our men 
and women in uniform. They deserve it; and America requires it. We 
could easily throw money at the problems and feel as if we are doing 
something, but the military requires more than money. It requires a 
national strategy and leadership from the top. In today's new world, we 
need to assess what we are doing, why we are doing it, and provide the 
assets to successfully achieve our mission.
  In the future, we must ensure that our military is used wisely, not 
wastefully. This requires an immediate review of overseas deployments 
and missions. We must focus our military commitments and we must focus 
our objectives. Before we deploy our forces into harm's way, we must 
know what it is we expect to accomplish, we must define success, and we 
must have an exit strategy.
  We also need to encourage our allies to take a broader role where 
they can, allowing our forces to contribute in areas where the United 
States has significant advantages in command and control and logistics. 
Leadership means convincing our allies to do their share in their own 
backyards and not simply accepting their threats to leave Bosnia or 
Kosovo unless we remain with them on the ground. We must be able to 
convince our allies that if they will step up to the plate, if they 
will exercise their responsibility, that we will be a backstop for them 
if an emergency occurs.
  Today's military requires better pay, better treatment, and better 
training. In order to recruit and retain military personnel, we must 
improve their pay. We can no longer allow fast food restaurants to 
compete with the military for pay and benefits. That is hardly the 
standard that we should have.
  Our military deserve pay commensurate with their skills. They demand 
highly educated recruits to operate the sophisticated weapons systems 
that are used today and that will be used in the future. We cannot 
attract our young men and women unless we provide a competitive 
standard of living and quality of life.
  The President's initiative to add $1.4 billion in pay and bonuses 
will help close the gap between military and civilian pay. In addition, 
we must treat our military personnel and their families better. There 
is an old saying that we recruit the soldier, but we retain the family.
  In my years in the Senate, I have focused on improving three areas in 
the quality of life of our military: improved military housing, 
including barracks and family housing; access to quality medical care; 
and increased support for quality schools for military children.
  On Monday President Bush proposed adding $400 million to upgrade 
substandard housing and $3.9 billion to improve military health care. 
This is so important to our military personnel, especially the ones 
deployed overseas without their families.
  I have visited with our military people on the ground in places such 
as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bosnia, and Kosovo. I can tell you, the No. 1 
item on their agenda is quality health care for their families who are 
back home. They need to have decent housing, access to quality medical 
care, and good schools when they are away. Nothing is more frustrating, 
nothing will drive the soldier out of the Army faster, than to call 
home and have to contend with medical care problems from a phone booth 
in Bosnia.
  Finally, for too long, we have neglected the facilities where our 
troops work and train. Forcing people to work in 60-year-old frame 
buildings with little heat and no air-conditioning, and attempting to 
maintain sophisticated aircraft and systems when hangers are leaking 
around them, is certainly not conducive to retaining good people.

  Our current ranges and training facilities are also a national 
treasure, but they need to be upgraded. Improved training facilities 
also affect quality of life by allowing troops to effectively and 
efficiently train and then return home.
  Taking care of our people also involves taking care of their 
equipment and buying the weapons they need to win if they are called 
upon to go. We need to modernize existing weapons. At the same time, we 
need to look ahead and use America's lead in technology to build our 
future weapons systems. American technology has been a force multiplier 
in the past and will be even more important in the future. We cannot 
allow potential enemies to gain a technology advantage while we spend 
our time and money on incremental improvements.
  The President has said he intends to earmark $2.6 billion of the 
military procurement budget for research and development. We will use 
technology to reduce the risk to our forces and overwhelm any enemy 
quickly.
  The military of the 21st century must be agile, lethal, readily 
deployable, and require minimal logistical support. Many of our 
adversaries will not confront our forces directly, therefore we must be 
prepared for both threats posed by terrorists or blackmail by rogue 
nations.
  Our Army and Marine Corps must be light enough to quickly deploy but 
heavy enough to win. Our Navy must be able to fight at sea as well as 
affect the fight over land, and our Air Force must have a global reach. 
Our defense strategy should be prepared to defend rather than react. 
This is why deploying an anti-ballistic missile system is so important 
to American security.
  Missile defense is not a threat against responsible nations. Rather, 
it is an insurance policy that would provide doubt in the mind of a 
rogue state, protect our Nation, help our allies, and increase the 
options available to the President.
  I applaud the President for sticking by his guns in saying we are 
going to deploy a missile defense system, and I especially appreciate 
what Senator Thad Cochran has done year after year after year to move 
missile defense forward.
  Taking care of our military includes taking care of our veterans. We 
must keep the promises we make or why would anyone trust us? We must 
renew our commitment to our veterans. We must keep our promises to 
these past defenders of freedom by providing quality medical and 
educational benefits.
  I will soon introduce a bill regarding gulf war illness. Thousands of 
our gulf war veterans are affected by a chronic disability. One in 
seven have come back from Desert Storm with a disability they did not 
have when they left. These men and women served our Nation honorably 
and deserve the care to which they are entitled.
  Our veterans also deserve educational benefits second to none. 
Veteran education pays a high yield on our investment. The veterans of 
World War II became our most educated segment of society upon their 
return home. These men and women went on to become our leaders in 
business and government. Veteran education has always provided a big 
incentive to volunteer for service. We must renew our commitment by 
improving and increasing these benefits.

[[Page S1447]]

  If we expect to recruit and to retain our best, America must provide 
them with the best: the best pay, housing, medical care, and other 
benefits. I applaud the President's commitment to improving our 
military and strongly support his plans to look before we leap. Our 
resources are limited and they must be used wisely, but we can set 
priorities. We can have a budget that meets our strategy, if we have a 
well-run military with a clear strategy.
  We should deploy our troops when there is a U.S. security interest, 
but not over deploy or over demand their deployment. If we remember 
this, then we will have a military that is well funded, efficient, and 
will accomplish the goals we have set for them.
  Of all of the areas for which Congress is responsible, national 
security is No. 1. It is our highest priority. It is the responsibility 
of the Federal Government to make sure all of those who have died in 
the past 200 plus years, maintaining the freedom of this country, will 
never, ever have died in vain. The only way we can repay them is to 
keep the zeal for freedom alive in our generation and in future 
generations.
  We will keep the zeal for freedom alive if we keep our national 
security a No. 1 priority and we respect the military who have the job 
to make sure our freedom is intact today and will be for our children 
and grandchildren.
  I applaud President Bush's initiatives. He is going to make sure we 
take every step in a thoughtful way. We are going to rebuild our 
national defense. We are going to renew our commitment to national 
security for the families of our country, for the protection of our 
allies, and for the protection of democracy, wherever there are people 
in the world who are trying to become free, with the example for 
freedom being the United States of America.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, are there time limitations currently in 
effect for speaking?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Senator Thomas has time reserved until noon, 
and then from that point on, 15 minutes have been reserved for the 
Senator from Maine.
  Ms. COLLINS. Thank you, Mr. President. I ask unanimous consent that I 
be allowed to use my 15 minutes starting now.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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