[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 71 (Tuesday, May 22, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H2547-H2548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            READINESS FACTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I decided to come to the 
floor tonight to talk about the military readiness of our men and women 
in uniform.
  Last week, I happened to hear the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. 
Skelton), who is a ranking member of the Committee on Armed Services, 
on the floor talking about this same issue that I am going to be 
talking about tonight.
  Then last night, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon), who is 
chairman of the Subcommittee on Military Readiness, also came to the 
floor. I am a member of the Committee on Armed Services. I am also a 
member of the Subcommittee on Military Readiness.
  I just wanted to come on the floor to remind my colleagues, as well 
as this administration, that our men and women in uniform who are 
willing to give their lives for this country have a lot of need that we 
need to start addressing.
  I am very hopeful that the administration will soon be working with 
the Congress to submit an emergency supplemental. There is a dire need 
by our military.
  I certainly want to commend the Secretary of Defense. I think he was 
right in requesting this top-to-bottom review. But in addition to what 
he is doing, we also need to make sure that our men and women in 
uniform are ready to defend the national security interest of this 
country.
  What is beginning to happen is that the accounts are becoming very 
low of money, and they are beginning to have some serious problems. Let 
me give my colleagues a few examples on this.
  The Navy Flying Hour Program is short over $450 million for fiscal 
year 2001. Since the end of the Cold War, the average age of Air Force 
aircraft has risen 58 percent. The Army is more than $3 billion short 
of basic ammunition. Although improving, separate spare parts problems 
caused the mission-capable rates of both the AV-8B Harrier and the CH-
53 helicopter to drop below 40 percent last year.
  Mr. Speaker, in addition, the Coast Guard has projected a fiscal year 
2001 shortfall reaching almost $100 million. Let me also share with my 
colleagues, Mr. Speaker, the military health care plan is expected to 
be $1.4 billion short in the same year.
  I wanted to be on the floor tonight because this is a very unsafe 
world that we live in. We certainly know about the unrest and the 
problems of the Middle East; but we also know that Iran, Iraq, and 
these countries are not friendly towards the American Government. In 
addition, I think of North Korea. In addition, China. All these 
countries that I mention are spending a great deal of their gross 
national product on building their military.
  So I wanted to come to the floor tonight to join the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Skelton), as well as the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Weldon), and there are many others on both sides of the political aisle 
on the Committee on Armed Services that feel like I, as well as the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon) and the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Skelton), that we need to move forward now with this 
emergency supplemental.
  So I will tomorrow be sending my second letter. My first letter went 
to the President of the United States, asking him to please start the 
movement forward on this emergency supplemental for our military.
  I intend tomorrow to write a letter to Mitch Daniels, the OMB 
director, and say that we do not need to continue to wait, that we need 
to prepare this legislation, that we need to put this legislation in 
just as soon as we return after the Memorial Day recess.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I want to say to all the men and women in uniform 
that I

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thank them for their service to this Nation. May God bless them and may 
God bless America.

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