[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 75 (Wednesday, June 8, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1171]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 25, 2005

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1815) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2006 for military 
     activities of the Department of Defense, to prescribe 
     military personnel strengths for fiscal year 2006, and for 
     other purposes:

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise today with grave 
concerns in regard to the deficiencies of this National Defense 
Authorization Act. It is truly unfortunate that the brave men and women 
of our Armed Forces are fighting around the world while the Department 
of Defense is in the current state it is in. Leadership must be 
accountable for the actions of the Armed Forces; the unfortunate events 
taking place in Iraq have caused our Nation irreparable harm.
  I am most outraged by the fact that there will be no consideration of 
the Taylor amendment on TRICARE for reservists, the Salazar amendment 
on ending the Military Families Tax, and the Marshall amendment on 
ending the Disabled Veterans Tax. These amendments are three key 
provisions in the GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century, which House 
Democrats unveiled in March. It seems blatant, that the Rules Committee 
would not allow the full body to consider these vital amendments which 
could have greatly strengthened this Defense Authorization.
  H.R. 1815 authorizes $441.6 billion, slightly less than the 
President's request and the total provided for by the budget resolution 
for FY 2005. The total is $21 billion, 5 percent more than the current 
regular authorized and appropriated level. This does not even include 
the $75.9 billion in FY 2005 emergency supplemental defense funds 
appropriated last month for operations in Iraq. In addition, this 
measure also authorizes an additional $49.1 billion in expectation of 
another supplemental budget request for the war in Iraq later this 
year. This brings the bill's authorization total to $490.7 billion.
  This measure continues the spending by providing $79.1 billion for 
weapons procurement, a full $1.1 billion more than the president's 
request; $69.5 billion for research and development, another $113 
million more than the request; $124.3 billion for operations and 
maintenance, $2.6 billion less than the president's request; $108.8 
billion for personnel, slightly less than requested; $12.2 billion for 
military construction and family housing; and $17 billion for weapons-
related and environmental-cleanup activities of the Energy Department.
  If Congress provides the full amount in the FY 2006 budget 
resolution--including the $50 billion in emergency spending for 
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan--defense spending in FY 2006 will 
total about 55 percent of the entire federal discretionary budget. The 
percentage could rise even higher if more than $50 billion is provided 
for operations in Iraq later this year. If the administration's request 
is approved, overall defense spending, in real terms, would be more 
than 20 percent higher than the average Cold war budget.
  The sad truth is that when compared to other nations around the 
world, you quickly realize that our military spending is not about 
defense needs as much as it is about overkill. The nearly $500 billion 
expected to be provided for defense this year--assuming another 
supplemental--is only slightly less than the $527 billion estimated by 
the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation as currently being 
spent by other nations combined, including China ($56 billion), France 
($40 billion), Great Britain ($49 billion) and Japan ($45 billion). 
Furthermore, when comparing U.S. defense spending to those countries 
determined by the Defense Department as most likely to threaten the 
United States, the difference is even greater. Such rogue states, 
including Iran (which spent $3.5 billion), North Korea ($5.5 billion), 
Syria ($1.6 billion), Cuba ($1.2 billion) and Sudan ($500 million). 
Clearly, we are not only the world's leader in military spending, but 
now we are determined to lap the field many times over.
  It's just disgraceful that many so-called advocates of fiscal 
responsibility talk about discretionary spending for federal programs 
when they represent only a tiny sliver of spending compared to our 
military spending. While we continue to allocate funds for this costly 
war, our federal debt continues to soar and that debt continues to be 
owned by foreign nations. We are now borrowing $1 trillion every 20 
months and the federal debt will soon exceed $8 trillion. The Japanese 
own more than $800 billion of that debt, the People's Republic of China 
more than $250 billion and all our foreign debt continues to explode.
  It is truly unfortunate that this Defense Authorization continues 
this Administration's policy of having misplaced priorities. Instead of 
directing more money for proper planning in Iraq, or for greater 
protection equipment for our troops, or maybe for greater pay raises 
for our troops; this Authorization provides $7.9 billion for ballistic-
missile defense programs--$100 million more than the administration's 
request. Missile defense systems are not new, in fact they have been 
discussed for decades. The truth is that missile defense systems have 
proven to be overly complex, unreliable, and often been little more 
than pipe dreams. Why in good conscience, in this time of budget 
constraints and increased need, would we allocate even more money for 
failed programs? There are more responsible ways to budget this money. 
Money from the Defense Authorization should go to our men and women in 
the Armed Forces who actually defend our Nation instead of into 
programs that just waste needed funds.
  I am heartened by a few provisions of this legislation. This 
Authorization provides an average 3.1 percent pay increase for military 
personnel in FY 2006, equal to the President's request, and extends 
certain special pay and bonuses for reserve personnel. Our men and 
women in the Armed Forces deserve these pay increases, in fact they 
deserve much more for the sacrifice they are making for our Nation 
abroad. The bill provides added funds for increased protection for U.S. 
troops in Iraq, including funding for up-armored Humvees, tactical 
wheeled-vehicle recapitalization and modernization programs, night-
vision devices, and improvised explosive device (IED) jammers. The war 
in Iraq gets more dangerous by the day and the Pentagon won't even give 
this Congress a timeline for our exit. As always, this leaves our brave 
men and women of the Armed Forces and their families in the lurch. We 
as a Congress owe it to them to give them more answers, instead of only 
providing more questions. Unfortunately, while this Authorization gives 
a little comfort to our Armed Forces abroad, it really falls far short 
of what we owe to our Nation's bravest.

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