[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 55 (Tuesday, May 9, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H2306-H2307]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      MAINTAINING AIR SUPERIORITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, in 1781, George Washington, even 
though he had won the Revolutionary War, kept the Army intact and on 
alert for 2 more years until the signing of the peace treaty, saying, 
``There is nothing that will so soon produce a speedy and honorable 
peace as a state of preparedness for war.''
  Now, this week we will be voting on the Defense Authorization Act, 
which is not talking about our military in this year or the next year, 
but 10 and 15 years from now, because those who have our positions 10 
and 15 years from now will have their military and their diplomatic 
options defined by what we do on the Defense Authorization Act this 
week.
  The United States is superpower because of the quality of the 
individuals we have in our military and the technology and weapons 
system that back them up. As former general and Secretary of State 
Colin Powell said, ``If

[[Page H2307]]

we go to war, we don't want to be in a fair fight.''
  Now, Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s illustrated the 
awesome air superiority we have. Afghanistan and Iraq clearly 
illustrate our air superiority. In fact, the United States has had air 
superiority since the Korean War. However, we have flown a military 
sortie every day for the past 15 years, and it is starting to take its 
toll on our equipment.
  A Defense Department study recently said that there has been a 10 
percent decline in the mission capable rates of our aircraft since 
Desert Storm in the 1990s. Now, this 10 percent reduction is not 
because we have maintenance deficiencies or trained personnel 
deficiencies. It is because we are still flying the same aircraft, this 
time, though, much older and with hundreds of more flight hours on the 
same airframe.
  In the 1990s, we took a procurement holiday in Congress and wanted to 
cash in on the so-called ``peace dividend,'' which simply meant in 
practical terms the defense budget was cut in favor of other Federal 
spending and the new generation of fighters, the F-22s, the F-35s, were 
caught in the cross-hairs of that spending practice and shoved to the 
outside years, which meant we are now starting to fall behind. We were 
ignoring the leapfrog of technology that is available to our systems. 
We are now realizing that the F-22 and the F-35 are going to be that 
which closes gaps and helps us to ensure air dominance for the 
foreseeable future.
  Both the 22 and the 35 employ stealth technology, which provides our 
warfighters with a critical edge in any conflict, even in low intensity 
battles like Iraq. Those responsible for planning the air campaign need 
the protections provided by stealth fighters in protecting other non-
stealth aircraft, as well as ground combat.
  The flight range of the 22 is three times the combat radius, and the 
35 is projected to have more than double the unrefueled combat radius 
of the fighters they would hope to replace. The avionics would allow 
them for a longer stand-off, which simply means we, the good guys, can 
see, detect, and shoot down the bad guys before they recognize we are 
in the area, which is what we want to have in any type of combat.
  These weapons systems we are talking about are incorporating high-
tech advances in composite technologies which result in more durable 
aircraft parts, reduced corrosion, and lessen the needs of maintenance 
in the future. What we are doing, Mr. Speaker, is planning for the 
future.
  In 2004, we had a program called Cope India, which revealed that 
pilots outside the United States are certainly capable of achieving 
very high levels of proficiency. While we don't count India as a likely 
enemy, this exercise was an eye-opener for the United States in the 
sense that it demonstrated the United States can no longer take for 
granted that it will always be facing an inferior air adversary, even 
amongst Third World nations.
  Fifteen years from now we do not know whether we will be fighting a 
war of terror or a conventional war. But, as Washington said, we must 
be prepared for whatever circumstances may be there. Because at the end 
of the day when we are compelled to take up arms to defend our freedom, 
we don't want to be in a fair fight. We want our sons and daughters to 
have the very best capabilities, and we want to prevail.
  We must recommit as a Nation to provide the support and the resources 
to properly field the next generation of fighters, the F-22 and the F-
35. We have an oversight responsibility to make sure that these 
programs are carried out in a responsible manner. We need to work 
together to ensure that they succeed, because they are one of the most 
important foundation blocks of our future national defense.
  Terrorism does not take a holiday. We cannot. We must look forward to 
the future, so that 10 and 15 years down the line we will be able to 
defend ourselves in an appropriate way.

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