[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 89 (Thursday, June 4, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3794-S3795]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 1649. Mr. SCHATZ submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 1463 proposed by Mr. McCain to the bill H.R. 1735, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for military activities 
of the Department of Defense and for military construction, to 
prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle E of title XII, add the following:

     SEC. 1264. SENSE OF SENATE ON THE REBALANCE TO THE ASIA-
                   PACIFIC REGION.

       It is the sense of the Senate that--

[[Page S3795]]

       (1) the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region is right for 
     the United States, and the United States Army is essential to 
     this effort given the importance of land armies in the 
     region;
       (2) the Asia-Pacific region is home to 7 of the 10 largest 
     armies in the world, and 21 of the 27 chiefs of defense in 
     the region are army officers;
       (3) the dynamic security environment in the Asia-Pacific 
     region demands capabilities the Army has to offer, from 
     supporting humanitarian operations to conducting military 
     exercises with most important regional partners and allies of 
     the United States;
       (4) the spending limits in the Budget Control Act of 2011 
     impose hard choices on the Department of Defense that could 
     force the Army to make strategically unwise cuts to its end 
     strength;
       (5) it is the responsibility of Congress to remove defense 
     and non-defense spending limits to give Federal agencies the 
     certainty they need to make sound budgetary decisions; and
       (6) despite fiscal pressure, the Army should strengthen its 
     posture in the Asia-Pacific region and make future force 
     structure decisions in line with the commitment of the United 
     States to rebalance to the region.
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