[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 204 (Thursday, December 14, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8017-S8018]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Funding Our Military

  Mr. President, on another matter, our Nation faces a myriad of 
threats from around the globe, and it is the Senate's responsibility to 
provide the service chiefs with the resources to train and equip our 
warfighters and to provide them with the resources they need to keep us 
safe.
  The diverse challenges posed by Iran, China, Russia, North Korea, 
ISIL, al-Qaida, and its affiliates span the spectrum of warfighting, 
and our force must be trained and prepared to operate on sea, air, 
land, and in cyber space. These challenges were only compounded by the 
Obama administration's focus on reducing the size of our conventional 
force, withdrawing our forward presence, and placing an unrealistic 
reliance upon allies and Special Operations forces.
  In stark contrast to the previous administration, this Republican-led 
Congress and the Trump administration have taken the initial steps to 
rebuild our military. We are working to ensure that the needs of the 
force are met and our servicemembers have the tools and training 
necessary to fulfill their missions.

  In our ongoing discussions surrounding government funding, we must 
continue to prioritize our Nation's men and women in uniform. It is 
illogical for this Senate to repeatedly vote to pass National Defense 
Authorization Acts at one level of authority and not meet that 
commitment with the necessary appropriations act; and this funding 
cannot be held hostage to the Obama-era demand that increases in 
defense funding be matched by equal increases in nondefense spending. 
Congress ignored that demand earlier this year, and we must do it again 
now.
  The reason is simple: Under the Budget Control Act, the Department of 
Defense has received a disproportionate funding cut--and will again if 
Congress fails to come to an agreement. That type of blow would 
unacceptably diminish our military's readiness and damage our national 
security.
  I hope that Members can work together to provide the necessary funds

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to our military--and to all parts of our government--so that the men 
and women of our all-volunteer force can continue to keep our country 
safe.