[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 4 (Monday, January 8, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S50]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         FUNDING THE GOVERNMENT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on a final matter, in the next 11 days 
Congress needs to reach an agreement to fund the government.
  It is imperative that this agreement provide adequate resources for 
our men and women in uniform. Last week, leadership on both sides of 
the aisle expressed hopes of working seriously and collaboratively on a 
solution that enables our Armed Forces to advance critical missions at 
home and abroad.
  At the same time, our Democratic colleagues persist in the notion 
that we should increase defense spending only if we increase nondefense 
spending by the same amount. As we lay the facts on the table, this 
political talking point simply doesn't hold up.
  By now, we all know that the Budget Control Act hit defense spending 
much harder than it hit domestic spending. Since fiscal year 2013, to 
be precise, discretionary defense spending has been cut by $85 billion 
more than discretionary nondefense spending. This might sound like an 
abstract distinction, but it has very real, tangible consequences for 
our national security. These disproportionate cuts have reduced the 
readiness of American forces to meet and address emerging threats.
  Our military leaders have explained this over and over and over 
again. Just months ago, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 
General Dunford, told our colleagues on the Armed Services Committee 
that over the last decade, ``The U.S. military's competitive advantage 
against potential adversaries is eroding.'' He cited budgetary 
instability as a key reason.
  At the same hearing, Secretary of Defense Mattis added: ``No enemy in 
the field has done more to harm the readiness of our military than 
sequestration.''
  ``No enemy,'' Secretary Mattis said, ``in the field has done more to 
harm the readiness of our military than sequestration.''
  The men and women we trust to lead our military have made it 
abundantly clear that the status quo in defense funding, let alone the 
further instability that would result from our failure to reach an 
agreement, is handicapping our servicemembers.
  In the next week and a half, let's put aside partisan rhetoric and 
start heeding the warnings of our nonpartisan military leaders. Let's 
give those who keep us safe the resources they need to do the job.

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