[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 30, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H685-H686]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             DEFENSE BUDGET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. HARTZLER. Mr. Speaker, as Members of Congress, we have an 
explicit constitutional responsibility to provide for the common 
defense. Yet some of my colleagues would rather use our military as a 
bargaining chip for political reasons.
  For 3 days, our military was held hostage while the government shut 
down for an unrelated immigration issue. For 3 days, military families 
across the globe faced fear and uncertainty over whether they would be 
paid on time. Unfortunately, this is not the last time or the first 
time our military has been used as a political pawn. Year after year, 
defense spending is held hostage, causing our readiness to reach a 
dangerously low level.
  In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, Secretary 
Mattis stated: ``No enemy in the field has done more to harm the 
readiness of our military than sequestration.''
  We are facing a host of threats from every direction; threats that 
jeopardize our safety, our freedom, and our way of life. North Korea is 
aggressively pursuing a nuclear arsenal that can target the United 
States and our allies. China's land reclamation has sparked 
international clashes. Russian opportunistic aggression is threatening 
our allies and could trigger a NATO alliance response. Violent 
extremists are threatening global stability as their evil idealogy 
poisons minds and induces followers to kill innocent people. Iran 
continues to invoke instability by sponsoring terrorism around the 
globe.
  We expect our military to be able to respond to each of these 
threats, yet years of budget cuts and continuing resolutions have 
degrade our military's capabilities and destroyed morale.
  Here are the stunning and sobering facts:
  Less than half of the Navy's aircraft can fly due to maintenance and 
spare parts delays.
  Of the 58 Army combat brigade teams that our Nation depends on to 
deploy overseas to defend our freedoms, only five could be called upon 
to fight tonight.

[[Page H686]]

  Last year, two Navy destroyers were involved in collisions that 
tragically claimed the lives of 17 sailors. These ships will undergo 
repairs for years to come.
  I saw this personally in September when I toured the USS Fitzgerald 
in a naval base in Japan. I stood in the room where seven sailors died 
when their ship collided with a commercial freighter, tearing a hole in 
the side of the ship and flooding their room where they were sleeping 
with water in less than 2 minutes, giving them too little time to 
escape. It was heart-wrenching to see, and it remains heartbreaking to 
think about the pain these families will endure for years to come.
  Perhaps saddest of all is that these accidents were not due to an 
enemy attack. They were due to training lapses and poor leadership 
which was exacerbated by high demand for service, combined with a lack 
of funding for needed ships and a lack of training because of defense 
cuts.
  Last year alone, 80 U.S. servicemembers were killed in readiness-
related accidents, nearly four times the number that were killed in 
hostilities.
  Our men and women in uniform deserve better. We owe it to them to 
provide them with all that they need as they stand ready to actively 
fight a resurgent Russia, an emergent China, an unstable North Korea, 
an unpredictable Iran, and widespread violent extremism.
  We cannot expect our sons and daughters to volunteer for military 
service and thereby volunteer to be placed in harm's way without proper 
equipment and adequate training.

  Mr. Speaker, we must end this deadly cycle of continuing resolutions. 
We must end sequestration and provide for the common defense. We must 
approve a long-term budget that provides desperately needed increases 
in funding for the military.
  American military superiority is not a God-given right or a law of 
nature. It has been earned on the backs of a motivated volunteer force. 
It is our duty to ensure that force is well-equipped and well-trained. 
The current normal is unacceptable and irresponsible.
  Mr. Speaker, I call on my colleagues to end this travesty and to 
stand with our military as they stand for freedom for us every day.

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