[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 25 (Thursday, February 8, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S793-S794]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            BUDGET AGREEMENT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, this Congress and this President have 
delivered a historic series of achievements for the American people. We 
took an ax to the redtape holding back our economy. We used the 
Congressional Review Act a record 15 times to pave the way for job 
creation. After years of broken promises to our veterans, we delivered 
VA reform legislation to begin giving our heroes the more accessible 
care, greater choice, and workforce training they deserve. We confirmed 
outstanding judges to the Federal bench. We advanced efforts to address 
the opioid crisis. And, of course, we passed the most significant tax 
overhaul in a generation.
  Already, tax reform is increasing take-home pay for American workers. 
Already, businesses are investing more, expanding more, and creating 
more good-paying jobs right here at home. Over the past year, we have 
built a record of successes for middle-class families and a stronger, 
safer country.
  But among all the work that still remains, one critical piece of 
unfinished business is now really close to the finish line. If we act 
now, we can start rebuilding our military and provide our troops the 
training and equipment they need to defend the homeland and protect the 
American people.
  The crisis in our military is acute. Just this week, headlines 
revealed that two-thirds of the Navy's F/A-18 aircraft are not prepared 
to fly. The fleet, which must secure sea lines of communication across 
the globe and patrol the Persian Gulf and the South China Sea, has 
shrunk to the smallest ship count in nearly three decades.
  We have become too reliant on Special Operations forces and have 
radically drawn down our conventional force structure.
  This has not been lost on China or Russia. They are improving their 
conventional forces and intimidating their neighbors. Our force faces a 
complex collection of threats and challenges from Iran, China, Russia, 
and North Korea to ISIL, al-Qaida, and their affiliates.
  The need for our forward presence has not diminished in the Persian 
Gulf or in the South China Sea and the wider Pacific, neither has our 
responsibility to our NATO allies in Europe or to the Republic of 
Korea. No, we have not asked our all-volunteer military to do any less 
for our country. They have just been forced to make do with less.
  And all of these short-term funding bills have handicapped our 
military leaders' ability to make long-term plans and investments. In 
December, the Navy Secretary said the inefficiencies from continuing 
resolutions have cost his Department enough money to pay for an entire 
squadron of fighter planes or two destroyers.
  Let me say that again. The Secretary of the Navy said that the 
inefficiencies from continuing resolutions have cost his Department 
enough money to pay for an entire squadron of fighter planes or two 
destroyers.
  Here is how General Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 
put it. He said: ``The U.S. military's competitive advantage against 
potential adversaries is eroding.''
  Yesterday, I announced a bipartisan budget agreement that will 
finally bring this to a close. The agreement will allow for the funding 
levels recommended by the NDAA conference report--authorization levels 
secured by the stalwart leadership of Chairman John McCain and our 
colleagues on the Armed Services Committee.

[[Page S794]]

  So what does this mean for our men and women in uniform? It means 
putting a stop to the decline in combat readiness. It means knowing 
that our weapons systems will be delivered, maintained, and kept on the 
cutting edge.
  Take it from Secretary Mattis. Yesterday, he explained just what this 
agreement will do. Here is how he put it: It will ``ensure our military 
can defend our way of life, preserve the promise of prosperity, and 
pass on the freedoms you and I enjoy to the next generation.''
  Our volunteer servicemembers aren't the only Americans this agreement 
will help. It also builds on the progress we have made for veterans and 
military families by providing for better care and helping to cut the 
VA's maintenance backlog.
  It offers reinforcements to families on the front lines of our 
Nation's struggle with opioid addiction and substance abuse. According 
to the CDC, opioid overdose deaths increased fivefold just between 1999 
and 2016. On average, this epidemic takes more than 100 American lives 
every single day. This agreement provides for new grants, prevention 
programs, and law enforcement initiatives to bolster existing national 
and State efforts.
  The legislation secures relief for families who are still struggling 
to rebuild in the wake of last year's spate of natural disasters. This 
provision was only made possible by tireless work from several of my 
colleagues. Thanks to the leadership of Senator Cornyn, to Senator 
Cruz's advocacy for Texas, and to Senator Rubio, who led on behalf of 
Florida and spoke up forcefully for the people of Puerto Rico, help 
will soon be on the way.
  The agreement also provides for new investment in our Nation's 
infrastructure, a shared bipartisan priority.
  Now, I am confident that no Senator on either side of the aisle 
believes this is a perfect bill, but I am also confident that this is 
our best chance to begin rebuilding our military and to make progress 
on issues directly affecting the American people.
  This is a bill for brave Americans serving our country, including the 
many servicemembers based in my home State of Kentucky. They deserve 
the pay raise we promised them and the confidence that when they leave 
our shores, they are combat-ready.
  This is a bill for our distinguished military commanders, who have 
sounded the alarm on sequestration more times than any of us can count.
  This is a bill for our heroes who have come home. They should be 
greeted by a better funded, streamlined Veterans' Administration that 
is equipped to meet their needs.
  This is a bill for American families who have been victimized by 
brutal storms or the scourge of drug addiction. They deserve the 
assistance this agreement secures.
  I hope each Senator will carefully review this bipartisan bill and 
support it. We need to build on our historic year, seize the 
opportunity, and keep moving forward.

                          ____________________