[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 25, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H7647-H7650]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE THAT THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE FACES 
   SIGNIFICANT READINESS CHALLENGES AFFECTED BY BUDGETARY UNCERTAINTY

  Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 1010) expressing the sense of the House of 
Representatives that the United States Air Force faces significant 
readiness challenges due to insufficient personnel levels, a shrinking 
and depleted aircraft fleet, and maintenance deferrals, all of which 
are affected by budgetary uncertainty and impede the Air Force's 
ability to meet ongoing and unexpected national security threats, 
putting United States national security at risk.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows

                              H. Res. 1010

       Whereas according to Air Force Chief of Staff General David 
     Goldfein, the United States Air Force is ``the smallest we've 
     ever been'';
       Whereas according to an April 2018 report from the 
     Government Accountability Office, more than a quarter of 
     fighter pilot positions are unfilled;
       Whereas the Air Force has just 18,000 of the roughly 20,000 
     pilots it needs to crew its 5,500 fighters, bombers, 
     airlifters, cargo planes, and rescue helicopters;
       Whereas this 10 percent gap in its air crew requirement 
     could, as Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson said in 
     November of 2017, ``break the force'';
       Whereas almost \1/3\ of the Air Force's aircraft were not 
     flyable, or mission-capable, at any given time in fiscal year 
     2017;
       Whereas over the last decade, the total number of aircraft 
     in the Air Force has been on a downward slope;
       Whereas the total number of aircraft in the Air Force will 
     drop again from fiscal year 2017 to fiscal year 2018;
       Whereas the average age of an aircraft, forcewide, 
     increased from 24 years in fiscal year 2010 to 27.6 years in 
     fiscal year 2017; and
       Whereas between fiscal years 2013 and 2017, accidents 
     involving all Defense Department warplanes rose nearly 40 
     percent: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of 
     Representatives that--
       (1) the United States Air Force faces significant readiness 
     challenges due to aging aircraft and depleted personnel;
       (2) Congress must provide the Air Force regular and 
     sufficient funding to address procurement, maintenance, and 
     staffing shortfalls; and
       (3) without this funding, United States national security 
     is at risk.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Wyoming (Ms. Cheney) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Wyoming.


                             General Leave

  Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Wyoming?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington), my friend and colleague, to 
discuss his resolution.
  Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, the 
gentlewoman from the Cowboy State (Ms. Cheney), for yielding me time, 
but mainly for her leadership on this issue to ensure that we as a 
country and as the leaders of this great Nation fulfill our most 
important responsibility to provide for a common defense, our 
constitutional first job, to provide for the common defense, and, I 
would add, to secure our liberty and the liberty of our posterity, 
because there is no freedom without liberty. So God bless the 
gentlewoman, and I thank her for leading the charge here.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to strongly encourage my colleagues to support 
this resolution, H. Res. 1010, expressing the sense of the House of 
Representatives that the United States Air Force faces tremendous 
readiness challenges, reflected in a shrinking and dilapidated aircraft 
fleet, insufficient personnel, and dangerous levels of deferred 
maintenance, all of which are due, I think, in large part, I would say, 
to budgetary uncertainty, which impedes the Air Force's ability to meet 
our national security threats.
  Mr. Speaker, there is nothing more important than the safety of the 
American people and the security of our country. To do this, it is real 
simple. We have to have a strong military. To do that, we would need to 
include a strong Air Force.
  For the past 70 years, our Air Force has ensured that America's 
military prowess is unmatched in the skies, protecting our people, our 
allies, and our interests around the world.
  I am honored to have Dyess Air Force Base in my backyard, the largest 
B-1 bomber base in this country, and I am proud to represent the brave 
airmen of the 7th Bomb Wing and the 317th Airlift Group, and all those 
in the Key City and in the Big Country area who support them.
  I know that these men and women, along with all of our men and women 
in the armed services around the world, are doing all they can every 
day for our Nation's defense, and we as Congress ought to do all we can 
to support them.
  I think it is a moral imperative to ensure that our sons and 
daughters, that our brothers and sisters who we ask to risk their 
families, to risk their very lives, I think we should, at a minimum, 
make sure they have the tools and resources necessary to be safe and 
successful.
  But recently, because of our continued reliance on temporary funding 
measures known as CRs, or continuing resolutions, and the budget 
uncertainty and disruption that those create, we have hurt the Air 
Force's readiness and our combat capabilities.
  We have failed, it is hard to believe, for almost 10 years in a row 
to fund our military on time. Temporary spending measures, coupled with 
continual defense cuts--I think it is about $200 billion over the last 
decade--often delay procurement of important assets. Every contract, 
whether it is to buy a plane, repair a plane, fuel a plane, or arm a 
plane, is adversely affected by this funding start and stop.
  But I think we could put it another way. This broken funding process, 
or budget and appropriations process that I have been describing, 
weakens our defense and plays directly into the hands of our 
adversaries.

                              {time}  1515

  Throughout our Nation's history, our airmen and airwomen have always 
answered the call of duty. They should not pay the price because 
Congress has failed to fulfill our duty, which is to fully fund our 
military and to do it on time. That is going to send the right message 
to our troops. That will affirm our support for our troops. And I think 
it sends the right message to our enemies as well, just as importantly.
  Congress, though, has continued to fail to do this, and it has caused 
significant damage to our entire defense community, including the U.S. 
Air Force.
  The Air Force has a 70-year history. This is the smallest and oldest 
Air Force--the smallest and oldest--we have ever had.
  The Heritage Foundation's ``2018 Index of U.S. Military Strength'' 
rates our Air Force readiness as being merely marginal. With marginal 
processes, marginal inputs and resources, you get marginal results.
  I think both sides of the aisle, my colleagues and my Democrat 
colleagues, would agree that our troops deserve better than marginal 
support. More than a quarter of our fighter pilot positions are 
unfilled, and there is a 10 percent gap between the pilots that the Air 
Force has and what they need to crew their aircraft, a gap that the Air 
Force Secretary Heather Wilson said could ``break the force.'' That is 
from our Secretary of the Air Force.
  Last year, almost one-third of the Air Force's planes were not 
flyable, and the average age of our aircraft is almost 30 years old.
  Here is the worst part: Not only are we compromising our 
capabilities, but

[[Page H7648]]

aviation accidents, including fatal accidents, are on the rise. We now 
have four times as many servicemembers dying in training-related 
accidents than in combat.
  Mr. Speaker, by June of this year, we already matched the number of 
noncombat crashes in the Air Force than we had all last year. Between 
the years 2013 and 2017, we had 133 military accidents leading to 
deaths. That is a 40 percent increase over that timeframe.
  While our Nation's Air Force fleet continues to diminish in size and 
effectiveness, our adversaries, like China, are modernizing and 
expanding. The way I think of it, Mr. Speaker, is with respect to our 
investment in national security and our military strength. We are 
retreating while some of our adversaries are advancing. That is scary, 
and that is unacceptable.
  As President Reagan said, weakness invites aggression. He also said 
that peace is achieved through American strength.
  Our first President said that our military readiness is ``the most 
effectual means of preserving peace.''
  If we don't reverse this trend, we as a Nation will leave ourselves 
vulnerable at a time of escalating threats and increasing instability 
around the world.
  That is why we need to give the Air Force the quantity and the 
certainty of resources that match the caliber of our airmen and their 
enormous commitment of that sacred duty of protecting our fellow 
Americans. If we do this, our Air Force can continue safeguarding the 
skies, remaining the greatest fighting force in the world.
  Mr. Speaker, America is still the leader of the free world, and the 
world is safer when America leads and when America's military is 
strong. The world is counting on us. The American people and our allies 
are counting on us. Most importantly, our brothers and sisters in 
uniform are counting on us.
  Politicians too often make the important seem insignificant and the 
insignificant important. There is nothing more important for the 
American people and the future of this Republic than what we are 
talking about here today.
  Let's be leaders. Let's do the right thing, and let's support our 
troops.
  Again, I want to thank Representative Cheney, along with my fellow 
Texans, Chairman Thornberry and Chairman Granger, for their efforts.
  Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume, as long as it does not exceed 20 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Texas spoke boldly and correctly. If 
I could get a copy of his speech, as I will, I think I will use it 
myself.
  He covered all the issues that I would want to cover in talking about 
the United States Air Force as a representative of two very important 
Air Force bases, Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield-Vacaville, 
California, and Beale Air Force Base just outside of Marysville, 
California.
  I found myself not only in sympathy and empathy, but also marching 
right alongside the gentleman from Texas as he eloquently spoke about 
the role of the Air Force and the necessity of Congress to provide the 
adequate funding for not only repairing and maintaining the existing 
aircraft and bases, but also to expand and improve.
  Certainly, I am looking forward to the arrival of the KC-46s to 
Travis Air Force Base. If Boeing will get that done, we will get on 
with it.
  However, I want to remind my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle that funding for the military is ultimately dependent upon the 
revenues of the Federal Government, which are dependent upon the health 
of the economy. Those things go together.
  My esteemed colleague from Wyoming, in her remarks on the previous 
bill, addressed the issue of how we tax and who we tax or whether we 
tax. An interesting point was raised about this and whether it is 
possible to tax too low.
  A situation has arisen in the State of Oklahoma, where they thought 
they could cut taxes continually and everything would grow, and there 
would be great opportunities. Well, the opportunity turned out for the 
highway patrolmen to buy their own gas, and for schools to go to 4- and 
even 3-day sessions, because there was no money.
  So my point is this, that we have to balance things here. I raise 
this issue in the context of the appropriate desire of my colleagues to 
adequately fund the military, because I read in the newspaper yesterday 
and again today that my colleagues intend to go to tax cut 2.0. Very 
interesting.

  In the face of a trillion-dollar deficit in the 2018-2019 fiscal 
year, we would do another massive tax cut in hopes that the situation 
would be such for the revenues of the Federal Government that we could 
fund everything that the military wants and whatever other needs we 
decide must be funded.
  Well, let's see. We just borrowed, or are about to borrow, $12 
billion from China to pay American farmers for their losses resulting 
from a trade war with China in which China was supposed to somehow grow 
our economy by not shipping as much to America.
  That is convoluted, but it is what we are going to have to do if we 
cut taxes again. We are going to have to grow the Chinese economy, so 
we can borrow money from China, and then import from them.
  I guess this makes sense to some, but I think we best be very careful 
here.
  Mr. Speaker, I guess some people would say that I am off subject 
matter here, because we are really talking about fully funding the 
needs, in this piece of legislation, of the United States Air Force, 
and we should do so. However, at the same time, we must consider the 
revenue sources for the Federal Government, and we did.
  In December 2017, the 435 of us who are selected by the 350 million 
Americans to represent them, a decision was made amongst us to slash 
the revenue of the Federal Government by more than $1.5 trillion over 
the next decade.
  Now, my colleagues on the Democratic side didn't vote for that, but, 
apparently, the deficit hawks migrate out of Washington, D.C., in the 
winter. I suspect they are coming back--not ``suspect,'' they are 
actually back. The Speaker of the House tells us that we must cut 
Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security in order to deal with the 
deficit that was created by the tax bill. Well, we shall see.
  How are we going to adequately fund the military in the face of last 
December's tax cut, which I will remind folks, if they care to be 
reminded, that the beneficiaries were principally the great American 
corporations that were doing quite well, profitably, prior to the tax 
cut, and that somehow promised that they would bring jobs home, which 
they have not. Well, we shall see.
  It takes $1.5 trillion out of the Treasury, and my esteemed colleague 
from Wyoming said: Look how successful Oklahoma was.
  Well, I don't think she said that. But as she was talking about tax 
cuts, it came to mind that we ought to think about Oklahoma and what 
happens when the government doesn't have the revenue it needs to do the 
things that it must do.
  Now, maybe you want to argue that the government must not provide 
funding for Social Security. Maybe you would want to argue that the 
government must not provide money for Medicaid, of which some 60 to 70 
percent of the recipients are elderly people in nursing homes. Maybe we 
ought not do that. Or maybe you would want to argue that the Medicare 
program for seniors should be slashed and cut.
  Those are all suggestions that the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives has made. I disagree.
  How do we fund the programs that Americans need? Surely, they want a 
strong Air Force, as I do. And I suspect they would also want to see 
that those seniors in nursing homes are cared for, and those who are on 
Medicare are able to get their drugs and their care, and that the 
Social Security checks not be slashed and reduced. We shall see.
  In any case, I support the resolution, and I think we ought to fully 
fund the Air Force.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I just want to insert some facts into the debate about 
the tax cuts. According to CBO estimates, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is 
going to result in an increase in GDP of $1.7 trillion. We are going to 
see 900,000 new jobs. Wages will increase by $1.2 trillion. Investments 
will increase by $600 billion. The tax cuts that we passed in this 
House--and my colleague is right, none of the Democrats voted for it. 
In fact, the minority leader has said that

[[Page H7649]]

she thinks we ought to reverse those tax cuts, which would be 
devastating to the economy.
  We lived through the stagnation of the Obama years, and we passed a 
tax cuts bill that fundamentally changed the trajectory of this 
economy. We have seen 1.3 million jobs added. We have minority 
unemployment at the lowest rates, I believe, in history.
  So the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is working, and it is helping to bring 
jobs back. I am really pleased that we are looking at ways that we can 
make those cuts permanent, that we can make sure that we are helping 
the middle class, and that we are helping small businesses across this 
country on a permanent basis.
  We can spend all of the time my colleague from California would like 
debating the tax cuts, debating the impact on our economy, but the 
facts are clear, that those tax cuts, despite the politics and the 
rhetoric, have had the kind of impact that, frankly, we knew they would 
have.
  So I am really proud of what we have done with respect to the tax 
cuts, and now we need to make sure that we fund the military. If we 
don't fund the military, it doesn't matter much what else we do if we 
don't provide for the security of this Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1530

  Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have 
remaining.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California has 12 minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, if you are a person who wants to cut 
taxes and borrow money from China, then you can keep the economy going. 
In fact, the job growth has been basically steady for the last 8 years. 
It has been in the last year, also, and most of this year, and we are 
thankful for that.
  Nonetheless, we have a very serious deficit. The CBO estimate that 
was quoted a moment ago actually took place prior to the tax cut. More 
recent estimates indicate that the deficit is larger than anticipated 
and that the growth rate has not expanded to the point that was 
anticipated and that the deficits that are going to be there are very 
real. All of that is true.
  While there have been increases in wages, some 2 percent over the 
last year, almost 18 months now--and we are grateful for that--those 
wages are less than the inflation rate; and, therefore, for those 
working men and women across the Nation who have received an average of 
2 percent or so of wage growth, it has been eaten up by inflation.
  The point here is one of this resolution reminding us that we have a 
very important obligation to adequately fund, in this case, the Air 
Force; in the previous piece of legislation, special operations. 
Indeed, we do have that obligation. But at the same time, we need to 
have a fiscally sound government.
  Unfortunately, what happened last December was to pull the foundation 
of fiscal soundness out from beneath the government's revenue stream.
  Now, there is a necessity for some adjustment in the taxes, and you 
will get no debate on our side of the aisle about the necessity to do 
that. It would have been our choice, had we the majority, to reduce 
taxes far more than the tax bill did for the working men and women and 
for the smaller businesses in America, and not for the wealthy 
corporations that were doing quite well, and certainly not to create an 
international Tax Code that continues to encourage the offshoring of 
American jobs.
  That simply happened because the reduction in the corporate tax rate 
for America went to 20 percent, while those American corporations 
operating offshore could get a 10 percent tax, providing a very 
significant benefit to corporations to offshore jobs. I don't think we 
would have done that. Maybe that is why many of us voted against the 
legislation.
  There is much more to be said about it, but the fundamental point at 
this moment is this resolution that says fully fund the Air Force. We 
are 100 percent for that.
  The question we ask is: How are we to do that in the face of the 
massive deficit and, to hear from our Republican leadership, tax cut 
2.0? What does that mean, on tax cut 1.0? We don't know. But I would 
draw the attention of all of us to what happens when you do not have 
the revenues necessary to fund the government--Oklahoma.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have 
remaining.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Wyoming has 10\1/2\ 
minutes remaining.
  Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Oklahoma (Mr. Russell).
  Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Wyoming.
  Mr. Speaker, I didn't realize that this was going to be a defend 
Oklahoma debate. I invite my colleague, Mr. Garamendi, to come and look 
at our thriving economy, our sustained economic growth of nearly 6 
percent since 2008 when my colleague's State has been on the wane.
  This thing about deficits and deficit spending, we have a balanced 
budget amendment, unlike my colleague's State. And further, we don't 
borrow from the Federal Government to bail out our State; instead, we 
pay the bills ourselves.
  Now, I thought that this was a measure to support our military and to 
support the United States Air Force, and in that we will wholeheartedly 
agree. But, Mr. Speaker, I take great pride in the people of Oklahoma. 
With one-tenth of the population, we can do everything that my 
colleague on the other side of the aisle's State does itself, and I 
take great pride in that.
  Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to thank my colleague 
from Oklahoma for his remarks. I also want to thank my colleague from 
Texas for this important resolution.
  I am honored, Mr. Speaker, to represent F.E. Warren Air Force Base, 
located in Cheyenne. The missileers of the Mighty Ninety Missile Wing 
are responsible for maintaining, protecting, and manning ICBMs that are 
deployed throughout Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado. These missiles 
remain on alert 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They are one of our 
most important deterrents against attack from our adversaries.
  But these Minuteman 3 missiles, Mr. Speaker, were developed in the 
1960s and deployed in the 1970s. We have made modernization and 
modifications since then, but we desperately need additional 
modernization to these ICBMs and to our force in general to keep pace 
with adversaries like the Russians who have made significant 
investments in their ICBM force. We cannot do that, Mr. Speaker, 
without predictable and reliable funding that is required to complete 
such a complicated and complex multiyear project.
  The ICBM replacement program, known as the Ground-Based Strategic 
Deterrent, is slated to receive the necessary increased funding in 
fiscal year 2019 so that we can accelerate that program. But for these 
resources to be effective, Mr. Speaker, we must make sure we get the 
additional funding to the Air Force on time.
  As my colleague from Texas talked about, Mr. Speaker, the Air Force 
faces readiness and modernization challenges, and the ICBM replacement 
is just one of those.
  Once again, Mr. Speaker, we have to stop allowing our dysfunction and 
we have got to stop allowing the demands, frankly, by some on the other 
side of the aisle to hold our defense funding hostage. We have got to 
stop allowing those political debates to put our men and women in 
uniform at greater risk and, frankly, the long-term national security 
of this Nation at risk.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of this resolution, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Cheney) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1010.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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