[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 24, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5027-S5028]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            BUDGET AGREEMENT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, earlier this week the Trump 
administration and Speaker Pelosi reached an agreement to avoid a 
government funding crisis and provide for our Armed Forces. In the 
tough circumstances of divided government, they achieved the kind of 
deal that our national defense actually needs. The 2-year funding 
agreement will secure the resources we need to continue restoring the 
readiness of our Armed Forces and modernizing them to meet the 21st-
century challenges that face our country.
  As I mentioned yesterday, I always find it curious when our 
Democratic colleagues take the negotiating position that funding 
critical Pentagon missions and providing for the common defense are 
partisan Republican priorities. They act like only Republicans want a 
modern, ready military, such that our spending on national defense 
needs to be matched up with other spending in order to make it 
palatable to Democrats.
  In one sense, my Republican colleagues and I will probably say, 
``guilty as charged.'' Yes, we absolutely prioritize the national 
defense and the U.S. military. Yes, we prioritize keeping Americans 
safe. This is the fundamental obligation of the U.S. government.
  Over the past 2\1/2\ years, it has been a Republican President who 
has sought to reverse the previous 8 years of decline in defense. It 
has been Republicans in Congress who prioritized rebuilding our 
national defense after the Obama administration's neglect and atrophy. 
Thanks to the Trump administration's tough negotiating, this deal will 
secure a larger increase in defense funding than in nondefense programs 
relative to current law. Better than parity for defense.
  I doubt Members need any reminding about why these investments are so 
critical, but if they do, every day's newspapers make the case loud and 
clear. For years, our adversaries have methodically stepped up their 
incursions and their aggressions. They want to chip away at the 
peaceful, rules-based international order that American leadership has 
helped to establish and preserve.
  Between 2009 and 2018, the Chinese Communist Party increased its 
military spending--listen to this--by 83

[[Page S5028]]

percent--83 percent. Talk about a buildup. The Chinese nearly doubled 
their military spending in less than a decade. This is just the PRC's 
publicly acknowledged funding.
  These numbers have very real implications. When China gets a leg up 
in terms of readiness or technology, they are able to hold a greater 
number of U.S. and allied forces at risk. They are able to push their 
air and maritime control further into the Indo-Pacific region, 
increasing hegemonic control and effectively pushing the United States 
and our allies back.
  So the importance of this funding agreement is not simply our ability 
to provide for the upkeep and regular maintenance on our military as it 
currently exists. We are also talking about building the U.S. military 
of the future--research, development, and modernization--so that our 
Nation and our servicemembers are equipped to keep Americans safe and 
project power as necessary for years and decades to come.

  In my view, this grave responsibility should be a top, top priority 
on both sides of the aisle, and this funding agreement will allow us to 
get it done. I am proud that it will meet the pressing needs of 
servicemembers stationed at installations around the country, like Ft. 
Campbell, Ft. Knox, and the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky. The deal 
will secure sorely needed investment in the national defense, and it 
contains none of the far-left poison pills that House Democrats had 
sought, like going backward on the issue of life or stripping away 
rightful Presidential authorities. In divided government, that is what 
we call a good deal. The Senate will vote on it before the end of next 
week.

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