[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 71 (Monday, April 26, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2193-S2194]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Defense Budget

  Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, you know, there is a lot that we do 
not agree on here in the Senate, but I think everybody, including the 
Presiding Officer, can agree that we need to secure our country. We 
need to be safe. Our citizens need to feel safe. Our job as elected 
officials is to make sure that those who have stepped up to defend our 
country have the resources they need to do their job and do it safely.
  The President's recent budget proposal for the Defense Department 
does not, and I repeat, does not give our men and women in uniform the 
tools to do their job properly. It is clear that President Biden thinks 
we don't need further investment in our military. It is clear he thinks 
it is OK to ask our men and women to do more with less, and that is 
impossible. This should alarm the Members of this body and all American 
people.
  The world has changed a lot in 50 years. When President Biden first 
came to Washington in 1972, there were two superpowers: the United 
States and the Soviet Union. Back then, we spent 6.5 percent of our 
Federal budget on national defense--6.5. Today, we spend less than 3.5.
  In 2021, we are facing different but very, very serious threats. 
Secretary Austin has said that China remains the top ``pacing threat'' 
for our military. It is much, much more than that. China isn't just 
trying to dominate Asia and its neighbors; they are trying to dominate 
much of the world through its growing military and economic influence. 
Simply keeping pace with China is not enough.
  We have got to outpace all of our adversaries, but doing that 
requires smart, substantial, and strategic investments in our 
military--much more investment than the President and many people here 
in Congress publicly propose.
  Let me walk through some of the ways that a supposedly flat defense 
budget hurts our national security.
  President Biden says he wants his administration to trust the experts 
on things like COVID, but this defense budget shows he doesn't apply 
the same principle to the Pentagon. Unlike the President and some of my 
Democratic colleagues, I think we should take seriously the advice of 
our commanding generals, for they are the experts in this purview.
  Here is what ADM Charles Richard, commander of U.S. Strategic 
Command, who is over our nuclear capabilities, said in last week's 
hearing to the Senate Armed Services Committee:

       I have what I need today to deter. . . . but I need it 
     modernized. . . . There's no remaining margin.

  His warning is clear. We must modernize our greatest deterrent and 
keep peace among our adversaries with our nuclear arsenal. That means 
updating all three legs of the nuclear triad: submarines, bombers, and 
intercontinental ballistic missiles. It is necessary to do so, and it 
is also possible. As former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said, 
``America can afford survival.''
  The Russians have made modernizing their nuclear arsenal a priority. 
The Chinese have made growing their nuclear stockpile a matter of 
national pride. But the United States? Each day we rely on nuclear 
weapons that, in many cases, were designed by an analog mechanical 
computer. The free world, meaning the United States, works and sleeps 
under a nuclear umbrella that hasn't been updated to the digital age.
  Meanwhile, the Chinese are fielding hypersonic missiles, which are 
missiles that go into space and then return to their target. Ours are 
still on the drawing board.
  China's arsenal of ground-based and medium-range missiles continues 
to grow. They are pointed right at our forces in the Pacific and our 
allies in the region. We need investment to maintain our missile 
defense systems so we can protect our people and deter the Chinese from 
attacking our allies
  We are also in a new space race, and it is a race we must win. 
Americans may not realize how much we rely on space for our daily 
lives. Our satellites allow us to get GPS for our phones or even watch 
football games on television, but the Chinese want to weaponize this 
new frontier of war, and we are falling way behind.
  Right now, the Chinese have set up satellites over Taiwan as they 
continue to ramp up their threats on this democratic neighbor. It is 
unbelievable. I heard about the growing gap between us and the Chinese 
when I visited Army Materiel Command at Redstone Arsenal a few weeks 
ago in Huntsville. These folks shared with me how desperate we need to 
modernize our space-based systems that contribute to our missile 
defense.
  The U.S. Army is the largest consumer of space products, and our 
military relies on Materiel Command to provide the resources to train 
our soldiers for research, development of new equipment, and defend our 
Nation. They should not have to beg the President of the United States 
for the money to invest in the capabilities that we need.
  The United States must ensure secure and reliable access to space. 
Our budget needs to demonstrate commitment to defending our existing 
space assets and developing new technologies so we can win this next 
theater of conflict. We also need to invest in the safety of our 
service men and women, especially in aviation. Currently, the average 
age of an airplane in our military is older than the pilots flying 
them--older.
  According to a recent report by the National Commission on Military

[[Page S2194]]

Aviation Safety, the military had more than 6,000 noncombat aviation 
accidents since 2013, destroying 157 aircraft, at a cost of $9.41 
billion. Even worse was the human cost. There are 198 souls that have 
been lost in these tragic accidents, affecting hundreds more spouses, 
children, family, and friends.
  When asked why these causes occurred, servicemembers pointed to 
inadequate training programs, risky maintenance practices, and spotty 
funding, among other reasons. Alabama is home to Fort Rucker, where 
every Army helicopter pilot comes to get their training. When I visited 
the folks at Fort Rucker, they told me about the very real need for 
increased flight training hours for our pilots, which requires more 
investment and prioritization in the defense budget.
  This last week, two pilots were injured in a helicopter crash at Fort 
Rucker during flight training. I am sure General Francis and the U.S. 
Army safety center will do a thorough investigation and provide 
feedback on the improvements needed to ensure that this does not happen 
again. The safety of our flight program must be a top priority. We must 
listen to our men and women in uniform and invest in the proper 
training and safety measures that will prevent these crashes.
  Alabama stands ready to continue to build our military so we can 
maintain our status as a preeminent fighting force in the world. We 
have got hundreds of contractors and more than 200,000 employed in the 
defense sector across the State of Alabama. These topnotch men and 
women support our military installations from shipbuilders in Mobile to 
Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, and many places in between. As Winston 
Churchill said, ``Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.''
  We are willing and able, but those tools require sustained funding 
from the Federal Government. Telling our forces to fight a war with 
outdated tools is like giving a football team some leather helmets and 
decades-old poorly fitted pads and expecting them to compete against 
modern equipment. But that is exactly what President Biden's defense 
budget is asking our military to do. Frankly, it is a huge 
disappointment, coming from our Commander in Chief. We cannot let our 
men and women down.

  Thankfully, it is Congress--not the President--which has the power of 
the purse. And, really, this should be our first order of business 
every year. It is that important.
  In the coming weeks, I will be working with my colleagues on the 
National Defense Authorization Act and budget that will enable our 
military to do the job better today and prepare for all the challenges 
tomorrow. This debate is ultimately about whether or not we have the 
willpower to fight to defend our way of life and our great country.
  Well, I am willing to keep fighting for the United States by 
investing in the men and women who keep us safe. I urge my colleagues 
and President Biden to do the same.