[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11925]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 11925]]

           READINESS AND MORALE A PROBLEM WITH U.S. MILITARY

  (Mr. KNOLLENBERG asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KNOLLENBERG. Mr. Speaker, President Clinton has created a 
national security emergency by spreading our troops all over the world 
while neglecting the defense budget.
  From 1960 until 1991, American troops were deployed 10 times. Since 
the Cold War, our fighting forces have been called into action an 
astonishing 26 times. Strangely enough, this increased activity has 
occurred during a period in which our military has shrunk by 40 
percent.
  Mr. Speaker, the defense bill the House will consider later this week 
addresses the problems of troop readiness and troop morale by providing 
the resources to ensure that American troops are the best trained and 
best equipped in the world.
  This important bill also provides funding to facilitate the 
deployment of a national missile defense system that will protect the 
American people from a ballistic missile attack launched by a rogue 
nation.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation replenishes our military, strengthens 
our national security, and enhances our ability to carry out foreign 
policy objectives. I urge all my colleagues to support it.

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