[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6109]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        MILITARY READINESS NEEDS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Barrett of South Carolina). Pursuant to 
the order of the House of January 4, 2005, the gentleman from Rhode 
Island (Mr. Langevin) is recognized during morning hour debates for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I join my friend and colleague, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield), this afternoon to 
address matters of importance to Democrats on the House Committee on 
Armed Services.
  I was fortunate enough to visit our men and women overseas in Iraq 
about a year-and-a-half ago, and I appreciate the amazing job that they 
are doing. Despite the complexity of their mission, our troops have 
performed ably and professionally; and they are, without doubt, the 
strongest and best-trained fighting force in the world.
  However, we must ensure that they have the appropriate equipment to 
continue their record of success. We often overlook the impact that the 
high operations tempo in Iraq and Afghanistan have had on our 
equipment. Though the military has accomplished a great deal with what 
they have, we have clear indications that we are wearing down our 
equipment perhaps faster than we can replace it. The frequent use of 
Humvees, trucks, and aircraft, coupled with the harsh climate 
conditions, has caused them to wear down faster than expected.
  The Army estimates that trucks are being degraded at three to five 
times the normal peacetime rate, with the Congressional Budget Office 
suggesting that it could be as much as 10 times the recent average. We 
see similar trends in our aircraft and tanks, with wear rates ranging 
from two to five times the normal. Meanwhile, National Guard and 
Reserve units that deploy with their own equipment have left it in 
theater when they return, creating shortages in the United States for 
training and other purposes.
  Mr. Speaker, we simply cannot ignore the potential impact of this 
trend on the long-term readiness of our military. Our worldwide 
prepositioned stocks, which are intended to give our troops rapid 
access to equipment when needed, are severely depleted, with the Army 
estimating that we would need 3 years to fully restore them. Also, the 
Department of Defense estimates that it has $12.8 billion in unfunded 
maintenance costs, with the CBO projecting the numbers could be as high 
as $13 billion to $18 billion. At the current rate of operations, it 
will take years to reset the force to where it needs to be.
  Now, we make these points, Mr. Speaker, not to be alarmists but to 
raise awareness of the state of our military and to emphasize that 
Congress must remain committed to our troops, both in theater now and 
in the future. We must pledge not to send our men and women into harm's 
way with substandard equipment, while actively seeking to rebuild our 
forces to meet future needs.
  Mr. Speaker, furthermore, our commitment to our troops does not end 
when they return home. There is growing evidence that the combat 
stresses on our troops may contribute to higher rates of post-traumatic 
stress disorder. We must improve our PTSD counseling programs as well 
as our veterans' health care system.
  I was disappointed that, during consideration of the emergency 
supplemental appropriations bill, the House voted down the Democratic 
motion to recommit, which would have provided more funding for 
veterans' health programs. Mr. Speaker, our veterans' health system is 
strained as it is, and I can think of no greater disservice to those 
men and women serving now than having them return to a nation that 
refuses to provide appropriate support for their needs.
  I know many members of our committee have fought to meet our 
obligations to our service members and our veterans, and I would 
particularly like to thank and recognize the efforts of our Ranking 
Member, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), as well as the 
leadership of the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans). Again, Mr. 
Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield) 
for his dedication, and I urge all of my colleagues to remain committed 
to guaranteeing sufficient military readiness and veterans' services.

                          ____________________