[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 14076-14077]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          ARMY BUDGET PROBLEMS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, ``Help is on the way.'' That was the 
promise this administration made to our country and to our 
servicemembers before the election in 2002. And look what it has come 
to mean.
  The Army cannot pay its utility bills, defense workers are on the 
unemployment lines, and equipment readiness is slipping to historic 
lows. So I ask, exactly who is being helped? I am sure that the 
administration will blame the Army's money problems on the war. There 
is no doubt that the $350 billion excursion into Iraq has placed stress 
on the Army as well as the other services.
  But this Congress has continually provided these supplemental funds 
the administration has requested to wage the war, and has even 
increased the defense budget by 19 percent since 2001.
  So I ask, how can it be that the Army is closing or curtailing the 
family support programs and laying off employees? The answer is clear. 
The administration is not requesting sufficient funds to provide for 
the national defense beyond the war in Iraq. This Congress has already 
provided $166 billion to the Army in 2006. That is $2 billion more than 
the administration requested.
  Obviously it is not enough. Because I am hearing of reports in the 
media about bases like Fort Sam Houston where the utility bills have 
not been paid since March. The Army knows it has a problem. They even 
requested more money, but the President's Office of Management and 
Budget cut $4.9 billion from the Army's request for the 2006 war 
supplemental before it was presented to Congress.
  So now the Army is trying to pinch pennies by closing libraries, 
reducing trash pickup, closing dining facilities, and reducing support 
for vital training activities. This is a move that is certain to damage 
morale and sends the wrong message to our troops. This is not the way 
to reward the courage and sacrifice of our soldiers and their families.
  Several weeks ago, I spoke here on the floor about the dismal 
readiness posture of the Army's equipment. Readiness rates for 
equipment have fallen so far that I fear that they will now present a 
strategic risk to our ability to respond to contingencies beyond our 
current commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  In addition to this problem, the Army is now laying off engineers 
working on some of the high priority modernization programs in order to 
pay bills elsewhere in the Army.
  The needs of the current and future Army are being neglected. As a 
candidate in 1999, President Bush said that ``The previous 
administration wanted to command great forces without supporting them, 
to launch today's new causes with little thought of tomorrow's 
consequences.''
  Unfortunately, it appears that the words now apply to his own 
administration. He is failing to request the funds the military needs 
to fight the war on terror, the war in Iraq, and also remain ready to 
defend the Nation if other needs arise.
  This country is at war. Americans have a right to expect the 
administration to realistically budget for national defense. That is 
not happening, and

[[Page 14077]]

every day it continues to put this country at greater risk.

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