[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 16496]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          MILITARY BUDGET WOES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Williams) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WILLIAMS. Mr. Speaker, it is a sad day in America when Army 
Secretary John McHugh says that, in today's fiscal environment, the 
best case scenario for our military's budget is treacherous. Army Chief 
of Staff Ray Odierno said budget cuts hamper the military's ability to 
train its own troops.
  While there is waste and overlap in every Federal agency--the 
Pentagon's budget not excluded--there is much to be said for Congress' 
doing its primary job of governing: passing a budget. For the last 4 
years, we have seen the constraints that continuing resolution after 
continuing resolution have placed on our military.
  Earlier this year, we saw the rigid requirements that harmed the 
Department of Defense when President Obama's sequester took place. 
Before these cuts, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said our 
defense program was already underfunded by 5 percent with modernization 
underfunded by 10 percent. Thankfully, Congress took quick action that 
allowed the DOD to operate under a budget in order to meet all of their 
fiscal requirements and have more flexibility as they absorbed the 
across-the-board sequester cuts.
  General Odierno revealed this week that just two Army brigades are 
combat-ready and that training has come to a halt. This is a terrifying 
reality given that only 2 months ago President Obama addressed Congress 
and the public, asking for support for a military attack on Syria. We 
absolutely cannot send our troops who are not trained, not equipped, 
and not prepared into harm's way. Our military readiness should never, 
ever be threatened like this. As the world's superpower, our Armed 
Forces must be ready to deploy thousands of troops should the need 
arise.
  As the military continues finding ways to operate under current 
spending levels, it is also downsizing in Afghanistan and is preparing 
for future programs with no certainty of any financial stability. Our 
Nation has serious financial problems. Our deficit is growing; our 
spending is increasing; and it seems that, in nearly every budget 
battle, our military is thrown in as a bargaining chip. This is not the 
American way, and it must become a thing of the past. Other government 
agencies have bloated budgets with wasteful, overlapping programs, 
fraudulent spending, and blatant abuse of taxpayer dollars. All the 
while, our military budget is being stripped to its bare bones.
  The last time I checked, Mr. Speaker, we were still a Nation at war. 
Now is not the time to gut essential programs for our warriors and 
their families. We owe it to our military to have them operate under 
regular order, pass and conference our appropriations bills so our 
fighters can continue to be the best and the most prepared in the 
world.
  Texas' 25th District is home to Fort Hood, the Army's premier 
installation to train and deploy heavy forces, and it is one of the 
largest military installations in the world. Fort Hood ranks highest in 
terms of future capability and support, and it can sustain more than 
50,000 soldiers and their families.
  I urge my colleagues in Congress to honor our commitment to these 
troops and to put an end to the financial uncertainty in the military. 
Let's simply do just the right thing.
  May God bless our troops. May God bless America.
  And always in God we trust.

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