EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE THAT THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE FACES SIGNIFICANT READINESS CHALLENGES AFFECTED BY BUDGETARY UNCERTAINTY

On 2018-07-25, Representative John Garamendi (D-CA-8) delivered a floor speech titled "EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE THAT THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE FACES SIGNIFICANT READINESS CHALLENGES AFFECTED BY BUDGETARY " in the House. The speech addressed taxes and also covered the environment, foreign policy. It referenced legislation: HRES1010.

EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE THAT THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE FACES SIGNIFICANT READINESS CHALLENGES AFFECTED BY BUDGETARY UNCERTAINTY

Congressional Record, Volume 164 Issue 125 (Wednesday, July 25, 2018) [Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 25, 2018)] [House] [Pages H7647-H7650] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE THAT THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE FACES SIGNIFICANT READINESS CHALLENGES AFFECTED BY BUDGETARY UNCERTAINTY Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1010) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Air Force faces significant readiness challenges due to insufficient personnel levels, a shrinking and depleted aircraft fleet, and maintenance deferrals, all of which are affected by budgetary uncertainty and impede the Air Force's ability to meet ongoing and unexpected national security threats, putting United States national security at risk. The Clerk read the title of the resolution. The text of the resolution is as follows H. Res. 1010 Whereas according to Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein, the United States Air Force is ``the smallest we've ever been''; Whereas according to an April 2018 report from the Government Accountability Office, more than a quarter of fighter pilot positions are unfilled; Whereas the Air Force has just 18,000 of the roughly 20,000 pilots it needs to crew its 5,500 fighters, bombers, airlifters, cargo planes, and rescue helicopters; Whereas this 10 percent gap in its air crew requirement could, as Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson said in November of 2017, ``break the force''; Whereas almost \1/3\ of the Air Force's aircraft were not flyable, or mission-capable, at any given time in fiscal year 2017; Whereas over the last decade, the total number of aircraft in the Air Force has been on a downward slope; Whereas the total number of aircraft in the Air Force will drop again from fiscal year 2017 to fiscal year 2018; Whereas the average age of an aircraft, forcewide, increased from 24 years in fiscal year 2010 to 27.6 years in fiscal year 2017; and Whereas between fiscal years 2013 and 2017, accidents involving all Defense Department warplanes rose nearly 40 percent: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that-- (1) the United States Air Force faces significant readiness challenges due to aging aircraft and depleted personnel; (2) Congress must provide the Air Force regular and sufficient funding to address procurement, maintenance, and staffing shortfalls; and (3) without this funding, United States national security is at risk. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Cheney) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Wyoming. General Leave Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Wyoming? There was no objection. Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington), my friend and colleague, to discuss his resolution. Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, the gentlewoman from the Cowboy State (Ms. Cheney), for yielding me time, but mainly for her leadership on this issue to ensure that we as a country and as the leaders of this great Nation fulfill our most important responsibility to provide for a common defense, our constitutional first job, to provide for the common defense, and, I would add, to secure our liberty and the liberty of our posterity, because there is no freedom without liberty. So God bless the gentlewoman, and I thank her for leading the charge here. Mr. Speaker, I rise to strongly encourage my colleagues to support this resolution, H. Res. 1010, expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Air Force faces tremendous readiness challenges, reflected in a shrinking and dilapidated aircraft fleet, insufficient personnel, and dangerous levels of deferred maintenance, all of which are due, I think, in large part, I would say, to budgetary uncertainty, which impedes the Air Force's ability to meet our national security threats. Mr. Speaker, there is nothing more important than the safety of the American people and the security of our country. To do this, it is real simple. We have to have a strong military. To do that, we would need to include a strong Air Force. For the past 70 years, our Air Force has ensured that America's military prowess is unmatched in the skies, protecting our people, our allies, and our interests around the world. I am honored to have Dyess Air Force Base in my backyard, the largest B-1 bomber base in this country, and I am proud to represent the brave airmen of the 7th Bomb Wing and the 317th Airlift Group, and all those in the Key City and in the Big Country area who support them. I know that these men and women, along with all of our men and women in the armed services around the world, are doing all they can every day for our Nation's defense, and we as Congress ought to do all we can to support them. I think it is a moral imperative to ensure that our sons and daughters, that our brothers and sisters who we ask to risk their families, to risk their very lives, I think we should, at a minimum, make sure they have the tools and resources necessary to be safe and successful. But recently, because of our continued reliance on temporary funding measures known as CRs, or continuing resolutions, and the budget uncertainty and disruption that those create, we have hurt the Air Force's readiness and our combat capabilities. We have failed, it is hard to believe, for almost 10 years in a row to fund our military on time. Temporary spending measures, coupled with continual defense cuts--I think it is about $200 billion over the last decade--often delay procurement of important assets. Every contract, whether it is to buy a plane, repair a plane, fuel a plane, or arm a plane, is adversely affected by this funding start and stop. But I think we could put it another way. This broken funding process, or budget and appropriations process that I have been describing, weakens our defense and plays directly into the hands of our adversaries. {time} 1515 Throughout our Nation's history, our airmen and airwomen have always answered the call of duty. They should not pay the price because Congress has failed to fulfill our duty, which is to fully fund our military and to do it on time. That is going to send the right message to our troops. That will affirm our support for our troops. And I think it sends the right message to our enemies as well, just as importantly. Congress, though, has continued to fail to do this, and it has caused significant damage to our entire defense community, including the U.S. Air Force. The Air Force has a 70-year history. This is the smallest and oldest Air Force--the smallest and oldest--we have ever had. The Heritage Foundation's ``2018 Index of U.S. Military Strength'' rates our Air Force readiness as being merely marginal. With marginal processes, marginal inputs and resources, you get marginal results. I think both sides of the aisle, my colleagues and my Democrat colleagues, would agree that our troops deserve better than marginal support. More than a quarter of our fighter pilot positions are unfilled, and there is a 10 percent gap between the pilots that the Air Force has and what they need to crew their aircraft, a gap that the Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said could ``break the force.'' That is from our Secretary of the Air Force. Last year, almost one-third of the Air Force's planes were not flyable, and the average age of our aircraft is almost 30 years old. Here is the worst part: Not only are we compromising our capabilities, but [[Page H7648]] aviation accidents, including fatal accidents, are on the rise. We now have four times as many servicemembers dying in training-related accidents than in combat. Mr. Speaker, by June of this year, we already matched the number of noncombat crashes in the Air Force than we had all last year. Between the years 2013 and 2017, we had 133 military accidents leading to deaths. That is a 40 percent increase over that timeframe. While our Nation's Air Force fleet continues to diminish in size and effectiveness, our adversaries, like China, are modernizing and expanding. The way I think of it, Mr. Speaker, is with respect to our investment in national security and our military strength. We are retreating while some of our adversaries are advancing. That is scary, and that is unacceptable. As President Reagan said, weakness invites aggression. He also said that peace is achieved through American strength. Our first President said that our military readiness is ``the most effectual means of preserving peace.'' If we don't reverse this trend, we as a Nation will leave ourselves vulnerable at a time of escalating threats and increasing instability around the world. That is why we need to give the Air Force the quantity and the certainty of resources that match the caliber of our airmen and their enormous commitment of that sacred duty of protecting our fellow Americans. If we do this, our Air Force can continue safeguarding the skies, remaining the greatest fighting force in the world. Mr. Speaker, America is still the leader of the free world, and the world is safer when America leads and when America's military is strong. The world is counting on us. The American people and our allies are counting on us. Most importantly, our brothers and sisters in uniform are counting on us. Politicians too often make the important seem insignificant and the insignificant important. There is nothing more important fo

Referenced legislation: HRES1010, HRES1010