National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank Chairman Thornberry, Ranking Member Smith, and the ranking member on the Readiness Subcommittee, Madeleine Bordallo, for all of their efforts.

Chairman Thornberry over the last few months has highlighted the significant readiness challenges and budget choices we are facing. The reality is that these decisions we make here will affect the strength of our national security for years to come.

The American people are concerned. And why shouldn't they be? The readiness obstacles that we face force our military leaders to choose between providing adequate training and equipment for troops at home and supporting our men and women who are already fighting on the front lines.

We have heard verified media reports, for instance, that aircraft mechanics have taken drastic measures, even attempting to strip parts from museum pieces, to keep our fighters and bombers flying.

We have heard testimony from each of our service branches about how critical it is for us to address our military readiness shortfalls. What we have heard has been sobering, to say the least.

Today we are called to address these maintenance, sustainment, and readiness issues. That is our constitutional duty. I believe that this bill will move us toward that end goal of restoring full-spectrum readiness.

This bill, for example, prohibits the Department from implementing another round of base realignment and closure in the absence of an accurate end strength assessment and it streamlines the Department of Defense's civilian hiring practices so that critical manpower capability gaps can be filled.

Most importantly, this bill also includes more than $5 billion in additional funds for, among other things, ship and aircraft depot maintenance, aviation training and readiness, and long-neglected facility sustainment, restoration, and modernization accounts.

Our military, an overruling force for good, is supported by the finest men and women in the world. They deserve our support in return.

At the same time, I would like to note that these recommendations don't fully alleviate my concerns about our readiness shortfalls. Here in Washington we need to make sure that we fully understand what is at stake and how the choices we make affect those who serve and sacrifice on our behalf.

We have to continue to focus on restoring readiness in the years to come and make sure that we properly man, train, and equip our forces so that they can meet the challenges on the horizon with the confidence and superiority we have come to expect.

I ask the Members of the House to support this National Defense Authorization Act and vote ``yes'' on H.R. 4909.

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