Conference Report on S. 2943, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017
Floor Speech
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Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I stand today in strong support of S. 2943, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017.
First, I would like to thank Chairman Thornberry and Ranking Member Smith for their leadership here, and also our Readiness Subcommittee ranking member, Ms. Madeleine Bordallo. I thank them so much for all of their help and constant and tireless efforts in this endeavor. The efforts behind the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act were truly bipartisan.
Mr. Speaker, throughout the year, we heard testimony from all of our service branches about the necessity to address our military's alarming readiness shortfalls. Their accounts were sobering, to say the least.
We now confront the maintenance, sustainment, and readiness issues that we put off until tomorrow. Today, we have the responsibility of reducing the risk for our warfighters by making sure that they are well-trained and have combat-ready equipment.
There are a number of provisions in this conference report that aim to bolster our military readiness. In addition to the pay raise and increases in end strength, this report directs several assessments of the military departments' plans to rebuild readiness, enhance exercises, and modernize training requirements. It also provides for increased military construction above the President's budget request.
It provides the Department of Defense with flexibility for hiring civilians to fill critical manpower capability gaps, in particular, at our defense industrial base facilities: our depots, arsenals, and shipyards. It increases funding to the military service operations and maintenance accounts, critical elements we need to do to restore readiness.
None of these readiness provisions were included arbitrarily. They were specifically targeted to begin to reverse the decline in the readiness of our Armed Forces and bring them closer to achieving full- spectrum readiness levels. That is an absolute must if we are to combat and deter the threats to our national security from around the world.
Mr. Speaker, in that vein, I strongly urge support for S. 2943, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, and encourage my colleagues in the House to support it as well.
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