Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq and Afghanistan Security and Reconstruction Act, 2004

EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN SECURITY AND RECONSTRUCTION ACT, 2004

AMENDMENT NO. 1834

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there are 7 minutes for debate in relation to the Reed amendment
No. 1834, with 5 minutes under the control of the Senator from Rhode Island, Mr. Reed, and 2 minutes under the control of the chairman prior to a vote on or in relation thereto.

The Senator from Rhode Island is recognized for 5 minutes.

Mr. REED. I thank the Chair.

Mr. President, my amendment would raise the end strength of the U.S. Army by 10,000 soldiers. It is fully paid for this year through the Iraqi freedom fund.

In the process of rebuilding Iraq, we have to be very careful not to demolish our Army. It is stretched thin across the globe, with 320,000 soldiers in over 120 countries. They are serving us today. They will serve us tomorrow. They will do it with great distinction and fidelity to their service and to the country, but we have to make sure they have additional men and women to do the job.

We are already beginning to see the cracks. In Iraq, there are 1 million tons of ammunition that are not fully secured.
Thousands of air defense shoulder-fired missiles are unaccounted because we simply do not have the troops to cover all the places.

If we want more forces in Iraq, then we have to have more forces in our end strength. Even if you do not want more forces in Iraq, we have to have an end strength that will support our deployment policy, and we do not right now.

This stress will show up in training opportunities missed, in retention and recruitment objectives missed, and a lack of flexibility to respond. It will be particularly important to our National Guard and Reserves because if we do not increase the Active Forces, the burden will fall more and more on Reserve Forces, and that burden over time is unsustainable.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this measure to help the soldiers. If we do not pass this measure, the next time you see your Guard men and women and reservists, you can tell them their bag better be packed because they will be going again and again.

I ask unanimous consent to add Senator Biden and Senator Nelson of Florida as cosponsors.

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Mr. REED. Mr. President, the Army has 501,000 soldiers serving on active duty. Not only is this above the authorized end strength of 480,000, it is also above the 3 percent variance rate. The Army desperately needs troops, and we can provide them these troops today. This is funded through the Iraqi freedom fund, a $1.9 billion unrestricted account that the Secretary of Defense has. In fact, as I understand it, the Secretary of Defense could turn around tomorrow and use this money for these troops. We can do it today. We should do it today. We cannot stand these stresses much longer. We can give General Schoomaker more time, but the troops that are today in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and around the globe need to know that we are going to send them the reinforcements they need through the active services.

I yield my time.