Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2013

Floor Speech

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Madam Chair, I'd like to voice my opposition to the amendment sponsored by Mr. Kingston and Ms. McCollum, aimed at banning pro-sports sponsorship by the Department of Defense.

Truly, we are in an era where the people's government should take proactive efforts to trim excesses from the budget wherever possible. This measure, Madam Chair, does not attack an excess of government. If accepted, the U.S. Government would be cutting out a proven successful investment in our Nation's military personnel.

The Army, the National Guard, and the National Guard Association strongly oppose this amendment. Last year, over 280 Members, in a bipartisan vote, opposed this amendment.

Appropriations Committee Chairman Rogers and Defense Subcommittee Chairman Young have both been opposed to this measure in committee votes and floor votes. Chairman Young has repeatedly said in 2012 that he opposes it.

Our military deserves access to the most qualified potential recruits available. A vote in favor of this amendment would handicap our military's recruiting efforts.

Starting in 1999, marketing the military through sports opened the door for the DOD's efforts to brand and to showcase their services to a specific target audience. The National Guard cannot advertise on broadcast television, so professional sports sponsorships become an efficient, effective means of reaching target markets for recruiting and retention of citizen soldiers and airmen.

Our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines are athletes. It only makes sense to advertise and market to professional sports venues. Athletes share common values with the military such as honor, integrity, individual responsibility, teamwork, and self-sacrifice.

Additionally, athletes are a key demographic in the men and women we want to serve. With the DOD's strict requirements for a recruit to qualify, only one in every four young people is even eligible to join. The DOD's success rate in recruiting stems from their direct access to potential recruits and influencers of men and women, like-minded about their interest in joining the military, often found at sporting events.

Pro sports sponsorships increase the DOD's visibility, generate recruitment opportunities at events, and provide a national platform to promote each branch's image.

In addition to recruitment and a recognizable national profile, military sponsorships in motorsports spotlight a good return on investment, dollar for dollar. In 2011 alone, the Army National Guard spent $44 million on motorsports sponsorships. But based on market value, the total media exposure the Guard received totaled over $150 million, a 336 percent return on investment.

If less is spent on advertising, history proves that DOD will have to increase dollars for bonuses to retain current military personnel and increase dollars for recruiting bonuses.

DOD motorsports partnerships have resulted in key transfers of technology. For example, the first Humvee sent to Iraq had canvas doors. Additional armor added created challenges to the Humvee's suspension systems. The marines turned to NASCAR engineers to help solve the problem.

An additional project developed by the marines is the mine roller. Pushed in front of trucks, the roller can detonate explosive devices, while protecting the marines in the vehicle. One of the first rollers in Iraq took a blast and saved the three marines inside. The mine roller uses new suspension technology developed by the Joe Gibbs NASCAR racing team. Base commanders say that cooperation between base workers and businesses across the country is saving troops' lives.

Beyond the direct investment, DOD pro sponsorships positively influence communities surrounding our Nation's personnel. For example, the National Guard works together with their partners in Panther racing and IndyCar to address unemployment affecting servicemembers and their families by sponsoring hiring fairs, outreach efforts, and employer education.

This amendment would likely limit the military from participating in the Olympics, flyovers over games, sponsoring marathons such as the Marine Corps Marathon, as well as the Blue Angels, the Thunderbirds, and the Golden Knights.

Cutting all funding towards DOD pro sports sponsorships hinders military recruitment of qualified candidates, impairs employment resources for our Nation's military families, and severely damages a positive financial investment for our military.

To directly quote the DOD:

To ensure the Nation fields a military fully capable of performing any assigned mission, we must recruit highly qualified men and women from across America. This amendment will directly impact the recruiting quality and overall mission requirements, increasing costs, and forcing reductions in the standards for accessions.

A vote for this amendment is a vote against the effectiveness of our military. Please join me in opposing this amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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