Continuing Resolutions Hurt the Military
Floor Speech
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Mr. BERGMAN. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague and my next-door office mate. The south wing of Cannon is well guarded.
Of course, the third verse of the ``Marines' Hymn'' says that when all the rest of us get to heaven, they will find that the gates are guarded by United States marines. But I guarantee you, there are some snipers up there somewhere, making sure that the marines don't get taken from behind.
We have a term, or had a term because I am no longer involved with the Pentagon on a direct basis, but while working there over a long period of time, there was a term called BLUF, B-L-U-F, bottom line up front. So the bottom line up front from my remarks today is that CRs, continuing resolutions, seriously inhibit and in some cases, prevent long-term planning, training, and readiness.
We have a term that you will hear now used by the military on a daily basis: We have to be ready to fight tonight. That is not tonight next week. That is not tonight next month. That is right now and around the globe.
When you have a mission like the U.S. military does to protect not only our citizens here but those citizens in countries of our coalition partners around the world, we have to be able to fight tonight, and we have to be able to fight as a coalition force around the world. When you are not ready, you are not a good partner. Continuing resolutions consume time, they consume resources, and they increase the overall cost of warfighting.
DOD's mission is to protect all of our citizens by successfully executing operational war plans. These operational plans change over time due to evolving threats. Continuing resolutions prevent DOD from maintaining momentum in keeping ahead of those changing threats. Warfighting is not like a sports team where you can go 18 and 1 for the season and still claim victory. That 1 has to always be in the zero column for our military.
Training and readiness go hand in hand. The readiness comes in two forms: personnel readiness and equipment readiness. When you think about the time it takes to train a young soldier, sailor, airman, marine or coastguardsman, that can't be done overnight. Long-term planning goes into that individual training. That individual training morphs into unit training so that individual part of a unit is ready to go and defend our Nation's interests at home and abroad.
Equipment readiness is a challenge, because when you cannot plan long term for your buys of parts, whether they be for aircraft, ships, tanks, whatever it happens to be, again, your cost goes up.
We have the responsibility as the Congress to give our Department of Defense and the Secretary of Defense the tools they need to keep our country safe. Continuing resolutions seriously hinder our capability to complete that mission.
I strongly urge the Senate to act swiftly and come to the realization that a continuing resolution is not an answer going forward for the safety and security of our country, all of its citizens, our families, and our coalition partners who rely on us when times get in dire straits.
So, Madam Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to speak with you tonight, and I just want to end with one real-time, real-life anecdote.
Forty-six years ago yesterday, July 11, 1972, we saw the evidence of a successful evolving threat in Vietnam when the worst, most devastating helicopter shoot-down of the entire Vietnam war occurred. Sixty-two people perished in one CH-53 helicopter in the northern I Corps. We had not had the capability to adjust our tactics because the SA-7 missile had been introduced. That is how quickly life can change on the battlefield.
We as the Congress need to do everything possible to ensure that that doesn't happen to our Nation's warriors.
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague not only for his service, but for his friendship.
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