Contact: Josh Holly; 202.226.3988
Forbes Opening Statement for Joint Hearing on Readiness Legislation
Washington D.C. – Today, the House Armed Services Readiness and Air and Land Forces Subcommittees held a hearing to examine H.R. 834, legislation that highlights military readiness without acknowledging that the Fiscal Year 2008 Global War on Terror supplemental spending bill could help relieve the stress on America’s Armed Forces. Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-VA), Ranking Republican on the Readiness Subcommittee, released the following opening statement:
“Thank you Mr. Chairman. This hearing on House Resolution 834 follows a series of hearings this committee has recently held focusing on the readiness of our forces and our strategic posture. There is no doubt that we face an enormous challenge as we work to rebuild, transform and grow our armed forces while they are actively engaged in combat. However, I am uncertain as to how our soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen will benefit from either this hearing or the proposed resolution.
“I do believe however, that this committee and this Congress can take action for the benefit of our troops and readiness by passing the Fiscal Year 2008 supplemental. This funding will benefit our troops by growing the force and initiating the process of resetting our five combat brigades returning from Iraq. . The Department has gone on the record stating that they can continue to operate if they have the supplement by the end of May. However, continuing to operate and having the funds needed to operate and improve readiness are different targets.
“While testifying before the full House Armed Services Committee on February 6, 2008, Secretary Gates stressed that funding in the 2008 supplemental request was directly linked to the readiness of our military force. General Magnus and General Cody delivered the same message last week. During the hearing, General Cody stated:
‘This year we didn't get all the money for reset, there's still $7.6 billion for the Army sitting out there, and time is not on our side. We now have the most brigades deployed that we've ever had consuming our equipment, our depots are running at 26 million direct-labor hours, and we need that $7.6 billion like in October of last year to start buying long-lead items because we've got the workforce energized and then, as these as these five brigades come out, be able to rapidly reset so we can start getting in to the time factor of building a strategic reserve. And so when I talk about timely and fully funding, that is critical to get back to strategic readiness.’
“General Magnus echoed his remarks when he said:
‘Until we receive those [supplemental] funds, the Navy and [Marines] cannot put under contract for this nation's industry to build the aircraft that we need, the ground combat vehicles and equipment that we need, in addition to the personnel and operations and maintenance expenses that are needed. Our systems command is ready to contract with American industry now, and these are all lead-time away from delivering some of these systems.’
“In addition to the funds for equipment reset, the supplemental also includes $5.4 billion to Grow the Force—$4.1 billion of that is for Army efforts and $1.3 billion for the Marine Corps. In layman’s term, this equates to more people. There is no question our men and women have made tremendous sacrifices in defending the nation since 2001. The resolution before us details extended combat tours, limited time at home to train, multiple deployments, and personnel shortfalls.
“All of these challenges are real and they can be mitigated will reduced with more people. We must take responsibility then, for the fact that Army and Marine Corps efforts to increase combat forces and increase dwell-time are directly tied to the funds in the 2008 supplemental and the failure of the Congress to act on it for more than a year.
“On that note, I met just last week with Major General Thiessen, the Assistant Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources for the Marine Corps. He commented that readiness is the balance of people, equipment and time—people with the right skills, rank, equipment, and training. We must realize we cannot snap our fingers and produce a military that is fully ready—regardless of the funds provided. It takes time measured in months—not weeks—to recruit, train and ready soldiers and Marines. It also takes time, often 18-months or more, to field the equipment our soldiers and Marines need to accomplish their missions. Every day that passes without the readiness funding included in the 2008 supplemental is one more day that we delay gains in strategic readiness.
To be clear, I do not approach today’s hearing seeking to minimize the fact that our Army is out of balance, or that the armed services have presented large unfunded requirements to the Congress this year. It is time we take responsibility for our readiness shortfalls—readiness shortfalls that are grounded in decades of an inadequate defense top line—and fund the needs of our troops. For all of these reasons, I testified before the House Budget Committee that we ought to increase the top-line for defense spending. As you well know, the budget resolution passed in the House included no such increase. Unless we take action on this matter of funding, then I believe it is premature to consider the resolution before us today.
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