Contact: Josh Holly; 202.226.3988
Hunter Opening Statement for Hearing on Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Request for the Army
Washington D.C. – House Armed Services Committee Ranking Republican Duncan Hunter (R-CA) today released the following opening statement for the committee’s hearing on the Fiscal Year 2009 budget request for the United States Army:
“Secretary Geren, General Casey—thank you for being here for what I believe is your first posture hearing in your current positions. We are very fortunate to have each of you serving our country, and we are very fortunate to have you here today.
“Before I briefly lay out my own concerns about the Fiscal Year 2009 budget request, I would just like to briefly comment on the Army’s current readiness, which is of concern to all of the members on this committee. The war we are fighting today is, without a doubt, wearing on our forces. However, I would ask—are we supposed to only fight the wars that improve military readiness? No one will argue that the readiness of our military is absolutely crucial to the national security strategy. However, should declining readiness trends spur us to throw up our hands and give up, or should these trends be a warning to all of us and compel us to identify, fund, and fix these shortfalls?
“Not to long ago you were both in front of this committee talking about the Army’s strategic initiatives and both of you expressed concerns about the Army being out of balance. You stated that ‘balance is a state of continual readiness that provides strategic flexibility and depth, while sustaining the All-Volunteer Force and simultaneously meeting the current and future demands of the National Security Strategy in an era of persistent conflict.’
“I’d like to take the opportunity to thank you again for that testimony and to say that I agree with you. In fact, I believe that not only is the Army out of balance but the entire Department of Defense is out of balance.
“Which leads me to my first concern about this budget request; the President’s Fiscal Year 2009 base budget request for the Department of Defense amounts to $515.4 billion, which is $36 billion more than last year’s enacted base appropriation. Specifically for the Army, the President’s FY 2009 budget request is $140.7 billion, an $11.8 billion increase over the FY 2008 enacted level. However, I am disappointed that while seemingly robust, the top-line request still does not meet a minimum threshold of four percent of gross domestic product—a threshold that several defense and military experts insist is required to meet the current and future needs of our military. In fact, Admiral Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in recent public statements has been generally supportive of this approach. I’d like to ask both of our witnesses to explain what types of national security risks the Administration is implicitly accepting as a result.
“Our servicemembers, who bravely defend the American people and fight for our national security interests, deserve all the material and moral support that we can provide. We cannot afford to continue to separate investments in the Army from the current conversation about the state of the military’s readiness. I believe that investments in future capabilities and the readiness of the current force are interdependent.
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“Finally, I would like to bring up an issue that I brought up at last year’s posture hearing regarding the funding for the National Guard and Reserve. I note that in 2000 the National Guard received approximately $600 million in procurement funding and that today they are getting approximately $5 – 7 billion in procurement funding. So things are getting better, but it is still going to take time to get it exactly right.
“So my issue is that we need to get a handle on all of the light, medium, and heavy tactical wheeled vehicles that the Army has in its inventory. National Guard units don’t need armored humvees or armored trucks to accomplish their homeland security missions. So let’s find out where all of the un-armored wheeled vehicles are, bounce that against Guard requirements and help the Guard and Reserve. Let’s not end up leaving a lot of these vehicles over in theater and giving them away for pennies on the dollar when we can use them here in the United States. I remember General Schoomaker telling us that the Army entered the post-9/11 world with a $56 billion procurement shortfall. He called it the “holes in the yard.” We’re still climbing out of that 1990’s hole so let’s not let ourselves get further behind. So please work with our staff and let’s figure this out.
“Secretary Geren, General Casey—thank you again for being here, and I look forward to your testimony.”
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