WASHINGTON, DC - Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following statement on the budget deal reached between Congressional Leadership and the White House:
“Three years ago, America’s military was hobbled by a readiness crisis that left all of us less safe. Too few planes could fly, too few ships could sail, and too few troops were ready to deploy. Asking our men and women in uniform to do too much with too little has had tragic and fatal consequences across the force. President Trump’s leadership and bipartisan support in Congress has begun to turn that around.
“While I believe that our military needs more funding than this agreement provides, it undoubtedly makes our military stronger and more agile. We cannot underestimate the incredible benefit of funding our troops on time for the second year in a row, something Congress hasn’t done in recent memory. By doing so, we will potentially save billions by avoiding wasteful stopgap measures. For those reasons, this agreement has my strong support and I urge all of my colleagues to vote for it. This deal remains consistent with last year’s budget resolution, allows us to give our troops all of the pay and benefits they deserve and have earned, maintains our competitive edge against Russia and China, and continues to restore readiness.”