Hensarling Statement on Vote to Protect Our Troops

“There was one overriding reason to vote for the bloated Omnibus Spending bill; too many men and women in uniform are dying and there are urgent threats to our national security that we are ill-equipped to meet.

"Just last week we lost two pilots due to a training accident and seven pilots due to a helicopter crash in Iraq which means we lost 9 people due to equipment. Under 8 years of Obama, we have reduced the size of the Army Guard by 120,000 troops and eliminated 15 brigade combat teams. Funding to upgrade outdated Army equipment has been cut in half during the last 8 years under Obama.

"Meanwhile, China, Russia, Iraq and North Korea pose significant ever-growing threats to our national security. Secretary Mattis has said “If we are to sustain our military’s primacy, we need budget predictability. I know many want to avoid additional spending, but Congress must take action now to ensure our military lethality is sufficient to defend our way of life, preserve the prosperity our country enjoys, and pass on the freedoms we enjoy to the next generation.”

"As President Trump said right before he signed the bill, “deep defense cuts have undermined our national security…if you look at what's taken out, they've hollowed our readiness as a military unit and put America at really grave risk. My highest duty is to keep America safe. Nothing more important.” 

"It pained me to vote for this bill because we should never be forced with choosing between our national security and our fiscal security. America continues to be on the road to eventual bankruptcy.

"But the bill to bust the budget caps which sets these bloated spending levels and increases the debt ceiling was approved 6 weeks ago. I fought against it and voted against it. Unfortunately, that bill was overwhelmingly approved by Congress, including a majority of Republicans. Once the debt ceiling was again breached and the unsustainable funding level agreed to, the omnibus spending bill then allocated the money between accounts.

"Our sailors and soldiers have been held hostage by Democrat spending demands. A very expensive ransom is being paid and needlessly paid in my opinion. As long as Senators allow Democrats to veto military spending by requiring 60 votes instead of 51, this will continue to happen. Senators must be called upon to change this anti-democratic rule of theirs.

"Meanwhile, I’ll continue to vote to get rid of Obamacare and work to reform other automatic spending programs. This is the only way we will take America off the road to bankruptcy.”

Additional Background Information:

• Military
  • The 8 years of the Obama Administration severely depleted our military and during his Administration.
    • Serious readiness shortfalls, to include insufficient time or resources to train Sailors or maintain ships, contributed to the fatal accidents aboard the USS Fitzgerald and USS McCain this summer.
    • In some cases, Sailors are working over 100 hours a week to keep up with training requirements and current operations.
    • Navy ships and submarines remain in port unable to sail and perform their mission due to critical maintenance that cannot be conducted with budget cuts.
    • The Air Force is smaller than it has ever been, with the average age of Air Force aircraft over 27 years old.
    • The Air Force is 2,000 pilots short. The Pilots we do have are flying fewer hours than their predecessors in the 1970s when the service was considered “hollow.”
    • Less than half of the Navy’s Aircraft can fly due to maintenance and spare parts issues.
    • Approximately 80% of Marine Corps aviation units lack the minimum number of ready basic aircraft.
    • To fund other priorities with constrained budgets, the services have been diverting funds from facilities maintenance, a risky gamble that has accelerated the failure rate of our infrastructure.
    • Estimates of the number of facilities that now meet the Pentagon’s definition of “failing” have doubled in recent years.
    • Our Armed Forces are struggling with crumbling and mold-ridden barracks, hangars that have been condemned, air traffic control facilities and runways in disrepair, collapsed ceilings and contaminated water.
    • The backlog of deferred maintenance on facilities has increased from $2 billion in 1978 to $100 billion today.
  • This bill provided the biggest increase in defense spending in 15 years.
  • Of the 1.207 trillion, 659.6 billion was for the Department of Defense which accounts for  54%.
    • $47 billion to get our planes and pilots back in the air
    • $37 billion to get our ships and sailors back to the sea
    • $22.1 billion to get our troops ready to deploy
    • $144.3 billion to procure, replace and upgrade critical weapons and equipment
  • 2.4% pay raise for the military, which is their largest pay increase in 8 years
  • Record level of funding for the VA while also increasing oversight of the VA
• Other conservative wins
  • Continues all existing pro-life provisions, including maintaining the Hyde and Helms amendments that prohibit the use of taxpayer dollars for abortion
  • Reduces and the EPA funding even further and keeps it at the lowest staffing levels since 1998
  • Prevented the bailout to Obamacare insurers
• Provides funding for some of the Trump Administration’s most important priorities including $1.5 billion for 100 miles of physical barriers and associated technology along the southwest border, infrastructure investments and funds to combat the opioid crises
• Sets the stage to advance meaningful reforms to the National Flood Insurance program by stopping the reauthorization of this program in July. NFIP has cost taxpayers $16 billion and they currently have an additional $20 billion in debt for a total of $36 billion.

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