Dems warn of “national crisis” in military readiness

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Members warn of “national crisis” in military readiness
By Roxana Tiron | Posted 11/25/07 03:13 p.m.
November 25, 2007


Although Democrats in Congress have not been able to force an Iraq withdrawal, two House Armed Services Committee leaders are sounding the alarm that readiness shortfalls could prevent the U.S. military from responding to new threats at home and abroad.

Reps. Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas), the chairman of the Armed Services Readiness subcommittee, and Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Air and Land Forces subcommittee, this week introduced a resolution detailing the challenges facing the military and the resulting impact on national security.

The two veteran lawmakers are working on getting co-sponsors for the bill, and the Armed Services panel could have a hearing on the issue at the beginning of next year.

“While the Congress has been unable to agree on policy related to Iraq in veto-proof numbers, we should all be able to agree on one thing: the U.S. military constitutes our first and last line of protection – and they are in a world of hurt,” Ortiz said in a joint statement accompanying the resolution.

“Our military’s ground forces are broken by the ongoing operations, particularly in Iraq, and we are watching the making of a full blown national security crisis,” Ortiz added.

The Ortiz-Abercrombie resolution comes at the conclusion of a year in which they and other committee leaders have tried to raise awareness about the state of military training as well as equipment. Congress has spent considerable funds to restore military readiness, as Armed Services Committee chairman Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) made that one of his panel’s priorities.

Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), chairman of the defense appropriations committee, also sounded alarm about the state of the military. The 2008 defense appropriation bill that President Bush signed into law earlier this month contains funding to expand the Army by 7,000 soldiers and the Marine Corps by 5,000 troops, as well as funding to equip and train the additional personnel.

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