House Speaker Paul Ryan fears that budget cuts coupled with increased national security threats have \u201cpushed our military past the breaking point,\u201d creating systemic readiness problems that are costing troops lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cInstead of upgrading our hardware, we have let our equipment age,\u201d he said in a defense policy speech at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event Thursday morning. \u201cInstead of equipping our troops for tomorrow\u2019s fight, we have let them become woefully underequipped.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn exchange for (troops\u2019) service, we make them a sacred promise. We promise that we will give them the tools they need to do their jobs safely and effectively. And today, quite frankly, we are letting them down. We are breaking that promise. That is shameful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The comments from the House\u2019s top Republican come just one day before a potential government shutdown as his party and congressional Democrats continue to fight over how to fund a host of federal programs for the remainder of fiscal 2018. Republicans want a substantial increase in military spending, while Democrats have said they\u2019ll only agree to that if other nondefense priorities are also boosted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his speech, Ryan repeated his accusation that the rival party\u2019s leaders are \u201cplaying politics\u201d with military lives by tying a budget deal to issues like domestic spending and immigration issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the speech also went further than simply a short-term plea for a legislative fix. CSIS officials said it was the first time in recent memory the top House official spoke in detail about military readiness and priorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan laid out a broader argument on military funding often left to his top defense hawks, calling for more focus from all lawmakers and the American public on the importance of adequate resources and funding for the armed forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur adversaries recognize our supremacy in the traditional domains of warfare and are, therefore, trying to develop capabilities that put our most vital interests at risk, while avoiding our traditional strengths,\u201d he said, listing threats posed by North Korea, Russia, Iran and Islamic State group fighters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is not some problem we are projected to face years down the road. It is happening right now. \u2026 We know the greatest antidote to that uncertainty is the ability to depend on our Armed Forces to keep the peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He noted that 80 troops were killed in training accidents in 2017, which is almost four times as many killed in combat. \u201cAnd the worst part is that these deaths may have been preventable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The solution, he argued, is \u201can adequate budget agreement [that] fully funds our troops\u201d and an end to the practice of using short-term budget extensions to keep government operations open. Pentagon officials have often lamented both of those issues, saying they need more money and more reliable budget schedules for long-term planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe cannot shy away from the threats we face. We must confront them,\u201d he said. \u201cWe cannot shun our alliances. We must strengthen them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd we cannot leave our troops unprepared on the battlefield. We must equip them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The themes of the speech generally mirror President Donald Trump\u2019s promises to \u201crebuild the military\u201d and the general outline of his caucus\u2019 \u201cA Better Way\u201d policy agenda released two years ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this speech comes amid growing concern among defense hawks in Congress that fiscal conservatives\u2019 focus on cutting federal spending has overlooked the importance of national defense funds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, and other members of that panel in recent weeks have publicly objected to plans for simple budget extensions in lieu of complex defense funding hikes, arguing the moves severely damage Pentagon planning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The House will vote Thursday afternoon on another short-term budget extension in an attempt to avoid a government shutdown on Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In a military policy speech, the House speaker chastised Democrats for failing to help boost defense spending and return to the regular budget process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":85404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":65,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[65,106,31,15,33],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3294],"class_list":["post-29037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-budget","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-management","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"5PVH3UKDQVF6NPFZSPC5XYZ7QQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/01\/18\/house-speaker-warns-budget-fights-have-pushed-military-past-the-breaking-point\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n