Two leading Republicans of the Senate Armed Services Committee said senators who vote against increasing funding for the military in fiscal 2017 will be responsible for the lives lost as a result of inadequate training and equipment.
“You vote no on this and the consequences will be on your conscience, because if you ask any leader today in the military, the lives of the men and women who are serving this nation in uniform are at risk,” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said during an impassioned floor speech on Thursday.
“Voting against this amendment is putting the lives of the men and women who are serving in danger. I have no doubt about it,” McCain continued. “There will be further attacks … and we won’t be ready. And the responsibility for it will be on those who vote no on this amendment.”
The Senate is expected to vote Thursday morning on an amendment from McCain that would add $18 billion to the Pentagon’s overseas contingency account in fiscal 2017, which will primarily increase the number of ships and aircraft the military can buy.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., has introduced a second-order amendment to increase domestic spending by the same amount to cover priorities such as infrastructure rebuilding and cybersecurity for non-defense governmental agencies. A vote is also expected on that proposal on Thursday.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., joined McCain on the Senate floor Thursday to defend the need for the $18 billion increase, saying that those who vote against it will need to return to their home districts and explain why to troops “who are busting their ass to fight this war.
“Oh, we love the military. Everybody loves the military,” Graham said. “Well, your love doesn’t buy a damn thing.
“If you vote no, you better never say I love the military any more. Because if you really loved them, you’d do something about it,” he continued.
Budget hawks in Congress have urged a vote against the proposal, saying that it busts the budget caps set by last year’s deal. But Graham said those are the people who will suffer if readiness is further degraded.
“The Budget Committee isn’t going to fight this war,” he said. “Nobody at Heritage Action is going to go over to Afghanistan, Iraq or Syria or Libya to protect this country.”
Dan Holler, a spokesman for Heritage Action, said the group never made a comment on McCain’s amendment.
“Sen. Graham would be hard pressed to find another institution — Heritage and Action — that is more committed to rebuilding our nation’s military in an enduring, sustainable manner,” Holler said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
