Defense Secretary Jim Mattis laid responsibility for years of declining military readiness at House lawmakers’ feet during his first testimony Monday night on President Trump’s 2018 defense budget.
Mattis told the House Armed Services Committee that he has been “shocked” how budget caps passed by Congress, called sequestration, and delays in passing timely annual budgets have taken a deep toll on the military. He urged House lawmakers to rally bipartisan support to lift the sequester and pass the president’s budget on time in September.
“I need bipartisan support for this budget request. In the past, by failing to pass a budget on time or eliminate the threat of sequestration, Congress sidelined itself from its active constitutional oversight role,” Mattis said in his opening statement. “It has blocked new programs, prevented service growth, stalled industry initiative, and placed troops at greater risk.”
Over the past decade, Congress has passed 30 separate stopgap budget measures, Mattis said.
“For all the heartache caused by the loss of our troops during these wars, no enemy in the field has done more to harm to the readiness of our military than sequestration,” he said.
Mattis and Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before the House Armed Services Committee at the first of four budget hearings this week in the House and Senate.
Congress is working to build the 2018 defense budget after Trump unveiled his proposal last month.
