Thanks to efforts by the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, the Army is on its way to a stronger future. The 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, prepared by the two panels that Congress approved on Nov. 16 and is on the way to the White House, addresses many of the Army’s unfunded priorities, adds more troops, advances weapons modernization, and increases training to improve readiness and expand capabilities.
But the work of the Armed Services Committees won’t mean much unless accompanied by the funding required to support the armed forces. Congress must now undertake a two-part budgetary solution.
Related: Congress poised to slam Pentagon with heartbreak budget
First, the Appropriations Committees, then the full Senate and House, must approve a real defense budget before the expiration of the current Continuing Resolution on Dec. 8. Another CR, even a short one, handcuffs the Army and the other services in their ability to modernize, train, and equip the armed forces. The ill effects of short-term, stop-gap measures like the continuing resolution have been well documented and clearly articulated to Congress by the Defense Department’s most senior civilian and military leaders as well as by the defense industry community.
This is the ninth consecutive year Congress has been unable to pass a defense appropriations bill by the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year. There simply is no excuse to not have an approved budget. “Taking care of the troops” begins with assured, adequate, and predictable funding.
Second, now is the time to eliminate (or at least waive) the harmful and counter-productive defense spending caps. Imposed in the Budget Control Act of 2011, the defense spending caps have inserted complexity and uncertainty into the defense resourcing process. It’s simple: Congress must vote to remove these artificial spending caps now. The harm posed by defense budget caps is recognized by almost every member of Congress, many of whom have stated at some point in the past six years that the caps, which trigger mindless across-the-board spending cuts, are a terrible way of dealing with national security programs.
But acknowledging the problem isn’t the same as fixing it. Right now is the time to do what is right by the women and men who serve and those who will serve in the future. Congress must vote to remove the defense caps now.
The defense budget is big. There are a lot of zeroes in $700,000,000,000. The only thing more costly than spending $700 billion on national security is to not provide that funding. The failure to adequately resource the armed forces will increase the risk to our nation, diminish our ability to deter and prevent conflict, and will reduce our ability to protect and defend American interests around the globe.
Who pays the price of inadequate and untimely resourcing? America’s sons and daughters; those who have willingly and courageously stepped forward to protect and defend all of us. They have chosen to do their part. We, all of us, owe them levels of support commensurate with their commitment to defend us.
They have never failed us; let us not fail them.
Gen. Carter F. Ham, retired, is president and CEO of the Association of the U.S. Army.
If you would like to write an op-ed for the Washington Examiner, please read our guidelines on submissions here.
