Sam Gibbons: “no doubt about it, we are living in a more dangerous world today than ever before. Weapons of mass destruction are…”

“no doubt about it, we are living in a more dangerous world today than ever before. Weapons of mass destruction are possessed and are increasingly available around the world and the violence of terrorism is about to take a step toward us on every day that we possess. A world class military is composed of world class leaders, world class soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. Why then, Mr. Speaker, are the United States pilots saying no to military careers and why are our sailors choosing to get out of the Navy rather than face long months at sea? It is because our military families are being asked to live in substandard housing and to endure long family separations. Even the chairman of the Joint Chiefs has argued that operational readiness, quality of life, and modernization cannot be sustained at current budget levels. A recent internal Army memorandum made it clear that maintaining go-to-war readiness meant sacrificing infrastructure maintenance, as well as repairs and quality-of-life initiatives. The memo's bottom line was clear: Funding has fallen below the survival level. This administration has mortgaged our military and is about to default on the obligation. Mr. Speaker, we have an obligation to provide for the security of our Nation. I urge my colleagues to join me in placing our military back on firm footing to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Our Nation demands it, our military deserves it.”