James M. Talent: “I can do that best by defining what ``hollowing forces'' are. Here is a good analogy. Take a house that on the outside…”

“I can do that best by defining what ``hollowing forces'' are. Here is a good analogy. Take a house that on the outside looks good. Maybe it has a nice coat of paint on the outside and it looks like it can do what a house is supposed to do. But when you go on the inside, you find it has no furniture. You find that the wallpaper is peeling. Maybe you find that there is not any plumbing in it. You find that it is unlivable, even though it looks like a good house. It should be a good house. When you actually look on the inside, it is not any good. It is hollowed out from the inside. That is what is happening to our Armed Forces today. Because on the outside, Mr. Speaker, they may look good. On the outside the number of troops we have may look adequate to perform the mission that has been assigned to them. In fact, I think you will find, after investigation, that the total end strength of the Armed Forces is not adequate to perform the mission that has been assigned to them, even if we were funding their training and supplies adequately.”