Mike Gallagher: “I would like to thank my good friend from Wyoming for yielding the time but, more importantly, for her leadership in…”

“I would like to thank my good friend from Wyoming for yielding the time but, more importantly, for her leadership in this effort to highlight the devastating impacts when we fail to provide full, on-time, and robust funding to our military. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 994, which would recognize the significant readiness challenges facing the United States Marine Corps, and warn that budgetary uncertainty is undermining the ability of our Marines to do their vital work day in and day out in defense of this Nation. Since fiscal year 2010, the Active-Duty Marine Corps has shrunk by 8 percent. Thanks to the work of this House, that figure is finally trending in the other direction, but there is still much more work to be done, all of which requires stable, robust, and on-time funding. Seven years after the Budget Control Act we are still digging out from holes we dug ourselves. In hearing after hearing, we have heard military leaders make clear that they will face increased risk due to continuing resolutions and years of accumulated defense cuts. It can be all too easy to wave off these warnings. After all, our military and Marine Corps, in particular, has a ``can-do spirit'' that is second to none. But increased risk isn't just an abstract notion. It can have very real consequences. The more than 60 Marines who have perished in marine aviation accidents since 2011 are a tragic reminder of what increased risk looks like in practice.…”