Russ Feingold: “I rise today to stand in strong support for this amendment. This straightforward amendment to strike tens of million of…”

“I rise today to stand in strong support for this amendment. This straightforward amendment to strike tens of million of dollars for luxury aircraft for military commanders, brought to the floor by Senators Boxer and Harkin is about our men and women in uniform. It is about the men and women that we have heard so much about over the past years, the central players in the services' readiness crisis. It is about the men and women whose lives are on the line in operations around the world. There is no question, Mr. President, that we must provide them with the necessary resources to defend themselves and the United States. Just last year, there was a virtual consensus that the armed services were facing a readiness crisis. Last September, the Joint Chiefs testified that there was a dangerous readiness shortfall. General Henry Shelton, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, claimed that "without relief, we will see a continuation of the downward trends in readiness . . . and shortfalls in critical skills." Army Chief of Staff General Dennis Reimer stated that the military faces a "hollow force" without increased readiness spending. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jay Johnson asserted that the Navy has a $6 billion readiness deficit.”