Wenstrup Statement on Passage of Omnibus Spending Bill
Washington, March 22, 2018
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brad Wenstrup (OH-02) released the following statement after voting for H.R. 1625: “This choice we were presented today is a battle of abominations. The hollowing out of our military that has occurred over the last 10 years is an abomination. The level of spending Senate Democrats have demanded in exchange for supporting the military is an abomination. And the process by which a minority in the Senate can and has filibustered annual spending bills and held our military hostage in the process, is an abomination. The cycle of dysfunction has to end, but we cannot wait any longer to give our men and women in uniform the resources they need,” said Congressman Brad Wenstrup. “Our most basic Constitutional duty is to provide for our national defense. Over the last ten years, we have neglected that responsibility. As a result, our military faces a dangerous readiness crisis at a time when global threats to our nation have mounted considerably. “Tragically, 80 lives were lost last year in training mishaps as a direct result of the readiness crisis, compared to 21 lives lost in combat. Sadly, we have lost nine more brave Americans over the last week. Our men and women in uniform have been lacking the appropriate training and equipping to complete their mission safely and effectively, and we have an obligation to fix that. This legislation reverses the abuses our military has endured. “The level of spending the Democrats demanded on non-military items in this legislation is appalling. As long as Senate rules allow the minority to block conservative measures, we will continue to have this problem. Something needs to change. We have still done nothing to address the true drivers of our debt crisis, the mandatory spending that’s on autopilot and accounts for seventy percent of the government’s annual spending. Yet, as President Trump said, because of Democrats’ obstruction, we find ourselves in this situation. “Our men and women in uniform deserve better. Our taxpayers deserve better. The House repeatedly did its job by passing measures to fully fund our military. Senate Democrats have obstructed at every turn. “Moving forward, we must do better. I’m calling on my colleagues across the aisle to work with us, stop legislating by crisis, and do the hard work to address the problems facing our nation.” Background: H.R. 1625 is a 12-bill Appropriations package to fund FY18 at levels consistent with the Bipartisan Budget Agreement and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
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