Carter Calls on Congress to End Caps on National Security, Defense Funding

Rep. John R. Carter (R-TX-31) joined 140 of his colleagues in signing a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan calling for legislation to end sequestration for national defense. Rep. Carter has long supported the end of this Obama-era policy, and believes without this repeal, our ability to defend our great nation will continue to diminish.

“Pulling national defense from sequestration parameters will allow us to increase funding where our priorities should be focused, keeping America safe and secure,” said Rep. Carter. “While I have long called for our national defense programs to not be subject to sequestration, the past Administration did not and launched an all out assault on our military readiness. We must reverse course and boost funding to provide for the men and women of our military and their families, and deliver the tools they need to be successful in their mission.”

“Along this line, I have introduced legislation that instructs the Secretary of the Army to report to Congress a strategy to update our ground combat systems. We must increase funding to address modernization challenges facing our Army. Our ground combat vehicles are overmatched today, and the longer we wait the longer our soldiers cannot provide adequate deterrence in one the of most threatening national security environments our nation has ever faced. Rogue nations threatening our security have modernized their ground forces, and the tactical overmatch that our ground forces have enjoyed for decades is now gone.”

“We must give our Soldiers the capabilities they will need to dominate in future wars and repealing sequestration on national defense is a step in the right direction. Recently I supported a bill to fund the government for the remainder of this fiscal year in which we increased defense funding by $20 billion. This was a great first step, but without lifting the threat of sequestration, we will not be able to fully fund our military and provide for our national security. I look forward to working with the Speaker, my House colleagues, and President Trump to ensure we provide the men and women of our military the tools necessary to keep us safe.”

For the full text of the letter, please see attached.

Rep. Carter represents Texas District 31, which includes Fort Hood, the largest active duty armored military installation in the free world. He serves as Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, co-chairman of the Congressional Army Caucus, is on the Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice and Science and the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

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