{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/fort-reports/fort-report-our-military", "Fort Report: Our Military", "2017-11-17", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "On one occasion, I was reviewing one of our major strategic assets, and frankly, I was surprised by the age of the equipment.\u00a0 Then something caught my eye.\u00a0 Among the various sophisticated components, I saw a roll of duct tape.\u00a0 With a bit of a smile, I said to the crewman, \"Really?\u00a0 The handyman's secret weapon, even here?\"\u00a0\nOur military is something we understand.\u00a0 It\u2019s something we can count on.\u00a0 And it\u2019s something that's importantly and significantly emphasized.\u00a0 Our military also needs the right resources for one reason: to keep us safe. \u00a0\nHere's the problem.\u00a0 According to our military leadership, our armed forces are \u201coutranged, outgunned, outdated.\u201d\u00a0 Only three of our 58 brigade combat teams are ready to \u201cfight tonight.\u201d\u00a0 More than half of all Naval aircraft is grounded awaiting needed parts or maintenance.\u00a0 The average U.S. Air Force aircraft is 27 years old.\u00a0 This all means, per General Daniel Allyn, Army Vice Chief of Staff, that \u201cwe will be too late to need,\u201d risking \u201cexcessive casualties to civilians and to our forces who are already forward stationed.\u201d\nFortunately, bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate just passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to rebuild our worn-out military by increasing naval strength, better equipping ground forces, and improving aviation readiness.\u00a0 The bill also dramatically improves military infrastructure, from barracks to hospitals to hangars to runways.\u00a0 Given North Korea and other threats, missile defense is prioritized.\u00a0 Our troops will get a raise.\u00a0 And the Pentagon, for the first time, will be audited to ensure appropriate use of dollars.\nMilitary preparedness, in partnership with nimble diplomacy, are the measurables by which we traditionally judge our capacities.\u00a0 However, preparing our military and diplomatic corps to respond to 21st century threats is only half the equation. For our policies to be successful in an increasingly complex and interconnected world, the body of the republic has to be fortified by exercising our internal strengths as well.\u00a0 The successful projection of our ideals matters. Values matter.\u00a0 Character matters.\u00a0 And economic opportunity matters.\nA healthy economy, where there's real opportunity to do things, where taxes are fair, regulations are reasonable, and where we are not competing against unfair, exploitative globalized interests, engenders an optimistic outlook for ourselves, our families, and our country.\u00a0 When we are connected in community, when we embrace and model the perennial principles that hold our country together, we enable a full, confident, and authentic projection through business, culture, and science.\u00a0 When our humanitarian impulse is thoughtfully applied, as it has so often of late in the many disasters and tragedies that have hit, we find our north star and guiding force.\u00a0 This is the narrative of a fortified America.\nAnother military anecdote. A commanding general and I went down the line speaking with each member of well-trained crew in a highly sensitive area of our defense capabilities.\u00a0As we got to one young crew member, the general asked, \u201cWhere are you from?\u201d \u00a0 She hesitated, and then said, \"Where I am from originally, sir?\" \u00a0 \"Yes, originally, where are you from?\" the general asked.\u00a0 She paused and hesitatingly said, \"Russia.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\nI think you can imagine our surprise.\u00a0 The general then replied, \"Well, I wasn't expecting to hear that.\"\u00a0 She then said, \"I was born in Russia, but I was adopted by American parents when I was young.\u00a0 I'm so grateful to this country for giving me a chance that I wanted to give something back. So, I joined the United States military.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\nThe general and I were amazed.\u00a0 This scene could not have been scripted.\u00a0 But it is the script of America's story and strength.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/fort-reports/fort-report-our-military"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0170680470764637, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}