{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=411CC7CE-00E0-43A5-8783-5004A0A3C3DE", "Funding Critical To Rebuilding Our Nations Military", "2017-12-14", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 The following are prepared remarks by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell\u2019s (R-KY) regarding government funding and the need to provide the necessary resources to the Department of Defense:\r\n\u201cOur nation faces myriad threats from around the globe, and it is the Senate\u2019s responsibility to provide the service chiefs with the resources to train and equip our warfighters\u2014and provide them with the resources they need to keep us safe. The diverse challenges posed by Iran, China, Russia, North Korea, ISIL, al-Qaeda, and its affiliates span the spectrum of war fighting, and our force must be trained and prepared to operate on sea, air, land and in cyberspace.\r\n\u201cThese challenges were only compounded by the Obama Administration\u2019s focus on reducing the size of our conventional force, withdrawing our forward presence and placing an unrealistic reliance upon allies and special operations forces. In stark contrast to the previous administration, this Republican-led Congress and the Trump Administration have taken the initial steps to rebuild our military.\r\n\u201cWe are working to ensure that the needs of the force are met and our servicemembers have the tools and training necessary to fulfill their missions. In our ongoing discussions surrounding government funding, we must continue to prioritize our nation\u2019s men and women in uniform.\r\n\u201cIt is illogical for this Senate to repeatedly vote to pass National Defense Authorization Acts at one level of authority and not meet that commitment with the necessary Appropriations Act. And this funding cannot be held hostage to the Obama-era demand that increases in defense funding be matched by equal increases in non-defense spending. Congress ignored that demand earlier this year, and we must do it again now.\r\n\u201cThe reason is simple. Under the Budget Control Act, the Department of Defense has received a disproportionate funding cut\u2014and will again if Congress fails to come to an agreement. That type of blow would unacceptably diminish our military\u2019s readiness and damage our national security. I hope that members can work together to provide the necessary funds to our military \u2013 and to all parts of our government \u2013 so that the men and women of our all-volunteer force can continue to keep our country safe.\u201d", 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://www.mcconnell.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=411CC7CE-00E0-43A5-8783-5004A0A3C3DE"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6893828976899385, "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"}