Congressman Cummings Votes to Support Troops and National Security

Press Release

Congressman Cummings Votes to Support Troops and National Security

Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), member of the House Armed Services Committee and Readiness Subcommittee, joined his colleagues in passing H.R. 3159, the Ensuring Military Readiness Through Stability and Predictability Deployment Act to enhance our national security and support our troops and their families.

"In addition to risking their lives in a war into which they should never have been placed, our soldiers are forced to suffer through multiple deployments with little time to rest or re-train," Congressman Cummings said. "This bill takes steps toward ensuring that our troops are guaranteed the same amount of time at home with their loved ones as they spent in Iraq. This is the least that we can do while the President continues his refusal to change the course in Iraq and redeploy our troops."

The bill, which passed by a vote of 229-194, requires that active duty forces are guaranteed that their time at home matches the length of their deployment and expresses the sense of the Congress that the goal should be two years at the service members' home stations to match every one year deployed. It also provides that National Guard and reservists be guaranteed that their time at home is three times the length of deployment and expresses the goal that time spent at rest is five times that of deployment - a goal also previously established by the Department of Defense.

"When President Bush took office in 2001, our active duty Army divisions were all at their highest readiness levels, complete with full training and equipment," Congressman Cummings said. "Since the President's invasion of Iraq, our men and women are now overburdened and our military stretched nearly to the breaking point."

An estimated 250,000 soldiers in the Army and Marine Corps have served more than one tour in Iraq, and the Defense Secretary announced this spring that all active duty Army soldiers would have their tours in Iraq extended from 12 to 15 months. Nearly 80 percent of the National Guard and Reserves have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, with an average deployment of 18 months.

"Our National Guard and much of its essential equipment have been sent to fight the President's war, rendering our country vulnerable" Congressman Cummings said. "In addition, we are sending these brave men and women right back to war before they have a chance to fully rest. This is unacceptable, and I am proud to have voted to pass this legislation to support our troops and our national security."

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