I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4982 

To limit the authority of the President to carry out large-scale military 

parades. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 8, 2018 

Mr. SCHNEIDER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To limit the authority of the President to carry out largescale military parades. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preparedness Before 

5 Parades Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) President Donald J. Trump has ordered the 

9 Department of Defense to carry out a large-scale 

10 military parade. 


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1 (2) There have only been a select handful of 

2 large-scale military parades in the United States in 

3 the last 100 years, including in 1946 following the 

4 victory in World War II and in 1991 following the 

5 victory in the Persian Gulf War. 

6 (3) Estimates place the cost of the military pa7 rade in 1991 following the Persian Gulf War around 

8 $8,000,000 to $12,000,000, including some funding 

9 having come from private sources. 

10 (4) A large-scale military parade costing mil11 lions of dollars will divert essential funding des12 perately needed for investment in military readiness. 

13 (5) Budget uncertainty and continuing resolu14 tions have had a severe negative impact on the 

15 Armed Forces, as demonstrated by the following 

16 statements: 

17 (A) In December 2017, President Donald 

18 J. Trump stated that ‘‘In recent years, our 

19 military has undergone a series of deep budget 

20 cuts that have severely impacted our readiness, 

21 shrunk our capabilities, and placed substantial 

22 burdens on our warfighters.’’. 

23 (B) Congressman Mac Thornberry, Chair24 man of the Committee on Armed Services of 

25 the House of Representatives, stated in SepVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Feb 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4982.IH H4982

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1 tember 2017 that ‘‘it is hard to remember a 

2 time when our military readiness crisis has been 

3 on such sharp display.’’. Thornberry further 

4 stated, ‘‘We have too few planes that can fly, 

5 too few ships that can sail and too few soldiers 

6 who can deploy.’’. 

7 (C) In February 2018, Secretary of De8 fense Jim Mattis said, ‘‘Let me be clear: As 

9 hard as the last 16 years of war have been, no 

10 enemy in the field has done more to harm the 

11 readiness of the U.S. military than the com12 bined impact of the Budget Control Act’s de13 fense spending caps, worsened by operating in 

14 10 of the last 11 years under continuing resolu15 tions of varied and unpredictable duration.’’. 

16 (D) In January 2018, Secretary of the 

17 Navy Richard V. Spencer said in regard to the 

18 impact of continuing resolutions on the Navy’s 

19 budget, ‘‘We have put $4 billion in a trash can, 

20 poured lighter fluid on it, and burned it.’’. 

21 (E) In December 2017, Pentagon Chief 

22 Spokesperson Dana W. White said, ‘‘Nothing’s 

23 had a greater impact on combat readiness than 

24 C.R.s. So—and at a time where security threats 

25 are high, we really do need the predictability in 


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1 the budget, certainty that we don’t have with 

2 C.R.s.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

4 It is the sense of Congress that— 

5 (1) providing budget certainty to the Depart6 ment of Defense and all other Federal agencies by 

7 passing appropriations legislation on time through 

8 regular order is of the utmost importance; 

9 (2) in a period when United States warplanes 

10 and ships are not at operational capacity, personnel 

11 are not fully trained, military families require sig12 nificant financial assistance, and veterans’ programs 

13 require substantial increases, a large-scale military 

14 parade would be wasteful to the United States tax15 payer and harmful to military readiness; 

16 (3) the President should express support for 

17 members of the Armed Forces, honor their service, 

18 and thank them for the great sacrifices they have 

19 made and continue to make to protect the United 

20 States by appropriately funding the military, sup21 porting service members and their families, and pro22 moting opportunities for veterans once they transi23 tion out of the Armed Forces; and 

24 (4) military parades should not be used for the 

25 personal pleasure of the President. 


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1 SEC. 4. LIMITATION. 

2 The President may not direct the Department of De3 fense to carry out a large-scale military parade unless— 

4 (1) the Secretary of Defense certifies to Con5 gress that— 

6 (A) the parade will have no effect on the 

7 military readiness or budgetary needs of the 

8 Armed Forces; 

9 (B) the diversion of personnel and equip10 ment associated with the parade will have no ef11 fect on the military readiness of the Armed 

12 Forces; and 

13 (C) the financial costs associated with the 

14 parade will have no effect on the military readi15 ness of the Armed Forces; 

16 (2) the Government of any municipality where 

17 the parade will be conducted approves the parade 

18 not later than 90 days before the date on which the 

19 parade occurs; and 

20 (3) not less than 50 percent of the costs of the 

21 parade are paid for by funds appropriated to the Ex22 ecutive Office of the President. 

Æ 


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