IV 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 441 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that further reductions 
to core national security funding will cause significant harm to United 
States interests. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 14, 2011 
Mr. FORBES (for himself, Mr. THORNBERRY, Mr. AKIN, Mr. WILSON of South 
Carolina, Mr. TURNER of Ohio, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. WEST, Mrs. 
HARTZLER, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. 
BISHOP of Utah, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. BROUN of Georgia, Mr. SCHILLING, 
Mr. CRAVAACK, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. 
JONES, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. GOHMERT, 
Mr. GERLACH, Mr. HECK, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. HUNTER, Mrs. ROBY, Mr. 
KLINE, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. FLEMING, Mr. ROONEY, Mr. RIGELL, Mr. 
GRIFFIN of Arkansas, and Mr. ROGERS of Alabama) submitted the fol-
lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Serv-
ices, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to 
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
further reductions to core national security funding will 
cause significant harm to United States interests. 
Whereas spending on national security did not create the cur-
rent budget crisis and further cuts to national defense 
will not solve it; 
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•HRES 441 IH 
Whereas spending on national defense only constitutes 19 
percent of total budget authority; 
Whereas top leaders of the Department of Defense and the 
United States Armed Forces have continually warned 
that significant reductions in defense spending pose seri-
ous risks to the future security of the United States; 
Whereas decisions on future resources for national defense 
are being made without the necessary foundation of 
strategy and an assessment of the threats faced by the 
United States; 
Whereas the future of United States national security is 
being decided based on budgetary pressure, placing a 
range of United States national security interests at risk; 
Whereas over 90 percent of global trade, worth over 
$14,000,000,000,000, travels by sea; 
Whereas 75 percent of the world’s maritime commerce travels 
through a small handful of international straits and ca-
nals, which function as strategic choke points; 
Whereas global energy demand is on the rise and a signifi-
cant portion of future growth is projected to come from 
maritime nations such as India and China; 
Whereas the United States Armed Forces are a vital compo-
nent of national power and have provided a stabilizing in-
fluence for friendly and allied nations around the world; 
Whereas the modernization of China’s People’s Liberation 
Army appears focused on shifting the military balance in 
the western Pacific Ocean in a direction unfavorable to 
United States and regional interests; 
Whereas further cuts to national security could make it dif-
ficult for the United States to honor security commit-
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•HRES 441 IH 
ments with friends and allies, such as Taiwan and Israel, 
that could be left undefended against the rise of competi-
tors such as China or Iran; 
Whereas a number of the most vital assets to the United 
States Armed Forces were procured prior to the end of 
the Cold War and are in desperate need of moderniza-
tion; 
Whereas the force structure of the United States Armed 
Forces has been in steady decline since the end of the 
Cold War; 
Whereas defense spending as a percentage of total Federal 
spending is approaching historic lows not seen since be-
fore World War II; 
Whereas the United States defense industrial base is a vital 
strategic asset and decisions made in the coming months 
will affect its strength and viability for decades to come; 
Whereas Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta stated that large 
defense cuts ‘‘will impact our economic strength’’ and 
‘‘would seriously cripple our industrial base’’; 
Whereas Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta stated that 
$1,000,000,000,000 in cuts to national defense could 
cause unemployment to increase by 1 percent; 
Whereas if unemployment were to increase by only one-third 
of this amount, the United States would see an additional 
500,000 jobs lost, many of them veterans of 10 years of 
war; and 
Whereas further cuts to national security will have a signifi-
cant negative impact on members of the United States 
Armed Forces and their families: Now, therefore, be it 
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•HRES 441 IH 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) further reductions to core national security 
funding such as those triggered by the sequestration 
alternative of the Budget Control Act of 2011, may 
cause irreparable harm to United States interests; 
and 
(2) decisions on United States national security 
policy and spending levels should be based on the 
following key principles— 
(A) security planning should be based on 
the National Security Strategy and a sequential 
determination of the threats to the United 
States and its interests, an analysis of the capa-
bilities needed to deter or defeat the threats, an 
assessment of the cost to obtain those capabili-
ties and an assessment of the risk associated 
with not obtaining them; 
(B) a strong economy and a strong na-
tional security are inextricably linked; and 
(C) national security is the most important 
obligation of the Federal Government and 
should take precedence over other priorities. 
Æ 
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