Key Democrats on the House and Senate Armed Services committees acknowledge the military is facing serious readiness challenges after some unsettling testimony last week from top Pentagon officials, but the lawmakers are not prepared to cast aside their continued insistence that any increase in defense spending be matched with a boost in non-defense priorities. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services readiness and management support subcommittee, said during a Feb. 8 hearing the "military does suffer from an unacceptable level of readiness," but suggested the problem would be better solved by repealing the spending caps mandated by the 2011 Budget Control Act, rather than simply increasing defense spending in the coming fiscal year.
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