THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 5, 1995 TAG: 9501050437
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
Two Hampton Roads congressmen are poised to be key players in the struggle between the Clinton administration and the new Republican majority on Capitol Hill over the military's readiness to fight.
Rep. Herbert H. Bateman, a Republican whose district includes much of the Peninsula and the Eastern Shore, on Wednesday was named chairman of the readiness subcommittee of the House National Security Committee. Rep. Norman Sisisky, who represents portions of Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Western Tidewater, is expected to be the senior Democrat on the same subcommittee.
The subcommittee will have jurisdiction over a variety of issues related to the military's preparedness to project American power around the world. It will deal with the largest chunk of the Pentagon's annual budget, the accounts dealing with the operations and maintenance of U.S. forces.
``There is a growing concern about the readiness of our troops, and I hope to be able to ensure that the armed forces receive the resources they need,'' Bateman said.
Readiness has emerged as a key point of contention between the administration and the new congressional leadership.
Republicans argue that the White House has cut military spending too deeply - leaving some units dangerously unprepared for action - to pay for peacekeeping operations in places like Rwanda and Haiti.
Last summer, in the waning days of the 1994 fiscal year, the Pentagon tapped readiness accounts to help cover the costs of the military's occupation of Haiti and an emergency deployment of troops, ships and planes to the Persian Gulf. The resulting shortage of cash forced commanders to cancel some training activities and other exercises and led the Army to downgrade the readiness ratings of three of its 12 divisions.
Administration officials argue that the units involved were selected because they would not be among the first called on in an emergency. It would be wasteful, they contend, to keep all units at a constant state of peak readiness; forces that have recently returned from overseas duty, for example, are expected to slow their activities temporarily before preparing for their next deployment.
In addition to the military, the new National Security Committee will have jurisdiction over shipbuilding and repair issues that are vital to Hampton Roads.
Congress' new GOP leadership decided to abolish the former Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, which Bateman was slated to chair, but the congressman said he was pleased with the transfer of that panel's responsibilities to National Security. by CNB