,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #heg ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,february #bg1 #bjac ,mr4 ,cook introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,budget1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,appropriations1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to amend section #bea;,a of the ,balanced ,budget and ,emergency ,deficit ,control ,act of #aihe to eliminate the ,department of ,defense sequestration for fiscal years #bjac and #bjad and sequester such eliminated sums over a period of fiscal years #bjae through #bjba4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,protect ,troops at ,war ,act of #bjac4 #b4 ,findings and purpose 7a7 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,on ,august #b1 #bjaa1 the ,president signed into law ,s4 #cfe1 the ,budget ,control ,act of #bjaa1 which reduced defense discretionary spending by #dgh billion over ten years4 7#b7 ,the ,budget ,control ,act of #bjaa also established a sequestration in the event that a ,joint ,select ,committee on ,deficit ,reduction could not agree on an additional #a4b trillion in savings by ,november #bjaa4 7#c7 ,the ,joint ,select ,committee on ,deficit ,reduction was unable to reach an agreement1 which triggered sequestration1 resulting in an additional #die billion reduction in defense spending over the same ten-year period4 7#d7 ,if these reductions in defense spending remain intact1 the total portion of defense spending as a percentage of the total ,u4,s4 budget will be at its lowest point since before ,world ,war ,,ii4 7#e7 ,sequestration alone would reduce our military force to its smallest level since #aidj1 resulting in the separation of more than #ajj1jjj soldiers1 sailors1 ,marines1 and airmen4 7#f7 ,since #bjji1 the number of troops has more than doubled in ,afghanistan from #cj1jjj to #ff1jjj today4 ,during the same period1 ,congress has actively reduced the budget for the ,department of ,defense4 7b7 ,purpose ,it is the purpose of this ,act to3 7#a7 ,avoid deeper1 irresponsible defense cuts in the face of an increasingly dangerous world that unnecessarily threaten our national security and will cost ,american lives in armed conflict abroad4 7#b7 ,invest in advanced military technology in order to equip the ,u4,s4 military with the best resources available to defend our country4 7#c7 ,not allow the strategy of the ,u4,s4 military to be driven by budget constraints1 which is unacceptable4 ,the strategy should drive the budget4 ,avoiding cuts while our troops are at war allows necessary time to adjust strategy for the restructured force post-,afghanistan4 ,before the ,house ,armed ,services ,committee1 ,chairman of the ,joint ,chiefs ,general ,dempsey testified ,if you want your military to be doing what it's doing today1 then we can't give you another dollar44 7#d7 ,ensure that the ,u4,s4 military forces are adequately prepared4 ,commandant of the ,marine ,corps1 ,general ,amos1 in his statement before the ,house ,armed ,services ,committee remarked1 ,by the end of calendar year #bjac1 less than half of our ground units will be trained to the minimum readiness level required for deployment44 ,sequestration1 if left unchecked1 will cost ,american lives4 ,the hollow force experienced during the ,korean ,war would be today's reality4 7#e7 ,halt irresponsible budget cuts because no amount of savings can justify the loss of one ,american service member4 #c4 ,postponement of ,,fy #bjac and #bjad defense sequestration ,section #bea;,a of the ,balanced ,budget and ,emergency ,deficit ,control ,act of #aihe is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#ab7 ,notwithstanding paragraphs 7#e7 and 7#h71 there shall be no reductions under this section to discretionary appropriations or direct spending for fiscal year #bjac or #bjad for the defense function4 ,the reduction that would otherwise have occurred shall be added to and distributed equally among the sequestration for the defense function for fiscal years #bjae through #bjba4 4 #d4 ,transfer authority for funding of department of defense under continuing resolution and sequester consistent with amounts authorized by national defense authorization act for fiscal year #bjac 7a7 ,in general ,in accordance with subsection 7b71 the ,secretary of ,defense may transfer amounts appropriated for the ,department of ,defense by the ,continuing ,appropriations ,resolution 7,public ,law #aab-age7 among accounts of the ,department of ,defense4 7b7 ,transfers consistent with amounts appropriated or authorized ,in the event of any transfers under subsection 7a71 the total amount in any account of the ,department of ,defense that is available for obligation and expenditure in fiscal year #bjac shall be consistent with1 and may not exceed-- 7#a7 if a regular appropriation ,act making appropriations for the ,department of ,defense for fiscal year #bjac is enacted before the date of the transfer1 the level provided for that account for that fiscal year by applicable provisions of such ,act2 or 7#b7 if no such ,act is enacted before the date of the transfer1 the amount authorized to be appropriated for that account for that fiscal year by applicable provisions of division ,a of the ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjac 7,public ,law #aab-bci74 7c7 ,notice to congress ,not later than #ae days before any transfer under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary of ,defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report setting forth a description of the transfer1 including the amount of the transfer and the accounts from and to which the funds were transferred4 7d7 ,transfer subject to notification requirements ,in addition to the notice required under subsection 7c71 a transfer under subsection 7a7 shall be subject to the applicable notification requirements for reprogramming in division ,a of ,public ,law #aab-gd4 7e7 ,transfer authority ,the transfer authority provided by subsection 7a7 is in addition to any other transfer authority provided by law4 7f7 ,definition ,in this section1 the term congressional defense committees has the meaning given that term in section #aja7;a77#af7 of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code4