,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dihb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,february #h1        
#bjah,mr4 ,schneider introduced the     
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,armed ,services  ,a  
,,bill  ,to limit the authority of the  
,president to carry out large-scale     
military parades4  #a4 ,short title     
,this ,act may be cited as the          
,preparedness ,before ,parades ,act4    
#b4 ,findings ,congress finds the       
following3  7#a7 ,president ,donald ,j4 
,trump has ordered the ,department of   
,defense to carry out a large-scale     
military parade4  7#b7 ,there have only 
been a select handful of large-scale    
military parades in the ,united ,states 
in the last #ajj years1 including in    
#aidf following the victory in ,world   
,war ,,ii and in #aiia following the    
victory in the ,persian ,gulf ,war4     
7#c7 ,estimates place the cost of the   
military parade in #aiia following the  
,persian ,gulf ,war around #h1jjj1jjj to

 #ab1jjj1jjj1 including some funding    
having come from private sources4  7#d7 
,a large-scale military parade costing  
millions of dollars will divert         
essential funding desperately needed for
 investment in military readiness4  7#e7
 ,budget uncertainty and continuing     
resolutions have had a severe negative  
impact on the ,armed ,forces1 as        
demonstrated by the following           
statements3  7,a7 ,in ,december #bjag1  
,president ,donald ,j4 ,trump stated    
that ,in recent years1 our military has 
undergone a series of deep budget cuts  
that have severely impacted our         
readiness1 shrunk our capabilities1 and 
placed substantial burdens on our       
warfighters44  7,b7 ,congressman ,mac   
,thornberry1 ,chairman of the ,committee
 on ,armed ,services of the ,house of   
,representatives1 stated in ,september  
#bjag that it is hard to remember a time
 when our military readiness crisis has 
been on such sharp display44 ,thornberry
 further stated1 ,we have too few planes

 that can fly1 too few ships that can   
sail and too few soldiers who can       
deploy44  7,c7 ,in ,february #bjah1     
,secretary of ,defense ,jim ,mattis     
said1 ,let me be clear3 ,as hard as the 
last #af years of war have been1 no     
enemy in the field has done more to harm
 the readiness of the ,u4,s4 military   
than the combined impact of the ,budget 
,control ,act's defense spending caps1  
worsened by operating in #aj of the last
 #aa years under continuing resolutions 
of varied and unpredictable duration44  
7,d7 ,in ,january #bjah1 ,secretary of  
the ,navy ,richard ,v4 ,spencer said in 
regard to the impact of continuing      
resolutions on the ,navy's budget1 ,we  
have put #d billion in a trash can1     
poured lighter fluid on it1 and burned  
it44  7,e7 ,in ,december #bjag1         
,pentagon ,chief ,spokesperson ,dana ,w4
 ,white said1 ,nothing's had a greater  
impact on combat readiness than ,c4,r4s4
 ,so--and at a time where security      
threats are high1 we really do need the 

predictability in the budget1 certainty 
that we don't have with ,c4,r4s44  #c4  
,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of 
,congress that-- 7#a7 providing budget  
certainty to the ,department of ,defense
 and all other ,federal agencies by     
passing appropriations legislation on   
time through regular order is of the    
utmost importance2  7#b7 in a period    
when ,united ,states warplanes and ships
 are not at operational capacity1       
personnel are not fully trained1        
military families require significant   
financial assistance1 and veterans'     
programs require substantial increases1 
a large-scale military parade would be  
wasteful to the ,united ,states taxpayer
 and harmful to military readiness2     
7#c7 the ,president should express      
support for members of the ,armed       
,forces1 honor their service1 and thank 
them for the great sacrifices they have 
made and continue to make to protect the
 ,united ,states by appropriately       
funding the military1 supporting service

 members and their families1 and        
promoting opportunities for veterans    
once they transition out of the ,armed  
,forces2 and  7#d7 military parades     
should not be used for the personal     
pleasure of the ,president4  #d4        
,limitation ,the ,president may not     
direct the ,department of ,defense to   
carry out a large-scale military parade 
unless--  7#a7 the ,secretary of        
,defense certifies to ,congress that--  
7,a7 the parade will have no effect on  
the military readiness or budgetary     
needs of the ,armed ,forces2  7,b7 the  
diversion of personnel and equipment    
associated with the parade will have no 
effect on the military readiness of the 
,armed ,forces2 and  7,c7 the financial 
costs associated with the parade will   
have no effect on the military readiness
 of the ,armed ,forces2  7#b7 the       
,government of any municipality where   
the parade will be conducted approves   
the parade not later than #ij days      
before the date on which the parade     

occurs2 and  7#c7 not less than #ej     
percent of the costs of the parade are  
paid for by funds appropriated to the   
,executive ,office of the ,president4