WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today spoke from the Senate floor to urge his colleagues to pass a budget deal before the August recess that includes full support for the nation’s military. Wicker has repeatedly called upon Congress to avoid a continuing resolution or return to budget sequester, which would have disastrous consequences for national defense.

“I call on the Democratic leadership and Republican leadership ... I call upon our President to get down to business in the next few days. Let's go ahead and make this decision that we know will eventually have to be made. Make a responsible decision and send a message to the rest of the world that we intend to take care of our security,” Wicker said.

Wicker cited a recent article in The Economist that says President Xi Jinping of China wants his country’s armed forces to be “world class by 2050  -- in other words, America-beating” and that he has done more to achieve this goal than any of his predecessors.

“We need to be mindful of the threat that is arising to the United States from around the globe, not only from China … but also from Vladimir Putin’s Russia, from Iran, from international terrorism …There is a deteriorating security situation in almost every sector of the globe,” Wicker said.

Wicker urged his colleagues in Congress to build upon the bipartisan passage of the Senate’s National Defense Authorization Act and pass a budget agreement that would avoid a continuing resolution or government shutdown.

“It would be unthinkable to me... if after making the progress to get back on the right track and return to responsible defense spending and responsible stewardship of our national security, if somehow we heeded some voices that we are hearing … during the past few days about a continuing resolution…of an entire year,” Wicker said

Wicker also cited testimony from General Mark Milley, the president’s nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about the effects of a continuing resolution on the military.

“He absolutely made the point [that a continuing resolution] stops innovation. It stops the new starts. It stops everything that we planned in the NDAA, which we passed with this overwhelming bipartisan vote,” Wicker said.

“It creates uncertainty in every branch of the military, and then we have to pay millions and billions to get back going again,” Wicker continued.

Wicker’s speech today follows remarks from June where he spoke from the Senate floor and pointed to the damaging effects of a continuing resolution.