Whereas the United States now faces a more complex set of threats than at any time since the end of World War II; Whereas the National Defense Strategy released on January 19, 2018, highlights these threats and acknowledges a return to great power competition; Whereas countries like Russia and China are heavily investing in military modernization and developing capabilities that the United States may not be able to defend against while also expanding their influence across the globe; Whereas North Korea’s nuclear program continues to be a serious threat; Whereas the National Defense Strategy states that Iran continues to sow violence and remains the most significant challenge to Middle East stability ; Whereas the National Defense Strategy states that terrorist groups with long reach continue to murder the innocent and threaten peace more broadly ; Whereas the United States continues to fight a war against terrorism and has troops deployed in hostile regions throughout the globe; Whereas, on January 19, 2018, Secretary of Defense James Mattis stated, As hard as the last 16 years have been on our military, no enemy in the field has done more to harm the readiness of the U.S. military than the combined impact of the Budget Control Act's defense spending cuts, worsened by us operating, 9 of the last 10 years, under continuing resolutions, wasting copious amounts of precious taxpayer dollars ; Whereas fiscal year 2009 was the last fiscal year the Department of Defense was not forced to operate under any continuing resolution; Whereas the House of Representatives has passed an annual appropriation bill for the Department of Defense before the start of the next fiscal year in each of the past 9 fiscal years the Department of Defense was forced to operate under a continuing resolution; Whereas, on June 28, 2018, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6157, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2019, with a 359–49 vote