Lawmakers Look to Ensure Military Is Prepared for Long-Term Threats

As Operation Epic Fury continues against Iran, elected officials and national security experts gathered at The Heritage Foundation to discuss what needs to be done to ensure the American military is capable of defending the homeland.

The Heritage Foundation event followed the release of the 2026 Index of U.S. Military Strength, an index that annually assessed the threat environment and the U.S. military’s ability to respond to it.

“Our armed forces and the supporting institutions have been neglected for far too long and we in fact were dangerously incapable of meeting the range of threats which were growing,” Robert Greenway, director of the Allison Center for National Security at The Heritage Foundation, said at the Wednesday event.

While the U.S. engages in a military operation against Iran, the long-term concern for Heritage scholars and lawmakers on Capitol Hill remains China.

“We are currently set to run out of critical munitions in just a matter of weeks,” Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., the event’s keynote speaker, said in regard to a potential conflict with China.

Banks also drew attention to military recruitment problems that plagued former President Joe Biden’s tenure.

“Between 2021 and 2025, the [U.S] Army shrank by over 40,000 soldiers due to lack of new recruits,” Banks said. 

Greenway also hosted a discussion with Reps. August Pfluger, R-Texas; Pat Harrigan, R-N.C.; and Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn., about what policymakers need to do to ensure the military remains strong. 

Pfluger is also aware of the recruitment problems and the need to revitalize the importance of the military’s mission.

“Every service academy in this country needs to be taught why our form of governance is the best in the world,” stated Pfluger. “[They] need to be taught why they love this flag, why we love the Constitution, why we stand up to protect and defend it,” he concluded.

As for military readiness, Pfluger said, “we are on the mend and this president is putting the right effort into our military,” in the wake of the Biden administration. “[The president is] making sure that we can cut that bureaucratic red tape and provide for the necessary resources.” 

Harrigan, a former U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret, said Republicans’ efforts can save money and save lives. “We’ve become really, really good at producing the high-cost problems to our enemies’ low-cost solutions,” Harrigan said. He claimed this is a systemic issue that Congress is looking eagerly to fix.

Van Epps praised the work Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, is doing as chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

Babin, Van Epps said, is making a large push for improving the military’s technological capabilities. “Chairman Babin’s doing amazing work, there’s this connection here about accelerating the next generation of warfare in technology so that our research moves at the speed of the threat.” 

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