Political Quotes

“I rise in strong opposition to this amendment. The Department of Defense was not spared from cuts. The bill already slashes $15 billion from the President's request for FY11. This amendment would take it down another $18 billion, or $33 billion in total. I am concerned that the levels of cuts proposed by the gentleman from California go too far and will adversely affect many defense readiness programs. Just as I have said about cuts in other areas, this is not time to take a hatchet to these programs. The amendment would cause DOD to terminate contracts, which will, in turn, force companies to lay off employees. Defense spending cannot, of course, be justified simply by jobs; but at the same time, the prospect of adding to our unemployment just as we are emerging from the recession should be a consideration. In total, the Office of Secretary of Defense has identified 124 major acquisition programs that would be significantly disrupted by approaching the FY10 funding levels. Dropping funding by an additional $18 billion to reach the 3.5 percent reduction would seriously disrupt the readiness and safety of our forces. This is a very bad amendment; and on a bipartisan basis, we should defeat it.”