Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee is exactly correct. You could illustrate the same things with charts relating to our Air Force, to our Army, to our Marine Corps--all elements of our services. It is not just in the number of ships but in the quality of the ships. Both the Russians and the Chinese, I would note, have made some significant advances in submarine technology, for example, that would pose a real threat to the U.S. Navy. What the Commission concluded was, three major changes were necessary to the way we fund our military. The first is, the top line, the total amount Congress appropriates each year, needs to be increased. We didn't specify a particular amount, but we noted that just to satisfy the 20-year budget projections of President Obama's Secretary of Defense, this would require a minimum of 3- to 5-percent increases annually above the rate of inflation; in other words, real growth in the topline spending. Secondly--and these are two faults of the U.S. Congress--the Commission pointed to the Congress and said: You have been funding government for far too long with continuing resolutions rather than your getting on with the job of passing appropriations bills that actually note each year's requirements and appropriate an amount of money to reflect those requirements.…”