On the recordMay 27, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I have long opposed additional funding to support the ongoing occupation of Iraq and a policy of open-ended war in Afghanistan that continues to undermine the economic and national security of the United States. Estimates for the direct and indirect costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now as high as a staggering $7 trillion. Unfortunately, the $726 billion authorized in this defense bill, including $159 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, continues an unsustainable rise in military-related expenditures that have nearly doubled since 2001 and which now account for nearly 60 percent of Federal discretionary spending. Efforts to reduce the United States military footprint abroad and wasteful spending at the Pentagon are small steps toward what needs to be done for a fundamental shift in U.S. foreign policy.
Source
govinfo.gov
