Lateefah Simon: “Mr. President, if you take a look at that interest that the Senator has already pointed out has grown from 6 to 14…”

“Mr. President, if you take a look at that interest that the Senator has already pointed out has grown from 6 to 14 percent, GAO says by the year 2020 that is going to grow to 37 percent. You can imagine the squeeze on defense spending. And that is why GAO says if we do not change things, defense spending is really going to get the squeeze. And we are trying to change things. I would point out, second, when you talk about interest, the Wharton School of Economics last Thursday, a week ago yesterday, pointed out that if this were to pass, their projection is that 30-year bonds would drop from 6.5 percent to 2.5 percent. That is going to have an impact on that pie that the Senator has there in terms of interest. So that defense spending really, long-term--I do not suggest for a moment that short term there are not going to be some squeezes, though nothing like the devastation that the Senator has heard from the administration.”