On the recordJuly 19, 2012
I'd like to first thank my friend, Ms. Lee, for bringing up this important amendment. She knows so well that the less experience people in this body have had with the military, the fiercer they are. That goes to the Republicans wanting to exceed their own funding cap in the Budget Control Act by $8 billion. This is a moderate amendment to bring us back under the Budget Control Act. This is the 12th year that we've been fighting and funding a war in Afghanistan and that area; and there's no peace, there's nothing, no stability. The war in Afghanistan has basically contributed to our instability. Nothing has happened over there. Since 2001, we have spent $600 billion or $700 billion on this Afghani war alone, and the Defense Department appropriations bill wants another $600 billion. Republicans like to talk about entitlements like Medicare driving the debt. Well, let me tell you, defense spending has become just as much of an entitlement, with a team of lobbyists and Members of this body who are more interested in protecting defense contractors than protecting our country's health, education, and economic growth. This bill ignores administration proposals to delay or terminate military programs while providing funding instead for weapons that the Department of Defense doesn't want, doesn't need, and won't work.…
