Tony Thurmond: “today the administration officially sent its budget requests to the Congress. Although much of the detailed budget…”

“today the administration officially sent its budget requests to the Congress. Although much of the detailed budget information is still not available for review, I want to provide my initial views of the material we have received in the Armed Services Committee. On the positive side of the ledger, I was very pleased that the military pay raise was fully funded in this budget request. The young men and women who serve our Nation in uniform continue to be the most important asset of our Nation's defense. This year, I intend that the Armed Services Committee will continue to provide increased funding for the quality-of-life initiatives and programs we began in last year's authorization bill. Mr. President, I am troubled over several decisions made in the proposed budget. First is the Defense Department's decision to again reduce funding for critical ballistic missile defenses. We should be seeking ways to accelerate the development and deployment of both theater and national missile defense systems, not delay them. Under the Department's new proposal, we would not deploy a theater high altitude area defense system, commonly known as THAAD, or Navy upper tier, for another decade. This delay is unacceptable. I find it hard to believe that the administration would continue to place the lives of our service men and women at risk, by delaying this critical capability. Additionally, the levels of spending for modernization are perilously dangerous.”