Tony Thurmond: “I have listened intently as the Senate has debated taxes, education, child care, Social Security, Medicare and other…”

“I have listened intently as the Senate has debated taxes, education, child care, Social Security, Medicare and other issues which Senators have raised with respect to this resolution. It has been glaringly evident to me, and I suspect to some of my colleagues, that there has been little or no mention of national security issues during this debate. No one has raised the issue of defense spending. Maybe its because defense doesn't rank very high these days in the polls which reflect the concerns of the American people; Or maybe it's because everyone assumes that the defense budget is adequate and there is no reason to debate it. I am concerned first of all because I believe there is clear shortfall between the ambitious foreign policy of this Administration and the resources we are willing to provide for national defense. The operational tempo of our military forces is at an all time high. American forces are deployed literally around the globe. The foreign policy of this Administration has raised the number of separate deployments to the highest in our history.”