Political Quotes

“At a time when all government entities are being asked to do more with less, it is time we ask the United States military to make smart cuts to our defense budget so we can live within our means. We can eliminate inefficient and unnecessary programs while spending taxpayer dollars responsibly and improving our national security. My amendment just goes a very small way toward protecting the fiscal security of our Nation, which is vital to our national security. My amendment would give broad authority to reduce the overall amount of money appropriated by this bill to 1 percent in the aggregate. I remind everybody that a 1 percent reduction in the spending in this bill is still above the original agreed-upon defense budget from the Budget Control Act, so, again, Congress is appropriating more money than there is in the Budget Control Act. When we spend beyond our means, we make our Nation less secure, not more secure, by making ourselves economically beholden to countries like Saudi Arabia and China. Even with my amendment, this bill still spends over $500 billion for defense, about as much as the rest of the world combined spends on their militaries. This 1 percent reduction is simply a compromise between the Budget Control Act levels and the suggested levels in this bill. This bill, in its current form, funds multiple accounts and weapons systems over the amount the military itself requested.…”