Political Quotes

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Given our looming fiscal crisis and record deficits, it's critical that we look at smart spending cuts in a responsible way that doesn't hurt our national security--in fact, the budget deficit and our huge national debt are a threat to national security by making us economically beholden to foreign powers--and I propose an amendment that would do just that. My amendment would get most of the 80,000 troops, U.S. troops, out of Europe where they're no longer needed. We will save over $1 billion. My amendment would reduce the total amount of troops stationed in Europe to 30,000 troops from 80,000, which would not affect the troops being used in our wars in the Middle East. That's estimated to be about 12,000 to 15,000 of those troops. We would also leave ample troops to be part of NATO joint exercises and fulfill our obligations to our European allies. My amendment would allow the Department of Defense to save money by closing bases across Europe that are simply no longer needed. They have no strategic rationale. By pulling some of our troops out of Europe and closing these bases, we can save money and reduce our redundant military force. My amendment would gradually cut the 50,000 troops from our force in Europe, would save over $1.3 billion over 10 years, reduce overall troop levels in phases so we can responsibly draw down the troops without impacting those who are currently deployed.…”