Jared Polis: “The gentleman asked why aren't there cuts for other agencies. That is not the bill we have before us. We have the…”

“The gentleman asked why aren't there cuts for other agencies. That is not the bill we have before us. We have the National Defense Authorization bill before us. I have supported similar cuts in various agencies when we have had those appropriations bills on the floor. This is the biggest bill on the authorization side, and then, of course, the companion appropriations bill. This is over 40 percent of our discretionary expenditures, and the authorization for 40 percent of our discretionary expenditures is in this bill. So a 1 percent cut is very meaningful in this bill. That doesn't mean that 1 percent cuts in other areas aren't meaningful, too. They are. There is no single other area that is as important, fiscally, as this area, and I think it would set a positive tone for reining in out-of- control spending. There are many accounts that are funded at levels above President Trump's request. So if the gentleman is saying somehow that this cut would leave anybody unprepared, he is basically saying that President Trump's budget would leave the military unprepared or leave people poorly equipped. The truth is there are many of us who support vastly lower spending levels and believe that those are sufficient for national defense. That is not even what this amendment does. It simply reduces spending just over $6.2 billion. It still blasts through the budget cap. Mr.…”