Political Quotes

“Maintaining four brigade combat teams in Europe is an example of the kind of wasteful spending that should be cut from the Federal Government. This is the fourth time I've offered an amendment to reduce U.S. troop levels in Europe, and it has received more support on the floor of the House each time. I want to thank my colleague from Colorado (Mr. Coffman) for his leadership efforts in offering this amendment with me this year. I'm hopeful this amendment's clear logic, obvious nature, and bipartisan support will lead the House to adopt it. This amendment, very simply, will bring troops home from Europe. Basing these forces in the U.S. rather than Europe will cost 10 to 20 percent less and maintain the flexibility and infrastructure for global operations necessary in today's world. The amendment would also authorize the Pentagon to close bases across Europe that are no longer necessary. In the wake of World War II and the Cold War, stationing troops in Europe made sense. We were holding the line against the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact and meeting our obligations to NATO. But the Soviet Union ceased to exist 20 years ago. If we didn't have these bases in Europe, we'd have to ask ourselves: Would we be setting bases up in Europe today to combat the global war on terrorism? Our troop commitment in Europe needs to be reexamined. Our European allies are some of the richest countries in the world, so why are we subsidizing their defense?…”