Political Quotes

“I am proud to be joined by Representatives Polis, Griffith, and Blumenauer in offering an amendment to move away from our Cold War posture to meet the challenges of the future. This bipartisan amendment will end the permanent basing of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Germany and return that brigade combat team to the United States, without permanent replacement. There is no longer a strategic reason to maintain our current troop numbers in Europe. This action will still leave one brigade combat team and one combat aviation brigade in Europe. Nothing in this amendment demands the removal of our European medical facilities or rapid response forces. Should a crisis occur, it is not the BCTs that will be called to respond. In fact, just last month, the U.S. moved marines from a crisis-response force to Italy in anticipation that it could be needed to respond to growing unrest in Libya. In an emergency, expeditionary forces, such as the Marine Corp Special MAG Task Force and FAST teams, or even the Army's 82nd Airborne, would be called to action, not the BCTs in Germany. Only 4 out of 28 NATO allies spend even the required 2 percent of their GDP on defense. The U.S. spends 4.7 percent. Our allies keep defense spending low because they take for granted that we will guarantee their security. This is an unfair burden to U.S. taxpayers. We should reprioritize our commitments while meeting our security obligations to our NATO allies by utilizing rotational forces.…”