Tom Harkin: “Basically, what this amendment, which passed the House recently by a vote of 353 to 62, would do is begin to ask our…”

“Basically, what this amendment, which passed the House recently by a vote of 353 to 62, would do is begin to ask our allies in Europe to pay a fairer share of the costs for their own defense. The CBO says this amendment would save taxpayers up to $11.3 billion over the next 6 years. I personally think we need to go even further in reducing the taxpayer subsidy for Europe and Japan's defense, but this is a major step in the right direction. It is a victory for deficit reduction and the American taxpayers. Mr. President, I rise to offer an amendment on behalf of myself, and Senator Kerry of Massachusetts, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Lautenberg, and Mr. Dorgan that calls on our NATO allies to share more of the burden for maintaining stability in Europe and their own defense. This amendment is nearly identical to one on the House Department of Defense authorization bill that was agreed to by a strong bipartisan vote of 353 to 62 on May 14. The CBO has scored our amendment as saving $11.3 billion over the next 6 years. It is time we stopped asking American taxpayers to underwrite the security of our European allies.”