Dan Coats: “In the last couple of days we have been faced with a difficult choice. Many of us have long supported a strong national…”

“In the last couple of days we have been faced with a difficult choice. Many of us have long supported a strong national defense believing it is the best investment we can make in this country, to ensure, to the extent we can, a peaceful world and a protection of our vital strategic interests. Expenditures made up front often save extraordinary expenditures that might otherwise have to be made should we engage in conflict, and we believe that they save the lives of American men and women who are not called to combat because an enemy has perceived, correctly, that the United States has a firm commitment to remain strong and to defend its interests and has the capability of doing so. At the same time, we are concerned about an ever-growing budget deficit, one that seems beyond the ability of this body to control. Numerous attempts have been made over the past dozen or so years-- different schemes, different budget proposals, different promises. None of those has realized its promise, and the budget deficit continues to grow.”