Chris Van Hollen: “I concur with many of my colleagues that spending on defense is important to meet our national security needs and…”

“I concur with many of my colleagues that spending on defense is important to meet our national security needs and support our allies like Ukraine. My State of Maryland plays an important role in bolstering national defense, advancing critical research, and supporting our military, and I strongly support the work of our bases. However, it is clear to me that we as a country are not spending our money wisely. The defense budget has grown considerably and, despite its size, has not passed an independent audit. Admiral Mike Mullin, the former Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in reference to defense spending that ``with the increasing defense budget, which is almost double, it hasn't forced us to make the hard trades. It hasn't forced us to prioritize.'' While I do not believe that across-the-board cuts are ever the best way to reduce spending, I voted in favor of the Sanders amendment to send a message that we need to put our defense dollars to much better use and make the hard choices necessary to right-size our defense spending.”