Martin Heinrich: “Our Nation's unsustainable budget deficit is staring us in the face, but it is at critical moments like this when we…”

“Our Nation's unsustainable budget deficit is staring us in the face, but it is at critical moments like this when we must approach our Nation's greatest challenges with responsibility and prudence. Make no mistake that what's at stake here is grand in scope, and we could have grave consequences for our Nation's security, our infrastructure, and our economy. Just this morning, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called the Republicans' stopgap spending plan ``a crisis on our doorstep'' in terms of our national security, and these shortsighted budget cuts could lead to costlier and more tragic consequences later. The approach we take must focus on responsible cuts which will have a lasting impact on our deficit, not arbitrary short-term cuts to programs to win a few votes back home. We should be making decisions based on the best available science, not the worst possible politics.”