Jim Inhofe: “I hear all the time from my good friend who is involved in this. In this rare case it is true. The Senator from Colorado…”

“I hear all the time from my good friend who is involved in this. In this rare case it is true. The Senator from Colorado and I are very close friends, and he and I disagree on this issue. I think it is important for us to understand where this came from. Senator McCain and I are responsible for section 313, and I think when people understand what it is, all of these arguments I have heard against it, none of them holds weight. What we are trying to do is experiment in green energy at the expense of our ability to defend America, and our readiness. Our military is deployed in more locations around the world at a greater rate than was ever the case during the Cold War. I sometimes say, I look wistfully back on the days of the Cold War. Back then we had an enemy we could define. It was an enemy who was predictable. That is not the case anymore, and after almost two decades fighting and all of these contingencies worldwide, including four major regional conflicts with a force structure that is 40 percent smaller and equipment that is decades older than the military readiness during its decline, this is what we are faced with right now. All of this is coming at a time when the Obama administration has cut the defense budget, projecting over the 10-year period, by some $487 billion. If the Obama sequestration becomes a reality, that would be $1 trillion over this period of time coming out of our defense budget.…”