Earl Blumenauer: “providing national defense is one of the federal government's most significant functions, and today it is more important…”

“providing national defense is one of the federal government's most significant functions, and today it is more important than ever. Our military superiority, as demonstrated during the war in Iraq, is unmatched. In terms of numbers, the United States spends more on defense than the next 25 nations combined. Yet this $400 billion authorization, the largest defense allocation in history, does not sufficiently address long term threats to our national security. In fact, it takes us in the wrong direction by exempting the Pentagon from its future environmental responsibilities and not providing adequate resources to clean up the legacy of past defense-related pollution. With such an enormous authorization of resources, we must make sure that the money is being spent wisely. Unfortunately, we have not eliminated unnecessary, wasteful programs that do little to enhance the security of the United States. Despite agreement on the need for deep and lasting changes to military strategy, doctrine, and force structure, the Pentagon's focus so far has been on acquiring new capabilities rather than on re-evaluating current questionable priorities and programs.”