Mark Hatfield: “the clarion call of this Congress, and the current administration, has been to balance the budget. To reduce the Federal…”

“the clarion call of this Congress, and the current administration, has been to balance the budget. To reduce the Federal deficit and balance the budget. I believe that, with the passage of this bill, the Senate takes a step away from that goal. The fiscal year 1997 Department of Defense authorization bill authorizes a total of approximately $265.7 billion for national defense programs, which is more than $11.2 billion more than the administration requested. I have to question the sincerity, and certainly the logic, of those who ardently advocate for a balanced budget while refusing to look realistically at defense spending. When we speak of health care, education, and foreign aid, the self- professed fiscal conservatives rave about how the public must be prepared to sacrifice today to preserve the future. About how the Federal Government must cut costs and eliminate waste. And about how there is not one extra penny to spare for even the most essential domestic programs. Yet, when we even broach the subject of significantly reducing military spending, these same fiscal conservatives take to the floor and raise the specter of national security as justification for maintaining an unconscionable level of funding. Congress and the administration must share the blame for the failure to significantly reduce defense spending. Over the next 6 years, both the administration's and the Congress' budget plans call for $1.6 trillion in military spending.”