Bill Lee: “I want to first thank Congressman Polis for yielding time and for his work to ensure that our Nation's fiscal security…”

“I want to first thank Congressman Polis for yielding time and for his work to ensure that our Nation's fiscal security is secure through this amendment. It is an honor to cosponsor this amendment with him. I want to thank the ranking member also for guiding us through this very difficult bill to make sure that we all know what is included in the bill. I just have to say, our amendment, I think, would take a modest step in making this bill a lot better to help us rein in the over-the-top, quite frankly, Pentagon spending, while protecting the pay or health benefit accounts of our brave servicemen and -women and their families. Over the last 15 years, Pentagon spending has ballooned by 50 percent in real terms. Pentagon spending now consumes more than half of the Federal discretionary budget. That is just outrageous. Recently, The New York Times made this case in their editorial called ``A Better, Not Fatter, Defense Budget,'' which I include for the Record. [From the New York Times, May 9, 2016] A Better, Not Fatter, Defense Budget (By the Editorial Board) To hear some military commanders and members of Congress talk, the American military is worn out and in desperate need of more money. After more than a decade in Iraq and Afghanistan, they say, troops are lagging in training and new weaponry, which is jeopardizing their ability to defeat the Islamic State and deal with potential conflicts with Russia and China.…”