On the recordFebruary 18, 2011
I offer this amendment today along with Mr. Stark, Ms. Woolsey, Ms. Loretta Sanchez, Mr. Nadler and Mr. Polis. Our amendment would reduce appropriations for the Department of Defense in this bill to fiscal year 2008 levels. If you want to cut domestic spending to 2008 levels, you can't exempt defense. I want to thank Representative Stark for this amendment and for his leadership in promoting an end to the era of unlimited spending and no accountability at the Pentagon. Unfortunately, this week my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are proposing an economic blueprint that would slash Federal investment in our Nation's infrastructure, education system, health care and programs to meet basic human needs and to create jobs. These cuts, trumpeted as a means of long-term deficit reduction, come at a time of severe economic distress for American families. Earlier this year, the House passed a resolution to reduce non-security domestic spending to 2008 levels. This amendment gives us a chance to put our money where our mouths are. It simply says that defense spending should be reduced to 2008 levels. If we are serious about getting our fiscal house in order, then we need to apply the same rules, mind you, to defense as non-defense discretionary spending. I reserve the balance of my time.
