Kay Bailey Hutchison: “If you are going to cut the defense budget at the same time that you continue to ask our military to do more with less…”

“If you are going to cut the defense budget at the same time that you continue to ask our military to do more with less, tell us where you want to cut. The President of the United States is now threatening to veto the Defense appropriations bill if we do not cut $2- to $3 billion out of it. As 3,500 troops are on their way to Kuwait to defend the interests of this country, the President is threatening to veto the Defense appropriations bill. How could he do it? With troops going into Haiti, with troops in Bosnia, overruns there right now, and more troops on the way to a hot spot in the Middle East, and he is telling Congress cut $2- to $3 billion out of the defense budget. Mr. President, where do you want to cut? Are you going to cut F-16's, as you send 23 more to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia? Or are you going to cut the cruise missiles that you did not put in the budget in the first place which have already been used in your operation over Iraq? Is that what you want to cut? Or do you want to cut the Humvees with the added armor that has already saved one life in Bosnia when a landmine was run over by a Humvee but the protection was there and an American life was saved? Is that what you want to cut? Mr. President, step up to the line.…”