David Obey: “I want to get some things off my chest, nonetheless, about this bill and the context in which it is being presented. The…”

“I want to get some things off my chest, nonetheless, about this bill and the context in which it is being presented. The President presented to the Congress a defense bill which had a hefty $16 billion, 6 percent increase. It contained the President's recommendation for a military pay raise, it made sure that we hit the $60 billion target for procurement, and it was presented to the Congress in the context of other administration initiatives to also make needed investments in education, in health care, in science, and in environmental cleanup across the board. This bill raises the President's request for the military budget by $4 billion, and it does so at the same time that it requires that we cut over the next 5 years $125 billion out of domestic programs for education, health care, and the like. It also does so in the context of the majority party insistence that we pass, in piecemeal fashion, tax cuts largely aimed at the wealthiest people in our society, which will total over $700 billion over that same time period.”