We have before the Senate today, the National Defense Authorization Act to authorize the programs and policies of the Department of Defense. We’ll be taking the vote to finalize that bill shortly.
Our national defense is incredibly important, it’s mandated in the Constitution. Our national defense is arguably Congress’ primary Constitutional responsibility.
I have great respect and honor for those in uniform who serve. In fact, I recently introduced a bill to give each soldier who served in the War on Terror a $2500 bonus and at the same time officially end the Afghan War. Ending the Afghan War would save us about $50 billion/yr.
Unfortunately, the bill before us does not end any of our multitude of wars. The bill before us simply continues the status quo and throws more money around the world at conflicts we can’t even begin to fathom.
Before rubber-stamping more money it’s worth a moment for us to take a step back and consider two things:
First, we need to ask ourselves whether borrowing billions of dollars, year after year, to fuel our appetite for more military spending, is a wise policy in the years ahead
First, we need to ask ourselves whether borrowing billions of dollars, year after year, to fuel our appetite for more military spending, is a wise policy in the years ahead
Second, we need to look at how this bill has been loaded up to carry things only somewhat related, or not related at all, to national defense.
As I’ve reminded my colleagues often, Admiral Mullen, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the national debt was our greatest national security threat. His exact wording was “the most significant threat to our national security is our debt.”
This was in 2010. When he made that remark our debt was about $13 trillion. It’s over $23 trillion now. We just keep borrowing and there is no end in sight.
Under our new budget deal, we will be borrowing $2.75 billion every day next year, nearly $2 million every minute.
Under our new budget deal, we will be borrowing $2.75 billion every day next year, nearly $2 million every minute.
We spend more than the next seven largest militaries in world combined.
Our Defense Department is so large that it took them a decade to even figure out how to audit themselves. Then they said that the audit itself will cost almost half a billion dollars. .
Our Defense Department is so large that it took them a decade to even figure out how to audit themselves. Then they said that the audit itself will cost almost half a billion dollars. .
But then last year, we arrived back at square one: after all that effort, we still couldn’t audit the Army, the Navy, the Marines, or the Air Force.
We spend so much money that the Department of Defense literally can’t keep track of it all. We don’t even have a great idea of how much, exactly, we’re wasting.
I hope one day Congress rediscovers that our Constitutional mandate is to defend America first and to only become involved in war as a last resort, even then, America should only become involved in war when Congress has debated and done its Constitutional duty to declare war.
Until that day, I will continue to argue that the only fiscally conservative, fiscally responsible action is vote against expanding the military budget.
