National Defense & Iraq

In the preamble to the U.S. Constitution, our founding fathers explicitly stated that one of the central reasons for forming the federal government was “to provide for the common defense.” That continues to be, and should be, one of its most important duties. In this post-9/11 environment, the United States must be prepared to protect itself and its citizens at home and abroad. A strong, prepared military is essential to that goal.

At the same time, however, the United States federal government is facing a fiscal crisis. Reckless spending has driven the United States into trillion dollar deficits. In 2008, the national debt was $10.6 trillion, now it is $14.1 trillion. That is a $3.5 trillion increase in just two short years. This sort of reckless spending is simply not sustainable, and it would be irresponsible to exempt Defense from spending cuts. There are inefficiencies in the Department of Defense that can be improved. To that end, I voted to defund the alternate engine to the new joint strike fighter. I could not justify funding an alternate engine when we are passing a $14 trillion dollar debt onto our grandchildren.