Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. POLIS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

At a time when all government entities are being asked to do more with less, it is time we ask the United States military to make smart cuts to our defense budget so we can live within our means. We can eliminate inefficient and unnecessary programs while spending taxpayer dollars responsibly and improving our national security.

My amendment just goes a very small way toward protecting the fiscal security of our Nation, which is vital to our national security. My amendment would give broad authority to reduce the overall amount of money appropriated by this bill to 1 percent in the aggregate. I remind everybody that a 1 percent reduction in the spending in this bill is still above the original agreed-upon defense budget from the Budget Control Act, so, again, Congress is appropriating more money than there is in the Budget Control Act.

When we spend beyond our means, we make our Nation less secure, not more secure, by making ourselves economically beholden to countries like Saudi Arabia and China. Even with my amendment, this bill still spends over $500 billion for defense, about as much as the rest of the world combined spends on their militaries. This 1 percent reduction is simply a compromise between the Budget Control Act levels and the suggested levels in this bill. This bill, in its current form, funds multiple accounts and weapons systems over the amount the military itself requested. One percent is about $5 billion.

Now, there might be those who claim there is no possible way to find that money in this bill. Look, I know a lot of Members here have offered a number of ideas about how we can trim our overall defense budget and improve our national security. There are high-profile numbers, like the F-35 and LCS. There are also lower profile items.

When we spend on the military, we need to ask ourselves a couple of questions. First and foremost, of course: Is it necessary and needed for national security? And then, secondly: What is the trade-off, and does it improve or worsen our national security to spend beyond our means and borrow from Saudi Arabia and China?

There are many, many, many accounts in this bill where more money is spent than is requested by the military itself. We can't allow ourselves to be convinced that we can somehow magically sustain this level of military spending and then turn around and say we are somehow also concerned about the fiscal condition of our country.

This amendment is a small step, a compromise between the budget control cap levels and the committee's mark. We don't have to choose between protecting the homeland and fiscal responsibility. We can do both. We will do both, and this amendment will make this happen.

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Mr. POLIS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), the cosponsor of this amendment and a leader on this issue.

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Mr. POLIS. Mr. Chairman, we have to ask ourselves: At what point does additional marginal dollars spent on defense make our country less secure by making us economically beholden to Saudi Arabia, China, and other nations?

As the gentlewoman from California mentioned, defense spending has ballooned, more than 50 percent increases. Every additional dollar we spend is not a dollar we have. It is a dollar we borrow, a dollar we borrow from people overseas, and a dollar we borrow from future Americans and our children.

How can we look our children in the face today by spending the money that they are going to be earning over their lives now, when we already spend as much as the rest of the world combined on defense, including our allies? If you add in our European allies and Asian allies, that is more than three quarters of global defense spending. At what point is enough enough?

I personally support a 3 percent cut, a 5 percent cut. I am on the record saying so. This is a modest compromise. It is still above the budget cap levels.

I hope everybody in this body supports this modest step toward our national security.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. POLIS. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

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