Cohen Voted to Reduce Federal Deficit by $66 Billion in Defense Spending Bill

Press Release

Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN-9) recently voted to reduce the federal deficit by more than $66 billion when he voted on nearly a dozen amendments. The Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2012 (H.R. 2219) passed the U.S. House of representatives late last week. The $649 billion defense spending bill increases the Pentagon budget by $17 billion and covers the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Defense Department is the only agency that will see a double-digit increase in its budget.

"One of the best ways to reduce the deficit and balance the national budget is by responsibly cutting back on defense spending," said Congressman Cohen. "We spend billions every month in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are spending a fortune and our futures on those wars when we should be focusing more on creating jobs and growing our economy. I will continue to support responsible initiatives that reduce our deficit and create jobs in our country at a time when people need them the most."

Last Wednesday, Congressman Cohen offered two amendments to the Defense appropriations bill that was crafted to reduce aid to Afghanistan. One amendment would have reduced by $4 billion the $12.8 billion allocated to Afghan security forces and used the savings to reduce the deficit. The second amendment would have reduced Afghan infrastructure funding by $200 million and used the savings to also reduce the deficit. Unfortunately, both amendments failed to pass.

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