If we can't find cuts in the defense budget, we're not looking carefully enough.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
It is being alleged that the Federal Government is 'cutting' spending. In fact, we are not 'cutting' anything. Defense spending under this budget would rise by 4.3 percent over last year. Other discretionary spending would also rise.
When you cut a half-a-trillion dollars from the defense budget, it affects almost every area in the defense budget.
Our national-security strategy must drive our military budget, rather than the budget setting our strategy.
I think to balance the budget, probably every federal department has to take cuts in my opinion.
In Congress, while the House's proposed defense budget calls for significant increases, it also cuts 11 billion dollars from veterans spending - including healthcare and disability pay. Be clear: we can't equate spending on veterans with spending on defense.
We cannot allow anything that's called 'national defense' to justify any and all spending. We need to be very, very careful that we don't overspend and say, 'Oh, that's defense,' when perhaps it isn't.
Defense spending as a share of the economy dropped significantly during the early 1990s, and that was one of the things, along with other policy changes, that put us back on the path to a balanced budget.
Trying to balance the budget through defense cuts is both counterproductive and impossible.
We need a defense budget that's big enough to sustain an increase in the size of the Army.
I have spoken to Donald Trump about this. He understands the dramatic budget cuts our military has faced.