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I ask the American people to consider the legacy this administration has handed us in the defense budget as we spend billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars without the tools and ability to track these dollars.

With each new appropriations bill Congress considers, I have to ask myself, 'Is this a good way to spend taxpayer dollars?'

We are not spending the Federal Government's money, we are spending the taxpayer's money, and it must be spent n a way which guarantees his money's worth and yields the fullest possible benefit to the people being helped.

The American people deserve a budget that invests in the future, protects the most vulnerable among us and helps to create jobs and economic security.

But the thing we do know is whatever it costs to save and protect American lives in this conflict, we're going to spend.

At Concerned Veterans for America, we've made the case that the defense budget could be targeted for spending reform, but in a targeted fashion that genuinely changes unsustainable spending trajectories while preserving U.S. defense capacity.

A budget should reflect the values and priorities of our nation and its people.

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.

We are spending $1 billion a week in Iraq.