Thursday, July 21, 2011

Hartzler in letter to Obama: Cut everything else, but leave defense spending alone

(A news release from Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler)

As debt ceiling negotiations heat up in Washington, Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (MO-4) is calling on President Obama to make sure our men and women in uniform do not become victims of a political game to protect liberal special interests. Hartzler, a co-sponsor of the Cut, Cap and Balance Act and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has sent a letter to the President expressing concerns over reports that substantial defense cuts have been proposed during the debt ceiling talks.


“We are a nation at war with men and women fighting in harm’s way on several fronts,” writes Hartzler. “We need to ensure that the soldiers of this nation are well equipped with every resource they need to protect the liberties we all enjoy. We need to send a clear message to the men and women fighting for our nation that this Congress will not sit by while your Administration makes unjustified decisions about defense funding.”

The letter continues: “We remain committed to prioritizing fiscal responsibility and accountability in the Department of Defense, but we also believe that any cuts to force structure, programs, and equipment cannot occur without an open and objective review of America’s role in the world and the risks we face to our national security. This is clearly not occurring as part of your current direction to cut defense spending.”

“President Obama recently indicated in his Twitter town hall that any defense cuts would not be applied to deficit reduction, but to discretionary domestic programs,” stated Hartzler. “I join freedom-loving Americans from across this country in saying President Obama must not gut national defense to protect wasteful government spending.

No comments: