The prospective Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Buck McKeon (Calif.) recently vowed to not cut defense spending, while admitting its unlikely Congress will pass the massive defense policy bill by year’s end.
“A defense budget in decline portends an America in decline,” McKeon said during his speech at the Foreign Policy Initiative. He argued that cutting the defense budget would have geopolitical consequences and “undermin[ing] our ability to project power, strengthen our adversaries and weaken our alliances.”
McKeon said the Pentagon’s projected one percent real growth in the defense budget over the next five years “is a net cut for investment and procurement accounts.” He also embraced the “efficiencies initiative” outlined by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, to cut $100 billion in overhead costs and reinvest them in buying ships, guns, tanks and planes. He said the savings should not be used for deficit reduction or other non-defense initiatives. Instead, he outlined further spending to boost the U.S. missile defense by increasing the numbers of the Navy’s Aegis ships and maintaining the ground interceptors in the United States.
“I view it as the responsibility of the Armed Services Committee, through our annual defense law, to shift funds to higher national security priorities and promising technologies for the future such as missile defense and means to counter anti-access threats,” he said.
McKeon, who is not expected to be challenged for chairmanship of the Armed Services panel, said it’s unlikely Congress will pass the defense policy bill this year, but he would try to pass the 2011 bill early next year. The Pentagon has asked Congress for $708 billion, which includes war spending, and was $18 billion over what Congress gave the Pentagon in 2009.
“Let me put this in the simplest terms possible: Cutting defense spending amidst two wars is a red line for me and should be a red line for all Americans,” McKeon said.
