Strong National Defense

Is the world a safer place? A South Korean ship was sunk in disputed waters. Moscow mourns after deadly Metro attacks. From Muslim extremist to tensions with North Korea and Iran, we are not living in a safe world. The Constitution requires the federal government to “provide for the common defense.” With two wars and instability in other parts of the world, we need to continue to invest in our national defense.

A report by The Heritage Foundation takes a hard look at President Obama’s Defense Budget. Here are some of their findings:

• Defense Spending in Context: In FY 2006, the U.S. spent more on Social Security and Medicare ($878 billion), federal, state and local education ($683.1 billion), and means-tested welfare ($599.6 billion) than it did on defense ($521.8 billion). Defense is not the source of the government's fiscal woes.
• Interest Payments Eclipsing Defense Budget: Under current projections, it is expected the federal government will spend more on interest payments for the national debt then on defense by 2015, if not sooner.
• Upside-Down Priorities: The Administration proposes spending $738.7 billion on defense in FY 2011: $579 billion on the core defense budget and $159 billion on Iraq and Afghanistan. Accounting for inflation, the defense budget is flat--growing only 1% last year. Meanwhile, entitlement spending grew by $77 billion, or 5%.
• Not a Balanced Defense Budget: The primary defense accounts that pay for today's military, personnel ($159 billion), and operations and maintenance ($318 billion) consume 65% of the total defense budget, which means the Administration is mortgaging today's military at the expense of tomorrow's. A healthy defense budget should be more balanced.
• An Inconsistent Plan: The Administration's defense budget is inconsistent with the military that is needed to sustain global U.S. security commitments. Tough decisions will have to be made without a higher defense budget.
• Lack of Modernization: Declining modernization investments indicate the U.S. could be facing another procurement holiday as seen in the '90s, from which the military is still trying to recover. Modernization shortfalls will impact the ability to field effective missile defense systems, update nuclear forces, grow the Navy (which is supposed to be comprised of 313 ships but is currently at 283 and dropping), and reduce the age of fighters, tankers, and bombers.
• Manpower versus Equipment: The Obama defense budget cannot afford to maintain the military manpower at proposed levels without reforms to military compensation. Without either more dollars or reform, the military will face 10% manpower reductions over the next decade to offset costs.

(Source - The Heritage Foundation)

I believe we need a military that is ready to respond at a moments notice. Our troops must be equipped and authorized to win when they are called into action. With rogue nations developing nuclear weapons, a missile defense shield is a necessity to protect us and our strategic allies. Without a clear plan, American leadership in technology and training will fade into the past as our enemies continue to arm and progress. As President Reagan said, “There are some who've forgotten why we have a military. It's not to promote war; it's to be prepared for peace.”