[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 27 (Friday, February 18, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E317-E318]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             FULL-YEAR CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2011

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. DOUG LAMBORN

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 15, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1) making 
     appropriations for the Department of Defense and the other 
     departments and agencies of the Government for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 2011, and for other purposes:

  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Chair, I rise today to call up my amendment at the 
desk, amendment number 504, which would restore the cuts made to the 
defense appropriations section of H.R. 1. I am pleased that so many of 
my Republican colleagues in the House Armed Services Committee 
supported this amendment and are willing to stand with me

[[Page E318]]

against these cuts. HASC Chairman McKeon, Ms. Hartzler, Mr. Bartlett, 
Mr. Forbes, Mr. Miller of Florida, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. 
LoBiondo, Mr. Turner, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Wittman, Mr. Rigell and Mr. 
Schilling should all be recognized for their commitment to our men and 
women in uniform.
  We cannot in good conscience stand by while this body takes an ax to 
the defense budget.
  My amendment restores cuts to the Department of Defense to the level 
authorized by Congress in the National Defense Authorization Act of 
2011. The C.R. contains approximately $516 billion in defense 
appropriations found in Division A, about $14 billion below the defense 
appropriations authorized in the 2011 NDAA. We should honor that budget 
authorization with this amendment.
  We have watched the Obama Administration develop a pattern of raiding 
the defense accounts first, not last, as it should be. We have a 
Constitutional responsibility to provide for the common defense and 
yet, the Administration sees defense as an account that can be gutted 
at the expense of our national security. The government has already 
asked the Pentagon to find $100 billion in efficiencies and to cut $78 
billion over the next five years. The cuts proposed in H.R. 1 are just 
the beginning of a downward spiral.
  Our government has a constitutional mandate to protect the American 
people. America must retain her qualitative edge in the world. Weakness 
will invite aggression and lead to instability throughout the world.
  As I have said before, I wholeheartedly support finding cost savings 
through efficiencies in all areas of the Federal Government. In the 
area of national defense, I believe we must reinvest those savings in 
other defense priorities such as an effective and robust homeland 
missile defense system, equipment that increases protection and combat 
effectiveness for our servicemembers, and modernizing our aging defense 
infrastructure. As vital as it is to cut our national budget so we can 
live within our means, my hope and desire is that we do so in a way 
that does not sacrifice our military capability.
  Again, I thank my colleagues who have vocally supported this 
amendment and I ask other Members in the House to do the same.

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