[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 177 (Thursday, December 8, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H7554]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    THE PENTAGON'S WASTEFUL SPENDING

  (Mr. DeSAULNIER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to highlight the Pentagon's $125 
billion of wasteful spending exposed this week by The Washington Post.
  Just this week, Congress allocated hundreds of billions of dollars to 
fund a military that is larger than the next seven countries' 
militaries combined while we are providing a comparatively small sum of 
money to increase medical research, to educate our youth, and to 
support our first responders. To then discover that the Pentagon has 
identified $125 billion in waste underscores our Nation's misguided 
priorities.
  If just 10 percent of that waste were redirected to the National 
Institutes of Health, cures could be found and lives could be saved. In 
this year's defense authorization, $1.5 billion is spent to upgrade an 
aircraft carrier that the U.S. Navy recommended to retire. Until we 
press the Pentagon to undergo a rigorous audit, I cannot and will not 
support their bloated budget request.
  I share President Eisenhower's concerns when he said:

       We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted 
     influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-
     industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of 
     misplaced power exists and will persist.

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