house Bill H.R. 2685
Funding the Department of Defense for Fiscal Year 2016
Argument in favor
Given the tenuous situation in the Middle East with the rise of ISIS and Iran’s nuclear program, plus aggression by Russia in the Crimea and China in vital shipping lanes — the U.S. needs it's military strong, now more than ever.
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06/12/2015
Good grief. Our military spending is eating us alive. Let Saudi Arabia--who has a butt load U.S. military equipment--defend the Middle East against ISIS. Europe is never going to support any more action against Russia and we cannot get into a war with Putin no matter what. Make peace with Iran or let them takeover the Middle East if the Saudis don't care enough to get off their royal asses & defend themselves. And cut the damn defense budget. Americans have real domestic needs. Deal with them! *** if you can't face not running the entire world, reinstate the draft! Eternal, endless war is total insanity. You cannot expect the poor to do all the fighting & dying while your children go to Harvard & contribute nothing to the country--except spending the $$$ lobbyists pay you. This is NOT 1950. Grow up or use your useless brains & figure out a way to deal with domestic issues and quit feeding the war machine. Other generations managed. You can, too, if your pull up you britches and get to work.
06/10/2015
In 2010 our defense budget (GDP adjusted) was 822.74 Billion dollars. In 2015 our defense budget (GDP adjusted) is 694.48 Billion dollars. That's 128.26 Billion dollars LESS than it was 5 years ago. With the unrest in the Middle East, Iran's and North Korea's push to develop nuclear weapons, and with Russia and China building up their forces, flexing their muscles, and their incursions into disputed territories claimed by other countries, the LAST thing America should do is decrease defense spending.
06/19/2015
I am not a general or high ranking armed forces official. Therefore, I am not an authority on how much funding we legitimately need for defense and should not attempt to act as one. This should be determined by those officials with intimate knowledge of the situation.
Argument opposed
Using budget gimmicks to avoid the mandatory cuts is not in the long-term interest of the military or the nation as a whole. First and foremost, Congress needs to agree to a budget that raises spending for all federal programs — not just defense.
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06/11/2015
Too much money already spent for no reason. Defense and "world policing" are two different things
06/11/2015
I am completely opposed to our military intervention in the Middle East, Ukraine, South America, and everywhere else we seem to be destabilising governments. Of course, the CIA bears greatest responsibility, but they don't need any help.
Good grief. Our military spending is eating us alive. Let Saudi Arabia--who has a butt load U.S. military equipment--defend the Middle East against ISIS. Europe is never going to support any more action against Russia and we cannot get into a war with Putin no matter what. Make peace with Iran or let them takeover the Middle East if the Saudis don't care enough to get off their royal asses & defend themselves. And cut the damn defense budget. Americans have real domestic needs. Deal with them! *** if you can't face not running the entire world, reinstate the draft! Eternal, endless war is total insanity. You cannot expect the poor to do all the fighting & dying while your children go to Harvard & contribute nothing to the country--except spending the $$$ lobbyists pay you. This is NOT 1950. Grow up or use your useless brains & figure out a way to deal with domestic issues and quit feeding the war machine. Other generations managed. You can, too, if your pull up you britches and get to work.
In 2010 our defense budget (GDP adjusted) was 822.74 Billion dollars. In 2015 our defense budget (GDP adjusted) is 694.48 Billion dollars. That's 128.26 Billion dollars LESS than it was 5 years ago. With the unrest in the Middle East, Iran's and North Korea's push to develop nuclear weapons, and with Russia and China building up their forces, flexing their muscles, and their incursions into disputed territories claimed by other countries, the LAST thing America should do is decrease defense spending.
Too much money already spent for no reason. Defense and "world policing" are two different things
I am not a general or high ranking armed forces official. Therefore, I am not an authority on how much funding we legitimately need for defense and should not attempt to act as one. This should be determined by those officials with intimate knowledge of the situation.
We need to take care of our active duty and our vets...period.
I am completely opposed to our military intervention in the Middle East, Ukraine, South America, and everywhere else we seem to be destabilising governments. Of course, the CIA bears greatest responsibility, but they don't need any help.
Our military personnel have been trained for years to keep us safe. Now is not the time to place our military on a diet when our president is supporting world destabilization.
If we cut our defense budget in half, the budget would still be bigger than most countries in the world.
Why do we spend so much on defense spending? We spend more than the next bunch of nations on the list combined. We need to fund other programs and departments, things like education, making college more affordable/eliminating tuition, infrastructure, etc., not helping countries like Saudi Arabia fight ISIS when they were the ones who basically funded the creation of ISIS. Help our citizens at home, not our "allies" who create our problems.
The U.S. spends far too much on defense. The money could be spent more effectively elsewhere.
We should not be funding and/or supporting Israel by any means or fashion. The situation in the Middle East should be resolve by those countries situated in the region without interference of outside powers. Israel has broken many international laws and codes and yet the United States is assisting to their atrocities. This issue has been pulled out for too long and it is about time the United States acts the way it should pre Six Day War when it officially allied with the Israeli Government. Do the moral thing and do not do this as domestic affairs are far greater than foreign issues at this time. I have studied Foreign relations for half of my life and continue to study as I grow older. With that you should heed my knowledge as it is far greater than any on Capitol Hill or The White House.
We need a strong military now more than ever. This would increase funding for critical areas and help us keep our country safe. Specifically, some of the discretionary funding should go towards the Missile Defense Agency and advanced military sciences.
We already spend more on our military than the next 13 nations altogether. Let's slash it in half, thereby spending only as much as the next 7 nations altogether.
It's time for the world to fear the BMFITV! Vietnam 1965 get it?
The military should have the pay raise that's included in the bill, first and foremost. My dad served in two wars and retired after 20 years of service. All things being equal, how did non nationals get to work for our military? There is much more then meets the eye in this one. Head and heart, this one needs to have closer scrutiny. I'm not in the military, but I understand the way things function in it, to an extent. I'm just saying let's not just dismiss this and pass it on face value. Because it has DOD written on it, is not good enough to get a pass. From what I understand, the DOD doesn't have audits done anyway. I know it's blasphemy to question the military, but it is tax payer funded after all. The right say we need to be fiscally responsible. That is so very true, absolutely we should be. So how is this any different?
Great investment of US tax $$. Keeps us safe and prosperous. Pay people who work very hard/sacrifice (versus welfare to pay people who don't work). Numerous economic spinoffs from DOD r&D.
Congress' (by law) is required to "provide for the common defense." Start a new trend and do your do your required job.