BRATTLEBORO — Here in Vermont, we struggle to meet the needs of our citizens, to make ends meet, and to invest in our future.
We started the year with a $176 million budget shortfall, and we had to make difficult choices to balance our budget. In the coming years, we will have to make more hard choices, as revenues are not expected to return to pre-recession levels for several years.
Meanwhile, elected officials in Washington are proposing deep cuts to federal spending. But did you know that one large agency budget has been walled off from cuts? And that the agency has been relieved of the need to justify its spending?
Rather than treating our military budget as sacrosanct, it's time for an honest conversation about Pentagon spending.
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We cannot afford wasteful spending of our federal tax dollars. Let's start with the basics: Spending on the Pentagon, wars, and nuclear weapons consumes more than half of the discretionary budget every year.
In the U.S. House's proposed spending for the coming year, the Defense Department budget would increase, while other critical programs, including Homeland Security, face significant cuts.
Excessive military spending has very real consequences for us. Based on President Obama's budget proposal for 2012, we in Vermont are expected to contribute $804.1 million toward military spending.
I want our country to be safe and secure, and I believe that our federal government has a duty to protect all of us. But I do not believe that the Pentagon's budget should continue to rise while vital programs face huge cutbacks.
With many of Vermont's residents still suffering from this historic recession, the state is responsible for maintaining vital services even as our state revenues decline.
We need to invest to ensure our future security - in education, in housing, in our families, and in job creation, to name a few. That's where I want to see our money invested.
Military experts have identified many cuts we can make to defense spending without jeopardizing our nation's security. We can cut funding for weapons systems that don't work or that were designed to fight the last century's wars.
For example, the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle was designed to storm beaches, something we haven't done since the middle of the last century.
Cutting this outmoded program with its serious cost overruns and technical difficulties would save us $5 billion annually.
Defense contractors, of course, vigorously oppose any cuts and spend millions of dollars lobbying for their projects. However, we can - and we must - find ways to reduce defense spending.
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The outcome of the federal budget debate in Washington will profoundly affect Vermont. Any realistic conversation about our nation's budget cannot ignore the huge and growing amount of money poured into the Pentagon.
Our congressional delegation serves our state well. But as the budget debate continues and funding levels are set for the coming year, I urge our delegation to continue to work to ensure that Pentagon spending not be exempt from budget cuts.
Cuts to Pentagon spending should be seriously considered. Not only can our nation be just as safe, but we will also free up federal dollars to help the states provide the services that keep us secure in the current economy.
Let's work toward “smart security.” It's what our state's families and communities need in today's economic climate.