Maine Senator Angus King is defending the proposed Defense Department budget as necessary to make up for repeated cuts in funding. Addressing fellow members of the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday, King says that it is time to compensate for cuts in the maintenance of weapon systems.
King says that adjusting for inflation, this year’s $691 billion proposed military budget is less than what was spent eight years ago. He says that since 2010, congress has reduced the actual funding for the military, including across-the-board cuts resulting from the sequestration process.
“I think it very important that the public understand that we are talking about the lowest percentage of GDP for the defense budget in something like 70 years. 3.1 percent,” says King.
King says the military has a huge backlog of deferred maintenance on the weapons systems needed for national defense.
