"Building a people's army that follows the party's command, can fight and win, and has excellent conduct is the party's goal of building a strong military."
--Xi Jinping in 2013
The official defense budget has been less than 2% of GDP since at
least 2008, but as the economy keeps growing that's meant more money to pay for a modern military that's expanding its navy, air force, missile force and reportedly increasing the number of nuclear warheads it possesses.
China's rising economic power has dovetailed with a deterioration in its standing among Western nations. Pew Research Center surveys show attitudes toward China becoming more
unfavorable in recent years. The reasons are numerous: human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, vagueness over the origins of Covid-19, trade wars with the U.S. and Australia, a border spat with India... and increasing hostility toward Taiwan.
In 2018, Trump signed the VA Mission Act, which expanded and changed the Choice program. Trump has told this lie more than 150 times.
The Veterans Choice program was a bipartisan initiative enacted by Obama in 2014. The Trump administration "reformed the VA" by signing the VA MISSION Act of 2018, which boosted funding for the choice program and expanded the eligibility criteria.
A: I think we use all of the tools that make sense. If using the National Guard--that is something that has to be done. What I worry about is not only how we respond aggressively
to the virus, but also how we respond aggressively to the economic fallout of a global recession. What we've got to say to every worker in America, you know what? Don't panic. You'll be able to pay your mortgage, because you're going to get a check.
That $1.8 trillion represents spending on more than just weapons. The figure is the 2018 total world military expenditure, as calculated by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. "Military expenditure" refers to all
government spending on current military forces and activities, including salaries and benefits, operational expenses, arms and equipment purchases, military construction, research and development, and central administration, command and support.
"We should charge them rent," Trump said of South Korea. We should make them pay for our soldiers. We should make the money off everything." Trump said U.S. troops and defense systems in South Korea did not make
Americans safer. He said he could eliminate the nuclear threat on the peninsula simply by striking a deal with North Korean dictator Kim Jun Un. " This is all about leader versus leader. Man versus man. Kim versus me, he said."
CEO Tom STEYER: It isn't so much about experience, it's about judgment. What we are hearing is 20 years of mistakes by the government in the Middle East. So the real question is judgment. If you look who had the judgment, it was a state senator from
Illinois with no experience named Barack Obama who opposed the war. An outside perspective, looking at this and actually dealing with the problems as they are is what we're looking for now.
He advocates for a new congressional authorization for overseas military operations, many of which currently rely on two-decade-old legislation, to put them "on sound legal footing."
He points to his mayoral record on veterans' issues.
His administration's programs included job placement and career assistance services, a veteran-run job center, and a joint program with the Department of Veterans Affairs to combat veteran homelessness in New York.
BUTTIGIEG: We need to re-prioritize our budget as a whole and our military spending in particular. It's not just how much, although we certainly need to look
at the runaway growth in military spending. It's also where. Right now, we are spending a fraction of the attention and resources on things like the artificial intelligence research that China is doing right now.
If we fall behind on artificial intelligence, the most expensive ships that the United States is building just turned into bigger targets. We do not have a 21st century security strategy coming from this president.
After all, he's relying on 17th century security technologies, like a moat full of alligators or a big wall. There is no concept of strategic planning for how civilian, diplomatic, and military security work needs to take place for the future.
These are wars that have cost us as American taxpayers trillions of dollars since 9/11 alone.
As president, I will end this foreign policy, end these regime change wars, work to end this new cold war and arms race, and instead invest our hard-earned taxpayer dollars actually into serving the needs of the American people right here at home.
SANDERS: After spending trillions of dollars on these endless wars, which have resulted in dislocation and mass migrations and pain in
that region, it is time to bring our troops home. Unlike Trump, I will not do it through a tweet at 3 o'clock in the morning. I will do it working with the international community. If it's necessary to negotiate with the Taliban, we will do that.
SANDERS: One of the big differences between the vice president and myself is he supported the terrible war in Iraq and I helped lead the opposition against it. And not only that,
I voted against the very first Gulf War, as well I think we need a foreign policy which understands who our enemies are, that we don't have to spend more money on the military than the next 10 nations combined.
I don't think we have to spend $750 billion a year on the military when we don't even know who our enemy is.
I think that what we have got to do is bring this world together-bring it together on climate change, bring it together in fighting against terrorism. And make it clear that we as a planet, as a global community, will work together to
help countries around the world rebuild their struggling economies and do everything that we can to rid the world of terrorism. But dropping bomb on Afghanistan and Iraq was not the way to do it.
Now, why is he doing that? Because they have to use all the oil that's budgeted, or else they won't get the same amount budgeted the following year.
So this broke my heart
to even hear this story. We have to take some of that $750 billion and start channeling it towards our infrastructure.
We know we need to make our infrastructure more sustainable over time. Right now, there are hundreds of billions being
spent on our military that is generating a ton of emissions and pollution. And so if we take a significant portion of that budget and channel it towards infrastructure, we can make a good out of right now a huge net negative.
SANDERS: We have a moral responsibility to act boldly, and to do that, yes, it is going to be
expensive. This is how we get the money.
EIGHT CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Michael Bennet; Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; John Hickenlooper; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan.
Other Democratic contenders align with the more moderate--or even hawkish--wing of the Democratic party and support larger defense budgets, especially in key areas they consider high priorities.
EIGHT CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Michael Bennet; Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; John Hickenlooper; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan.
Other Democratic contenders align with the more moderate--or even hawkish--wing of the Democratic party and support larger defense budgets, especially in key areas they consider high priorities.
SIX CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Tulsi Gabbard; Kamala Harris; Bernard Sanders; Eric Swalwell; Elizabeth Warren; Andrew Yang.
A sizable number of
Democratic presidential candidates are doves with long track records of advocating deep cuts in the Pentagon budget in order to pay for what they consider more important domestic programs or diplomatic initiatives.
EIGHT CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Michael Bennet; Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; John Hickenlooper; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan.
Other Democratic contenders align with the more moderate--or even hawkish--wing of the Democratic party and support larger defense budgets, especially in key areas they consider high priorities.
EIGHT CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Michael Bennet; Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan.
Other Democratic contenders align with the more moderate--or even hawkish--wing of the Democratic party and support larger defense budgets, especially in key areas they consider high priorities.
EIGHT CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Michael Bennet; Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; John Hickenlooper; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan.
Other Democratic contenders align with the more moderate--or even hawkish--wing of the Democratic party and support larger defense budgets, especially in key areas they consider high priorities.
SIX CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Tulsi Gabbard; Kirsten Gillibrand; Bernard Sanders; Eric Swalwell; Elizabeth Warren; Andrew Yang.
A sizable number of
Democratic presidential candidates are doves with long track records of advocating deep cuts in the Pentagon budget in order to pay for what they consider more important domestic programs or diplomatic initiatives.
EIGHT CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Michael Bennet; Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; John Hickenlooper; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan.
Other Democratic contenders align with the more moderate--or even hawkish--wing of the Democratic party and support larger defense budgets, especially in key areas they consider high priorities.
EIGHT CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Michael Bennet; Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; John Hickenlooper; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan.
Other Democratic contenders align with the more moderate--or even hawkish--wing of the Democratic party and support larger defense budgets, especially in key areas they consider high priorities.
SIX CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Tulsi Gabbard; Kirsten Gillibrand; Kamala Harris; Bernard Sanders; Elizabeth Warren; Andrew Yang.
A sizable number of
Democratic presidential candidates are doves with long track records of advocating deep cuts in the Pentagon budget in order to pay for what they consider more important domestic programs or diplomatic initiatives.
EIGHT CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Michael Bennet; Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; John Hickenlooper; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan.
Other Democratic contenders align with the more moderate--or even hawkish--wing of the Democratic party and support larger defense budgets, especially in key areas they consider high priorities.
"There is no discussion of debt, deficit and government spending these days," he
said. "I've watched two Democratic presidential debates and there's been zero discussion on both of them as to this issue. The President said we're not going to touch the very things that drive debt and spending. So I think that we're walking away into
one heck of a financial storm, and there's no discussion, and yet presidential years have historically been the year in which we do discuss these things."
Sanford says America will spend more on interest than on its national defense bill in just three
years. When national security issues are discussed, Sanford says, what's left out of the discussion is a prediction of Adm. Mike Millen, former chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, who called the debt and deficit as the biggest security threat.
"It's sad and disrespectful for anyone to do that to any memorial and the Vietnam Memorial has gone
through it last year," Walsh said. "Sixty-seven people from Dorchester that lost their lives in Vietnam, fighting for the United States of America, to free the Vietnamese people," Walsh added. "That's so disrespectful, what that person did."
When our service members come home from service, it is critical that they get the support they deserve. As our brave women and men of the military are transitioning out of service and reintegrating back into society, the right support
can make all the difference during their transition and in the ensuing months and years. Many veterans don't even know about the variety of services that are available to support them, nor do they know how to take advantage of them.
Solving this lack of outreach to veterans will involve coordinating efforts between the military, the veteran's administration, and outside non-profit groups and community centers.
Setting up a structure for people is wildly expensive. Guaranteeing work would cost tens of thousands of additional
dollars for recruitment, training, and infrastructure before anyone even gets paid. You would also wind up creating very large organizations and bureaucracies. The Peace Corps has over 1,000 full-time employees supporting 7,200 volunteers, for example.
He believes that much of the military budget "is focused on defending against threats from decades ago as opposed to the threats of 2020."
Her website also says, "It's time to bring the troops home," and that she supports "reinvesting in diplomacy."
She has come out in favor of the U.S. rejoining the Iran nuclear agreement and has also proposed legislation that would prevent the
United States from using nuclear weapons as a first-strike option, saying she wants to "reduce the chances of a nuclear miscalculation."
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: Truthout.org, "War and Peace," on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Bernie Sanders on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Mar 27, 2019)
Cut military spending, except F-35 at Vermont air base
- Senator Sanders has only voted for three out of 19 military spending bills since 2013.
- Sanders voted as requested by Peace Action 84 percent of the time from 2011 to 2016, despite some hawkish votes on Iran from 2011-2013.
-
One major contradiction: Not only did Sanders support the F-35, he pushed--despite local opposition--to get these fighter jets stationed at the Burlington airport for the Vermont National Guard.
-
In terms of stopping the war in Yemen, he and Senators Chris Murphy and Mike Lee have led a sustained effort to shepherd his historic War Powers bill on Yemen through the Senate.
-
Sanders supports U.S. withdrawals from Afghanistan and Syria and opposes U.S. threats of war against Venezuela.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Truthout.org, "War and Peace," on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Kirsten Gillibrand on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Mar 27, 2019)
Withdraw from Yemen; Withdraw from Afghanistan
- Opposing runaway military spending, voting against 47 percent of military spending bills since 2013.
- Her Peace Action voting record is 80 percent, reduced mainly by the same hawkish votes on Iran as Sanders from 2011 to 2013.
-
Gillibrand was an early cosponsor of Sanders's Yemen War Powers bill. She has also supported a full withdrawal from Afghanistan since at least 2011, when she worked on a withdrawal bill with then Sen. Barbara Boxer and wrote a letter to
State Department Secretaries Robert Gates and Clinton, asking for a firm commitment that U.S. troops would be out "no later than 2014."
- Gillibrand cosponsored the Anti-Israel Boycott Act in 2017 but later withdrew her cosponsorship when pushed by
grassroots opponents and the ACLU, and she voted against S.1, which included similar provisions, in January 2019.
- She has spoken favorably of Trump's diplomacy with North Korea.
Click for Kirsten Gillibrand on other issues.
Source: Truthout.org, "War and Peace," on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Tulsi Gabbard on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Mar 12, 2019)
No more wars for regime change, like Syria and Afghanistan
Her big idea: A central part of Ms Gabbard's campaign has been her call for an end to US-led "regime change wars"--in Syria and Afghanistan. She also condemns runaway military spending as a "new arms race". As a major in the US Army reserve and a
veteran of the Iraq War, Ms Gabbard has a unique perch from which to launch her critique.Her biggest obstacle: Her foreign policy has also been a source of controversy. In 2017 she met President Bashar Assad in
Syria and has questioned the international consensus that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against its own citizens.
"I served in a war in Iraq, a war that was based on lies," she said. "I think that the evidence needs to be gathered."
She refused to label Mr Assad as a "war criminal"--a position that sets her well apart from the majority of US politicians and the American people.
Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.
Source: BBC.com on 2020 Democratic primary contenders at 2019 SXSW
Tulsi Gabbard on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Mar 11, 2019)
End this new cold war and nuclear arms race
Gabbard was asked Sunday to name the biggest policy mistake the United States had ever made. She pointed to the march toward what she warned could be "nuclear catastrophe."She pointed to a cell phone alert -- which turned out to be a false alarm --
last year warning people in Hawaii to take shelter because a missile was incoming. She described residents of the state facing agonizing decisions about how to seek shelter and who to spend what they feared could be their last minutes with.
"This alert turned out to be false, but the reason we reacted the way we did is that the threat is real," Gabbard said. "Our leaders have failed us and brought us to this point. It doesn't have to be this way. We have to correct our course. We have
to end this new cold war and nuclear arms race that is currently being waged that threatens our very future and that costs us trillions of our taxpayer dollars--dollars that need to be spent and invested to serve the needs of our people here at home."
Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.
Source: CNN KFile on 2019 SXSW conference in Austin
Donald Trump on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Mar 8, 2019)
Countries hosting US troops should pay for them
The administration is drawing up demands that Germany, Japan and any other country hosting U.S. troops pay the full price of American soldiers deployed on their soil--plus 50 percent or more for the privilege of hosting them.
His insistence on it almost derailed recent talks with South Korea over the status of 28,000 U.S. troops in the country when he overruled his negotiators with a note to National Security Advisor John Bolton saying, "We want cost plus 50."
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Bloomberg News, "Huge Premium" on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Pete Buttigieg on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Feb 12, 2019)
Recognize Vietnam Veterans Day, as late honor
At the Vietnam Welcome Home event, I said: "At the end of my tour in Afghanistan, the reception couldn't have been better. At the airport, people lined up to shake our hands, waving flags." A little choked up, I continued to the point. "Many of you did
not get that welcome home. And it's a shame. These days, as a society, we have learned how to separate how we feel about a policy and how we treat the men and women sent overseas to serve. That wasn't true for Vietnam veterans. I'm sorry that not
everyone thanked you properly. I'm sorry that this is coming late: Thank you. And welcome home." Recognizing Vietnam Veterans Day has only begun in the last few years, but it quickly became another occasion for me to see how important a symbolic
act can be. Some of the vet's eyes water. It's clear to them the honor however late in their lives, is meaningful. One of them tells me he was 18 when he went, "They called me a baby-killer when I got back," he says, staring into the distance.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: Shortest Way Home, by Pete Buttigieg, p.258-9
Pete Buttigieg on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Feb 12, 2019)
Afghanistan war was "outsourced" to the few in uniform
[After 9/11], little was said about personal sacrifice at home for the purpose of winning a national conflict. Kids in World War II saved tinfoil from gum wrappers for the war effort, women
reused nylon stockings as many times as possible, and everyone then knew why they were being asked to pay much higher taxes.
This time around, it seemed that the war effort was wholly outsourced to those few Americans who served in uniform. America tripped over itself to salute them, without seeming to consider the possibility that civilians, too, could accept some risk or
pay some contribution into the cause of freedom. We might have had, in those years, a more serious conversation about what each of us owes to the country in a time of conflict.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: Shortest Way Home, by Pete Buttigieg, p. 49
Xavier Becerra on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Feb 5, 2019)
Remove barriers for veterans seeking medical services
The wall on the border is not the only wall that we are seeing that this Administration is trying to build:The Trump Administration are also putting a wall between our veterans and their medical services.
They are ready to waste millions of dollars on a border wall instead of helping our veterans who deal with long delays in hospitals.
Click for Xavier Becerra on other issues.
Source: Democratic Spanish response to the 2019 State of the Union
Donald Trump on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Feb 5, 2019)
Withdraw from INF and develop Missile Defense System
We have begun to fully rebuild the military--with $700 billion last year and $716 billion this year. We are also getting other nations to pay their fair share. For years, the US was being treated very unfairly by NATO--but now we have secured a
$100 billion increase in defense spending from NATO allies.As part of our military build-up, the US is developing a state-of-the-art Missile Defense System.
Decades ago the United States entered into a treaty with Russia in which
we agreed to limit and reduce our missile capabilities. While we followed the agreement to the letter, Russia repeatedly violated its terms. That is why I announced that the United States is officially withdrawing from the
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF Treaty.
Perhaps we can negotiate a different agreement, adding China and others, or perhaps we can't--in which case, we will outspend and out-innovate all others by far.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: 2019 State of the Union address to United States Congress
Deb Haaland on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Oct 9, 2018)
The Veterans deserve good health care and help finding jobs
Both of my parents were Veterans, and my dad is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Our country must live up to the promises made to our Veterans in exchange for their service and their lives.
All veterans deserve good health care, including mental health services, and support to transition into civilian jobs.
Click for Deb Haaland on other issues.
Source: 2018 NM-1st House campaign website DebForCongress.com
Marianne Williamson on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jul 24, 2018)
Military expenditures are 54% of all discretionary funding
President Eisenhower [warned in 1961 that] "we must not fail to comprehend grave implications. [of] an immense military establishment and a large arms industry We clearly did not heed his warnings. Our military expenditures have steadily increased to
the point where they are 54% of all discretionary federal funds.World military spending totaled more than $1.6 trillion in 2015, and the U.S. accounted for 37% of the total. The budget of our Defense Department, for instance is $600 billion, 24 times
more than the $26.5 billion allotted to the Department of State.
Are we being served or are we being robbed? Are we being protected or are we being turned into a militaristic nation whose citizens are being led to believe that brute force rather than
adherence to our values is the fulcrum of security?
In truth, our military budget is more an expression of the financial appetites of our military-industrial complex than it is a truly wise response to admittedly very real threats.
Click for Marianne Williamson on other issues.
Source: Healing the Soul of America, by Marianne Williamson, p.167-8
John Kasich on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Jun 6, 2018)
Forward-deploy US forces in the Pacific to challenge China
China does not need to be contained as the Soviet Union once did during the Cold War [but] deterring China also has a military dimension. The U.S. military should forward-deploy greater numbers of forces in the western Pacific and continue to challenge
China's illegal attempts to expand its territorial control there. Washington should make it clear that there will be a significant price to pay for any attack on U.S. assets in space and expand our regional allies' missile and air defense capabilities.
In the long run, however, the best chance for peace lies in a China that itself chooses reform. To kick-start that process, we will have to support efforts to give mass audiences in
China better access to the unvarnished truth about what is going on in the world.
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: 2020 presidential hopeful Kasich column in Foreign Affairs
John Delaney on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security May 29, 2018)
National service program, plus community & veterans' service
- We should launch a national service program to unify the next generation of Americans.
- We must craft policies that encourage more philanthropy, more community service, and more investment in solving challenging issues such as disparities in
health and education.
- We must back up our words with action. A truly grateful nation cannot allow its veterans to go homeless and live without health care.
Click for John Delaney on other issues.
Source: The Right Answer, by Rep. John Delaney, p.141-4
Bernie Sanders on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Apr 16, 2018)
Undertake comprehensive audit of Department of Defense
On domestic policy, there are major differences between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. On foreign policy, not so much. Several months ago, Democrats, with virtually no opposition, gave President Trump every nickel that he wanted in
increased defense spending. At a time [of great domestic needs], there were very few Democrats opposed to Republican efforts to increase military spending by $165 billion over two years.
Democrats, for good reason, vehemently oppose almost everything
Trump proposes, but when he asks for a huge increase in military spending, there are almost no voices in dissent. Why is that? Do we really have to spend more on the military than the next ten nations combined--most of which are our allies? Why do we
dramatically increase funding when the Department of Defense remains the only government agency not to have undertaken a comprehensive audit? Why is there so little discussion about the billions in waste, fraud, and cost overruns at the Pentagon?
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Where We Go From Here, by Bernie Sanders, p.182-3
Bernie Sanders on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Apr 1, 2018)
Don't privatize the Veterans Administration
Q: Will you support Dr. Ronny Jackson as the nominee for the Veterans Administration?SANDERS: Well, we know nothing about Dr. Jackson's vision for the VA. But what concerns me is that, right now in Washington, we have a family called the Koch
brothers--with a few of their other billionaire friends--their view has been we have got to privatize, privatize, and privatize. And Dr. Shulkin [the previous DVA chief], who Trump fired this week, said the reason for his firing is that he resisted
privatization of the Veterans Administration. I work very closely with the major veterans organizations, and what they say is they want to strengthen the VA, not dismember it, not privatize it.
Q: Well, the White House says, at this time, they have
no intent to privatize the VA.
SANDERS: They have been putting more money into the private sector with VA money. I do not believe them on that issue. I think they are listening to the Koch brothers. And I think that that is a very, very bad idea.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
Arvin Vohra on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Mar 30, 2018)
Shut down foreign military bases & withdraw from NATO
Q: Do you support or oppose expanding the military?A: Strongly oppose. The mission has been, frankly, corrupted. It is unconscionable to encourage young men and women to pursue morally dubious work in the service of an ill-considered, nonstrategic
foreign policy. I would sponsor legislation to reduce military personnel to the bare minimum needed for defense of America. I would sponsor legislation to shut down foreign military bases, end involvement in foreign civil wars, and withdraw from NATO.
Click for Arvin Vohra on other issues.
Source: OnTheIssues interview of 2018 Maryland Senate candidate
Arvin Vohra on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Feb 22, 2018)
Cut military spending by 60% or more
The following issues were listed on Vohra's campaign website:Cut Military Spending by 60% or More: If elected,
I will immediately sponsor legislation to cut military spending by 60% or more, end all trade sanctions, and cut taxes accordingly. This will reduce the violence against our country and enhance our global economic capabilities.
Click for Arvin Vohra on other issues.
Source: Ballotpedia.org on 2018 Maryland Senate race
Rand Paul on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Feb 11, 2018)
Fiscal conservatives must oppose unlimited military spending
Q: We have deficits projected to be a trillion dollars, which you criticized in 2010.PAUL: One of the questions Republicans are not willing to ask themselves is, "Can you be fiscally conservative and be for unlimited military spending?"
There's sort of this question, "is the military budget too small?", or maybe "is our mission too large around the world?" And because Republicans are unwilling to confront that, they want more and more and more for military spending.
And to get that, they have to give Democrats what they want, which is more for domestic spending.
Q: Is the current level of defense spending, or the mission, reckless?
PAUL: I think the mission is beyond what we need to be. We're actively in war in about seven countries, and yet the Congress hasn't voted on declaring or authorizing the use of military force in over 15 years now.
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
Donald Trump on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jan 30, 2018)
Fire 1,500 VA employees who failed to serve veterans
We are serving our brave veterans, including giving our veterans choice in their healthcare decisions. Last year, the Congress passed, and I signed, the landmark VA Accountability Act. Since its passage, my Administration has already removed more than
1,500 VA employees who failed to give our veterans the care they deserve--and we are hiring talented people who love our vets as much as we do. I will not stop until our veterans are properly taken care of,
which has been my promise to them from the very beginning of this great journey.All Americans deserve accountability and respect--and that is what we are giving them. So tonight, I call on the Congress to empower every
Cabinet Secretary with the authority to reward good workers--and to remove Federal employees who undermine the public trust or fail the American people.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: 2018 State of the Union address
John Kasich on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Dec 27, 2017)
Improve veteran healthcare with more options & fewer delays
The same kinds of policies that John Kasich has deployed successfully in Ohio to support veterans will be a model for the veterans policies he pursues as president. A particular focus will be health care, where he supports improving the current system
as well as giving veterans new flexibilities and options to eliminate delays for needed care.- Prioritizing Veterans as a Ready Workforce: Reforms Gov. Kasich pursued in 2014 made it easier for veterans to transfer their skills to
receive licensure credit.
- Providing Property-Tax Relief to Disabled Veterans: Ohio doubled the homestead exemption for veterans with full service-related disabilities to make sure they are able to stay in their homes and better manage
property tax bills.
- Creating an Online Career Center for Veterans: Ohio created OhioMeansVeteranJobs.com--an online resource offering veterans a host of services to help them get a job.
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website, JohnKasich.com
John Kasich on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Dec 27, 2017)
Easier licensing for veterans; and more job services
Veterans have advanced training and experience in many of the skills that Ohio job creators are seeking. Reforms Gov. Kasich pursued in 2014 made it easier for veterans to transfer their skills to receive licensure credit so they can quickly begin
applying their skills in good-paying jobs that support their families. Further, Ohio's state licensing boards and commissions have adopted consistent military definitions and made changes to their applications and policies to make certain that veterans
and spouses are identified and prioritized.Ohio created OhioMeansVeteranJobs.com--an online resource offering veterans a host of services to help them get a job. The website has a "military skills translator" that helps map military experience to
job skills to build a resume from military service. For businesses looking for qualified workers, Ohio created the Veterans Business Support Center to assist employers in locating qualified veteran candidates for job openings.
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website, JohnKasich.com
Joe Biden on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Oct 24, 2017)
Vietnam war was horrendous waste based on a flawed premise
[In his 1972 Senate race, Biden] used the Vietnam War as a wedge issue, denouncing it as a "stupid and horrendous waste of time, money, and lives based on a flawed premise," and wondering why the United States was "spending so much energy in Southeast
Asia that we had left truly vital interests unattended." (Swap out "Southeast Asia" with "Middle East," and it's easy to spot a coherent through-line from 1972 to the present.)
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: The Book of Joe, by Jeff Wilser,
Gavin Newsom on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jun 11, 2017)
Don't gut programs to pay for military buildup
Trump's willing to cut food stamps, Medicaid, the arts &
meals on wheels to over spend on the military & build a do-nothing slab of concrete
Click for Gavin Newsom on other issues.
Source: Twitter posting on 2018 California gubernatorial race
John Kasich on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Apr 25, 2017)
Focused on excess spending on Armed Services Committee
[In 1983], my first committee assignment as a young congressman was on the House Armed Services Committee, where I quickly became immersed in some of the lingering cold war tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union.Perhaps the biggest
headline I made on the House Armed Services Committee was my focus on excess spending. Like most Republicans, I'd always been strong on defense, but once in Congress, I started paying particular attention to some of the costs in our federal budget.
The one didn't always go hand in hand with the other, I was realizing. However, this realization put me in conflict with some of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, who came to see me as a part of group they viewed as "cheap hawks."
No matter where I saw wasteful spending, I believe it needed to be eliminated, even in our military, but Republicans weren't supposed to think in this way, so my position set some people off.
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: Two Paths, by John Kasich, p. 98-99
John Kasich on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Apr 25, 2017)
1980s: B-2 didn't make financial sense nor strategic sense
The B-2 was supposed to be an essential weapon in our Cold War arsenal. I didn't quite see it that way. I couldn't justify or even understand the projected long-term cost of a single plane (nearly $2 billion). It wasn't just that the program didn't make
financial sense; it didn't make strategic sense, either. Why spend all that money for a bunch of planes capable of dropping multiple nuclear bombs over the Soviet Union when one bomb would certainly get the message across? It was the very definition of
overkill.We set about trying to pare back the B-2 proposal, and perhaps redirect some of those monies to the development of standoff weapons, which we believed would be more strategically effective as well as more cost-effective. We were never out to
kill the proposal entirely; in response to an initial proposal of 132 bombers, we proposed a more modest plan of just 13. The projected squadron was cut to a final compromise of 20 B-2 bombers. So that's where we landed on this issue--an incredible win.
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: Two Paths, by John Kasich, p.101-2
John Kasich on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Apr 25, 2017)
Cutting Pentagon budget doesn't weaken defense
[In the 1980s when I sought to cut wasteful spending in the military], my thinking was this: Just because you're out to curb some of the ridiculous costs doesn't mean you're out to weaken the nation's defense. The Pentagon budget was bloated; yet only
a few people were speaking out against it. The talk all over Washington was about the need for cuts in our social welfare and entitlement programs, while there was an unspoken agreement that we were not supposed to be critical of our defense spending.
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: Two Paths, by John Kasich, p. 99
Elizabeth Warren on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Apr 18, 2017)
Reagan military spending meant more bombs & fewer textbooks
Under Reagan, defense spending rose by 34 percent. And spending that was already guaranteed by law, like Social Security and Medicare, remained out of the Republicans' reach. But all other spending that Congress had to approve year after year was now
on the chopping block. All the spending on education, on infrastructure, and on research. The trickle-down policies of the Reagan years shifted American' priorities. 1
At the same time that military spending expanded significantly, school funding was slashed by 15 percent. More bombs and fewer text books. And when the politicians figured out there was no price to pay politically, the cuts just kept on coming.
Even during the Obama years, federal funding for education took a hard hit. In 2011, Republicans bargained for another 15% cut in return for increasing the debt ceiling and thus preventing the complete disruption of financial markets around the world.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: This Fight is Our Fight, by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, p.118
Donald Trump on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Apr 8, 2017)
Stay out of Syria, and keep Syrians out of America
Twitter posting from @realDonaldTrump on Syria intervention: - 8:33 PM 15 Jun 2013
We should stay the hell out of Syria, the "rebels" are just as bad as the current regime. WHAT WILL WE GET FOR OUR LIVES & $BILLIONS? ZERO - 8:19 AM 29 Aug 2013
If we are going to continue to be stupid and go into Syria, as they say in the movies, SHOOT FIRST AND TALK LATER! - 8:25 AM 29 Aug 2013
Let the Arab League take care of Syria. Why are these rich Arab countries not paying us for the tremendous
cost of such an attack? - 2:14 PM 29 Aug 2013
What will we get for bombing Syria besides more debt and a possible long term conflict? Obama needs Congressional approval. - 8:54 AM 17 Nov 2015
Refugees from Syria are now pouring into our great
country. Who knows who they are--some could be ISIS. Is our president insane? - 11:55 AM 24 Mar 2016
Europe and the U.S. must immediately stop taking in people from Syria. This will be the destruction of civilization as we know it! So sad!
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Straits Times (Singapore) on Trump Administration promises
Cory Booker on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Apr 1, 2017)
No irresponsible spending on weapons military doesn't want
BROKEN PROMISE: : Booker said on his Senate campaign website, "America has, and must continue to maintain, the strongest military force in the world." But he cites on the same website that Congress engages in "irresponsible spending on
weapons our military doesn't want." Booker made these two inherently conflicting promises, attempting to portray himself as a moderate on defense spending. He contradicts himself in that pair of promises, and his promise on the "strongest military" was
belied by his NAY vote on Congress' biggest military packageANALYSIS: Booker opposed the "National Defense Authorization Act" which President Obama vetoed (agreeing with Booker) because it "underfunds our military in the base budget,
and instead relies on an irresponsible budget gimmick of Overseas Contingency Operations funding." Booker's ambiguous campaign promise has the usual purpose of attempting to please both sides at once by being intentionally vague.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: Cory Booker 'Promises Broken,' by Jesse Gordon, p.119
Donald Trump on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Feb 28, 2017)
Meaningful engagement with allies paying their fair share
Our foreign policy calls for a direct, robust and meaningful engagement with the world. It is American leadership based on vital security interests that we share with our allies across the globe. We strongly support NATO, an alliance forged through the
bonds of two World Wars that dethroned fascism, and a Cold War that defeated communism.But our partners must meet their financial obligations. And now, based on our very strong and frank discussions, they are beginning to do just that.
We expect our partners, whether in NATO, in the Middle East, or the Pacific--to take a direct and meaningful role in both strategic and military operations, and pay their fair share of the cost. We will respect historic institutions, but we will also
respect the sovereign rights of nations.
My job is not to represent the world. My job is to represent the United States of America. But we know that America is better off, when there is less conflict--not more.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: 2017 State of the Union address to Congress
Donald Trump on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Feb 28, 2017)
More tools so our military can fight and win
To keep America safe, we must provide the men and women of the United States military with the tools they need to prevent war and--if they must--to fight and to win.I am sending the Congress a budget that rebuilds the military, eliminates the
Defense sequester, and calls for one of the largest increases in national defense spending in American history.
My budget will also increase funding for our veterans. Our veterans have delivered for this Nation--and now we must deliver for them.
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Source: 2017 State of the Union address to Congress
Bernie Sanders on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Nov 15, 2016)
Spending on military means fewer resources for people
How many cities of forty thousand, which is the population of Burlington, have a foreign policy? Well, we did. During my tenure as mayor we made the point that excessive spending on the military and unnecessary wars meant fewer resources to address the
needs of ordinary people. Somewhere in the Reagan Library, or wherever these things are kept, there is a letter from the mayor of Burlington opposing the U.S. funding of contras in Nicaragua.
The letter stated, "Stop the war against the people of Nicaragua. Use our tax dollars to feed the hungry and house the homeless. Stop killing the innocent people of Nicaragua."As mayor of Burlington, I helped establish two sister-city programs.
One was with the town of Puerto Cabezas in Nicaragua. The other was with the city of Yaroslavl in what was then the Soviet Union. Both programs continue today.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Our Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p. 38
Tulsi Gabbard on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Nov 15, 2016)
Iraq was a war we never should have gotten into
Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii joined our campaign in a rather dramatic fashion: She resigned as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. Tulsi, a veteran of the war in Iraq, is deeply concerned about foreign and military policy.
She saw the lives of too many of her comrades destroyed by a war we should never have gotten into, and she wanted policies to make sure that we never got into another such war again.
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Source: Our Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p.102
Donald Trump on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Sep 28, 2016)
FactCheck: US spends more than NATO, but only 22% on NATO
Trump said, "The 28 countries of NATO, many of them aren't paying their fair share.... We pay approximately 73% of the cost of NATO." [Is that true?]The US share is calculated on the basis of GDP--and adjusted regularly. Currently that's 22%,
compared to about 15% for Germany, 11% for France, 10% for the UK, 8% for Italy, 7% for Canada, and so forth--based on NATO's guideline, established in 2006, that defense expenditures should amount to 2% of each country's GDP. The median spending in
2015 is just 1.18% of GDP, compared to 3.7% for the US, Just four other countries currently exceed the 2% guideline.
However, on INDIRECT funding, NATO says, "The volume of the US defense expenditure effectively represents 73% of the defense spending
of the Alliance."
In short, direct funding of NATO is allocated on a reasonable formula, with the US paying just 22% of the cost. But indirect funding is a different issue, with U.S. defense spending far exceeding the spending of other NATO members.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Washington Post Fact-check on First 2016 Presidential Debate
Donald Trump on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Sep 26, 2016)
We defend Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia: they need to pay
TRUMP: We defend Japan, we defend Germany, we defend South Korea, we defend Saudi Arabia, we defend countries. They do not pay us. But they should be paying us, because we are providing tremendous service and we're losing a fortune. It's very possible
that if they don't pay a fair share, because this isn't 40 years ago where we could do what we're doing. We can't defend Japan, a behemoth, selling us cars by the million. They may have to defend themselves or they have to help us out. We're a country
that owes $20 trillion. They have to help us out.CLINTON: I want to reassure our allies in Japan and South Korea and elsewhere that we have mutual defense treaties and we will honor them. It is essential that America's word be good. On behalf of a
majority of the American people, I want to say that our word is good.
TRUMP: And as far as Japan is concerned, I want to help all of our allies, but we are losing billions and billions of dollars. We cannot be the policemen of the world.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: First 2016 Presidential Debate at Hofstra University
Hillary Clinton on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Sep 7, 2016)
Move V.A. into 21st century, but not by privatizing
TRUMP: Hillary Clinton six months ago said the vets are being treated essentially just fine, there's no real problem, it's over-exaggerated. She said she was satisfied with what was going on in the Veterans Administration.Q [to Clinton]: Last October
you said that surveys of veterans show that they're overall satisfied with their treatment and that the problems with the V.A. aren't as widespread as they're made out to be.
CLINTON: Look, I was outraged by the stories that came out about the V.A.
And I have been very clear about the necessity for doing whatever is required to move the V.A. into the 21st century, to provide the kind of treatment options that our veterans today desperately need and deserve. And that's what
I will do as president. But I will not let the V.A. be privatized. And I do think there is an agenda out there, supported by my opponent, to do just that. I think that would be very disastrous for our military veterans.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2016 NBC Commander-in-Chief forum
Kamala Harris on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Aug 31, 2016)
Champion a robust VA for our Veterans
With more than two million Veterans, California has more Veterans than any other state, and we owe them the support and care they earned while wearing our nation's military uniform. Over the years, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been
plagued by scandal and budget crises, resulting in disgraceful levels of service and irresponsible delays in providing medical care and disability benefits.As Attorney General, Kamala formed a working group to fight scams and other predatory conduct
uniquely targeting service members, and secured enhanced protections for active-duty and Veteran homeowners during the foreclosure crisis.
In the Senate, Kamala will champion a robust VA for our Veterans.
She will fight to ensure that when Veterans leave military service, they have the support they need to readjust to civilian life, including proper physical and mental health care. It's unconscionable that 22 Veterans take their own lives each day.
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Source: 2016 California Senate campaign website, KamalaHarris.org
Donald Trump on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Aug 23, 2016)
South Korea and Japan should pay 100% of US military costs
The news coming out of the meeting was about Trump saying that maybe the United States didn't need to put so much money into NATO, the core of the European-American security alliance since the Cold War--
the kind of statement that might win nods or applause at a rally, but sparked shock and ridicule in the corridors of think tanks and policy shops in Washington.
"NATO was set up when we were a richer country," Trump said. "We're not a rich country. We're borrowing, we're borrowing all of this money."
But you do know, editorial writer Charles Lane said, that South Korea and Japan pay half of the
administrative cost of keeping the American military in those countries, right?
"Fifty percent?" Trump asked.
"Yeah," Lane confirmed.
"Why isn't it one hundred percent?"
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Trump Revealed, by Michael Kranish & Mark Fisher, p. 11
Mike Pence on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jul 20, 2016)
We see promise after promise to our veterans forgotten
We have seen borders that go unrespected, a military that has been diminished, promise after ringing promise to our veterans promptly forgotten. Then Donald Trump came along and started saying what practically everybody was thinking anyway, that our
leaders need to be stronger.Under Donald Trump, our deals will be stronger. Under Donald Trump, our deals will be smarter, our soldiers will have what they need, and our veterans will have what they earned.
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: Speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention
Bill Weld on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jun 22, 2016)
Maintain invincible defense but cut military 20%
Q: How do you balance maintaining the military while attempting to eliminate wasteful spending?WELD: The baseline position of the Libertarian Party is an invincible defense. An invincible defense includes projection of military supremacy both
air and naval around the world, because people around the world really do pay attention. It does not encompass interventionism, boots on the ground, American blood on foreign soil. [But] every agency has 20% waste [so we will cut the military by 20%].
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Source: CNN Libertarian Town Hall: joint interview of Johnson & Weld
Mike Pence on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Mar 22, 2016)
Supported expanding benefits and opportunities for veterans
Pence signed more than a dozen bills he says will expand benefits and opportunities for Indiana's military servicemembers and veterans. [One veteran's spokesperson], who led the Indiana National Guard for 11 years, says he's particularly pleased with
one that expands the Military Family Relief Fund. That program was originally created to help post-9/11 veterans pay food, housing, utility, transportation and medical bills. Umbarger says the legislation extends that help to all veterans.
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Source: WFYI news "Pence Signs 13 Bills," 2016 Indiana Governor race
Ted Cruz on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Mar 15, 2016)
Provide our veterans the care they have been promised
- Ted Cruz is committed to honoring our veterans, and providing them the care they have been promised.
- The mismanagement in the VA is unacceptable. We should expand options for our
service members' health care so they have more choices and more immediate service.
- A Cruz administration will bring more accountability to the VA and provide greater options for our veterans.
Click for Ted Cruz on other issues.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website TedCruz.org
Hillary Clinton on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Feb 4, 2016)
Fight the idea of privatizing the V.A.
Q: You will likely face a Republican opponent who wants to privatize or even abolish big parts of the V.A. It's a newly popular idea in conservative politics.CLINTON: First of all, I'm absolutely against privatizing the V.A. I am going do everything
I can to build on the reforms that Senator Sanders and others in Congress have passed to try to fix what's wrong with the V.A. There are a lot of issues about wait times & services that have to be fixed because our veterans deserve nothing but the best.
Yes, let's fix the V.A., but we will never let it be privatized, and that is a promise.
SANDERS: Republicans give a lot of speeches about how much they love veterans. But when it came to put money on the line [in my comprehensive veterans bill], to
protect our veterans, frankly, they were not there. Secretary Clinton is absolutely right, there are people, a group called Concerned Veterans of America, funded by the Koch brothers, yes, there are people out there who want to privatize it.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: MSNBC Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire
Hillary Clinton on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Feb 4, 2016)
Promise to never privatize V.A.
Q: You will likely face a Republican opponent who wants to privatize or even abolish big parts of the V.A. It's a newly popular idea in conservative politics.CLINTON: I'm absolutely against privatizing the V.A. And I am going do everything I can
to build on the reforms that Senator Sanders and others in Congress have passed to try to fix what's wrong with the V.A. There are a lot of issues about wait times and services that have to be fixed because our veterans deserve nothing but the best.
Yes, let's fix the V.A., but we will never let it be privatized, and that is a promise.
SANDERS: Republicans give a lot of speeches about how much they love veterans. But when it came to put money on the line [in my comprehensive veterans bill],
to protect our veterans, frankly, they were not there. Secretary Clinton is absolutely right, there are people, Koch brothers among others, who have a group called Concerned Veterans of America, who want to privatize.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: MSNBC Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire
Bernie Sanders on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Feb 4, 2016)
Strengthen the V.A.; don't privatize the V.A.
CLINTON: I'm absolutely against privatizing the V.A. I am going do everything I can to build on the reforms that Senator Sanders and others in Congress have passed to try to fix what's wrong with the V.A. .SANDERS: Republicans give a lot of speeches
about how much they love veterans. I work with the American Legion, the VFW, the DAV, the Vietnam Vets, and virtually every veterans organization to put together the most comprehensive piece of the veterans legislation in the modern history of America.
Every Democrat voted for it; I got two Republicans. That is pathetic. So Republicans talk a good game about veterans, but when it came to put money on the line to protect our veterans, frankly, they were not there. Secretary Clinton is absolutely right,
there are people, Koch brothers among others, who have a group called Concerned Veterans of America, funded by the Koch brothers, yes, there are people out there who want to privatize it. We've got to strengthen the V.A. We do not privatize the V.A.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: MSNBC Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire
Bernie Sanders on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Feb 4, 2016)
Promise to never privatize V.A.
Q: You will likely face a Republican opponent who wants to privatize or even abolish big parts of the V.A. It's a newly popular idea in conservative politics.SANDERS: Republicans give a lot of speeches about how much they love veterans. But when it
came to put money on the line [in my comprehensive veterans bill], to protect our veterans, frankly, they were not there. There are people, Koch brothers among others, who have a group called Concerned Veterans of America, who want to privatize it.
CLINTON: I'm absolutely against privatizing the V.A. And I am going do everything I can to build on the reforms that Senator Sanders and others in Congress have passed to try to fix what's wrong with the V.A.
There are a lot of issues about wait times and services that have to be fixed because our veterans deserve nothing but the best. Yes, let's fix the V.A., but we will never let it be privatized, and that is a promise.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: MSNBC Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire
Mike Bloomberg on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Jan 25, 2016)
False arguments justify increase in military spending
The Pentagon received an extra $15 billion in the spending bill that will keep the government open through September. To put it in perspective, that's 1.5 percent of the pool of about $1 trillion that funds the Pentagon and the rest of the national
defense. There won't be intelligent debate on any of these matters if the only subject of conversation in the Pentagon or Congress is a false "readiness" crisis and histrionic warnings about a "hollow force."
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Source: OpEd by Michael Bloomberg in Bloomberg News
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jan 13, 2016)
We spend more on military than next 8 nations combined
President Obama said, "We spend more on our military than the next eight nations combined." Is that literally true? We found the answer on Wikipedia, for the top 9 countries in military expenditures (in billions per year): - $581B United States
- $129B China
- $81B Saudi Arabia
- $70B Russia
- $62B United Kingdom
- $53B France
- $48B Japan
- $45B India
- $44B Germany
The "next eight nations combined" add up to $532 billion annual military expenditures. Compare that to the
U.S.'s annual total of $581 billion, and Pres. Obama is accurate. (Sen. Rand Paul said in 2015 the same statement about "the next ten countries combined," and we rated his statement "loosely accurate", but Obama could have gone up to "the next nine
nations combined" adding in South Korea's $34B). Obama's point was the same as Paul's: the U.S. has by far the strongest military on earth, and we need not increase military spending to maintain our military dominance.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2016 State of the Union: OnTheIssues FactCheck
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jan 12, 2016)
Talk of economic decline & military weakness is just hot air
A big question that we have to answer together is how to keep America safe and strong without either isolating ourselves or trying to nation- build everywhere there's a problem. All the talk of America's economic decline is political hot air. Well, so is
all the rhetoric you hear about our enemies getting stronger and America getting weaker. Let me tell you something. The United States is the most powerful nation on Earth, period. Period. It's not even close. We spend more on our military than the next
eight nations combined. Our troops are the finest fighting force in the history of the world. No nation attacks us directly or our allies because they know that's the path to ruin. Surveys show our standing around the world is higher than when I was
elected to this office, and when it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead. They call us. So I think it's useful to level set here, because when we don't, we don't make good decisions.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2016 State of the Union address
Hillary Clinton on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Nov 14, 2015)
Adversaries of the future: terrorists as well as drone subs
Sen. SANDERS: We're spending over $600 billion a year on the military and yet, significantly less than 10% of that money is used to be fighting international terrorism.Gov. O'MALLEY: This is a new era of conflict where traditional ways of huge
standing armies do not serve our purposes as well as special ops, better intelligence and being more proactive.
Secretary CLINTON: We do have to take a hard look at the defense budget and we do have to figure out how we get ready to fight the
adversaries of the future, not the past. But we have to also be very clear that we do have some continuing challenges. We've got challenges in the South China Sea because of what China is doing in building up military installations. We have problems
with Russia: they allowed a TV camera to see the plans for a drone submarine that could carry a tactical nuclear weapon. So we've got to look at the full range and then come to some smart decisions about having more streamlined and focused approach.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2015 CBS Democratic primary debate in Iowa
Bernie Sanders on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Nov 14, 2015)
We spend billions on nuclear weapons & only 10% on terrorism
Sen. SANDERS: This nation is the most powerful military in the world. We're spending over $600 billion a year on the military and yet, significantly less than 10% of that money is used to be fighting international terrorism. We are spending hundreds of
billions of dollars maintaining 5,000 nuclear weapons. I think we need major reform in the military, making it more cost effective, but also focusing on the real crisis that faces us. The Cold War is over. And our focus has got to be on intelligence,
increased manpower, fighting international targets.Gov. O'MALLEY: The nature of warfare has changed. This is a new era of conflict where traditional ways of huge standing armies do not serve our purposes as well as special ops & better intelligence.
Secretary CLINTON: We do have to take a hard look at the defense budget and we do have to figure out how we get ready to fight the adversaries of the future, not the past. But we have to also be very clear that we do have some continuing challenges.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2015 CBS Democratic primary debate in Iowa
Rand Paul on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Nov 10, 2015)
FactCheck: Yes, military spending as much as next 10 nations
Senator Rand Paul said, "We need a safe country, but, you know, we spend more on our military than the next ten countries combined. I want a strong national defense, but I don't want us to be bankrupt." Is that literally true? We found the answer on
Wikipedia, for the top 11 countries in military expenditures (in billions per year): - $581B United States
- $129B China
- $81B Saudi Arabia
- $70B Russia
- $62B United Kingdom
- $53B France
- $48B Japan
- $45B India
- $44B Germany
-
$34B South Korea
- $32B Brazil
The "next ten countries combined" add up to $598 billion annual military expenditures. Compare that to the U.S.'s annual total of $581 billion, and Sen. Paul is pretty much correct. He spoke a bit loosely,
saying "we spend MORE than the next ten countries combined," when he should have said "we spend A COMPARABLE AMOUNT to the next ten countries combined." But we rate his statement as ACCURATE.
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: OnTheIssues FactCheck on Fox Business/WSJ debate
Rand Paul on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Nov 10, 2015)
How is it conservative to add $1T in military expenditures?
PAUL: We have to decide what is conservative and what isn't conservative. Is it fiscally conservative to have a trillion-dollar expenditure? Marco Rubio's plan for $1 trillion in new military spending--you get something that looks, to me, not very
conservative.RUBIO: I do want to rebuild the American military. I believe the world is a stronger and a better place, when the US is the strongest military power in the world.
PAUL: Yeah, but, Marco! How is it conservative to add a trillion-dollars
in military expenditures? You can not be a conservative if you're going to keep promoting new programs that you're not going to pay for.
RUBIO: We can't even have an economy if we're not safe.
PAUL: No. I don't think we are any safer from bankruptcy
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: Fox Business/WSJ First Tier debate
Donald Trump on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Nov 3, 2015)
VA is one of the most incompetently-run agencies
The Department of Veterans Affairs ( VA) is probably the most incompetently run agency in the United States government. And that's saying something. The problem is that there are too many political people involved within its operation.
The taxpayers pay more than $150 billion a year for the VA, and what do we get for that? Right now, the VA is being run by people who don't know what they're doing.
They're getting more money from the government than ever before and yet the care gets worse. The list of men and women waiting for care is growing and their wait times are longer. How can the VA possibly be so inefficient?
We need to put people in charge who know how to run big operations. We have to get the best managers and give them the power, the money, and the tools to get the job done. We owe our veterans nothing less.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p.106-7
Bernie Sanders on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Oct 13, 2015)
I pushed bill for $15B for veterans' healthcare services
What we did is pass a $15 billion dollar piece of legislation which brought in many new doctors and nurses into the V.A. so that veterans could get health care when they needed it, and not be on long waiting lines.
The other part of that legislation said that if a veteran is living more than 40 miles away from a V.A. facility, that veteran could get health care from the community health center or the private sector.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas
John Kasich on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Sep 20, 2015)
Expand voucher program for veterans' healthcare
Q: Dr. Ben Carson has called for essentially closing the VA and folding in most health care for veterans into the Pentagon. Do you think that plan would work? What would you do?A: I first of all think that we need to expand the voucher program so a
veteran can get the health care they need as soon as they can possibly get it and should not be just limited to the VA hospitals. Secondly, my sense is you're going to have to decentralize the VA.
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: CNN SOTU 2015 interview series: 2016 presidential hopefuls
Donald Trump on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Sep 20, 2015)
Fix veteran's hospitals, and pay private doctors for them
Q: You said that you would build more hospitals for veterans--is there anything else you would do?A: One of the things I would do is fix the hospitals.
What I'm going to do is make sure that they will be able to go out and use private doctors and we will pay the private doctors. We're going to do a bit of a free market thing so that veterans can get immediate service and good treatment.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: CNN SOTU 2015 interview series: 2016 presidential hopefuls
John Kasich on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Sep 13, 2015)
I'm a "cheap hawk": Cut Pentagon waste, but not spending
Q: On defense spending, You say there are 900,000 people helping run the Pentagon who have no direct line authority, but on the other hand, you say you'd like to see an end to spending caps on Pentagon spending. Those two seem in contradiction.
KASICH: I think we absolutely have to spend more on defense. It's one of the essential purposes of the federal government.
But I have served on defense for 18 years and being able to witness the waste, the duplication, the red tape, the slowdown, we don't want to spend money there that goes in the bureaucracy and delay that could go into building a stronger defense.
There's no inconsistency there: reform the Pentagon, strengthen the military. That's why I call myself the cheap hawk.
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: Fox News Sunday 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Bernie Sanders on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Sep 5, 2015)
Costs of endless war detract from citizens' well-being
Q: What does Bernie believe about current levels of defense spending?A: While Bernie appreciates a strong defense system, he has also views the cost of endless wars and tremendous peacetime defense spending as detracting from facing "some of the most
pressing economic issues affecting the well-being of ordinary Americans." Bernie firmly rejects any increase to defense spending at the cost of cuts to domestic social spending.
Q: Why is Bernie so concerned with the defense budget?
A: Bernie sees a lack of accountability on defense spending. Explaining his "no" vote on the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act, which set the military's budget at $560 billion, Bernie expressed concern that "the military is unable to even account
for how it spends all of its money." Bernie also voted against the 2012 and 2013 defense authorization bills, voicing alarm at the size of the defense budget despite the US having withdrawn all military members from Iraq.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2016 grassroots campaign website FeelTheBern.org, "Issues"
Amy Klobuchar on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Aug 24, 2015)
Offer troops care for traumatic brain injury
[After my 2007 visit to Iraq, I said in a national speech]: "Between the Gulf War in the early 1990s and our invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, our country had spawned a generation of young veterans with unique needs. All too often they had traumatic
brain injuries (the signature injury coming out of these wars) or mental health issues or a lack of gainful employment when they returned home. As I said at dozens of deployment and welcome home ceremonies, we owed it to our troops to do the right
thing--despite major disagreements about the policy in Iraq, our nation simply could not make the same mistake that so many made during the war in Vietnam. This time, we would agree to disagree about the war but still respect and support the warriors.
When our troops signed up to serve our country there wasn't a waiting line, and when they come home to our country and they need a job or a house or health care or an education, there should never be a waiting line in the United States of America.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: The Senator Next Door, by Amy Klobuchar, p.233-4
Donald Trump on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jun 16, 2015)
Increased Veterans Day parade audience from 100 to 1 million
Trump has long been a devoted supporter of veteran causes. In 1995, the fiftieth anniversary of World War II, only 100 spectators watched New York City's Veteran Day Parade. It was an insult to all veterans.
Approached by Mayor Rudy Giuliani and the chief of New York City's FBI office, Trump agreed to lead as Grand Marshall a second parade later that year. Mr. Trump made a $1 million matching donation to finance the Nation's Day Parade.
On Saturday, November 11th, over 1.4 million watched as Trump marched down Fifth Avenue with more than 25,000 veterans, some dressed in their vintage uniforms. A month later,
Trump was honored in the Pentagon during a lunch with the Secretary of Defense and the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website, DonaldJTrump.com
Rand Paul on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security May 17, 2015)
Focus NSA surveillance on threats, not innocent Americans
Q: You're so critical of the NSA in your book. Would you eliminate it if you were president?PAUL: No, I would actually keep the NSA. In fact, I would have the NSA target their activities, more and more, towards our enemies. I think if you're not
spending so much time and money collecting the information of innocent Americans, maybe we could've spent more time knowing that one of the Tsarnaev boys, one of the Boston bombers, had gone back to Chechnya. We didn't know that, even though we'd been
tipped off by the Russians. We had communicated, we had interviewed him, and still didn't know that. Same with the recent jihadist from Phoenix that traveled to Texas, and the shooting in Garland; we knew him.
We had investigated him and put him in jail. I want to spend more time on people we have suspicion of, and we have probable cause of, and less time on innocent Americans. It distracts us from the job of getting terrorists.
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: Meet the Press 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Bernie Sanders on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Apr 30, 2015)
Cut defense by $18B to pay for 55% of all college tuition
If the federal government were to invest $18 billion a year, with a dollar-for-dollar match from state governments, we would slash college tuition in the United States by more than half. Many of my colleagues in Washington would look at that number--
$18 billion a year--and tell you that we can't afford to make that kind of investment in our nation's young people. To put it simply, they are wrong. In the budget proposal President Obama released two weeks ago, he requested $561 billion for the
Department of Defense--$38 billion over budget caps that are currently in place. If we were to reduce the President's proposed increase in military spending by less than half, and instead invest that money in educational
opportunities for today's college students, we could cut tuition by 55%. So I challenge all of you. ask yourselves, where should our priorities lie?
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Forbes Magazine on 2016 hopefuls: 2015 speech at U. Iowa
Bernie Sanders on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Apr 19, 2015)
We need a strong military, but stop wasting tens of billions
Q: You want a 50% cut in military spending at a time when ISIS and al Qaeda are on the march--SANDERS: What I do believe is that there is enormous waste in military.
The Department of Defense can't even audit itself--massive cost overruns. Of course, ISIS is a terrible organization that has to be defeated.
And, of course, we need a strong military. But just as with every other agency of government, you know what, the military also has got to get rid of waste and fraud and cost overruns.
So, I want a strong military. But I do not believe, among other things, that without an audit, we should be throwing tens of billions of dollars more into the Department of Defense.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Fox News Sunday 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Rand Paul on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Apr 12, 2015)
2010: decrease DOD budget by $164B; 2015: increase by $190B
Q: When you first came to the Senate, you proposed decreasing defense spending by about $164 billion, but in the past couple of weeks, you have proposed increasing by $190 billion. Why the change?PAUL: I have proposed several 5-year budgets.
And for me, the most important thing of the 5-year budgets has been to balance. The last one I produced did actually increase defense spending above the military sequester. But I did it by taking money from domestic spending.
My belief has always been that national defense is the most important thing we do, but we shouldn't borrow to pay for it.
Q: But by proposing an increase in military spending before you announce for president, it could look like pandering.
PAUL:
Well, 3 or 4 years ago, we did the same thing. So we have been for quite some time proposing increases in military spending, but always the point is that I believe any increase in spending should be offset by decreases in spending somewhere else.
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: CNN SOTU 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Rand Paul on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Apr 7, 2015)
Provide veterans support tools to adjust to civilian life
As a physician, it is particularly upsetting to me when I hear of bad experiences our veterans have had with the Department of Veterans Affairs. These experiences represent a failure of one of our most basic obligations - to provide for those who have
worn the uniform and shouldered the burdens of war.We owe it to the men and women who have served in combat to provide them with quality care for injuries sustained in defense of this nation. We must provide our veterans the necessary support tools
as they adjust back to civilian life.
We consider all veterans, service members and their families to be an important part of our local communities.
As President, I will continue to support veterans and service members of this country. It is my strong belief that we must protect those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our nation.
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website, RandPaul.com, "Issues"
Rand Paul on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Mar 27, 2015)
$76B in defense spending via cuts to EPA, HUD & foreign aid
Rand Paul is completing an about-face on a longstanding pledge to curb the growth in defense spending. Paul introduced a budget amendment calling for a nearly $190 billion infusion to the defense budget over the next two years--a roughly 16% increase.
Paul's amendment brings him in line with his likely presidential primary rivals.The move completes a stunning reversal for Paul, who in May 2011, released his own budget that would have slashed the Pentagon, a sacred cow for many Republicans.
Under Paul's original proposal, defense spending would have dropped from $553 billion in 2011 to $542 billion in 2016. But under Paul's new plan, the Pentagon will see its budget authority swell by $76 billion to $696 billion in fiscal year 2016.
The boost would be offset by a $106 billion cut to funding for aid to foreign governments, climate change research and reductions to the budgets of the EPA, HUD, and the departments of Commerce and Education.
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: Time magazine 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Mike Pence on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Feb 28, 2015)
The time has come to dramatically increase defense spending
Pence said that the 2016 election could turn on foreign policy thanks to the missteps of the Obama administration, and called on conservatives to embrace "America's role as leader of the free world.""I believe the time has come to dramatically
increase defense spending to confront the unknowable and knowable threats," Pence said. "Without rebuilding our military, no strategy or innovation, no matter how brilliant, will be sufficient to protect the American people and the sovereignty of the US.
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: Washington Times on 2015 Conservative Political Action Conf.
Arvin Vohra on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jan 20, 2015)
Intelligently rethink overall military spending
Libertarian Party vice-chair Arvin Vohra calls Obama out on ignoring here the expensive and destructive Drug War, and his hypocrisy on Internet informational privacy while running, and defending, a universal surveillance state, and his refusal to
intelligently rethink overall military spending and postures while talking up a supposedly more intelligent form of constant foreign military intervention.
Click for Arvin Vohra on other issues.
Source: Reason Mag.: Libertarian response to 2015 State of the Union
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jan 20, 2015)
Finish the job: it's time to close Gitmo
As Americans, we have a profound commitment to justice--so it makes no sense to spend three million dollars per prisoner to keep open a prison that the world condemns and terrorists use to recruit.
Since I've been President, we've worked responsibly to cut the population of GTMO in half. Now it's time to finish the job. And I will not relent in my determination to shut it down. It's not who we are.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2015 State of the Union address
Howard Schultz on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Nov 9, 2014)
Volunteer army means 98% of us have no skin in the game
Q: You wrote a book, "For Love of Country," about these veterans that are coming home. There's been a lot of talk about trying to help them get back into civilian life.
What is the one thing that you think the public needs to understand about helping these folks back into civilian life?
HOWARD SCHULTZ: Two and a half million extraordinary young men and women have served for the last ten, 15 years in an all-volunteer service. As a result of that, most of America, 98% have not had real skin in the game.
We need to have a conversation, be empathetic, be understanding, and do everything we possibly can across the country, in rural America and every town, to hire a veteran.
Click for Howard Schultz on other issues.
Source: Meet the Press 2014 interview by Chuck Todd
Gina Raimondo on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Nov 4, 2014)
Honor and support our veteran population, including housing
Gina will work every day to ensure that all Rhode Islanders are treated fairly and with the respect they deserve. She will fight for policies that give working families the support they need to thrive.- Honor and support
Rhode Island's Veteran population by helping returning vets find new jobs and access to stable, affordable housing.
- Develop more affordable housing and fully fund Opening Doors to reduce homelessness, especially for our Veterans.
Click for Gina Raimondo on other issues.
Source: 2014 R.I. Gubernatorial campaign website, GinaRaimondo.com
Ted Cruz on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Oct 19, 2014)
Bomb ISIS back to the Stone Age
Q: In the US-led air assault against ISIS, you said we ought to "bomb them back to the Stone Age." It does not appear that bombing alone is going to make that happen, that ISIS will not disappear with a US-led air assault. That being the case,
where do you see the role, if any, of US military personnel?CRUZ: Well, unfortunately, the approach of the Obama administration to ISIS has been fundamentally unserious. We have dropped a bomb here, a missile there, but it has really been a photo
op foreign policy. What we need is a concentrated, directive military objective to take ISIS out. Now, what does that entail? A far more vigorous air campaign than we're seeing. We're dropping a fraction of the ordnance that we have in other
campaigns such as Afghanistan.
Q: Do you think it will involve US troops?
CRUZ: Well, there are over 1,500 on the ground right now. But we have a tremendous asset on the ground right now, which is the Kurds, [whom we should arm].
Click for Ted Cruz on other issues.
Source: CNN SOTU 2014 interview series: 2016 presidential hopefuls
Kirsten Gillibrand on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Sep 9, 2014)
Address backlog of veterans' claims & chronic underfunding
Once, a veteran who lost a limb in Vietnam told me, "When I strap on my leg, I strap on my patriotism. Why isn't the VA supporting me?"
Those two sentences moved my office to work until we got him $60,000 in benefits and back pay. This story also opened my eyes to the backlog of veteran's claims caused by the chronic underfunding of the Veterans Administration.
Click for Kirsten Gillibrand on other issues.
Source: Off the Sidelines, by Kirsten Gillibrand, p. 60
Kirsten Gillibrand on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Sep 9, 2014)
Dont-Ask-Dont-Tell caused 13,000 qualified soldiers to leave
Arguments against the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy could be found everywhere. In addition to being morally outrageous and corrosive, Don't Ask, Don't Tell undermined military readiness. Since 1994, when the law was first implemented, approximately
13,000 well-trained military personnel had been discharged from the U.S. military for being gay. More than 2,000 of those people were experts in mission-critical disciplines. The military lost close to 10 percent of it's foreign-language speakers.
The cost of implementing the policy, from 1994 to 2003--including recruitment, retraining, and separation travel--was somewhere between $190 million to $360 million.
I didn't understand how a reasonable person could think that such money would not have been better spent on equipment, mental or physical health services... almost anything.
Click for Kirsten Gillibrand on other issues.
Source: Off the Sidelines, by Kirsten Gillibrand, p.111
Seth Moulton on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Sep 1, 2014)
Better funding and services for veterans
Congress is failing our veterans. As a veteran myself, I see it firsthand. We have never had fewer veterans in Congress in our nation's history, so it's not surprising that so few Members of Congress understand the urgency of the problem.
There are three things Congress can do to improve how we treat our veterans today:- Improve VA health care quality
- Properly fund the VA to eliminate the claims backlog
- Expand educational opportunities in the GI Bill.
Click for Seth Moulton on other issues.
Source: 2014 House campaign website, SethMoulton.com
Rand Paul on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jun 22, 2014)
Benghazi disqualifies Hillary from the presidency
Q: On Hillary Clinton, you said, "she will be made to pay for Benghazi." How?PAUL: She will have to explain how she can be commander and chief when she was not responsive to multiple requests for more security in the six months leading up.
She wouldn't approve a 16-person personnel team and she would not approve an airplane to help them get around the country. In the last 24 hours, a plane was very important and it was not available.
These are really serious questions beyond talking points that occurred under her watch.
Q: Benghazi is disqualifying for her?
PAUL: I think so. The American people want a commander-in-chief that will send reinforcements, that will defend the
country, and that will provide the adequate security. And I think in the moment of need--a long moment, a six-month moment--she wasn't there.
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: Meet the Press 2014 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Hillary Clinton on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security May 30, 2014)
Benghazi security was simply inadequate in a dangerous city
On the Accountability Review Board investigation into the Benghazi attacks: Clinton writes that the security upgrades to the Benghazi compound were "simply inadequate in an increasingly dangerous city." She notes that Benghazi compound personnel felt
their requests for additional security were not given adequate weight by the US Embassy in Tripoli, a point Republicans have argued does not absolve Clinton since those officials report to her. Clinton reiterates that she never saw cables requesting
additional security. The cables were addressed to her as a "procedural quirk" given her position, but didn't actually land on her desk, she writes: "That's not how it works. It shouldn't. And it didn't."On the claim that the investigation of the
attack was rigged since Clinton appointed some of the Board members and she was not interviewed, she writes that they "had unfettered access to anyone and anything they thought relevant to their investigation, including me if they had chosen to do so."
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Hard Choices, by Hillary Clinton, Politico.com excerpts
Bernie Sanders on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security May 25, 2014)
V.A. doesn't have resources to accommodate 2 million vets
Q: All of a sudden we're learning of these wait times, of veterans who are dying while waiting.SANDERS: Clearly, there are incompetent administrators. But I think one point that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. If you speak to veterans
organizations, they will tell you that, by and large, the quality of care that veterans receive in VA hospitals around this country is good to excellent.
Q: Sure, but, if you can't get in, it doesn't do any good that it's great care.
SANDERS:
That is quite right. The VA has established a self-imposed goal of getting people into the system in 14 days. That's pretty ambitious. That's more ambitious in general than the private sector. And I think there are places around the country where they
simply do not have the resources to accommodate the fact that two million more people have come into the system in recent years. And I think some people may be cooking the books to make it look like they're accommodating people in 14 days.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CNN SOTU 2014 interview series: 2016 presidential hopefuls
Elizabeth Warren on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Apr 22, 2014)
Address predatory lending targeting young military enlistees
[I wanted to address] the vulnerability of the youngest in service, kids fresh out of high school who were picking up the first regular paychecks in their lives. Young soldiers became targets for a number of aggressive scams. Once the young soldiers
arrived on base, they ran a gauntlet of pretty young women to flirt and sell them on installment loans that charged 100% interest or more. Just sign here, sweetie.A bad debt could ruin not just a service member's credit score, but also the person's
career. Not paying a debt is deemed "dishonorable conduct," a black mark that can cause soldiers to lose out on security clearance. In 2006, the Department of Defense studied predatory lending that targeted service members and concluded that such
lending "undermines military readiness." The scam artists and predatory lenders who targeted our men and women in uniform were a national disgrace. The consumer agency needed to make fixing this problem a priority.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: A Fighting Chance, by Elizabeth Warren, p.189-91
Rand Paul on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Apr 13, 2014)
National defense is important, but no blank check
Q: You were against the resolution on Iran and nuclear weapons. On these issues you are more closely associated with the left.PAUL: I think that's an incorrect conclusion, you know. I would say my foreign policy is right there with what came out of
Ronald Reagan.
Q: But Reagan went through a huge defense buildup. One of the first things you did when you got elected was propose a nearly $50 billion cut to the Pentagon, bigger than the sequester.
PAUL: The sequester actually didn't cut spending;
the sequester cut the rate of growth of spending over 10 years.
Q: But the point is you proposed curbing defense spending more than the sequester.
PAUL: Even though I believe national defense is the most important thing we do, but it isn't a
blank check. Some conservatives think, oh, give them whatever they want and that everything is for our soldiers and they play up this patriotism that--oh, we don't have to control defense spending. We can't be a trillion dollars in the hole every year.
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: ABC This Week 2014 series of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Rand Paul on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Mar 11, 2014)
Deploy missile defense in Eastern Europe but they pay for it
Paul defended his foreign policy, which tends to be less interventionist than other Republicans': "I think on a lot of these issues, yes, that I'm well within the Republican tradition," Paul said. "I think that we do need to have a stronger presence
and project stronger ideas of cultivating freedom around the world. And I also agree, though, with Ronald Reagan, who often said, or in one of his inaugural speeches said to potential adversaries,
Don't mistake our reluctance for war for a lack of resolve.'" Paul said he favored sanctions against Russia and the deployment of a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, but that "Europe should pay for it."
Paul's remarks were at least a change in tone from last month, when he said that, "Some on our side are so stuck in the Cold War era that they want to tweak Russia all the time and I don't think that is a good idea."
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: The Hill weblog 2014 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Ted Cruz on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Mar 4, 2014)
Suspend Russia from G8 & withdraw from arms control treaties
- The US should urge the G8 to suspend Russia immediately on the grounds that it is not contributing to a civil international order [based on the Ukraine invasion].
- Congress should start a formal review of the options for US withdrawal from arms
control treaties with Russia.
- The secretary of defense should consider the immediate restoration of the full missile defense installations originally planned for Poland and the Czech Republic that were canceled by the Obama administration in 2009.
-
The president should immediately offer the government of Ukraine in Kiev a free trade agreement indicating that goods are welcome in the US, and explore other options to assist them in their economic recovery that are consistent with free market
principles, including access to US energy exports and assistance to develop Ukraine's own energy resources so as to allow them to be independent of energy blackmail by Russia.
Click for Ted Cruz on other issues.
Source: Foreign Policy magazine article by Ted Cruz
Marty Walsh on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Nov 7, 2013)
Values the sacrifice of veterans & provide benefits
Boston is home to more veterans than any other community in the Commonwealth and is thus the municipal services hub for our state's veteran community. Every veteran and military family deserves the respect and access to benefits they have rightfully
earned. The Walsh Administration will improve the delivery of services on which Boston veterans, military families, and Gold Star families depend. Marty values their sacrifice and will work to ensure these men and women have access to stable jobs,
affordable homes, and rehabilitative services, and comprehensive healthcare, among other critical services. Outreach and communication on the programs available in these areas is the first step, as utilization helps vets live fulfilling lives.
Marty's Administration will also partner with the Veteran's Administration and local non-profits so that veterans' services are brought to the neighborhoods where they can be accessed more easily.
Click for Marty Walsh on other issues.
Source: 2013 Mayoral campaign website, MartyWalsh.org, "Issues"
Cory Booker on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Nov 3, 2013)
Irresponsible to spend on irrelevant weapon systems
For too long, Congress has been spending money on weapons our military doesn't want, weapons envisioned for wars never fought against enemies that no longer exist. That doesn't make us any safer--in fact, it makes us less safe by siphoning
funds away from essential training and spending on relevant weapons systems. This irresponsible spending is even less acceptable at a time when sequestration is forcing across-the-board cuts--to military priorities essential and superfluous alike.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: 2013-2014 New Jersey Senate campaign web CoryBooker.com
Joe Biden on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Feb 2, 2013)
Intel support against extremism in Mali and North Africa
Today, across North Africa and in parts of the Middle East, extremists are seeking to exploit the following: increasingly porous borders; a broad swath of ungoverned territory; readily available weapons; new governments that lack the capacity to contend
with extremism; a swelling generation of disaffected young people.This is not a call to spend tens of billions of dollars and deploy thousands and tens of thousands of boots on the ground, as once occurred. It requires a more integrated strategy, a
more coordinated strategy.
It will take a comprehensive approach--employing the full range of the tools at our disposal--including our militaries. That's why the US applauds and stands with France and other partners in Mali, and why we are
providing intelligence support, transportation for the French and African troops and refueling capability for French aircraft. The fight against AQIM may be far from America's borders, but it is fundamentally in America's interest.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Speech at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany
Steve Bullock on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jan 30, 2013)
Wrap-around services to reintegrate heroes to civilian life
This morning, I went to the airport and welcomed home 45 soldiers from the Montana National Guard who had just spent a year in Afghanistan. I told them I would ensure that we live up to the promise all of us made the day they signed up.
That's why I asked this Legislature to invest in our university system and make certain that we are providing the services and the space to meet veterans' needs--
the wrap-around services that will reintegrate these heroes back into civilian life and on our college campuses. When I got back from the airport, I found out that, while
I was gone, a legislative committee cut the funding for these critical services for returning vets. I urge you to restore these funds, live up to the promises we've made and welcome these warriors home with more than just words.
Click for Steve Bullock on other issues.
Source: 2013 State of the State Address to Montana legislature
John Hickenlooper on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jan 10, 2013)
Make hiring veterans a priority
Make hiring veterans a priority
Let's not forget our veterans and those on active duty. This week, we welcomed home 208 of our National Guard men and women.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: 2013 Colorado State of the State address
Ron DeSantis on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Nov 6, 2012)
Gave legal support to Gitmo terrorist detention center
As a JAG officer in the United States Navy, he supported operations at the terrorist detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and deployed to Iraq during the 2007 troop surge as an advisor to a U.S. Navy SEAL commander in support of the
SEAL mission in Iraq.He is currently an officer in the reserve component of the United States Navy. He is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. He has lectured on the law of war at Florida Coastal School of Law.
Click for Ron DeSantis on other issues.
Source: 2012 House campaign website, voteRon2012.com, "Issues"
Eric Swalwell on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Nov 6, 2012)
More benefits for veterans' valiant sacrifices
The valiant sacrifices made by our veterans, and their families, on behalf of our county need to be remembered and rewarded; they have made great sacrifices so we can enjoy the freedoms we take for granted. There are many proposals in Congress to reduce
their benefits or to require veterans to pay more for the benefits we have promised them for their service to our Country. I do not support reducing benefits that have already been promised to current veterans and active duty military.
I convened a roundtable discussion with area veterans to learn how we can best support them upon their end of military service. I pledged to continue fighting to keep the Livermore VA Hospital open in some fashion, to serve local Vets.
Veterans are concerned about their ability to hold meaningful jobs. We must help veterans find job opportunities once they complete their service and I support new tax credits to encourage businesses to hire unemployed and disabled veterans.
Click for Eric Swalwell on other issues.
Source: 2012 House campaign website, swalwellforcongress.com
Tulsi Gabbard on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Nov 6, 2012)
End our involvement in Afghanistan
As a war veteran who knows the cost of war, I will continue to call for an end to our involvement in Afghanistan. Now is the time to withdraw our troops as quickly and safely as possible.
Our troops have served this nation honorably and sacrificed tremendously. We have decimated Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, we have killed Osama bin Laden, and we have provided the
Afghan people and government with the tools they need to succeed. In order for Afghanistan to achieve stability and peace, the Afghan people must stand up and determine the direction of their future.
We must take the $2.5 billion a week we are pouring into Afghanistan to prop up a corrupt government and invest those resources in rebuilding our own economy here at home.
Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.
Source: 2012 House campaign website, votetulsi.com, "Issues"
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Oct 22, 2012)
Don't give military money that they're not asking for
Q: Governor, you say you want a bigger military. Where are you going to get the money?ROMNEY: First of all, we're going to cut about 5% of the discretionary budget excluding military.
Q: Can you do this without driving us deeper into debt?
OBAMA:
Gov. Romney's called for $5 trillion of tax cuts that he says he's going to pay for by closing deductions. He then wants to spend another $2 trillion on military spending that our military's not asking for. Now, keep in mind that our military spending
has gone up every single year that I've been in office. We spend more on our military than the next 10 countries combined--China, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, you name it, next 10. And what I did was work with our Joint Chiefs of
Staff to think about what are we going to need in the future to make sure that we are safe? And that's the budget that we've put forward. But what you can't do is spend $2 trillion in additional military spending that the military is not asking for.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Third Obama-Romney 2012 Presidential debate
Joe Biden on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Oct 11, 2012)
Special Forces instead of M1 tanks
Q: How you do the budget math and have this increase in defense spending?RYAN: You don't cut defense by a trillion dollars.
BIDEN: Who's cutting it by a trillion?
RYAN: We're going to cut 80,000 soldiers, 20,000 Marines, 120 cargo planes.
We're going to push the Joint Strike Fighter out. We're cutting missile defense. If these cuts go through, our Navy will be the smallest it has been since before World War I. This invites weakness.
BIDEN: Look, we don't cut it. The military says, we need a smaller, leaner Army. We need more special forces. We don't need more M1 tanks.
What we need is more UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly called "drones"]. That was the decision of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recommended to us and agreed to by the president.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: 2012 Vice Presidential debate
Elizabeth Warren on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Oct 11, 2012)
Reduce size of standing army to reduce deficit
Warren portrayed herself as someone who was being honest and realistic when she said she would "raise revenues," a euphemism for taxes, and would even cut the military budget and redirect spending to education programs
and improvements in the nation's infrastructure.Only late in the debate did Warren try to explain why and how she would cut the military budget.
She said that Brown's determination not to raise taxes meant that the budget would not be balanced and the deficit would not be reduced, which would lead to across-the-board cuts in all agencies.
She would rather make planned cuts, such as by reducing the size of the standing army, she said, than allow across-the-board cuts that could hurt needed programs.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: N.Y. Times on 2012 Mass. Senate debates
Joe Biden on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Oct 11, 2012)
Caring for veterans is our only sacred obligation
BIDEN: We only have one truly sacred obligation as a government. That's to equip those we send into harm's way and care for those who come home. That's the only sacred obligation we have.
Everything else falls behind that. [Veterans] should be honored; not be thrown into a category of the 47% who don't pay their taxes.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: 2012 Vice Presidential debate
Deval Patrick on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jan 23, 2012)
Massachusetts leads the nation in veterans benefits
Like every state, we cut spending and headcount, and slimmed down programs or eliminated some. But we also chose to invest in education, in health care and in job creation--because we all know that educating our kids, having health care you can depend
on, and a good job is the path to a better future.- That's why today our students lead the nation in overall achievement and the world in math and science.
- That's why we lead the nation in health care coverage with over 98 percent of our
residents insured.
- That's why we lead the nation in energy efficiency and in veterans' services.
And it's also why we have not only closed our budget gaps, eliminated our structural deficit, and achieved the highest bond rating in our history, but
made the kinds of meaningful reforms in the pension system, in municipal health benefits, in our schools, in our transportation and so much more that had eluded our predecessors for a long, long time. None of this is happening by accident.
Click for Deval Patrick on other issues.
Source: MA 2012 State of the State Address
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jan 11, 2012)
Reduce defense spending 1% in 2013; add 2% per year after
According to the first details of the Obama administration's fiscal 2013 defense budget, defense spending in 2013 would be reduced 1% from this year's initial $525 billion request before growing annually 1.8% in 2014, 2.3% in 2015, 1.9% in 2016, and
2.2% in 2017.The administration plans $82 billion in funding for the Afghanistan and Iraq wars for 2013, according to OMB. The basic defense-only "topline" numbers are currently projected at: $524 billion in 2013; and $533 billion in
2014; $546 billion in 2015; $556 billion in 2016; and $568 billion in 2017. The percentage increases are expressed in "nominal growth," not adjusted for inflation.
The 2012-2021 defense plan calls for $5.652 trillion in spending.
OMB calculated that the total Budget Control Act- mandated defense cut over those years is $488 billion--or about an 8.5% total decrease.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Tony Capaccio in Bloomberg News, "First Budget Numbers"
Rand Paul on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jan 10, 2012)
Cut defense spending as part of cutting all federal spending
My proposal [for spending cuts] would have simply rolled back federal spending to 2008 levels by initiating reductions at various levels almost across the board.
My proposal included cutting wasteful spending in the Department of Defense, especially considering that since 2001 our annual defense budget increased nearly 120%.
Even subtracting the costs of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Pentagon spending was up 67%. These levels of spending were unjustified and unsustainable--
and yet too many Republicans also thought these Defense Department cuts made my proposal too "extreme."
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: Now Or Never, by Sen. Jim DeMint, p. xiii
Joe Biden on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Dec 13, 2011)
We shared responsibility to bring democracy to Libya
The Iraq War really spiraled out of control pretty quickly. One of the lessons we`ve learned is that you can go into any dictatorship and try to impose democracy, but it`s going to take you $1 trillion, a decade, and you`re going to have to make a
judgment whether or not you`d better spend your time and effort doing something else to make the world safer.I would give Libya as an example. It was clear that Moammar Gadhafi was really not a good guy at all. But what did the president do? We spent
several billion dollars, but we didn`t lose one American life. We didn`t put one boot on the ground. And we had a shared responsibility with the rest of the world, including Arab nations as well as NATO to deal with that issue.
And now, there`s a
shared responsibility to the world to help them establish a democracy. That`s very different than going it alone. I hope we`ve learned the lesson that, unless our immediate vital national interest is at stake, going it alone should be the last option.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show" on 2012 election
Donald Trump on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Dec 5, 2011)
All freedoms flow from national security
Obama's recent decision to gut the U.S. military by cutting $400 billion from our defense budget, a figure more than double what then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates identified as being prudent.
Now here's Obama, a guy who never met a spending bill h doesn't love. But when it comes to funding our troops and giving them the equipment, training, and support they need,
Obama is MIA.The reason conservatives support a strong and well-funded military is because they know that all freedoms flow from national security. That's why we need a new president.
It's also why we need to get tough in foreign policy to deal with the threats and challenges America faces from rival and enemy nations.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Time to Get Tough, by Donald Trump, p. 90-91
Donald Trump on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Dec 5, 2011)
Iraq should pick up the tab for their own liberation
When you do someone a favor, they say thank you. When you give someone a loan, they pay you back. And when a nation like the US sacrifices thousands of lives of its own young servicemen and women and more than a trillion dollars to bring freedom to the
people of Iraq, the least the Iraqis should do is pick up the tab for their own liberation.How much is it worth to them to be rid of the bloodthirsty dictatorship of Saddam Hussein and to have gained a democracy? In reality, that's a priceless gift.
When I say they should pay us back, I'm not even talking about cash out of their pockets. All I'm asking is that they give us, temporarily, a few flows of oil--enough to help pay us back and help take care of the tens of thousands of families and
children whose brave loved ones died or were injured while securing Iraqi freedom.
But does Iraq do that? No. In fact, they've made it clear they have no intention of ever doing so. Ever. The ingratitude of Iraq's leadership is breathtaking.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Time to Get Tough, by Donald Trump, p. 9-10
Joe Walsh on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jul 8, 2011)
Cut $8.9B from defense bill, and supported 3% more
The FY12 Department of Defense Appropriations bill funds the Department of Defense and represents a cut of $8.9 billion from the President's budget request."Today I was proud to vote to ensure that our troops have the resources they need to defend
American families and our great nation. This bill is also an important step in bringing Washington's spending problem under control. For the first time in 20 years, the House has passed a Department of Defense Appropriations bill that is significantly
lower than the President's budget request. While I unconditionally support our troops, I thought it was imperative to cut some of the bloat out of the President's request. In fact, during the amendment process I also supported several amendments that
would have made further cuts to defense spending, including one that would have made an additional 3% cut across the board. Unfortunately, these amendments did not pass, but I will continue to support hard spending cuts and fiscal responsibility."
Click for Joe Walsh on other issues.
Source: 2011 House press release by 2020 presidential hopefuls
Rand Paul on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jul 4, 2011)
9/11 justified eliminating Taliban, but not nation-building
After Al Qaeda attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, we rightly sought to bring to justice those who attacked us, to eliminate Al Qaeda's safe havens and training camps in Afghanistan, and to remove the terrorist-allied Taliban government.
With hard work and sacrifice, our troops, intelligence personnel and diplomatic corps have skillfully achieved these objectives, culminating in the death of Osama bin Laden.But over the past 10 years, our mission expanded to include a fourth goal:
nation-building. That is what we are bogged down in now: a prolonged effort to create a strong central government, a national police force and an army,
and civic institutions in a nation that never had any to begin with. Let's not forget that Afghanistan has been a tribal society for millenniums.
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: 2011 official Senate press release, "Let's Not Linger"
Rand Paul on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Feb 22, 2011)
How much of what is spent on defense is actual "defense"?
Of course we all recognize the need to fully fund military, to defend against any threats and defeat any enemies on the horizon. But we also need to recognize that America already spends nearly as much on defense as every other county on earth combined.
Is this necessary? Are all of our foreign commitments necessary? What America spends on defense---it should be asked, how much of this qualifies as actual "defense"?--accounts for almost « of total global defense spending. Is this right?
We spend billions of dollars keeping and maintaining foreign bases--shouldn't our allies be shouldering some of the cost, particularly when it comes to their own defense?
Much like entitlements, what we spend on our military has long been drastically out of sync with what we can actually afford, producing the same expensive results that always characterize big government.
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: The Tea Party Goes to Washington, by Rand Paul, p. 31
Rand Paul on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Feb 22, 2011)
Put defense spending on the table for reducing budget
National security is a primary function of our federal government and I even think defense should be the largest part of our budget-a budget many would agree should be reduced overall. Everything must be on the table, and we cannot even begin to
control spending without a serious re-assessment of America's military role in the world and how much we're willing to pay for it.
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: The Tea Party Goes to Washington, by Rand Paul, p.135
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jun 1, 2010)
OpEd: On track to spend most on military since WWII
For 2008, the US accounted for over 40% of global military expenses, eight times as much as its nearest rival, China. The US is of course alone in having a vast network of military bases around the world and a global surveillance and control system, and
in regularly invading other countries (with impunity, given its power). From 1999 to 2008, global military spending increased 45%, with the US accounting for 58% of the total.Obama is on track to spend more on defense, in real dollars, than any other
president in one term of office since World War II, and that's not counting the additional $130 billion the administration is requesting to find the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan next year, with even more war spending slated for future years. In January
2010, Congress passed his Pentagon budget with supplemental funding for Afghanistan pending. The $708.3 billion budget (with another $33 billion expected for Afghanistan) is not only a record, but also amounts to half the deficit.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Hopes and Prospects, by Noam Chomsky, p. 63-64
Joe Sestak on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security May 1, 2010)
2005 Navy reassignment: personnel change or morale issue?
Specter opened the debate demanding an apology for a Sestak ad in which a veteran asks Specter not to "lie" about Sestak's Navy record, and he repeatedly asked Sestak to release his service records to explain a 2005 reassignment by the Navy.
Sestak ignored the requests, called his service honorable and aggressively worked to tie Specter to the policies of former Pres. Bush. "There is no record except the Republican record for Arlen Specter," Sestak said.
Specter countered that he had stood
with Democrats on their top priorities, even during his 28 years as a Republican. Specter switched parties last year.
Sestak has said he was reassigned in 2005 because the newly appointed chief naval officer wanted his own team in charge.
Specter has cited a report in the Navy Times that said Sestak was reassigned from his job as deputy chief of naval operations for creating a poor command climate--a term for morale.
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: Lehigh Valley Live coverage of 2010 PA Senate debate
Donald Trump on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Apr 27, 2010)
Business students should read Sun Tzu's "The Art of War"
Back in school, I spent time studying wars and their impact on where we are today in civilization. That's a big assignment and I'm by no means an expert, but it is worth spending some time to know how and why we are where we are today.One book that
I would suggest to you, because it is valuable for business and managerial strategies, is "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. This was apparently written in the sixth century BC and is a study of military strategy. It may sound like an unusual business school
recommendation, but believe me, it isn't. It's valuable and worth your time.
By comparison, another famed book is Machiavelli's The Prince, which is more about political conflict and qualities necessary for leadership than war or business, but its
emphasis on power becomes a negative factor. Ethics and integrity seem to get lost somewhere in the shuffle, and therefore the word Machiavellian has become a pejorative term. It's a better use of your time to read "The Art of War."
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Think Like a Champion, by Donald Trump, p. 33
Jesse Ventura on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Mar 9, 2010)
Federal surveillance is a waste of taxpayer dollars
Let's focus on rethinking the meaning of surveillance. Certainly in the case of Malcolm X, as well as Dr. King, being shadowed by government agencies seemed to lead inevitably to their death. There is too much secrecy in our government, and surveillance
today is even more widespread that it was then, at a considerable waste of taxpayer dollars. Let's also teach our young people that a willingness to change your attitude, as Malcolm X was willing to do, is a mark not of weakness but sometimes of greatnes
Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.
Source: American Conspiracies, by Jesse Ventura, p. 52
Joe Biden on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Aug 4, 2009)
2007: Supported funding Iraq War, against Obama
In May 2007, the Senate voted on a $120 billion spending bill that included $100 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan. Chris Dodd said he would oppose the spending bill. Joe Biden, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, declared he would vote for it.Obama said, "I opposed this war in 2002 precisely because I feared it would lead us to the open-ended occupation
in which we find ourselves today. We should not give the president a blank check to continue down this same, disastrous path." Just fourteen senators opposed the measure.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: The Battle for America 2008, by Balz & Johnson, p. 80-81
Rahm Emanuel on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Jan 5, 2009)
Iraq stretched our troops thin too thin for Afghan success
Iraq stretched our forces so thin that soldiers, members of the Guard, and Reservists carried a load far beyond that they had signed up for. The administration jeopardized the success of our mission in
Afghanistan by shifting troops to Iraq because it didn't have enough to go all out in both places. Osama bin Laden got away at Tora Bora in part because we didn't have the personnel to pursue him.
Click for Rahm Emanuel on other issues.
Source: The Plan, by Rahm Emanuel, p.150-151
Jennifer Granholm on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Nov 7, 2008)
Proclaimed Hire a Veteran Month in Michigan
Granholm encouraged residents across the state to observe Veterans Day by giving thanks to the brave members of our armed forces for their sacrifices and commitment to Michigan and to the United States throughout the years.
The governor also issued a proclamation honoring distinguished Michigan citizens who serve our country and proclaimed November Hire a Veteran Month in Michigan to promote the hiring of qualified veterans.
Click for Jennifer Granholm on other issues.
Source: Gubernatorial press releases (Michigan 2003-2010)
Joe Biden on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Oct 2, 2008)
We spend same in 3 weeks in Iraq as 7 years in Afghanistan
PALIN: The counterinsurgency strategy--clearing, holding, rebuilding, the civil society and the infrastructure--can work in Afghanistan.BIDEN: While Barack & I have been calling for more money & more troops in Afghanistan, McCain was saying two years
ago, “The reason we don’t read about Afghanistan anymore in the paper, it’s succeeded.” We spend in three weeks on combat missions in Iraq, more than we spent in the entire time we have been in Afghanistan. That will change in an Obama administration.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: 2008 Vice Presidential debate against Gov. Sarah Palin
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Aug 1, 2008)
Goal is a world without nuclear weapons
Without any introduction, Obama begins, "I am the only major candidate to oppose this war from the beginning and, as president, I will end it."Second," he continues, "I will cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending.
I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems. I will not weaponize space. I will slow our development of future combat systems and I will institute an independent defense priorities board to ensure that the quadrennial defense review is not
used to justify unnecessary spending.
"Third," he says, without pausing, "I will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons. To seek that goal, I will not develop new nuclear weapons.
I will seek a ban on the production of fissile materials. And I will negotiate with Russia to take ICBMs off hair-trigger alert and to achieve deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals."
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Obama Nation, by Jerome Corsi, p. 1-2
Mike Gravel on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security May 2, 2008)
President’s job since WWII is pitchman for war industry
The president’s chief job since the end of WWII is, above all, pitchman for the war industries. WWI meant convincing the American people to enter an overseas conflict that didn’t directly threaten them. So a manageable threat had to be exaggerated.
After winning, the US military was demobilized; defense spending shrunk and the private armaments industry contracted.WWII changed that. The military-industrial relationship was formalized and the economy became dependent on it.
By 1949 there was a peacetime draft, a new Defense Department, a CIA and a National Security Council coordinating the national security state. Except, there was no war. So tension with Russia was exalted into a global struggle against a highly embellishe
Communist “threat.” We were bathed in irrational fear during the entire Cold War to keep the military factories--and our irrational insecurities--humming. And now the phantom peril has seamlessly merged into the War on Terror.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.
Source: A Political Odyssey, by Mike Gravel, p. 22
Mike Gravel on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace May 2, 2008)
Neocons plotted since 1991 to overthrow Saddam
Clinton’s containment policy with Iraq angered the neo-conservatives. Bush I’s defense secretary, Dick Cheney, produced a 46-page policy report saying that the US’s post-Cold War mission was to ensure no rival anywhere could challenge America’s undispute
supremacy. Four years later, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and 23 other neo-cons founded a group called the Project for a New American Century (PNAC). They advocated increased defense spending (what else?) to carry out the plan. In 1998, several PNAC members wrot
an open letter to Clinton calling on him to launch a preemptive military attack against Iraq to stop it using “weapons of mass destruction.” They concluded, “only a determined program to change the regime in Baghdad will bring the Iraqi crisis to a
satisfactory conclusion.”
In 2000 the PNAC produced a similar report, acknowledging that “the process of transformation” toward US world domination “is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event like a new Pearl Harbor.”
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.
Source: A Political Odyssey, by Mike Gravel, p.217-218
Jesse Ventura on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Apr 1, 2008)
Iraq war drains resources from social programs
Prior to invading, Donald Rumsfeld said that Iraq's oil would pay for everything. So much for that big idea. The fact is, this war is not only draining America's resources, it's likely to eventually bankrupt us. And who is paying the biggest price?
When you realize that the new Bush budget also cuts $66 billion out of Medicare payments to the elderly over the next 5 years, and another $12 billion out of Medicaid for the poor, it's kind of a no-brainer. The NY Times recently noted that, for what
the war is costing, we could've instituted universal health care, provided nursery school education for every 3- and 4-year-old, and immunized kids around the world against numerous diseases--and still had half the money left over.
At the same time,
shortly before we turned over supposed control to the Iraqis, the US Federal Reserve sent over, on military aircraft, the biggest cash shipment it's ever made--more than $4 billion, amounting to 363 tons of dollars on these huge pallets.
Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.
Source: Don`t Start the Revolution, by Jesse Ventura, p.263
Jesse Ventura on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Apr 1, 2008)
Bush violated Constitution by misleading US into Iraq War
George Bush violated the Constitution by going to war under false premises. He and others in his administration did everything they could to ensure that the American people were misled. What are the Democrats going to do now, nothing? For fear of being
unpatriotic?By the time he leaves office, Bush will have spent more than a trillion dollars on his military adventures. While more than 20 retired American generals have come out strongly opposed to what we're doing in Iraq, our veterans are receiving
shameful treatment. In the course of this war, more than 20,000 soldiers have been discharged with so-called "personality disorder," meaning that they're often being denied disability and medical benefits.
Now, I ask you: Who are the real dysfunctional
personalities here? Maybe a president who thinks he's getting messages straight from God? Or a vice president so delusional he believes we can "bunker-bust" Iran's supposed nuclear sites without opening up a whole new front in this madness?
Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.
Source: Don`t Start the Revolution, by Jesse Ventura, p.274
Hillary Clinton on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Mar 25, 2008)
Long-held pro-defense spending stance; not a move to center
As long as she has been in public life, Clinton has held many positions that are ordinarily associated with Republicans, supporting the death penalty, numerous free-trade agreements, and high defense spending, to name a few. She was also a strong
and early supporter of the Iraq war (though she became a critic as the war dragged on). Yet these positions are not only not taken as evidence that she is in fact a centrist, they are used as evidence of insincere political calculation.
She has often been characterized as MOVING to the center in preparation for a presidential run, even when her position on the issue in question has remained unchanged.For Clinton, long-held positions, like a hawkish approach to military affairs,
are taken as evidence of a shift. And the prevailing assumption is that when she breaks with some in her party (or even when she sticks with her party) it is for crass political purposes and not an outgrowth of genuine conviction.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Free Ride, by David Brock and Paul Waldman, p.134-135
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Feb 21, 2008)
Unacceptable to have veterans drive 250 miles to a hospital
The incredible burden that has been placed on the American people, starting with military families, and the fact that we still are not doing right by our veterans, that we still don’t honor their service, that there are still homeless veterans, that we
still don’t screen properly for post-traumatic stress disorder and make sure that they’re getting mental services that they need, that we are still having veterans in south Texas have to drive 250 miles to access a veterans hospital. That’s unacceptable.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2008 Democratic debate at University of Texas in Austin
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Feb 2, 2008)
Improve veterans’ mental health treatment & PTSD benefits
AT A GLANCE- Improved Mental Health Treatment: Obama will improve mental health treatment for troops and veterans suffering from combat-related psychological injuries.
THE PROBLEM- There is a Shortage of Care for
PTSD: Veterans are coming home with record levels of combat stress, but we are not adequately providing for them.
OBAMA’S PLAN- Improve Mental Health Treatment: Obama will improve mental health care at every stage of military
service. He will recruit more health professionals, improve screening, offer more support to families and make PTSD benefits claims fairer.
OBAMA RECORD- Obama led a bipartisan effort in the Senate to try to halt the military’s
unfair practice of discharging service members for having a service-connected psychological injury.
- Obama passed legislation to stop a VA review of closed PTSD cases that could have led to a reduction in veterans’ benefits.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Campaign booklet, “Blueprint for Change”, p. 56-57
Mike Gravel on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jan 24, 2008)
Enormous misappropriation of wealth to military programs
The real money has gone for war preparation and war making. Most Americans today are frustrated and confused. They are told by everyone that they are "the richest people in the world" and "the world's freest nation." Yet, they see poverty in the midst of
plenty and continued erosion of their civil liberties. America is no longer #1 in any of the important social and economic indices of the world. In fact, the only areas in which we are #1 are weaponry; consumer spending; government, corporate and private
debt; environmental pollution; energy consumption; the incarcerated; and, of course, delusion. With national security as practically the only primary concern of the state since WWII, enormous portions of our wealth and human resources have been
misappropriated to military programs, while desperate human needs lie neglected in every corner of our nation. When we assail the military-industrial complex, we assail the idea of a system which values building missiles for overkill more than education.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.
Source: Citizen Power: A Mandate for Change, by Mike Gravel, p. 5-6
Hillary Clinton on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jan 15, 2008)
Passed legislation to treat veterans’ traumatic brain injury
We have to do everything necessary to help returning veterans get the health care and the support that they need. This new signature wound called traumatic brain injury is something that I am really upset about, because we’ve only begun to recognize
it and diagnose it. I was able to pass legislation to begin to provide the physical and mental evaluations so we could treat this. They’re now getting these exams because we’ve got to track what happens to the veterans and provide the services for them.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2008 Democratic debate in Las Vegas
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Dec 20, 2007)
Congress decides what constitutes torture, not president
Q: If Congress prohibits a specific interrogation technique, can the president instruct his subordinates to employ that technique despite the statute?A: No. The President is not above the law, and not entitled to use techniques that Congress
has specifically banned as torture. We must send a message to the world that America is a nation of laws, and a nation that stands against torture. As President I will abide by statutory prohibitions for all US Government personnel and contractors.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Boston Globe questionnaire on Executive Power
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Sep 26, 2007)
Leave troops for protection of Americans & counterterrorism
The first thing I will do is initiate a phased redeployment. Military personnel indicate we can get one brigade to two brigades out per month. I would immediately begin that process. We would get combat troops out of Iraq.
The only troops that would remain would be those that have to protect US bases and US civilians, as well as to engage in counterterrorism activities in Iraq.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2007 Democratic primary debate at Dartmouth College
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Aug 26, 2007)
Support veterans via the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act
Following reports of neglect at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Obama introduced the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act. The bill improves the condition of troop housing, streamlines the process for seeking care, provides greater information to recovering
servicemembers, requires the hiring of more caseworkers, and provides more support to family members who care for injured troops:- Sheltering and Rehabilitating Homeless Veterans
One in three homeless males is a veteran. -
Fighting for Disability Benefits
Obama forced the VA to notify veterans about their right to review past claims. - Treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) & Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Easing the Transition of
Veterans into Civilian Life
Obama’s legislation would require that the military provide new veterans with electronic medical and service records & monitor health trends.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2008 Presidential campaign website, BarackObama.com “Flyers”
Joe Biden on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Aug 9, 2007)
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is antiquated & unworkable
Q: Would you support a repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy which would allow gay, lesbian, and bisexual soldiers the right to serve openly in the military?A: Sen. Biden supports ending the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. It is antiquated and
unworkable. According to recent polls, 3/4 of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan said that they had no problem serving with openly gay people. 24 of the nations serving alongside US forces in Iraq permit open service which has had no negative
impact on these forces or the morale of our brave soldiers. Finally, the US does not have enough troops to fulfill our current missions--it is ridiculous to turn away brave and patriotic Americans who volunteer to serve solely because of their sexual
orientation--especially in light of the Defense Department’s recent decision to extend tours of duty in Iraq. Sen. Biden believes that we should treat everyone serving in the military by the same standards regardless of orientation.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate--written questionnaire
Mike Gravel on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jun 28, 2007)
Cut Pentagon by more than 15%; we’re squandering money
KUCINICH [to Gravel]: Spending up to $2 trillion on this war, that is money out of the educational lives of our children. I’m ready to see at least a 15% reduction in that bloated Pentagon budget, stop funding war, start funding education. GRAVEL:
Dennis, you’re a little too modest on that. I think we can cut a little more than 15%, very much so. You have heard these nostrums before. You’ve heard it 10 years ago, you’ve heard 20 years ago--why doesn’t it change? The Democratic Party hasn’t done
appreciably better than the Republican Party in solving these problems. It has to be solved the people, not by your leaders. When he’s talking about the money we’re squandering--21 million Americans could have a four-year college scholarship for the
money we’ve squandered in Iraq--7.6 million teachers could have been hired last year if we weren’t squandering this money. Now, how do you think we got into this problem? There is linkage!
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.
Source: 2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jun 3, 2007)
Address the deficiencies in the VA system
We don’t have a full-service VA system, so a lot of troops that have been injured are having to travel elsewhere, and that’s something that we have to address. There are important efficiencies that we can obtain by having a VA hospital system; for
example, prescription drugs. But we have to have a VA that serves everybody. In some rural communities that the veterans don’t have access to the services needed, we’ve got to make sure that they do have the option for a private hospital that is close by
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2007 Dem. debate at Saint Anselm College
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jun 3, 2007)
The cost of the Iraq war should not shortchange VA benefits
We tried to tell the Bush administration you need an additional $2 billion to provide services to troops who are coming home. They said no. Everything’s covered. Six months through, they had to come back and say, it turns out we did need it after all.
Part of the reason is because they have been trying to keep the costs down of this war and have not fully factored in the sacred obligation that we have to make sure that every single veteran has the services that they need.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2007 Dem. debate at Saint Anselm College
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jun 3, 2007)
Make sure the outpatient facilities work for veterans
I visited Walter Reed repeatedly. Typically what would happen is we would go to visit troops in the medical facility, and people will acknowledge that the medical facility at Walter Reed does great work. Unfortunately, it turned out that the outpatient
facilities were disastrous. That’s why we now have legislation to make sure not only that we’re just painting over some of the mold in there, but also making it easier for families & veterans to negotiate the system once they’re outpatients.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2007 Dem. debate at Saint Anselm College
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Mar 27, 2007)
America must practice the patriotism it preaches
I think it is unconscionable for us to stand by our troops and hoist the flag and suggest how patriotic we are at the same time as the veterans’ budget is being effectively cut.I’m going to monitor very closely how we are treating 100,000+ veterans wh
are coming home, to make sure the VA has the capacity to provide transition services for veterans who are leaving the service and reentering civilian life--particularly the National Guardsman and Reservists who did not expect to be fighting in Iraq.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: In His Own Words, edited by Lisa Rogak, p.155
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Mar 14, 2007)
Comprehensive plan for our veterans healthcare
Washington says that they support the troops. They give long speeches about valor and sacrifice. But when it comes time to sending our troops into battle with the proper equipment and ensure that veterans have what they need when they get home, they
don’t do anything except slap a yellow ribbon on the back of their SUV. That’s how come our men and women have to use scrap metal to protect their Humvees.Our veterans end up living among mice and mold. They stare at stacks of paperwork. They thought
they left the frontline in Iraq but they came home to a new frontline of red tape and bureaucracy.
This is unacceptable. When our veterans come home, I don’t want them crawling around a dumpster for a meal or a box for shelter. I don’t want them
drowning in whiskey to silence the PTSD. I don’t want that for our veterans. We know they deserve more.
So let’s make a promise today--and say that, right here and right now, is when we begin to put together a comprehensive plan for our veterans.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2007 IAFF Presidential Forum in Washington DC
Mike Gravel on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Dec 25, 2006)
Raze Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib prisons to the ground
The Gravel Agenda: When elected President by the American people, I will:- Raze Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib prisons to the ground;
- End the war against America’s veterans; and
-
Organize and leading an intelligence and police organization of willing nations, similar to NATO, to root out terrorism and addressing its causes through aggressive diplomacy.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.
Source: 2008 Presidential campaign website, gravel2008.us, “Issues”
Kirsten Gillibrand on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Nov 7, 2006)
Iraq: exit strategy & redeploy troops
Iraq- Establish an end point and an exit strategy
- Redeploy troops to focus on fighting terrorism
National Security- Increase the resources available to first responders
- Invest in antiterrorism measures, including increased
infrastructure, port, air and rail security
Veterans- Reform the G.I. Bill of Rights to take care of those who have served honorably
- Supports a comprehensive healthcare and education benefits plan for all veterans
Click for Kirsten Gillibrand on other issues.
Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, gillibrand2006.com, “Issues”
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Oct 17, 2006)
Need to be both strong and smart on national defense
Obama takes an unexceptional position on defense spending, i.e., we need to be strong but we need to be smart about it. However, some papers reported the story as “Obama chides other Democrats on defense.” Of course, it is not true.
The rumor got started that way, in the lead of an AP article on Obama’s Sept. 18 speech to Iowa Democrats. Six other articles reporting on the same event failed to mention the mythical attack on other Democrats.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Should Barack Obama be President, by F. Zimmerman, p. 50
Amy Klobuchar on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Oct 15, 2006)
I supported the Patriot Act
KENNEDY: Ms. Klobuchar has come out for weakening the Patriot Act that has allowed us to have five years without a terrorist attack on our country. She’s against making sure that we were paying attention when al-Qaeda was talking to somebody in America.
And she came out against a bill to make sure that we can get the intelligence we need from those we hold in custody to prevent future attacks. KLOBUCHAR: I support winning this war on terror by being smart, I supported the Patriot Act.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: 2006 MN Senate debate, on Meet the Press
Amy Klobuchar on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Oct 15, 2006)
Patriot Act provides necessary surveillance tools
KENNEDY: You came out for weakening the Patriot Act. You came out against making sure we were paying attention to what al-Qaeda was saying in this country about plotting future attacksKLOBUCHAR: I believe that the people on the front line have to have
the tools to wire-tap, they have to have the tools to do the surveillance that we need. I supported the Patriot Act. I did support some of the changes that were later made to the Patriot Act with library books, library records and things like that.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: 2006 MN Senate debate, on Meet the Press
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Oct 1, 2006)
Grow size of military to maintain rotation schedules
Our most complex military challenge will involve putting boots on the ground in the ungoverned or hostile regions where terrorists thrive. That requires a smarter balance between what we spend on fancy hardware and what we spend on our men and women in
uniform. That should mean growing the size of our armed forces to maintain reasonable rotation schedules, keeping our troops properly equipped, and training them in the skills they’ll need to succeed in increasingly complex and difficult missions.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p.307
Howie Hawkins on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Aug 1, 2006)
Halve defense spending & use funds domestically
Q: What does Hawkins think of armed forces spending? A: Budget on all-Defense related spending is about 8 times more than we spend on education in the US. Halve the Defense spending and use it to build the US domestically.
Click for Howie Hawkins on other issues.
Source: Email interview on 2006 Senate race with OnTheIssues.org
John Kasich on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security May 10, 2006)
Cheap Hawk: Strong on defense; tight with a dollar
In the 1980s on the Defense Committee, in addition to the Russians, another enemy was the status quo. I may have been strong on defense, but at the same time I was openly critical of the excess spending in every aspect of the federal budget, which cast m
as a kind of cheap hawk and served to essentially alienate me from everyone.I was astonished to discover wasteful spending in the Pentagon budget; I was even more astonished that hardly anyone was speaking out against it. The mantra in Washington at
that time was to trim the fat from our social welfare and entitlement programs. But to take the welfare out of the Pentagon? Well, to do so as a cheap hawk Republican, who walked the political tightrope of being strong on defense and tight with a dollar.
One of my congressional colleagues even called me a traitor to our country, that's how out there my position seemed to be among the hawks in the Republican Party, but my feeling was that we needed to ferret out this waste no matter where we found it.
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: Stand For Something, by John Kasich, p. 91-92
Amy Klobuchar on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jan 18, 2006)
Our troops need the best equipment and intelligence
I will fight for our government to do all we can to protect our brave men and women who are serving our country abroad. They need the best equipment and intelligence to keep them as safe as possible. And when they return, we must honor their service
and bravery by giving them the education and health care benefits they were promised. I am committed to ensuring that our veterans and their families, particularly those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, receive all they deserve.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, www.amyklobuchar.com, “Issues”
Amy Klobuchar on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jan 18, 2006)
More screening at ports and nuclear plants
I will fight to make sure our government is doing the best it can to protect our nation against further terrorist attacks. I believe we need to do more to screen cargo that comes through our ports and to secure our nuclear and chemical plants.
Our local communities also need federal support to properly equip and support our first responders?law enforcement officers, firefighters, frontline health care workers and other emergency personnel.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, www.amyklobuchar.com, “Issues”
Susan Rice on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Jan 1, 2006)
Military should convert from conventional war to new needs
The U.S. military must convert units that are in low demand in the new security environment into unit types that are in high demand in order to reduce the most acute strains on the force. The Army is already planning to convert up to 100,000 personnel
billets from low demand specialties like air defense and field artillery to high demand specialties like military police and civil affairs. Such conversions should be accelerated and their scope expanded as far as necessary.
Click for Susan Rice on other issues.
Source: Harvard Kennedy School of Government Belfer Center analysis
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Oct 26, 2004)
Saddam did not own and was not providing WMD to terrorists
It’s simply not true that Saddam was providing weapons of mass destruction to terrorists. This incursion into Iraq has resulted in a situation in which terrorist recruits are up. It’s been acknowledged, now, by the Pentagon, that the insurgents active in
Iraq are far higher. Terrorist attacks worldwide are the highest in 20 years. The notion that somehow we’re less vulnerable in the US as a consequence of spending 200 billion dollars and sacrificing thousands of lives is simply not borne out by the facts
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: IL Senate Debate
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jul 12, 2004)
Increase funding to decommission Russian nukes
More than a decade after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Russia still has more nearly 20,000 nuclear weapons and enough nuclear material to produce 50,000 more. At the current rate of spending, it will take 13 years to secure all the potential bomb
material from the old Soviet Republic. We should increase funding to do it in four years. We must also strengthen the existing Non-Proliferation Treaty, and lead in the efforts to prevent countries with the proven capability to build WMDs from doing so.
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Source: Press Release, “Renewal of American Leadership ”
Barack Obama on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jul 12, 2004)
Balance domestic intelligence reform with civil liberty risk
[The US should] strengthen and improve intelligence capabilities. We must reform our domestic intelligence capabilities in a manner that balances the risks of impeding on the civil liberties
of our citizens and increase international cooperation on all fronts. We should also give the Director of Intelligence the authority he or she needs over budget and personnel to be effective and accountable.
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Source: Press Release, “Renewal of American Leadership ”
Ken Salazar on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Mar 10, 2004)
Ensure emergency personnel have the support and resources
We must ensure that our police, fire and other emergency personnel have the support and resources they need to protect us in our communities. As Colorado’s chief law enforcement officer, I have worked with first responders all across our state on
training and preparedness. We must make sure that all levels of government, as well as key private sectors of the economy like telecommunications and energy, cooperate to the fullest possible extent to protect our infrastructure.
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Source: 2004 Senate campaign website, SalazarForColorado.com
Bill Nelson on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jan 11, 2001)
Let all military overseas vote via Internet
In a move aimed at making it easier for overseas military personnel to vote and ensure all their votes are counted, Nelson proposed that overseas service members be allowed to cast ballots over the Internet. Nelson will ask the Armed Services Committee
to seriously consider it when examining final recommendations still to come from an investigation into the exclusion of military votes in the last election. Florida law requires that ballots be postmarked. But military ballots-mailed free, sometimes
from isolated regions-often aren’t. Adding to the problem, a different state rule permitted unmarked ballots, and different counties interpreted the rules in different ways.
Nelson said he believes Internet voting could help solve the postmark
and other problems. To date, there have been only limited Internet voting trials in primaries and general elections. Some of those involved in pilot projects for the 2000 elections say Internet voting can be done successfully on a larger scale.
Click for Bill Nelson on other issues.
Source: Press Release, “Internet voting”
Donald Trump on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Jul 2, 2000)
3% of GNP for military is too low
To tell the enemy we’re not going to invade defies common sense. That lack of confidence may reflect another troubling reality: our diminished military forces. To wage our aerial assault on Yugoslavia we had to call upon US forces from all points of the
globe. Why? Because we’re spread too thin. The US last year spent 3% of gross domestic product maintaining our military forces. Compare that with past figures: Defense spending in the last year of the Carter administration came to 4.9% of GDP. During
the Reagan buildup it was 6.5%. We are still living off the Reagan military buildup of nearly 20 years ago. The question is: What will we live off ten or fifteen years from now if we do not invest again?You can’t pursue forward military and
foreign-policy objectives on a backward military budget. I’m not advocating that America go forth and police the world. I’m just saying that if we’re going to use our military power abroad, we had better make sure that power is ready to be used.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p.149
Jesse Ventura on Armed Forces Personnel:
(War & Peace Jan 1, 1999)
We need Saddam as the bad guy in oil disputes
I can tell you the reason why we keep getting into scuffles with Saddam Hussein: We need him. The fact that we’ve kept him in power and haven’t taken him out is intentional. We need a bad guy there. We need a reason to keep our military personnel
on the pulse of the world’s oil reserves. We put him in there--do you think we couldn’t have taken him down by now if we had wanted to? And he knows it. That’s why he misbehaves!
Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.
Source: Ain’t Got Time To Bleed, p. 35
Donald Trump on Armed Forces Personnel:
(Homeland Security Oct 27, 1997)
1994 Veteran's parade: Such high-quality people led military
[After a poorly-attended Veteran's Day parade], a group of veterans wanted to do it differently the following year. Those veterans asked me to lead it as Grand Marshal--essentially they wanted my stamp of approval.
They needed dollars. They knew I could raise lots of money and get additional donors. They also knew I would attract a lot of press.
I agreed. I thought it would be fun, and I knew it was important. Mayor Giuliani was pledging the support of the city. I put up money; others matched it.
I always knew there was a military out there, but I had no idea such high quality people led it. This is something I got to know, and know very well, over the next few months.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: The Art of the Comeback, by Donald Trump, p.168-72
Page last updated: Feb 28, 2022
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