Jones Statement on 2018 NDAA Conference Report

Statement

This week the House passed the conference report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018. Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) -- a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee -- reluctantly voted no and released the following statement:

"Our military has been asked to do more with less and it's hurting readiness. They need more resources, period. This bill helps meet many of those needs, and that's a good thing. What is not good is that the $74 billion in additional money provided in the bill will be financed not by cutting spending elsewhere in the budget, but with more debt, much of it borrowed from potential foreign adversaries like China, and then put on the backs of American taxpayers. With federal debt already at $20 trillion, and rapidly growing annual federal deficit spending adding $666 billion to that debt just this past year alone, that's the wrong way to go."

"Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, has testified that the biggest threat to our national security is America's rising debt. Our current Secretary of Defense, Marine Corps General James Mattis, has affirmed that principle. When Admiral Mullen made his statement seven years ago, our debt was $13 trillion. It is now 50% larger."

"For too long, Washington has made the easy choice. Budget increases across the board, no cuts to wasteful spending like foreign aid, nation building in Afghanistan, or taxpayer-funded sex change operations, and more debt for American taxpayers. We can't afford it anymore. We must prioritize and focus our limited fiscal resources on things that matter, like rebuilding our military. At the same time, we must cut wasteful spending elsewhere and stop adding to the debt that is bankrupting our nation and threating our national security."

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