AL.com - Rep. Mike Rogers Calls on Bipartisan Committee to Protect National Defense: 'Indiscriminate Budget Reductions are Devastating'

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By Leada Gore

The funding cuts that have crippled training and stymied modernization programs are hurting the nation's ability to protect itself, according to Rep. Mike Rogers, who said the country has been forced to delay much-needed work on its nuclear arsenal.

"Indiscriminate budget reductions are devastating our national security. Whether it is funding depot level maintenance to ensure the readiness of our military or modernizing our strategic weapons, these poorly managed budget decisions are quickly turning the most powerful military in the world into a hollow force," Rogers said.

On Tuesday, Rogers, who serves as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee's Strategic Forces subcommittee, chaired a meeting on modernization of the country's nuclear arsenal. The committee focused on the key aspects of the Obama administration's nuclear weapons modernization program, specifically the bills related to the B61 nuclear gravity bomb Life Extension Program.

"There is a lot of misinformation being pushed by those who want to disarm the United States, and this hearing (helped) set the record straight," Rogers said. "The B61 LEP is absolutely critical to our nuclear deterrent. It is vital for the extended deterrence and assurance we provide our allies and, more importantly, it is vital to our country's own strategic deterrent."

Rogers said modernization of the country's nuclear deterrent - like other military programs - has been deferred for too long.

"Our nuclear weapons, missile defenses and space-based sensors are all suffering under the president's sequestration. We have vital modernization programs that need to occur to these forces," Rogers said.

Rogers said he'd like to see the current joint House/Senate committee that's working to formulate a budget develop a plan to protect those national security needs before it's too late.

"The current downward trend will devastate our nation's security and the men and women who serve in uniform and the civilians that support them across the country, including at Anniston Army Depot, Maxwell Air Force base and around Alabama," he said. "Congress must find a way to fund our vital priorities that better balances our need to cut spending while also keeping our military strong."

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