In a policy statement posted to the new administration’s White House website, President Trump pledged to end sequestration and called for a “state-of-the-art missile defense system” among his goals for rebuilding the U.S. military and improving services for veterans.
“Our military needs every asset at its disposal to defend America. We cannot allow other nations to surpass our military capability,” the statement reads. “The Trump Administration will pursue the highest level of military readiness.”
In his inaugural address, the president said the U.S. has committed too many resources while ignoring the decline of America’s military might.
“For many decades, we’ve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry; subsidized the armies of other countries, while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military,” Trump said in his speech on the west steps of the Capitol. “We’ve defended other nations’ borders while refusing to defend our own.”
In the policy statement, Trump made promises in several areas, including ending the mandatory spending limits known as the “defense sequester,” submitting a Pentagon budget to Congress that will provide the means to plan for future defense needs, and a “state-of-the-art missile defense system” to protect against missile-based attacks from Iran and North Korea.
The goals also included beefing up the country’s cybersecurity.
“We will make it a priority to develop defensive and offensive cyber capabilities at our U.S. Cyber Command, and recruit the best and brightest Americans to serve in this crucial area,” the statement said.
The statement, posted immediately after Trump was sworn in, also promises his administration will meet its commitments to veterans.
“We will get our veterans the care they need wherever and whenever they need it. There should be no more long drives. No more wait lists or scheduling backlogs. No more excessive red tape,” the statement said.
“Our reforms will begin with firing the corrupt and incompetent VA executives who let our veterans down, modernizing the bureaucracy, and empowering the doctors and nurses to ensure our veterans receive the best care available in a timely manner.”
