Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas on Saturday criticized Democrats for holding up defense spending in the weekly Republican address.
“As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, my colleagues and I are prioritizing how we spend taxpayer dollars. This is a basic responsibility of Congress that for too long was ignored by the Democrat-controlled Senate,” he said.
“Unfortunately, Senate Democrats are working to stop funding these priorities that will keep the men and women of our military safe, protect our nation against security threats, and help us fight violence around the world. This strategy to avoid Senate debate of the defense appropriations bill risks serious damage to our national and global security.”
Senate Democrats on June 18 blocked consideration of the $575.9 billion spending bill, the first of the fiscal 2016 bills to reach the floor, in an ongoing dispute over removal of the mandatory budget caps known as sequestration. It was the first test of their pledge to hold up all spending bills until Republicans agree to negotiate a broader budget deal.
President Obama has backed up their efforts by threatening to veto the bill, which already has passed the House.
The bill would bypass the caps mandated by a 2011 law by shifting more than $35 billion in regular operations and maintenance spending into a war funding account which is exempt from them — a move Democrats have denounced as a “gimmick” but Republicans say is essential to maintaining military readiness in a dangerous world.
“Blocking this bill reduces readiness by depriving service members of the supplies they need to effectively carry out their missions,” Boozman said. “It deprives the Department of Defense the budget certainty and ability to plan that comes when Congress passes this legislation in a timely manner. Unfortunately, the last time this was accomplished was in 2006.”
