U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) stressed the need to rein in government spending to ensure that our nation’s defense is not weakened. Hatch released a video message to Utahns over the weekend discussing how runaway government spending is taking vital resources from our Defense Department, evidenced by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s announcement two weeks ago that there will be further defense department reductions, including the commencement of a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process and a reduction of the Air Force’s tactical air squadrons.В
“The White House and its liberal allies in Congress continue to borrow and spend our country further into debt, and we’re continuing to see the real consequences of their failed economic policies, this time with cuts to our national defense,” Hatch said. “Utahns have my commitment to stand alongside those whose job it is to protect America, including those at Hill Air Force Base who are central to America’s defense.
The full text of Hatch’s message:
Hello, I’m Senator Orrin Hatch. It’s no secret that there are those who don’t subscribe to America having a strong national defense. They believe in “soft power” and believe that we should cut back our defense to dangerous levels. They refuse to accept that a robust American military presence defeated the Soviet Union. They believe we should cut defense for more social programs. For many of us, we thought that irresponsible view had been defeated. But we were wrong.
After enacting the largest growth in government in generations, this anti-military crowd now has the justification it needs to finally gut our defense: our over $15 trillion debt. And that’s exactly what we saw last week, when the Obama Administration announced that it would be drastically slashing defense spending.
In other words, the massive government growth that we’ve seen over the last few years, with things like the failed trillion dollar stimulus and the President’s $2.6 trillion health spending law ObamaCare, are being used to hit the very group whose job it is to defend the safety and security of our country. They are content to force our Defense Department to pay the price and that’s just wrong.
A lot of people in Northern Utah who live or work near Hill Air Force base should understand that the work they do to protect America could be in jeopardy, because the Obama Administration refuses to tackle the real causes of our debt…because they refuse to repeal the massive health law. This is unacceptable. And I will fight to make sure our defense doesn’t pay the price to support this radical and unsustainable expansion in government.
I’ve spoken with the Secretary of the Air Force and will continue to be in contact with the Air Force, my colleagues in Utah’s congressional delegation, Governor Herbert, state legislators and leaders around the state to lay out why Hill Air Force base is second to none and must remain a central figure in keeping America safe.
You have my commitment to continue to fight to cut our national debt so our nation’s security is not put in harms way.