{"id":36832,"date":"2021-05-12T19:25:13","date_gmt":"2021-05-12T19:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/05\/12\/bernie-sanders-wants-to-cut-defense-spending-not-all-democrats-agree\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:54:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:54:50","slug":"bernie-sanders-wants-to-cut-defense-spending-not-all-democrats-agree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2021\/05\/12\/bernie-sanders-wants-to-cut-defense-spending-not-all-democrats-agree\/","title":{"rendered":"Bernie Sanders wants to cut defense spending. Not all Democrats agree."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2015 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/congress\/2018\/03\/15\/sen-bernie-sanders-takes-aim-at-defense-firm-excess\/\" target=\"_blank\">Sen. Bernie Sanders<\/a>, the left-leaning chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, is once again asking you to think about cuts to defense spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2021\/02\/25\/us-military-may-sidestep-budget-cuts-backed-by-progressives\/\" target=\"_blank\">Democratic moderates<\/a> may temper just how aggressively progressives can push for a reduction in President Joe Biden\u2019s forthcoming $715 billion Pentagon budget proposal, which is flat when adjusted for inflation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After backing a failed measure last year to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2020\/07\/22\/progressive-effort-to-cut-defense-fails-twice-in-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\">cut national defense spending by 10 percent<\/a>, Sanders, I-Vt., held a committee hearing Wednesday to spotlight waste, cost overruns and fraud at the Pentagon. The panel\u2019s top Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham, used the hearing to say he opposes a \u201cblind\u201d cut, as did Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf we\u2019re going to make cuts \u2015 and we should always analyze whether we should \u2015 we shouldn\u2019t make them non-strategically,\u201d said Kaine, who serves as the Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee chairman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kaine recalled how Congress controversially enacted a broad Pentagon headquarters staffing cut several years ago that inadvertently laid off a third of the personnel overseeing military housing. It became a \u201cmassive problem,\u201d he said (as well as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/05\/23\/senate-moves-toward-putting-300-million-and-more-teeth-to-fix-base-housing-woes\/\" target=\"_blank\">significant focus in Congress<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo if we\u2019re going to make cuts, we should really try to find what\u2019s fraudulent, what\u2019s abusive, what\u2019s wasteful. The across-the-board stuff: You end up hurting yourself, and then it comes back to bite you later,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2020\/07\/20\/defund-pentagon-effort-holds-message-for-biden\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"160\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/gettyimages-1209799608-594x594.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Defund Pentagon effort holds message for Biden<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Progressive Democrats are offering amendments that would cut each chamber\u2019s $740.5 billion defense policy bill by about $74 billion.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Washington, the growing influence of party moderates has put some of Biden\u2019s priorities in jeopardy, including a proposed minimum wage increase. But in the case of defense spending, moderates may be the bulwark against progressives who say <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2020\/05\/19\/house-progressives-demand-pentagon-cuts-citing-pandemic\/\" target=\"_blank\">the money would be better spent combating the coronavirus pandemic<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sanders pointed to the Pentagon\u2019s longtime failure to pass an audit, its acquisition program cost overruns, the \u201cexcessive\u201d benefits for defense executives as well as the \u201crevolving door where many of our top military officials end up on the boards of directors of these major defense companies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAt a time when we have so many unmet needs in America, we\u2019ve got to ask ourselves why we are spending more on the military than the next 12 nations combined,\u201d Sanders said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHow does it happen that about half of the $740 billion annual defense budget goes not to our troops, but to defense contractors, while virtually all of them have paid huge fines for misconduct and fraud while making massive profits on those contracts?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sanders said the chief executives of Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Technologies and Boeing declined an invitation to testify from himself and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At a Center for Strategic and International Studies event Wednesday, House Armed Services Committee member Anthony Brown, D-Md., called for a \u201crobust\u201d level of defense spending and said he would \u201cabsolutely\u201d support more than Biden\u2019s request. A 10 percent cut, he said, would be \u201cdevastating\u201d to military readiness and modernization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe cannot rob Peter to pay Paul. We can\u2019t look to the defense budget or cuts to the defense budget as a way to pay for these domestic priorities,\u201d Brown said, rejecting a \u201cfalse choice between two competing options.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Pentagon\u2019s budget is meant to keep the country safe while also funding research and development efforts with civilian applications as well as providing care for service members and their families, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe should recognize and accept that domestic programs and spending bolster our national security. And conversely, investing in our military will help promote, protect and preserve the opportunities that we seek to create right here at home,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2021\/03\/05\/ripping-f-35-costs-house-armed-services-chairman-looking-to-cut-our-losses\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/gettyimages-1225949396-594x594.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Ripping F-35 costs, House Armed Services chairman looks to \u2018cut our losses\u2019<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">When Rep. Adam Smith thinks about the F-35, he thinks about \u201cfailure on a massive freaking scale.&quot;<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The top line is not the only place where there\u2019s a Democratic split: A bipartisan group of 130 House lawmakers<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2021\/05\/06\/more-than-130-house-lawmakers-push-to-ramp-up-f-35-buy\/\" target=\"_blank\"> signed a letter<\/a> this month urging continued financial support for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, signaling a potential roadblock for Democratic lawmakers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2021\/04\/22\/dont-expect-more-money-for-additional-f-35s-in-fy22-lawmakers-tell-an-embattled-lockheed\/\" target=\"_blank\">hoping to cut F-35 procurement in fiscal 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m a big believer in the F-35,\u201d said Brown, one of the signatories, adding that he was initially skeptical of the Air Force\u2019s plan to find other fighter jets, including Boeing\u2019s F-15EX, for which he now sees a role in the service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lead Republicans on defense have sought a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2021\/03\/04\/key-republicans-press-biden-to-hike-defense-budget-3-to-5-percent\/\" target=\"_blank\">3-5 percent increase<\/a> in defense spending, which they argue is needed to deter Russia and China. However, it\u2019s an open question whether centrist Democrats will be able to forge an alliance with them to pass defense policy and spending bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The American Enterprise Institute\u2019s Mackenzie Eaglen noted that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2021\/03\/17\/mcconnell-challenges-biden-to-boost-defense-budget-against-china\/\" target=\"_blank\">says he wants to work with the White House on China competition<\/a>, something Republicans want to manifest through robust defense spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s necessarily a hard, red line on 3-5 percent growth,\u201d Eaglen said, so long as there\u2019s a significant investment in military readiness. \u201cFlat is back for the department. I do think there\u2019s a push for the department to tread water, and that\u2019s where Republicans are looking to find common ground.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The left-leaning chairman of the Senate Budget Committee is once again asking you to think about cuts to defense spending.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":78085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"4":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"5":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"6":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"7":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"}}},"categories":[44,8,160,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3446],"class_list":["post-36832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-budget","category-congress","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"J7TOGY6F25BFVCUYYVGVX62HC4","arc_canonical_url":"\/congress\/budget\/2021\/05\/12\/bernie-sanders-wants-to-cut-defense-spending-not-all-democrats-agree\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Bernie Sanders wants to cut defense spending. 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