Cut Pentagon waste, not troop pay

Congressman Roger Williams (TX-25) urged Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to address wasteful spending within the Pentagon's budget in lieu of Hagel's proposed cuts to troop pay and benefits.

"Secretary Hagel's announcement today shows more clearly where the President's priorities lie. He gives federal contractors a raise while proposing cuts to pay and benefits for our troops on the front lines. If this is any indication of what his budget will look like, I can say confidently that it will be dead upon arrival in the House. While high-ranking officials in the military have made it clear that personnel expenses are on track to exceed the military's entire budget, we need to have other options on the table besides cutting pay for active duty troops, cutting the vital jobs and tax-free benefits of commissaries, and putting our military's preparedness and capability at risk. The Pentagon has wasted hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars from its enormous budget, and if Secretary Hagel chooses to go after our troops and their families before addressing the waste and abuse in his own agency, I foresee an overwhelming backlash from the public."

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