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Sen. John McCain of Arizona addresses a crowd at the College of Southern Nevada on the impact of large cuts on defense spending. Because Democrats and Republicans could not reach a budget reduction agreement, automatic cuts are scheduled to take effect at the beginning of 2013.
By Tovin Lapan (contact) 
Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012 | 2 a.m.
David DuVall and Mary Lou Anderson protest outside a town hall meeting held by three Republican senators on the looming cuts to the federal budget known as sequestration.
Sun coverage
Three Republican senators are attempting to accomplish what a “supercommittee” of 12 legislators could not: bring both parties together for a budget compromise that would dodge mandatory cuts set to take effect in January.
After visiting Nellis Air Force Base, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina held a town hall meeting Monday at the College of Southern Nevada’s North Las Vegas campus to emphasize the “catastrophic” effects the cuts would have on U.S. defense.
“We are facing draconian cuts to our nation’s defense as of the first of January 2013,” McCain said. “Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has stated unequivocally that it would devastate our nation’s defense ... if these cuts are allowed to take effect. I’m not sure how many Americans are aware of the dramatic impact that this would have, not only our equipment and training but also on the ability to retain men and women in the military who wish to continue to serve.”
The trio’s tour, “Preserving America’s Strength” — which already has visited Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and New Hampshire — is designed to sound the alarm on sequestration.
In 2011, a fight over raising the debt ceiling boiled over into a budget quagmire. Republicans wanted spending cuts before signing off on a $2.1 trillion increase of the cap on U.S. borrowing power. In the end, the debt ceiling was raised, but both parties agreed to form a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, the so-called supercommittee, tasked with reaching a consensus on how to reduce the federal budget.
Looming over the committee was sequestration, automatic widespread cuts that would trigger if the 12 lawmakers could not reach consensus. No deal was reached, and now $110 million in cuts spread over defense and domestic programs loom.
Veteran’s benefits, Medicaid and food stamps are exempt. President Barack Obama recently exempted military personnel, as well.
“What I’m here to do along with my colleagues is to urge both parties to deal with this is in a responsible manner. Congress has done some dumb things, and this is probably at the top of the list,” Graham said. “If you can't resolve the debt situation without destroying the military, you’ve really screwed up. ... (The supercommittee) failed.”
Graham said he and the two other GOP senators, who are all members on the Senate Armed Forces Committee, are suggesting a stay on sequestration for four months so the issue can be worked out after the November elections.
Both Sen. Dean Heller and Sen. Harry Reid were invited to the meeting, according to a tour release, but neither appeared.
“I’m disappointed my Republican colleagues who are in Nevada today have forgotten that their party helped to put sequestration in place and are now choosing to put millionaires ahead of the military,” Reid said in a statement released in response to the visit. “And I am disappointed my Republican colleagues have forgotten that it was their party’s refusal to adopt a balanced approach that closes corporate tax loopholes and asks the wealthiest to pay a little more that will cause these defense and domestic cuts to occur.”
After the three senators gave opening statements, they took questions and comments from the few dozen in attendance. At that point, the discussion focused more on the merits of defense spending in general than how to tackle sequestration.
Some supported the senators, who argued that such large reductions in military spending would harm the economy, weaken the U.S. position globally and, as Graham suggested, leave the country vulnerable to threats from China and Iran.
Graham said any budget-reduction plan must start with sharp reductions in entitlement programs, which was met with both jeers and cheers.
David DuVall, an Arizona resident who attended the event, called the senators’ travels a “tour of fear” and said the foreclosure rate and the winnowing of Medicaid and food stamp rolls were more pressing issues.
President Obama and Sen. Harry Reid are right, millionaires, billionaires and basically anyone that makes a profit doing anything should pay more, all of it actually.
So if Sheldon "right wing" Adelson and Steve Weinburg get their way, they don't pay an extra dime? While the poor slobs they employ make beans and peanuts? Something wrong here..
Thank Paul Ryan for killing the 'Grand Bargain' reached by President Obama and Speaker of the House Boehner.
"Mr. Ryan's enormous influence was apparent last summer when Representative Eric Cantor, the second most powerful House Republican, told Mr. Obama during negotiations over an attempted bipartisan "grand bargain" that Mr. Ryan disliked its policy and was concerned that a deal would pave the way for Mr. Obama's easy re-election, according to a Democrat and a Republican who were briefed on the conversation."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/13...
The military portion of the budget, to include all associated costs, is the biggest part of the federal budget pie. It must be cut. We have warplanes, F-22s, that were designed to fight the cold war. They are expensive and unnecessary. A married airman that lives off base in Las Vegas gets about $40,000 in direct compensation per year. That is a 17-21 year old with no skills. The pay is beyond reasonable.
Stop preparing for 20th Century wars.
This is the place to cut a lot of cost and waste.
Cut the military now.
The Ryan plan will lower Romney's taxes from 14% to 1%, are you going to pay for a new billion dollar destroyer (like the one that just crashed in the Strait Of Hormuz) with that? 1%? Adelson and Wynn took most of their operations to China.
Get your rich war monger friends to pay for your toys, we still have massive unemployment and boarded up buildings. To use our tax money to go on your war mongering trip is the height of arrogance. Go back to where you came from you carpetbagging stooges.
See you at the tables John
Lindsay, be sure to check out Thunder from Down Under, and the "Loop," while in town, I'm sure you would enjoy it.
The Republicans agreed to these cuts and now they're crying. In reality, the Defense Department can take these cuts. The past and current DOD budgets are full of bloat. Yes, some will lose their jobs but maybe the DOD can trim a lot of useless bloat and save the taxpayers money.
2 wars - both lasting a decade has got to be hard on the inventory...Everything from transport to combat - all if it has 200,000 hard miles and missing parts...What do we have to show for that?
I don't know - but John McCain was 100% GO for both wars!
Today's article describes SS overhang yet we have a Mars Rover and 300 million dollar F 35's hitting the showroom...Full of flaws and glitch!
F-22's are coming in at over 400 million a clip. While they are an awesome machine, we have yet to use one in the defense of the country. We can't police the world. We can't build schools in Iraq, we can't fund social programs in Afghanistan, we can't continually pump billions of dollars sitting on the DMZ line in Korea. We cannot be Israel's babysitter.
We are dropping about 2 billion per day for the last 8-10 years fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. WE CANNOT AFFORD TO DO THIS ANYMORE.
So when McCain gets up there and warns about a dangerous situation, I think about the dangerous situation that the US middle class is facing in unemployment, health insurance cutbacks at the corporate level and their devastated 401K's.
Let's get real here. The military brass are always going to say more more more. End the wars and make a concerted effort to double down on border protection. We can't hunt in caves in the middle of Afghanistan.
Yes, and cut the Nevada Test site, Yucca Mountain, Nellis Air Force Base, Creech Air Force Base, Fallon, Tonopah Test range, The US Forrest Service, BLM and thousands of support businesses, contractors and over two hundred thousand prevailing wage and union jobs. That's just in Nevada folks, we're talking millions of defence related jobs in California, Washington, Virginia and good ole Washington DC
Harry Reid trying to communicate with, everyone as far as I can tell. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fuDDqU6n...
1 billion would finish the Fountaineblue, how many jobs would that create. The Military spending at Nellis didn't keep Jerry's Nugget from going BK
If I was a Republic Senator and was thinking of dragging the World into a War with Iran just to get the Israeli votes, I would be worried about Defense Cuts too!!
Right now th U.S. can destroy the world 23 times over. Wouldn't 10 times over be enough? We can certainly afford to cut the D.O.D., and put that money to better use, such as helping those who can't help themselves( that's what a good Christian does.)
The military industrial complex is the financier of many political re-election campaigns.
I enjoy reading all of the reasons the defense budget should be cut. Then I read the comment about a 17-21 year old making $40,000 with no skills (more like $35,000 with housing and substance allowances). And that is after completing both basic training and occupation training. In other words, he (or she) makes about what a firefighter or police officer does with the same training levels. Even a senior non-commissioned officer (E-7) with 20 years of service only makes $72,204 and if he retires at 20 years will only have a retirement of $25,536. Military retirement does not include the housing or substance allowances that are part of a married persons pay.
That airman or soldier is earning his pay. So we rather take his pay and give it to someone to sit at home and collect his welfare, food stamps, 8a housing and we don't expect them to do anything for it? The system is broken!
I will be the first one to say that the military procurement system is broken. But then again, the entire US Government procurement system isn't in any better shape.
Enough of my rant.
Nevada Gaming industries and Wall Street casinos should be paying their fair share also, like around 55% Just like the rest of us when we win, almost as much as you and I pay when we work.
Seems like the same mindset that got us into Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan I, Iraq, and Afghanistan II.
Hellzbells, we can't even win the war on drugs or the war on poverty or the war on uninsured.
The US has a military that is bigger than almost all the other countries in the world combined.
Why does the US have to spend trillons on so called "defense." In reality the us military is an offensive force used to pursue the interests of rich powerful people.
The Opium wars, never stopped for the US. They are now the oil and natural gas wars.
It is time to end the US exploitation of the rest of the world.
Cut defense spending by 50%. And close the hundreds of US bases all over the world.
No other country has military bases all over the world. Why does the US?
McCain hasn't had a lucid moment in 10 years
We wasted $5 trillion on the Iraq War--and we LOST that war since the only thing it did was put us $5 trillion further in debt. That money could have funded social security for 50 years. Repubs, if you want hand-outs in the form of defense contracts, then raise taxes on the 1%.
After blowing $1 trillion and 4,500 KIA on Iraq for ZERO WMDs, maybe the funding cuts will restrain our senseless thirst for wanton military domination while US citizens rot in our own streets.
Cut it with a chainsaw.
If you told me you were going to interview the "3 Stooges" I would have brought a pair of rubber hip boots by the studio to wade through all the crap. But good job getting the interview, I will be watching.
If we cut the Defense Budget how will Obama kill all the terrorists?? Doesn't he realize that Drones and missiles don't grow on trees??
Budget cuts are fun until somebody closes down a base/project in their District.
OpenRange, Read the book "Hard Corps" it is written by a decorated Marine. In the book he describes Saddam as being the ultimate WMD. Better yet, interview some of the Navy SEALS who fought over there, they say the same thing. Park your silly slant.
"I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents." Major General U.S. Marine Corps Smedley D. Butler
"This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist." - President Dwight Eisenhower (WWII Commander of Allied Forces)
David DuVall and Mary Lou Anderson are Great Americans.
McCain unleashed Sarah Palin on the world. There is nothing he can do or say that will ever be respected again.
We need to STRATEGICALLY CUT defense spending dramatically. We do NOT need to have hundreds of thousands of American troops permanent party in Europe, Guam, Japan..... This is excessive and not cost effective. We need to continue to maintain technology, special forces, and SECURE OUR BORDERS FROM INVASION. We do not need to provide Europe with a missile defense shield. Can they not provide SOME of their own defense?
By Retired_Army, you do realize don't you that the enlisted military families of the deployed desperately need food stamps. Those families also have to buy vests and helmets to replace the ineffective equipment issued to the troops.
The majority of the military budget goes to the military industrial complex...like Halliburton, as in Dick Cheney and others that have supplied the aircraft oxygen systems that failed and brought down these airplanes and killed the crews and the electronic components that failed in flight and the enormous problems with the tanks and the astronomical charges for repairing these same tanks. How about the Humvees that showed up in theater without blast protection to protect the occupants and the above mentioned body armor that wouldn't stop bullets.
The enlisted military is being used as canon fodder and being paid poverty wages so that the politicians can protect the oil companies who not only don't pay taxes, but get subsidies and the military industrial complex investors can become billionaires and put their blood money in tax free off shore accounts.
I see a whole lot wrong with this picture and it has nothing to do whatsoever with the unemployed, those that have been bankrupted by medical crisis, the chronically ill and the elderly....unless you want to take into consideration what the obscene cost to the American people.
This has never been about the security of this country. It is all about the profits for corporations and Wall Street.
My father gave his life for this country. He didn't die for this.