McKeon Speech

Yesterday evening, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) gave a preview of his chamber's version of the fiscal year 2013 defense authorization bill.

"We were presented a budget from the administration that takes a knife to the defense budget, while growing the size and scope of the federal government," the lawmaker said in a speech to the Hamilton Society. "As defense continues to be crowded out of the picture, we have to be extraordinarily careful in choosing where we allocate the military's funding."

Consequently, McKeon outlined six things the government -- in his opinion -- must do:

* Have an honest conversation about our present course to debt and decline in the midst of the most dangerous and complex security environment in memory;

* Offer bold solutions that cut spending, keep taxes low, reduce the deficit, pay off debt over time, limit the size of government, and grow the private sector;

* Restore the foundations of American military power to meet the threats of the 21st century;

* Fulfill our number one constitutional duty -- provide for the common defense;

* Call on constitutional conservatives who care about enumerated powers to look to the first one;

* Make national security and the men and women who protect it our top priority; [and]

* Stave off sequestration, roll back the Budget Control Act's defense cuts, and most importantly, restore the American military.

Click here to read the full text of McKeon's speech.