Madam Speaker,

Without regard to the extra money spend on war operations authorized in war supplementals, the U.S. military budget is approximately that of the next fourteen (14) largest military budgets in the world. Would you support a 5X limit, which would limit military spending (other than war appropriations) to the combined estimated next five largest budgets? If we are fighting the next five largest countries in the world, then probably we are on the wrong side.

In addition, would you support mothballing one half of the defense R&D, currently estimate at $70 billion per year, and move those funds to war operations in order to reduce borrowing for the war? It seems like we could cut out programs, such as nukes in space, until the war ends. While R&D is important for the economy as well as the military, in times when money is short it makes sense to spend it prudently.