On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends First,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) stated that there is a problem with increasing defense spending because “the military-industrial complex is real. I mean, we’re spending money on things that we probably don’t need.” And this is the problem with defense spending bills that are crafted in secret without members of Congress having time to analyze them.
Burchett said [relevant remarks begin around 2:50] he’s unsure if the boost in defense spending in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is enough to push back on China’s increased aggression towards Taiwan.
He added, “The problem with our defense spending is the military-industrial complex is real. I mean, we’re spending money on things that we probably don’t need. You’re talking to people like myself who don’t — who’ve never served in the military, but things like battleships, in the Second World War, we needed battleships. But today, it’s done at a different level. And so, I think we need to get a little bit more futuristic in our spending and quit dealing with the lobbyists on this. And that’s part of the problem, too, with a bill that was completely negotiated in Speaker Pelosi’s backroom with a handful of lobbyists.”
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