3: NATIONAL DEFENSE
Develop a defense budget that protects our nation against our most important threats in an affordable way. Other Information:
NATIONAL DEFENSE -- Providing for the national defense is a key responsibility of the federal government. America's military
is the strongest fighting force in the world. And it should be, since the United States spends more on defense than the next
14 countries combined. We can develop a defense budget that protects our nation against our most important threats in an affordable
way. The defense share of the federal budget has averaged 21 percent over the past two decades. In the past ten years the
defense budget grew from about $400 billion to $700 billion, after accounting for inflation. Much of this increase in spending
has been driven by commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Possible changes to our defense budget include: eliminating costly
weapons systems, reducing troop deployments overseas, lowering the number of nuclear weapons, and reforming military pay and
benefits.
Objective(s):
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