December 11, 2022

Political notebook: Aucincloss says Pentagon needs to 'spend smarter'

Once again, Jake Auchincloss was the only Democratic veteran in the House of Representatives to vote against the latest military budget.

The House on Thursday approved $858 billion for the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), an $80 billion increase, $45 billion more than requested by President Joe Biden.

Auchincloss, whose congressional district covers the Attleboro area, is a major in the Marine reserves and a member of the Defense Spending Reduction Caucus.

“The Pentagon is the biggest bureaucracy in the world, and I have never seen a bureaucracy in business or government that could not do 10% more with 10% less,” the Newton Democrat said in a statement.

 
"I loved my time in the Marines and deeply respect the imperative for a strong and growing U.S. military, but I have always believed that the Pentagon should be spending smarter, not bigger. I cannot support this NDAA because it does not make progress on that front.”

By:  Tom Reilly
Source: The Sun Chronicle