Washington D.C. – House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith released the following statement in response to the Defense budget:

“It is fitting that the Department of Defense released its budget request on Groundhogs day. Sequestration is a failed policy that remains the law of the land, and Congress has yet to enact a long-term solution. Based on what we have seen in the past, I fully expect that Congress will again fight proposals to allow the Department of Defense to deal with the damaging effects of sequestration. We have seen this act before. I hope the ending is different this time around.

“I applaud the President for putting forth a budget proposal that would do away with sequestration. We have seen the harm that sequestration can do. In today’s dangerous world, we need to make sure that we are supporting our military and providing it with the tools and resources that it needs to protect national security and allowing the threat of sequestration to persist flies in the face of that responsibility.”

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