DEFENSE SECRETARY HAGEL STANDS BEHIND 2015 BUDGET REQUEST

FROM:  THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Hagel Stands Behind Tough Budget Proposal, Spokesman Says

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2014 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel stands firmly behind tough budget choices made in the 2015 Fiscal Year Defense Budget request as lawmakers return to Washington to take up defense spending.
Speaking to reporters today, Pentagon press secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby affirmed the defense secretary’s appreciation for Congress moving forward with its consideration of the budget proposal.

“As you know, the full House of Representatives and the Senate Armed Services Committee are considering their defense authorization measures for fiscal year ’15 this week,” he said.

“Secretary Hagel appreciates the efforts of leaders in both chambers to move forward with this critical legislation,” Kirby said. “He believes that it’s important for the ideas and proposals put forward by the Defense Department in the president’s budget are subject to a full and vigorous debate.”

The admiral said Hagel knows this debate is just the beginning.
“He stands firmly behind the tough decisions that were made in that budget proposal -- decisions that he believes are necessary to preserve our military edge in a very difficult fiscal environment,” Kirby said.

Given the importance of the budget proposal, Kirby said he believes “you’ll be hearing more from the secretary and other senior leaders in the department on this in the weeks and months to come.”

NATO SECRETARY GENERAL RASMUSSEN DISCUSSES SPENDING AT NEWS CONFERENCE

Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Secretary General: Hold Line on Spending, Boost Capabilities
By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2013 - Emerging powers increasing defense spending as NATO allies decrease theirs poses a risk to the alliance's military capacity and political credibility, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in Brussels today.

During a news conference at the alliance's headquarters, Rasmussen said NATO's 28 nations must hold the line on defense spending while working together to close gaps in capabilities.

Though these gaps, potentially widened by the rise of emerging powers, could limit Europe's ability to work with North America, Rasmussen acknowledged that sound fiscal policy also is sound security policy.

"Governments must reduce deficits and borrowing. You can't be safe if you are broke," the secretary general said. "But in turn, our prosperity rests on our security. We have to invest to keep our societies safe, because security threats won't go away while we focus on fixing our economies."

Defense spending decisions now will have an impact on the security of the next generation, the secretary general said.

"There is a price to pay for security," he added, "but the cost of insecurity is unacceptable."

In releasing his annual report, the secretary general highlighted the establishment of Patriot missile batteries to protect more than 3.5 million people against attacks in Turkey as a demonstration of significant improvement in the allies' ability to deploy and sustain forces in recent years.

"We have started this new year with a strong signal of solidarity with Turkey," he said. "This shows NATO's steadfast commitment to the security of allies, and it shows why defense matters."