Following Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic damage throughout Florida’s gulf coast, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) met with the Florida Farm Bureau as well as local agricultural producers, farmers, and growers to discuss the storm’s impact. Photos are courtesy of...
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Photos: Rubio Visits Barrier Islands Post-Hurricane Helene
Following Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic damage throughout Florida’s Gulf Coast, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) met with local officials and volunteers from the barrier islands to discuss the storm’s impact and current recovery efforts. Photos are courtesy of...
Rubio, Scott, Florida Colleagues to POTUS: Expedite Resources to Floridians
Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm, causing catastrophic damage along Florida’s Gulf Coast. It’s crucial for the federal government to expedite state-requested resources and authorize key policy flexibilities in order for Floridians to make a swift...
Rubio Staff Hosts Hurricane Helene Recovery Assistance
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) office will host two in-person events to assist constituents affected by Hurricane Helene and help navigate applications for FEMA assistance. Food, water, and additional resources will be available at the events. Event...
Next Week: Rubio Staff Hosts Mobile Office Hours
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) office will host in-person and virtual Mobile Office Hours next week to assist constituents with federal casework issues in their respective local communities. These office hours offer constituents who do not live close to one of...
Rubio, Scott Urge FEMA to Expedite Hurricane Reimbursements
Following the impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Debby, some local governments in Florida face looming budget shortfalls that could disrupt disaster recovery efforts. If these local governments receive reimbursements for past hurricanes from the Federal Emergency...
Cutting the Deficit & Maintaining a Strong National Defense
Last month, Senator Rubio spoke at the Jesse Helms Center on America’s Role in the World. During his speech, Senator Rubio echoed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s warnings that more cuts made to our national defense would be “devastating”. Yesterday, Secretary Panetta spoke at the Wilson Center and again repeated his concerns about potential cuts saying there would be “catastrophic damage” if the Super Committee does not come up with deficit reduction deals.
At the end of this week, the House and Senate committees must all submit their ideas to cut the deficit to the Super Committee. Senator Rubio is not a member of the Super Committee, though he has been active in the discussion of ways to cut the deficit. The Super Committee must step up to the plate and make the necessary cuts, to prevent these devastating defense cuts.
Washington Times: Panetta Warns Of Budgets Cuts Weakening Military
By Ben Birnbaum
October 11, 2011
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/oct/11/panetta-warns-of-budgets-cuts-weakening-military/
Defense spending cuts slated to take place if a congressional “super-committee” fails to reach a deficit-reduction deal would exact “catastrophic damage” on the military, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday.
The Pentagon already faces budget cuts of more than $450 billion over the next decade that were agreed to in President Obama’s July debt deal with congressional leaders.
An additional $600 billion could be cut automatically if the bipartisan super-committee that was created during the debt-ceiling crisis fails to reach an agreement that would achieve $.12 trillion in deficit savings.
“This mechanism would force defense cuts that would do catastrophic damage to our military and its ability to protect the country,” Mr. Panetta said in a speech at the Wilson Center. “It would double the number of cuts we confront, and it would damage our interests not only here, but around the world.”
Mr. Panetta implored members of Congress to help the Pentagon forge a smart, 21st-century defense strategy – a strategy, he emphasized, “that may not always include their favorite base or their favorite weapons system.”
“Congress must be a responsible partner in this effort,” said Mr. Panetta, himself a former congressman. “They have as much responsibility for the defense of this country as we in the executive branch.”
The U.S. military of the future needs to be smaller, he said. But “a smaller, highly capable, and ready force is preferable to a larger hollow force.”
“While some limited reductions [in force structure] can take place, we must maintain the ability to fight in more than one area,” Mr. Panetta said.
He said that efforts begun by his predecessor Robert M. Gates to improve efficiency and eliminate waste are bearing fruit but could “only go so far,” adding that the Pentagon needs to make “hard choices.”
“Given the nature of today’s security landscape, we cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of past reductions in force that followed World War II, Korea, Vetnam and the fall of the Iron Curtain, which to varying degrees – as a result of across-the-board cuts – weakened our military,” he said.