Mr.

President,
Im Senator Al Franken, and I rise today to talk about the Defense Spending Redistribution Act,
Bill #1-2015 for the Finance Committee.
Our nation has a proud, honorable, military tradition, and I have always been proud to do my
best to support our veterans. Thats what I want to talk to you about today. The focus, the aim,
the end goal of this bill is to provide our nations veterans with the support they deserve. 12% of
our homeless, according to a 2013 estimate, are veterans. Through the VA, and through other
similar services, we can help support them. However, this action does not come without costs.
Costs to our production of excess weaponry, which some perceive as essential to the defense of
this country. Costs to our ability to act with ease against distant nations. Costs that we perceive
as to our self-defense. That may well be. These actions may find our nation utterly defenseless
in a time of crisis.
Ive been on seven USO tours overseas, and have constantly and consistently been amazed by
the positivity, the energy there. I know not all of my audience members agree with my politics,
but it is the greatest audience I could have asked for. These people are phenomenal people,
and we should do our best to help them.
The first action proposed by this bill is to withdraw from Europe 40,000 American troops. The
hundreds of overseas bases held by the U.S. are by and large remnants of the Cold War, relics
of a time of much greater hostility and hazard. As our role in the Middle East winds down, these
support positions are no longer so critical to our security, and can easily be repurposed by the
nations which have had that land for centuries. This is not an idea that I came to lightly. The
balance between supporting our active military and supporting our veterans is a careful and thin
line.
That said, there are some decisions that do come lightly. Reducing the amount of unrequested
and undesired weapons on the part of the Pentagon is one of those. These people are
professionals. Shouldnt we trust them to know what they need to do their jobs? We dont tell
doctors that they should upgrade their scalpels, we expect them to request the materials they
need. We give them courtesy as professionals who take their work seriously, and we should do
the same for our military. The question Id like to leave you with is does our strength stem from
military might, or from compassion to our fellow human beings?