The National Debt is slightly under $20 trillion. It is one of our major security threats, along with terrorism and climate change. No one believes that the U.S. can sustain this continually rising debt without changes in how we spend taxpayer dollars.

Treasury records show more than $10.5 trillion spent on the military since 2003.

Defense spending is not based on a comprehensive strategy, has not had an Authorization for Use of Military Force since 2002, and never been audited. Major defense acquisitions in 2015 had costs overruns of $468 billion, as reported by Deloitte, a defense contractor for consulting and auditing. Internal Defense Department audits have shown $25 billion in waste, per year, due to inefficiency. The Pentagon cannot account for billions of dollars in cash and weapons in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Congress is looking to increase military spending in 2018 by a massive $70 billion, without a strategy, audit, or congressional accountability, while representing American taxpayers?

Elected members of Congress work for us. We need U.S. Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins, and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Bruce Poloquin to take leadership roles in how our tax dollars are spent.

Jerry Provencher
Bath