Michael O'Brien, NBC News
Mitt Romney said his fellow Republicans were wrong to agree to a deal last summer that included a series of automatic cuts to defense spending in exchange for an agreement to raise the nation's debt ceiling.
The Republican presidential nominee said in an interview airing Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that GOP lawmakers made a "big mistake" in signing off on the deal, which prevented a U.S. default on its borrowing obligations.
"I thought it was a mistake on the part of the White House to propose it. I think it was a mistake for Republicans to go along with it," Romney said.
That deal included a series of automatic cuts, including $55 billion in cuts to defense spending, set to take place automatically in January. The automatic cuts, known as the "sequester," were designed to be so politically distasteful so that lawmakers would have an incentive to reach some alternative compromise. But they reached no deal, and the sequester looms just a few months on the horizon.
Congress earlier this summer passed a bill requiring the Obama administration to detail how these defense cuts would be implemented if they do go forth, and the president signed it into law. That deadline passed this week without the required report, and Romney pounced.
"The president was responsible for coming out with specific changes they'd make to the defense budget. It was supposed to have come out this last week. He has violated the law that he in fact signed," Romney said. "The American people need to understand how it is that our defense is going to be so badly cut."
As for the GOP presidential nominee, he said he would maintain defense spending at the current gross domestic product (GDP) level.
"Well, I want to maintain defense spending at the current level of the GDP. I don't want to keep bringing it down as the president's doing," he said. "This sequestration idea of the White House, which is cutting our defense, I think is an extraordinary miscalculation in the wrong direction."
Leave a Comment:
The security of any nation is founded on the security of every individual in that nation, we have work long and hard to make that a reality even though there are those who resent helping out their neighbor. Our military is just a small part in a the nations security infrastructure and so are entitlements and education and health and food/water safety, transportation, roads, bridges, railroads, airports. When you talk national security your talking about a big pie. All these pieces need to be serviced to be a secure nation. Do not think you can ignore or pick and choose and still be free it does not work that way. Just because or gun is bigger does not mean you can read the instructions on how to use it or can transport to a place where it can be used. You must broaden you knowledge so you can see the whole and quite picking at the pieces.
Thank you! Well put!
Please everyone, vote! No matter your preference! That is what all of this is about!
Like I've always said Romney is a F&*$#@! LIAR followed by Ann and Ryan.
Idiot!
Balance the budget....blah, blah, blah. That is the biggest bunch of bunk that the Republicans continue try to sell the American public. Republicans are bigger spenders than the Dmocrats by a lot!
Exactly why do we have this sequester situation Mitt? Who walked away from a plan to reduce the budget because it also raised some taxes on the wealthy? Mitt? I can't wait for you to explain that during a debate.
cutting military budget cuts into defense contractors profits. this increasing military budget is romneys' way of creating new jobs. we can look for romney to figure out a new war to send your sons and daughters to fight in. making more coffins for war dead may also be his plan for ''new jobs'' he'll get us into another war and that you can count on! if romney is elected he'll ruin this country --
OMG that's his plan, WW III and restart the draft, those 12 million jobs are in the military, guess he figures on a lot of casulities.
in rommey sreech in virginia today he stated our navy had fewer ships than in 1917.does that mean we should build 35 battleships at 10s of billions each that can be sunk by 1 missile by 1jet from 1 carrier that has more fire power than all the 1917 fleet.mr.rommey should note our number of ships is up since the president took office,and because of technology and science we can protect more with less.i forgot the repulicans don't believe in science
Maybe no one has informed him about World War ll. And Pearl Harbor. This man's lack of any military or foreign affairs, tends to make Sarah Palin look good. Even his choice of Ryan shows how stupid he is, didn't he learn from McCains mistake, I guess he missed that lesson too, Shows he has little in history, either current or in our past.
Ryan agreed with the cuts. Is he wrong also?
Kill, kill, kill! The American Way!!
Not all americans are that way only Republicans
aww, is Romney disappointed with that new pool boy he hired already? Bad Paulie, bad bad bad.
Don't let Mitt and he GOP full you they only want to protect the military contracts.
It was a busy week for the President as I recall. Still has to read all the reports on security every day, visit the climate change disaster sights, give dynamite speech at convention. Running the country and a great campaign at the same time and even remembered to thank the members of the armed services unlike Mr. Romney at his convention. I am sure if he is required to submit the report it will be forthcoming, unlike the tax returns that harbor ammunition, that will not be forthcoming. Give me a break, the defense lobby must be getting nervous and badgering Mr. Romney.
In the guns and butter debate Mitt is all for guns and profits for producing and selling them, and having the consequences of wars; but butter for the needy is all too much. Great plans, Mitt.
Moron!
50 billion is pennies in the defense budget. What is the total defense budget like 800 billion or a trillion? that's a 5% cut.
They can accommodate that by simply eliminating waste.
The U.S. military budget (approx. 660 BILLION a year) is larger than the next 20 largest military spenders COMBINED! Believe it or not, I think we can cut some of that and not significantly compromise our safety.
If one of the few instances that the House actually reached an agreement with the rest of the government was a mistake then what do you call the way they spent the rest of their time?
OVERPAID!
I hope on Meet The Press David Gregory ask him why he won't release his taxes. It wouldn't have anything to do with the probe into equity firms and Bain by NY's Attorney General?
He won't. I'm sure the questions were vetted before the interview and only questions Romney wanted asked were asked.
I hope he asks him anyway and then watch walk out, you know he won't release those Tax Returns they would show that he is a corporate raider and a TAX CHEAT!
Thats why he doesn't want to release his Tax returns
Why don't you educate yourself about Obama, and go see the move 2016 Obama's America, then decide who you want to vote for. It is very interesting .. not full of crap like the Democrat's want you to think. It scared me, and sorry Bubba it is fact!
movies why should i watch a film.
I can read
whats scare me is someone who beliefs in kolob,
lost tribes, and golden tablets
You folks know why he is saying this? Corporations that make military defense contracts products are lining his COFFERS. We spend 700 times more then any other country in the world on Defense? I am for a strong military, but one needs to dry a line. Old school Russia went under spending far to much of there MONEY on defense.
It is a refreshing and totally uncharacteristic bit of honesty that Romney acknowledges that it was GOP brinksmanship that created the sequestration deal. If you recall, that obstructionist strategy also cost the USA a drop in credit rating. Ryan would have blamed it entirely on the Democrats, despite his own role in the problem. That is because Ryan is incapable of telling the truth or being honest. When confronted with taped footage in which he blamed Obama for a plant closing that occurred before Obama was in office, Ryan refused to admit he had misrepresented the facts.
In this instance Romney admits both parties cut a deal that he now considers ill advised. What he DOES NOT say is how he would have done things differently. Again, leadership is not just whining and complaining about what someone else did, it is about demonstrating intelligence and vision by suggesting constructive and viable alternatives. [No, trickle down tax cuts to the rich is NOT viable, as it has proven not to work]
To put things in context, remember that Romney is proposing more in military spending than the Pentagon is asking for, and the Pentagon ALWAYS asks for more than the military needs. So despite the rare show of honesty, Romney is still wrong on the substantive policy.
Romney needs to finish the debate with himself on defense spending... just like foreign policy because it's yet another critical issue that Mitt doesn't know if he's against it or for it.
Take a look at the voting records of Congressional Republicans. Of course they don't want Defense cuts. It affects their Districts, their Voters and their re-election chances. The Republican Senators are trying to push through a jet and a mobile vehicle that have enormous cost over-runs and have been struck down by the Secretary of Defense as not needed. Anyone out there look at the record of the Defense Departments outrageous cost blunders need only look as far as the Republicans in Congress, who they are and what they vote for that suits them. Republicans are worse than Cancer and Aids to this Country.
Romney wants to expand the military! The same military he dodged with school and mormon commitments. WE ARE IN BIG TROUBLE IF HE IS ELECTED!
The Bishop spent 2 1/2 years in the best bordellos in Paris, dodging the war.
That is funny a Bishop of the Mormon Christ want to be President of the United States. WOW
Who ever votes for this guy is beyond stupid.
Lunaticstupididiottroitor
So now Mitt is swinging the gloves with his GOP supporters, including his running mate Paul Ryan who was part and parcel to the agreement that Mitt is complaining about. Oh boy.
Instead, Mitt seems to suggest that it would have been better if the U.S. had defaulted on it's borrowing obligations. His stance is eerily similar to what Bain Capital did after buying up companies, loading them up with debt, then the businesses defaulted on their payment obligations, so Mitt closed them down then he exploited the U.S. tax code to line his pockets with millions of dollars.
Americans don't want or need this sort of vulture capitalism in the WH.
yep
I hope Obama wins in November and lets the sequester take place automatically. Then congress can go to work and maybe Obama will have the balls to veto any spending bills or tax cuts that are NOT PAID FOR. We all may suffer but they have to find ways to pay for the things we want to do even if it means we all pay a little more and give up a little. We must grow the economy my making good investments. Cut the Corporate Welfare to the rich OIL companies and use that money for infrastructure, health or education. There are lots of things we can do. As Clinton said, "it's just arithmetic."
Sorry Haliburton, your days of living on welfare are over.
Thank goodness Derek is also a fake.