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Debt Deal Super Committee Must Have National Security Expertise

Statement by AIA President & CEO Marion C. Blakey

August 02, 2011

President Obama and Congress deserve praise for reaching a deal to avert disaster today. However, we are concerned by the requirement for additional defense cuts negotiated by a proposed bipartisan “super-committee” of 12 members of Congress.

Additional deep cuts to defense would leave the military unable to invest in the technology that has always provided U.S. troops a superior battlefield advantage. It would most likely preclude the modernization of equipment worn out by a decade of war. And it would weaken the defense industrial base that is responsible for thousands of high paying jobs and billions of dollars in exports.

It is essential that the super-committee includes bipartisan representation from the Senate and House Armed Services Committees as well as the Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittees on Defense. We will need thoughtful, knowledgeable members on the committee who understand the impact of defense reductions on the nation’s future national security capabilities.