This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, April 1, 2009 - Missouri's most conservative Republican in Congress -- U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, R-Town and Country -- has a commentary in the Washington Times today, where he outlines what he says are dangerous defense cuts by the Democrats.
The timing of Akin's article is particular striking, because it comes on the same day that national Republican congressional leaders are unveiling an alternate federal budget that they say is less costly than the one proposed by President Barack Obama.
As yet, it's unclear how the proposed GOP budget would treat the defense projects that Akin says are being wrongly targeted for cuts.
In particular, Akin raises concerns about North Korea's latest announcement of a planned launch of a missile it says has the capacity to target the U.S.:
In 2008, House Democrats cut missile defense funding by 10 percent. Fortunately, Senate Republicans were able to restore about half of that funding, but the cut slowed the development of our missile defense system. In 2009, with a Congress that is even more liberal and without a president willing to fight for the importance of missile defense, we can expect to see similar cuts.
In the face of threats from Iran and North Korea, it is the constitutional duty of Congress and the administration to “provide for the common defense.” We must not allow rogue nations to threaten us with ballistic missiles when the technology exists to protect our country from them.
