Intelligence chief: Federal debt is 'dire threat' to national security
Source: The Hill
BY SYLVAN LANE - 02/13/18 02:24 PM EST
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats warned lawmakers Tuesday that failing to curb the national debt could jeopardize national security.
Coats, testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he’s concerned that the U.S. government’s “increasingly fractious political process particularly with respect to federal spending is threatening our ability to defend our nation, both in the short term and especially in the long term.”
Coats’ warning comes days after President Trump signed a bipartisan budget deal with a $300 billion increase in federal spending tied to a short-term bill to fund the government through March 23. The bill also suspended the debt ceiling, the federal limit on how much debt the U.S could hold, until 2019. Trump also rolled out his fiscal 2019 budget on Monday, which doesn’t balance within ten years or eliminate yearly federal deficits.
Fiscal hawks have raged against Republican leaders, which they say abandoned their pledge to curb irresponsible federal spending. Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have praised the budget deal for adding billions in what they consider crucial defense spending.
Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/finance/373647-intelligence-chief-federal-debt-is-dire-threat-to-national-security
= new reply since forum marked as read
