Senator Coons says U.S. cannot "write another blank check for war"

In December, Coons introduced an amendment to ensure U.S. pays for war against ISIS

Coons pledges to once again introduce amendments to ensure U.S. pays for combat operations

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) pressed Secretary of Defense Ash Carter on the Administration’s position on paying for combat operations against ISIS at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the Obama Administration’s draft Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) on Wednesday.

At the hearing, Coons also pledged to introduce amendments to the federal budget and any AUMFs considered during this Congress to ensure the United States pays for the fight against ISIS.

“The two post-9/11 engagements added literally trillions of dollars to our nation’s debt, so I think we cannot write another blank check for war. We have to pay for it. It’s not just fiscally responsible, it’s morally responsible,” said Senator Coons.

“In the last Congress I introduced an amendment to the AUMF that was debated and considered, and I will do so in this debate and consideration and also in the upcoming budget process,” Coons added.

In December, Coons introduced an amendment to a separate AUMF draft, which was then under consideration by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that said “any funds made available for activities authorized by this joint resolution should be fully offset through reduced spending, increased revenue, or both.” 

A full transcript of Senator Coons’ exchange with Secretary Carter is below:

Senator Coons: “Thank you, Chairman Corker. I want start by thanking General Dempsey and Secretary Carter and Secretary Kerry for your service, for your testimony and for your engagement with us today.

“We recently heard the tragic news of 11 service members - four soldiers, seven marines - currently missing, and I believe presumed lost in a training accident at Eglin Air Force Base.

“I just think it’s worth a moment of prayerful reflection for the enormous sacrifice that they have made - and their families - the loss they’re facing. Dover Air Force Base will be the place to which those families now go and their remains return.  I think all of us who are contemplating the undertaking we’re about to authorize, that I pray we’re about to authorize, is one that will involve a great deal of sacrifice across many countries and many years.

“A question I wanted to raise is about who bears the cost. In addition to the men and women of the armed forces and their families, I think we need to be putting on the table in our conversation about authorizing the conflict against ISIS the financial cost. General Dempsey was right to raise concerns about DOD’s budget for maintenance of effort across many different fields.

“The need to pay for this war is, for me, a central concern.

“Going back to 1961, President Eisenhower said that America ‘could choke itself to death piling up military expenditures just as surely as it can defeat itself by not paying enough for protection.’ We have used a combination of either spending cuts or increased revenue to pay for every conflict before the 2003 Iraq War and the two post-9/11 engagements added literally trillions of dollars to our nation’s debt, so I think we cannot write another blank check for war. We have to pay for it. I think it’s also not just fiscally responsible but morally responsible.  It engages every American in bearing the cost of the conflict.  I’m aware this is not directly in the purview of this committee, but I think it’s the responsibility of all of Congress. 

“I am intending to renew this conversation. In the last Congress, I introduced an amendment to the AUMF that was debated and considered and I will do so in this debate and consideration and also in the upcoming budget process. 

“I wondered if any of you cared to comment on behalf of the Administration on an amendment that would call for a temporary war surtax that raises revenues, or one that is a mix of raising revenues and cutting spending, to off-set to cost of the conflict against ISIL. Secretary Carter, I’ll start with you.

Secretary Carter: “You’re raising a very important question. My own view is that that question is not best associated with the Authorization for the Use of Military Force, although it’s a very important question. The AUMF principally covers the kind of campaign required, and the support and authority of the President to engage in that.

“With respect to the expenditures, we are in a situation - and Chairman Dempsey referred to this, and I believe the State Department is also, in terms of its own budget – of one in which we’ve had year after year of turmoil, which is disruptive, which is wasteful, which causes all of us – and I think this is probably true in the State Department budget and any of my other colleagues - to have a very difficult time managing appropriately and efficiently. So that’s a very important problem and I appreciate your attention to it and agree with what you said.  This is now, I’m offering a view off the top of the head here, I think that that is best dealt with and needs to be dealt with, but best dealt with in another way than by incorporating the funding situation into the AUMF. 

Senator Coons: “Thank you, Mr. Secretary. The point I’m simply trying to raise, is that at the same time that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs raises appropriately, enduring budget concerns. As a former member of the Budget Committee myself, I feel uncomfortable that we continue to use OCO contingency funding for more and more reach and more and more functions and I’d like to see us take on, perhaps in other committees, the responsibility of clearly shouldering the responsibility of paying for this, and not just asking for sacrifice from those who wear the uniform.”