In a recent Op-Ed at Defense News “Del Toro’s Case for Funding the Navy and Marine Corps”, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro makes a solid argument for the importance of the Navy and Marine Corps while rightly pointing to Congressional malpractice with respect to the process of resourcing those Services. He is to be commended for this effort, rightly warning of how failing to pass a defense appropriation injects uncertainty into a time of growing insecurity, not to mention the impact of cuts he would be forced to make across the board on priorities of the Services and Congress alike. That said, the Secretary goes too far on one issue, skirts a second, and ignores a third, all of which deserve consideration.
HHS ( mainly medicare/medicaid) take up a large chunk of the federal budget -- on the order of 1.7 trillion I believe. Before cutting those, and braving the angry wave of retirees, how about restoring revenue lost to the 2017 tax cut?
HHS ( mainly medicare/medicaid) take up a large chunk of the federal budget -- on the order of 1.7 trillion I believe. Before cutting those, and braving the angry wave of retirees, how about restoring revenue lost to the 2017 tax cut?
https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/fy-2024-budget-in-brief.pdf
https://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2023/10/11/federal-revenues-after-the-2017-tax-cuts/#:~:text=Figure%203%20presents,released%20this%20week.
Maybe we need a Navy Secretary willing to lay up ships and shut down bases until adequate funds are given, like the Coast Guard Commandant has?