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The U.S. military has already contributed more to debt and deficit reduction than any other federal agency. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R–OH), recently sent a clear message ^[2] to the congressional “super committee” charged with producing additional debt reduction plans: The defense budget has already coughed up enough.

Noting—correctly—that members of the military have “taken more than their fair share of the hits” this year alone, Speaker Boehner urged politicians to look elsewhere for savings. This is a welcome acknowledgement by leadership to the entire House of Representatives that defense budgets have not simply just been “on the table.” The military’s spending plans have been drastically cut ^[3] over the past three years.

Unfortunately, too many Members of Congress and the American public are unaware of the defense cuts of the past several years and their consequences, including job losses for highly skilled workers in the shipbuilding, defense, and aerospace production workforces.

Now that the Speaker of the House has drawn a clear line in the sand against additional defense cuts, the pressure is on for Congress to focus its efforts exactly where they belong: reforming the Big Three entitlements ^[4].