Honorable Kelly Ayotte
U.S. Senator, New Hampshire, Republican
Senator Ayotte was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010. She serves on the Armed Services Committee and is the ranking member on the Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee. The following is excerpted from a February 16, 2012, statement during a Foreign Policy Initiative event titled “Choosing Decline: The Meaning of Obama’s Defense Guidance and Budget.” I want to start with a quote today: What seems to have been lost in all this debate is the simple truth of how a defense budget is arrived at. It isn’t done by deciding to spend a certain number of dollars….
