Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on his support for the Senate budget resolution:

“I support the Senate budget resolution because it provides a path forward on tax reform. I have long supported efforts to fix our burdensome tax system, and hope Congress will produce meaningful reform that simplifies the tax code, strengthens America’s middle class and boosts our economy.

“However, as I have stated, it is my highest priority as Chairman of the Senate Armed Committee to ensure our men and women serving in uniform have the training, equipment and resources they need to do the difficult jobs we ask of them. For too long, draconian budget cuts to the military have crippled readiness and put the lives of our service members in danger. The results we are seeing are predictable, tragic and entirely avoidable. Today, more service members are being killed in routine training accidents than by our enemies in combat.

“At the end of the day, we all know that the Senate budget resolution will not impact final appropriations. To do that, Congress and the White House must negotiate a budget agreement that will lift the caps on defense spending and enable us to adequately fund the military. It is essential that conservatives, who once stood for a strong national defense, finally make an investment in our military that is worthy of the service and sacrifice of those who volunteer to put themselves in harm’s way on our behalf.”

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