WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called for an end to sequestration, the US budget spending caps, in a Wednesday campaign speech to the American Legion veterans convention in Ohio.
“The sequester makes our country less secure. Let’s end it and get a budget deal that supports America’s military, our families and our country,” Clinton said.
Clinton demanded that more must be done to ensure the United States does not “lose our military edge,” by giving the Pentagon the “stable, predictable funding it needs.”
In an effort to reduce the US deficit, Congress passed a law in 2012 imposing annual budget caps on all defense and non-defense spending in order to cut $2.4 trillion from the budget over the next decade.
US defense officials have regularly testified before Congress requesting relief from the mandated budget sequester.
Clinton’s speech on Wednesday focused heavily on US military strength and “American exceptionalism,” something she said was defined by US leadership in foreign engagements.
