Congresswoman Chellie Pingree says President is right to focus on keeping a leaner, more efficient strategy

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree welcomed President Obama's proposal today to cut defense spending by nearly half a trillion dollars over the next ten years.

"Clearly we need to rein in defense spending and we simply can't afford to let the defense budget keep growing so fast," Pingree said. "We haven't seen the details of proposed cuts yet, but I was glad to hear him say we need to maintain a strong naval presence, and I'll continue to fight for smart, efficient defense spending for the kind of work that gets done at BIW and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard."

Pingree did say, however, that she is concerned about any proposed cuts to military pensions and the military health care system.

"I don't think defense cuts should fall on the backs of active duty personnel or retirees," she said. "I don't like the idea of changing the military retirement system. The men and women who volunteer to serve our country shouldn't have the rug pulled out from under them at retirement."