SPENDING: Military wrong priority

I was pleased that President Obama budget proposals sent to Congress include some areas where he could work with Congress to meet the needs of the nation. But I’m very disappointed that the president is trying to find common ground by increasing the Pentagon budget at the expense of other programs vital to our country. The United States currently spends more than the rest of the world combined on the military.

The Pentagon wastes more money in a year than many other cabinet agencies have to spend. While the president’s budget provides close to $600 billion for the Pentagon — returning that agency to sums spent at the height of the last war — many families are still having a hard time bouncing back from the recession. Instead of approving the president’s request for $600 billion on the Pentagon and wars overseas, I hope my members of Congress, Senator Crapo and Senator Risch, will work to shift more money back into our country’s infrastructure, making our bridges and highways safer, creating more high paying jobs and benefiting every American.

DONNA NORDSTROM

Hayden