The following is a written statement by Ms. Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense on the adoption of the Frank-Mulvaney amendment to hold defense spending at FY12 levels, saving more than $1 billion.

Washington, DC ‐ The House sent a clear message by passing the Frank-Mulvaney amendment to freeze the Pentagon budget. In the face of massive deficits, defense spending isn’t sacrosanct. This major victory for taxpayers marks the first time since 1998 that Congress has taken a step towards reining in runaway defense spending, which has more than doubled over the past decade. It also demonstrates a turning of the tide away from reckless budgeting toward the more responsible, efficient approach we need to bring down our trillion-dollar deficits. Finally, it demonstrates the importance of bipartisan cooperation to tackling our fiscal problems. Taxpayers for Common Sense joined arms control groups, tea party organizations and everything in between to support the amendment. This broad support sends a signal to lawmakers that taxpayers are serious about stopping wasteful spending across every federal agency.