Joe Burton: Check military spending

The May 11 letter “Our illegal war on ISIS” explained how the war on ISIS is both illegal and unconstitutional. The writer noted that the Authorization for Use of Military Force, passed by Congress in 2001 specifically to combat the sponsors of the 9/11 terrorist attack, has been used ever since to justify foreign military operations.

Congress, under both Democratic and Republican leadership, has failed to provide any meaningful oversight of intelligence and military operations. That includes both an honest evaluation of the benefit of those operations to our country and a critical analysis of Pentagon and CIA spending.

The AUMF has outlived its usefulness and should be immediately repealed. The Overseas Contingency Operations account, a Pentagon “slush fund,” should be eliminated from the federal budget. OCO spending exceeds sequestration spending limits, while numerous domestic needs continue to be underfunded.

This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Joe Burton: Check military spending."