Cartwright joined the commanders of U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Transportation Command and U.S. Southern Command during a hearing on the fiscal 2008 National Defense Authorization Budget request.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: STRATCOM: Safe, reliable deterrence critical

Lewis said members of his committee are "dead serious" about national defense and have had significant input into the budget process in the past.

CNN: Rumsfeld, House panel spar on defense budget

As the national debate over proposed reductions in the U.S. defense budget continues to intensify, the Center for Security Policy convened a senior-level roundtable discussion to address one of the most controversial programs for which funding is being sought by the Bush Administration: the B-2 bomber.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Roundtable Discussion On The B-2 Bomber

Across-the-board caps or freezes as proposed by some leading bipartisan groups are convenient for political budget cutters, but they are a bad way to wring savings out of national defense.

FORBES: The Pentagon Is The Wrong Target For Deficit Hawks

What really accounts for our federal budget is Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, defense, interest on the national debt, and then everything else, from national parks to the environmental -- the EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Holds a Town Hall in New Hampshire

But budget austerity measures have not deterred South Korea from maintaining its commitment to its National Defense Reform 2020 plan, put in place in 2005 and revised last year by President Lee Myung-bak to enhance military capabilities, improve efficiency and build a military force prepared to meet 21st-century global challenges.

WSJ: South Korea and Japan's Diverging Strategies

Most of the budget is Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, defense spending, and interest on the national debt.

WHITEHOUSE: Promoting Jobs and Growth Through Innovation

As a practical matter, the federal budget would basically amount to whatever is left in entitlements, defense spending, and interest on the national debt -- period.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Speaks at the Associated Press Luncheon