Join us for a candid conversation with Congressman Tim Burchett as he tackles the complexities of military spending and budget issues in Washington, and delves into the influence of the military-industrial complex with a frank and insightful perspective. Tune in for an engaging dialogue that sheds light on the inner workings of government spending, the need for greater accountability, and the impact of these issues on both national and international stages.
Listen to the full interview with Congressman Tim Burchett here
CHUCK WARREN: The world is full of various hot spots right now from North Korea acting like North Korea, China, Ukraine, Israel, terrorists in the Middle East, and these all… I’m a hawk, you’re a hawk but before we get into what you think needs to be done on these we have a budget problem in Washington and we have a large military budget and we want to see it to be used correctly to protect our country and our freedoms but at the same time we keep giving more and more money to the military and they can’t account for what 500 billion a trillion dollars what do we do?
CONGRESSMAN TIM BURCHETT: $5 Trillion
CHUCK WARREN: $5 Trillion. What do we do?
CONGRESSMAN TIM BURCHETT: We start electing people with some guts.
First of all, both parties just throw in with the military industrial complex.
I’ve called them war pimps.
It’s whatever you want to call it. And they’ve never passed an audit. This last time they failed the audit, we rewarded them, I think with 20 or 30 billion additional dollars. I forget the amount. And it just, it just never ends.
And you have people that are financially gaining from those things. You saw where our missile defense system we sent to Ukraine, then we had to replenish ours; of course, people on those committees, both parties, own stock in those companies, and it’s public record.
It’s public record and it’s just not natural for these returns people are getting on their investments in Congress and you know, you got greed, you’ve got power, which is what the Pentagon sees. They just want more power is all they want. And the way they do it is keeping us in these endless wars, and they’re doing a pretty good job of it.
CHUCK WARREN: Is there an appetite in Congress for two things?
One, to audit where the military spending has been going the last decade.
And two, is there an appetite to just ban any stock trading while you’re a member of Congress?
CONGRESSMAN TIM BURCHETT: Well, I’d vote for that. I always tell people I have a $7,000 portfolio in mutual funds that’s managed by my friend Tommy Siler there in Knoxville. So I’m not on the tip of the fiscal, the financial spear, I guess. We don’t come for money. We’re public educators, for goodness sakes.
But there is some. It’s a joke. They’ll pass it in the House, maybe, and it wouldn’t come up in the Senate or vice versa. It’s just a joke.
Again, 20 million conservatives decided to stay home last time because of a mean tweet, and this is what we got. It’s not so much the White House, it’s just down the line, you know, from Congress to Senate, local school board races, and that’ll just continue.
And the other side just laughs at us because they know the game and we don’t play it very well.
CHUCK WARREN:I think that would be called Paper Tigers.
Listen to the full interview with Congressman Tim Burchett
About our guest
U.S. Representative Tim Burchett is an East Tennessee native who grew up in Knoxville. He lives in the Gibbs Community of Knox County with his wife, Kelly, and their daughter, Isabel. Rep. Burchett took office in January 2019, after serving eight years as mayor of Knox County. Thanks to natural growth and good stewardship of taxpayer dollars, his administration was able to build new schools, launch infrastructure projects, and pay down debt—all without raising taxes. Prior to his tenure as Knox County Mayor, he started a successful small business before serving 16 years in the state legislature, four years in the State House followed by 12 years in the State Senate. Rep. Burchett currently serves on the House Committees on Oversight and Accountability; Foreign Affairs; and Transportation and Infrastructure. During the 117th Congress, Rep. Burchett sponsored 23 bills and cosponsored 201 pieces of legislation in the House of Representatives, three of which were signed into law by President Biden.
