Republican Christie urges end to budget caps, higher military spending

[May 19, 2015]  By Emily Stephenson and Luciana Lopez
 
 WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who is considering a bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, urged Congress on Monday to abandon its budget caps and boost defense spending.

Christie criticized spending limits required by the 2011 Budget Control Act, which Congress passed to bring federal spending under control and end a political standoff over raising the government debt limit.

His remarks on the budget caps are at odds with the views of many fiscally conservative Republicans on Capitol Hill who say the automatic constraints enacted four years ago have helped reduce the country’s budget deficit.

Speaking in New Hampshire, Christie urged more money to buy ships for the U.S. Navy and state-of-the-art planes for the Air Force.

"We need to work harder to keep our edge. We need to invest in building the military of the future," he said.

Christie also called on Congress to extend the USA Patriot Act, the controversial counter-terrorism law that underpins the government's program to collect Americans' phone data.

He joined a group of hawkish Republican lawmakers such as Senator John McCain who say the Patriot Act is needed to protect Americans and should be extended without conditions.

By contrast, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, a 2016 Republican presidential contender, is a leading voice of opposition to an extension of the Patriot Act. Paul has vowed to do all he can to block it.

Without an extension, provisions of the Patriot Act that allow bulk collection of phone data would expire on June 1.

While he has not formally announced a White House campaign, Christie has made numerous appearances in New Hampshire, which holds one of the Republican party's first presidential nominating contests.

He has made a series of speeches to highlight his policy ideas, including plans to curb spending on Social Security and Medicare.

The governor has faced political turmoil in New Jersey, where two former Christie allies were indicted and another pled guilty to charges related to a 2013 scandal involving a massive traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum and Andrew Hay)

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