WASHINGTON ­– U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) will be in Nevada on Monday for “Preserving America’s Strength,” a town hall-style meeting highlighting the devastating impacts of the looming defense cuts now scheduled to take place under budget sequestration in January 2013.

The United States Senators representing Nevada, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) and Senator Dean Heller (R), have also been invited to participate.

This week in Columbia, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Adjutant General Robert E. Livingston, Jr., Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom, and Graham discussed the devastating impact sequestration will have on our state. (Related: http://bit.ly/MmH1Ln, http://bit.ly/NL581Q, http://grnol.co/MmHbSQ)

Graham also led a two-day tour across South Carolina this summer visiting military installations and meeting with local community leaders warning of the severe, negative impact of sequestration.  He noted South Carolina is home to some of the finest military installations in the country and our state’s contributions to national defense -- through military bases and training facilities, defense contractors and other civilian support -- are an estimated $13 billion a year. (Related: http://youtu.be/ZLTw884eWLk, http://bit.ly/Ojm577 , http://youtu.be/3VDnwkrmHfg, http://youtu.be/6kEhn8UbQEk, http://bit.ly/OjlQZU, http://bit.ly/Ojmerb, and http://nyti.ms/L6UHVM) 

Graham will be joined in Nevada by Senators John McCain (R-Arizona) and Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire).  The three senators, all members of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, will discuss how the cuts will weaken American national security, put one million jobs at risk, and break faith with the men and women of our Armed Forces and their families. The Department of Defense has already agreed to reduce defense spending by nearly $500 billion over ten years. The additional military spending cuts called for under sequestration would add another $500 billion on top of that figure.  Monday’s visit is the latest in the senator’s “Preserving America’s Strength” town hall series, which included events last week in Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, and New Hampshire.

“The first priority for the federal government is to provide for our nation’s defense,” said Graham.  “As we enter into a time where fiscal austerity has gained greater importance, we must ensure that we continue to provide our military with the resources to meet our national security needs.  While we must ask the military to do more with less, we cannot, and should not, ask them to bear a dramatically disproportionate share of the burden. Unfortunately, that is exactly what is happening under sequestration.”

Monday, August 13, 2012

WHO:

Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John McCain (R-AZ) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)

WHAT:

Town Hall Meeting highlighting impact of looming defense cuts

Media Availability following event

WHEN:

Monday, August 13, 2012 – 3:00 p.m. PDT

Press set-up time – 2:30 p.m. PDT

WHERE:

College of Southern Nevada – Cheyenne Campus

Telecommunications Auditorium

3200 East Cheyenne Avenue