There is general agreement that a major role of the government is to provide for our common defense and security. Arguably, looking worldwide, the three threats that stand out are terrorism, global warming and the national debt.

Addressing defense and security, the United States has approximately 800 military bases and active-duty military personnel in nearly 150 countries. Since 2003, according to the website The Balance, we have spent just under $10 trillion on defense, averaging slightly over $706 billion yearly.

n Terrorism: The world is less safe than in 2003. Today, there are more terrorist organizations than we can count spread around the globe. The world is less safe, which makes the U.S. less safe.

n Global warming: Barry Sanders, author of “The Green Zone: The Environmental Costs of Militarism,” says that “the greatest single assault on the environment, on all of us around the globe, comes from one agency … the Armed Forces of the United States.” Steve Kretzmann, director of Oil Change International, reports that information on military-related greenhouse gas emissions “is not readily available … because military emissions abroad are exempt from national reporting requirements under U.S. law and the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.”

n National debt: The current national debt is just under $20 trillion, according to the U.S. Treasury. In fiscal 2016, military spending was 16 percent of our total federal budget and over 50 percent of our discretionary federal budget.

n Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

We need all of our congressional delegation, Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Bruce Poliquin, to provide leadership in promoting a budget that represents American values and actually addresses our defense and security.

Jerry Provencher

Bath