In one of his last major speeches before retiring as secretary of defense, Robert Gates argued that everything was “on the table” to achieve the administration’s mandate to find $400 billion in additional spending cuts to national defense.

He said the fiscal pressure we face “could mean taking a look at the rigid, one-size-fits-all approach to retirement, pay and pensions.” I disagree with the secretary and the administration when they propose cutting $400 billion from defense spending over the next decade to solve what is a much broader fiscal crisis.

While I believe we must closely scrutinize every defense dollar we spend, I also believe that the right way to defend our country is for the Department of Defense to fully explain the risks we face and for Congress to work with the Pentagon to determine what we need, how much we can afford and the risks associated with those decisions.

Simply proposing a certain amount to cut is not the right way to provide for the common defense of the United States. While the administration is free to make proposals regarding changes to the compensation of our brave men and women in uniform, they must also be prepared to answer tough questions regarding those proposals.

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I work hard to make sure we set the necessary policy and provide the necessary funding to provide for our national defense and take care of the men and women who are serving and have served our nation.

Ultimately, I will continue to ensure that active duty, reserve and retired members of our Armed Forces have my full support and continue to receive the compensation and benefits they deserve as they fight the wars of today and deter the threats of the future.

Just last month, the House of Representatives passed the annual defense policy bill, that National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2012 with my support. This bill included the following commitments to our men and women in uniform:

* Providing a 1.6 percent across-the-board pay increase for members of the armed forces in 2012.

* Addressing the problem of the “widow’s tax” by allowing surviving family members of military men and women killed in action to receive compensation from both the Survivor Benefit Plan and the Death and Indemnity Compensation.

* Allowing the Department of Defense to make modest increases to Tricare enrollment fees while it also caps DoD’s ability to increase fees beyond cost-of-living adjustments in the future.

* Adding a statement that Congress recognizes that career military members make extraordinary sacrifices to protect freedom for all Americans and those decades of service and sacrifice constitute pre-payment of the bulk of their premiums.

RANDY FORBES represents Western Tidewater in the U.S. House of Representatives. For contact information, see http://randyforbes.house.gov.