DENVER (AP) – Sen. Mark Udall says the national debt is one of the biggest threats to national security that requires cuts to the military budget and finding ways to rein in Medicare and health care spending.

Udall is hosting a national security forum and panel discussion in Denver Wednesday that includes Admiral James A. “Sandy” Winnefeld Jr., vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, former Iraq and South Korea Ambassador Christopher Hill, and Kenneth L. Wainstein, former Homeland Security Advisor and Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the justice department.

Udall says he supports efforts currently under way to find ways to cut some $500 billion from the military budget over the next 10 years while still dealing with threats such as Iran’s nuclear program and upheaval in Syria.

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