Advocates for limited government are hopeful that the debate between the White House and House Republicans, who are fighting to marry spending cuts to an increase in the debt limit or borrowing authority of the United States, will result in reform of government spending programs.

They’re right to hope for fiscal change. There is no doubt that our debt has become a national security crisis. Americans have recently witnessed the collapse of some smaller banks that caught financial officials and investors alike off-guard. A debt crisis may trigger a similar government-wide economic crisis with dire consequences for the U.S. economy if the government can’t pay its bills.

However, though a default on the debt could be catastrophic, ignoring our long-term debt challenges is a time bomb that may be even more calamitous for our economy. Republicans understand this and are studying every aspect of government spending to find savings, including defense spending. To be sure, the Pentagon budget is not immune, but the core function of defending America should not be cut. As a matter of fact, we might need to increase the budget for certain functions because of recent challenges coming from our adversaries.

Finding savings in the defense budget that make our military stronger might seem impossible, but it’s not. Policymakers need only look to the 2023 Congressional Pig Book , a study put out annually by Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), to find unnecessary programs in the Pentagon budget that do little to nothing at all to enhance America’s defense capabilities. For example, Congress likes to hide funding for medical research in the Pentagon budget because they know it is difficult to cut defense spending. The problem is that unrelated medical spending takes away from the resources needed to defend America by making the military stronger.

Another area of Pentagon savings can be found within the transition of Air Force refueling tankers. The military branch has been reportedly considering moving from the CK-135 Stratotanker and KC-46 Pegasus to a next-generation, European-made aerial refueling system (NGAS) that would be serviced by an American company. Changing to a new tanker will add cost, and allowing foreign companies to build the tankers could lead to inefficiencies during necessary repairs and maintenance. Sticking with the American-made KC-46, on the other hand, will save money and help the Pentagon find some savings.

There are other areas outside of the Pentagon budget that, if cut, would likewise reduce wasteful spending and the mismanagement of American priorities. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has pointed to government-funded “woke” scientific research.

“Instead of allocating critical funding towards important research efforts like Cancer Moonshot or the BRAIN Initiative, the NIH is using its $47.5 billion budget to fund initiatives and put forward messaging that caters to President Biden’s progressive base. These actions call into question the institutional integrity of the agency,” Rubio said recently.

Congress could also save tens of billions by committing not to bail out the United States Postal Service over and over again, as it has in recent years.

Similarly, Sens. James Lankford (R-OK) and Rand Paul (R-KY) put out annual reports on waste in federal spending that are loaded with programs in need of abolition. All those ideas should be used to find savings in the discretionary spending side of the federal budget ledger.

With debt limit talks in high gear, members of Congress must show the public that they are serious about tackling America’s debt crisis. They should work toward fiscal reform instead of coming back every few years for an increase in the credit limit, while at the same time funding the core aspects of government that will protect America from foreign threats.

Andrew Langer is the president of the Institute for Liberty.