he would extend Obama administration's current plans of building two attack submarines a year to three submarines a year, and would split the current co-production of submarines into two independent operations. Romney singled out the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey as a program that would require "very careful inspection", however he pledged to ramp up production of jet fighters. According to Suzy Khimm, writing in The Washington Post in mid-2012, the Obama administration's 2013 budget would have had defense spending go from about 4.5% of GDP in 2012 to about 3% of GDP in 2013. Romney, by contrast, called for setting a defense spending floor at 4% of GDP. In September 2012, Romney said that he would like to maintain the current level of defense spending relative to GDP. Deficit Romney (like several other Republican candidates) signed the "cut, cap and balance" pledge, under which an increase in the federal debt ceiling would be contingent on major cuts in spending, caps on spending, and a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Romney opposed the Budget Control Act of 2011 that was passed to resolve the United States debt-ceiling crisis as part of a deal struck between President Obama and congressional leaders, including his future running mate, Paul Ryan. Romney later criticized Obama for failing to specify the true impact of the resulting sequestration, as required by law. Energy and the environment During Massachusetts governorship Romney's positions on energy policy and environmental protection regulations shifted from his time as governor of Massachusetts to his campaign for the presidency in the 2012 election. As a candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 2002, and later as governor, Romney prioritized policies that would promote energy conservation and reduce environmental pollution. He said that he was "absolutely committed" to renewable energy and that "I think the global warming debate is now pretty much over and people recognize the need associated with providing sources which do not generate the heat currently provided by fossil fuels." Campaigning for the governorship, he argued in support of measures such as imposing higher taxes on SUVs to help reduce auto emissions and conserve energy; revitalizing urban neighborhoods using fees charged to developers for cutting down trees in suburban areas; and doubling the rate of cleanup of brownfield lands. In his first 100 days in office as governor, he proposed expansion of the beverage container deposit law (bottle bill), a switch by state