Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff US Army General Martin Dempsey (l.) and Army Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno testify before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Defense Department proposals relating to military compensation, on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 6. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Military Budget: Four Ways US Lawmakers Are Blocking Pentagon Cost-Cutting -- Anna Mulrine, Christian Science Monitor
The Pentagon is under pressure to cut the military budget but is facing push-back from members of Congress on issues ranging from pay rates and force size to weapons and base closures.
The Pentagon is under considerable pressure to cut spending, but while top defense officials and military analysts are in general agreement about where those cuts should be, Congress often balks. Lawmakers face pressure from lobbyists, after all, to keep expensive weapons programs going, particularly when they bring money and jobs to congressional districts.
As the defense budget comes up for debate on Capitol Hill this week, the House Armed Services Committee has already voted to block many of the cost-saving measures proposed by the Pentagon. While the committee’s proposed bill moves to the House floor for debate, the Senate Armed Services Committee is taking up its own version of the defense budget.
White House officials have threatened to veto any legislation that forces the Pentagon to keep allocating funds for costly weapons systems at the expense, they say, of keeping troops well-trained.
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My Comment: The next round of budget cuts are going to be brutal .... and as a result .... expect the politics to be just as rough. This is also an election year .... and my gut is telling me that Democrats are going to be in trouble from this part of the electorate (i.e. military/defense industries/etc.).
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