House Republican Budget to Replace Defense Sequestration Cuts
March 16, 2012
Government Relations Update - Defense
House Republicans announced on Thursday that the House Republican budget, that is due to be released by Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), will remove defense-spending cuts that were automatically triggered by the failure of the Joint Deficit Reduction Committee. These automatic cuts were mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011. Ryan’s budget is due to be released next week, and is expected to include elements that are similar to the bills previously introduced by House Armed Services (HASC) Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) and Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Ranking Member John McCain (R-AZ). The McKeon and McCain bills replace deeper defense cuts by cutting the federal workforce by 10 and 5 percent, respectively.
Republican members of the congressional defense committees have uniformly vowed to prevent sequestration from taking effect, and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has also vowed to work with Congress to write legislation that will stop deeper defense cuts. President Obama has consistently stated that he will veto any bill that replaces the defense cuts without raising taxes to pay for it. Congressional Republicans have taken a hard line against any tax hikes, and they will need to find another means of offsetting the cuts. Chairman Ryan has indicated that he will look to cut entitlement spending. The chances of the two sides reaching an agreement to stop the deeper defense cuts before they are enacted at the start of FY13 is still very unclear.
McKeon Delivers Major National Security Address at Reagan Library
HASC Chairman Buck McKeon delivered a speech on Wednesday at the Reagan Presidential Library that touched on the various national security challenges that the United States is currently facing including the situation in Afghanistan, the threat of sequestration, and the military’s strategic shift in focus to the Asia-Pacific region. The address was given amidst calls for rapid withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan, and McKeon began his remarks by emphasizing that the United States must show patience and resolve in Afghanistan.
McKeon criticized the Obama Administration and said that it must stop the billions of dollars in deeply damaging defense cuts in order to ensure that the military has the tools it needs to win the current war and deter future wars. McKeon insisted that he will work to reverse the defense cuts and called these cuts deeply damaging to our defense and everyone associated with the military. The overall FY13 defense budget request would provide $525.4 billion in base spending and $88.5 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, representing a decrease of nearly $32 billion from FY12. He made frequent references to President Reagan and past defense traditions and said that, “I will not be a partner to the management of this great nation’s decline. I will not be complicit in the dismantling of the Reagan military.”
McKeon concluded his speech by commenting on the military’s strategic shift to the Asia-Pacific region that was outlined in President Obama’s new strategic guidance that was released this past January. Overall, he said he agrees with the shift in focus but questioned the possibility of its success with major cuts to our marine fleet, aviation, and military personnel. McKeon vowed to strive to ensure that the U.S. military will retain its status as the world’s greatest power.
Navy to Increase its Presence in the Persian Gulf
Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), told the SASC in a hearing on the Navy’s FY13 budget request that the Navy plans to send four additional mine countermeasure ships to the Persian Gulf in order to increase the Navy’s ability to respond to contingencies. The ships will double the number of minesweepers the Navy currently has in the Persian Gulf. About 40 percent of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has said that it will block the primary route of oil exports in retaliation to new sanctions against Iran that were imposed because of its nuclear program.
Admiral Greenert also told the HASC that the Navy will complete its force structure assessment within the next week, and that the ship requirement will probably drop from 313 to 300. Currently the Navy has approximately 285 ships and has not been able to obtain the 313 ship requirement since it was enacted in 2006. He said that current projections have the Navy achieving 300 ships by 2019. Admiral Greenert faced significant criticism from members of the committee for cutting the number of ships while simultaneously shifting the Navy’s focus to the Pacific theatre. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus confirmed during the hearing that the Ford Class aircraft carrier is now projected to cost $1 billion over budget, bringing its total cost to $12 billion, but that it is on schedule to be completed on time.
Next Week on Capitol Hill
Ongoing Intelligence Activities
House Select Intelligence Committee
Full Committee Hearing
March 19, 4 p.m., HVC-304 Capitol Visitor Center; March 22, 9 a.m.
Recent Developments in Afghanistan
House Armed Services Committee
Full Committee Hearing
March 20, 10 a.m., 2118 Rayburn Bldg.
Fiscal 2013 Defense Authorization
House Armed Services Committee
Full Committee Hearing
March 20, 2 p.m., 2212 Rayburn Bldg.; March 20, 3 p.m., 2118 Rayburn Bldg.; March 21, 3 p.m., 2212 Rayburn Bldg.; March 22, 10 a.m.
Fiscal 2013 Defense Authorization: IT and Cyber Operations
House Armed Services - Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
Subcommittee Hearing
March 20, 2 p.m., 2212 Rayburn Bldg.
Tactical Aviation Programs
House Armed Services - Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces
Subcommittee Hearing
March 20, 3 p.m., 2118 Rayburn Bldg.
Iran and Hezbollah Threat Assessment
House Homeland Security Committee
Full Committee Hearing
March 21, 9:30 a.m., 311 Cannon Bldg.
Military Construction, Environmental and Base Closure Programs
Senate Armed Services - Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
Subcommittee Hearing
March 21, 10 a.m., 232-A Russell Bldg.
Fiscal 2013 Appropriations: Defense
House Appropriations - Subcommittee on Defense
Subcommittee Hearing
March 21, 10 a.m., H-405, CLOSED Capitol Bldg.; March 28, 10 a.m., H-140 Capitol Bldg.; March 28, 2 p.m.; March 29, 10 a.m., H-405, CLOSED Capitol Bldg.
Fiscal 2013 Appropriations: Defense
Senate Appropriations - Subcommittee on Defense
Subcommittee Hearing
March 21, 10:30 a.m., 192 Dirksen Bldg.
U.S. Foreign Policy Toward Iraq
House Foreign Affairs - Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia
Subcommittee Hearing
March 21, 1:30 p.m., 2172 Rayburn Building
Fiscal 2013 Budget: Strategic Forces
Senate Armed Services - Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
Subcommittee Hearing
March 21, 2:30 p.m., 222 Russell Bldg.
Situation in Afghanistan
Senate Armed Services Committee
Full Committee Hearing
March 22, 9:30 a.m., G-50 Dirksen Bldg.
Navy Readiness Posture
House Armed Services - Subcommittee on Readiness
Subcommittee Hearing
March 22, 10 a.m., 2212 Rayburn Bldg.
Quote of the Week
“Is this the point where Americans put their privileges and entitlements ahead of their principles? In the latest budget the Administration increased spending in nearly every government department—while the military absorbed massive cuts.”
HASC Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) during his speech at the Reagan Presidential Library on 3/14/12