Just one day after President Barack Obama said hundreds of billions of dollars in defense spending would be cut over the next 12 years to help reduce the debt and deficit, the Defense Department is already embarking on a âcomprehensive review,â to make it happen.
Obama proposed $400 billion in defense cuts through 2023, extending and widening the Pentagonâs cost-saving efficiencies.
“We need to not only eliminate waste and improve efficiency and effectiveness, but conduct a fundamental review of America’s missions, capabilities and our role in a changing world,” Obama said in his speech on reducing the deficit at George Washington University.
According to a Bloomberg report, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said the department will take a look at âmissions, capabilities and Americaâs role in the worldâ to âidentify alternatives for the presidentâs consideration. This is not just a math exercise.â
Indeed, Todd Harrison, a defense-budget analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, said the kind of savings Obama proposed would require âmore than just efficiencies,â according to Bloomberg.
The $400 billion target will be achieved by DoD holding the defense budget below inflation for the next 12 years, Defense News reports, which likely entails many difficult choices for the department.