DoD Spending Could be Source of Compromise in Debt Limit Negotiations

In the continuing deficit-cutting talks, surrounding if and how Congress will vote to authorize an increase in the debt ceiling, The Washington Post reported recently Republicans and Democrats may have eyed a slice of the budget pie they can agree needs to be cut: military spending.

As the debt-limit drama comes down to the wire (the current limit expires Aug. 2), congressional dealmakers are turning to this seemingly unlikely area of compromise, The Post reports.

The Post quoted top Republicans endorsing Pentagon pruning as a simply a new economic reality — one without any “sacred cows” of spending.

On the one hand, there are pronouncements like Rep. Barney Frank’s (D-Mass.), who called defense spending “damaging spending.”

“Many of us believe it does more harm than good to our people and to our reputation in the world,” he said, according to The Post. “If we can get $100 billion from reducing unneeded military spending, that’s better than $100 billion in taxation.”

However, soon-to-retire Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has warned of the specter of across-the-board defense cuts, saying they will lead to a hollowing out of the nation’s armed forces.