Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee estimate the Defense Department will have to cut $60 billion from its fiscal year 2013 budget if sequestration takes effect, according to AOL Defense.That figure represents a 1.9 percent higher amount than the Office of Management and Budget‘s estimates, Sydney Freedburg Jr. reports.
OMB estimates the Pentagon would see a $50 billion cut under sequestration, AOL reports.
According to the report, the additional $10 billion cut comes from what is termed a “second, separate sequestration,” triggered by the failure of the deficit reduction supercommittee and resulting in a reduction in the maximum that can be spent on security-related programs.
Todd Harrison, a budget analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, told AOL that the cap is set and lowered under the Budget Control Act, passed as part of a debt ceiling agreement in summer 2011.
