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Robert Hale: Pentagon Ready For More Cuts Ahead of March Sequestration Deadline

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Robert Hale

The Defense Department is ready for additional budget cuts as Congress approaches March deadline to address sequestration and the end of the current continuing resolution, Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale Monday.

GovExec reports he  told a panel discussion at the Brookings Institution the automatic sequester would mean a 9 percent cut to the Pentagon’s budget, or $45 billion.

Charles Clark writes the earlier idea of sequestration would have taken 12 percent away from the budget but this new scenario gives the Pentagon less time to implement the cuts.

Traditionally, the Pentagon releases its planned budget in early February but the Office of Management and Budget could decide to delay that announcement, Hale said.

Hale also said the Pentagon could reduce funds in long-term investment rather than wartime operations if Congress gives a specific dollar amount and freedom to choose which areas to cut, Clark writes.

Hale previously said the department could ask Congress for reprogramming authority if the sequester is implemented.

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