House Armed Services Committee Chairman (R-Calif.) opposes a proposal to authorize top Pentagon officials to decide on which programs would be cut due to sequestration, Defense News reported Tuesday.
John Bennett writes McKeon’s stance rejects the motions of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev). and Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member James Inhofe (R-Okla.) who both endorsed the idea of giving Defense Department officials sequestration flexibility.
Claude Chafin, McKeon’s spokesman, told the publication the lawmaker fears that proposal will only make sequestration harder to resolve.
“He is concerned that contrary to a bipartisan desire to end the defense sequester, flexibility actually makes sequester a likely long-term proposition,†Chafin told Defense News.
The 2011 Budget Control Act mandates dual $500 billion budget cuts to non-exempt defense and domestic accounts every 10 years, Defense News reports.
