Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has said the Pentagon’s budget is an important tool for the department to deploy mission-ready forces and conduct operations globally, DoD News reported Thursday.
“We need long-term budget predictability and we need the flexibility to prioritize and make the difficult decisions in order to manage our institution more efficiently and more effectively,†Hagel told reporters during a news conference held this week.
Cheryl Pellerin writes Hagel also said the department has reached out to members of Congress over the past year to help lawmakers fully understand sequestration’s impact on defense operations.
He noted that authorization and spending bills passed in December would help the agency execute the White House’s national defense strategies this year, Pellerin reports.
According to the report, Hagel plans to discuss sequestration with two senior senators.
