The Defense Department has begun the early stages of planning for sequestration but the Pentagon’s top acquisition official believes Congress will reach a deal to delay the cuts before January, Reuters reports.
Frank Kendall, undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, told Reuters he is optimistic lawmakers can not only delay the cuts but that the White House and Congress can also form a bigger budget deal in early 2013.
Andrea Shalal-Esa writes Kendall addressed a National Contract Management Association conference Monday, saying the Pentagon accepted some risk in planning its fiscal 2013 budget.
The Pentagon has also factored in discussions on Capitol Hill about imposing cuts short of the $50 billion sequester, which would come on top of the $50 billion the Pentagon already required to come off the books, Shalal-Esa writes.
Kendall told the NCMA audience that the Defense Department would have to rethink the kind of department it wants to be if the full cuts kick in.
In September, he told a defense industry conference the Pentagon would have to impose an 11 percent uniform cut across its accounts if the sequester kicks in, with military pay exempt.
