The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told a Senate committee panel Thursday that budget cuts under the sequestration hurt the U.S. military’s ability to address national security threats, Reuters reported.
David Alexander writes Army Gen. Martin Dempsey remarked about the impact of across-the-board defense cuts during a Senate panel hearing on his nomination to serve another two-year term in office.
“We are already out of balance due to the magnitude and mechanism – not to mention the steep descent – of budget cuts,” Dempsey told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Reuters reports Dempsey called on lawmakers to help address budget uncertainties at the Defense Department.
He also said that military preparedness will continue to suffer if the $52 billion annual cuts to defense spending continue over the next decade.
“We will not be able to find the money we need to achieve the level of sequestration cuts without a dramatic impact in our readiness,” Dempsey added.
