Robert Hale, Defense Department comptroller, remains hopeful that Congress will reach a deal to reduce the federal deficit and avert sequestration, he told Defense One in an interview published Monday.Stephanie Gaskell writes Hale described three legislative scenarios as a new round of across-the-board spending cuts loom, including that fiscal compromise.
Hale also said Congress could restore discretionary funding or scale back the proposed $52 billion cut to defense budget, according to the report.
“I don’t want to lose our sense of optimism. I still hope sometime over the next few months that we will reach some kind of agreement,” Hale told Defense One.
Gaskell writes the Pentagon is planning how to execute its fiscal 2014 budget as President Barack Obama requested $527 billion for defense, the continuing resolution allocates $496 billion and the Budget Control Act mandates a $475 billion spending cap.
Hale added he believes sequestration already hurt military readiness, training and modernization.
“We are trying to keep in mind the strategy in every way that we can, but we have meet some of the legally binding budget targets,” he told Defense One.
