GOP proposal would avoid DOD spending cuts. Guess how.
Details of the Republican plan to preserve DOD spending in the era of sequestration aren't clear, but it looks like the workforce is once more on the table.
The budget proposal from House Republicans slated to be released next week won’t include defense spending cuts mandated by sequestration, the National Journal reports. Instead, it may seek to save costs by further squeezing the federal workforce.
It's important to note that that's not certain yet. What exactly the forthcoming Republican proposal includes is not entirely clear – yet. The National Journal reported that the Republican leaders declined to provide more details about their plan. However, the expected cuts would need to be offset in other areas, and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) has previously suggested targeting entitlement spending.
The bill is also expected to integrate some elements of a proposal Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) laid on the table in December 2011. His bill included provisions that would postpone the first-year defense cuts through cuts affecting federal employees.
Some Republican legislators have railed against the idea of slashing $600 billion from the DOD budget over the next decade. Additionally, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta predicted sequestration would create a “devastating doomsday scenario.”
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