The Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin said it's up to Republicans to compromise when negotiating a deficit reduction plan during the lame-duck session of Congress, which could begin shortly after next month's general election.
"They would rather protect the wealthiest among us than protect defense. That's what it comes down to," he said during a campaign stop in downtown Tampa on Wednesday.
Levin was in town to promote President Obama's commitment to veterans. According to Congresswoman Kathy Castor, who joined the Michigan senator, tens of thousands of veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts reside in the Tampa Bay area .
Levin spoke about how Congress will avoid sequestration, the $1.2 billion automatic budget cuts divided between domestic and defense spending that could take effect unless Democrats and Republicans come to a deal by the end of the year.
Sequestration was created by Congress (and not just the president, which is what Republicans like Paul Ryan have alleged) in the summer of 2011 as a backstop if negotiations on how to reduce the deficit fell astray.
This article appears in Oct 11-17, 2012.