Nearly a year ago, Congress voted to expand the nation’s debt ceiling in order to avoid going into default. The deal authorized a bipartisan committee to find ways to cut $1.2 trillion from the deficit over the next 10 years, but the panel was unable to reach an agreement. The automatic cuts, known as sequestration and including $500 billion to defense, are scheduled to begin in January if Congress doesn’t find other places to cut.
Even though Congressional Republicans voted for sequestration, they're now calling out President Obama for gutting defense, and three very pro defense GOP U.S. Senators – John McCain, Lindsey Graham and New Hampshire freshman Kelly Ayotte, will talk about those potential cuts at CAMLS (Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation) in downtown Tampa next Monday morning.
“President Obama’s own Secretary of Defense called the looming defense cuts under budget sequestration ‘devastating,’ likening them to ‘shooting ourselves in the head,’ and yet to date, Congress and the Obama Administration have done nothing to stop them from going into effect,” said Senators McCain, Graham and Ayotte. “We look forward to visiting communities in Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and New Hampshire to sound the alarm about the profound negative consequences of these cuts to our national security and economy. These communities — which provide our troops the equipment and support they need to defend our country — will bear the brunt of the defense sequestration cuts. Their voices must be heard in Washington.”
This article appears in Jul 19-25, 2012.