Ominous Shadow

By Thomas Duffy / April 16, 2012 at 6:41 PM

The Defense Department would have to begin planning by mid to late summer for the possibility that the sequestration trigger to last year's congressional budget plan may kick in if Congress and the White House cannot reach a deal to avoid it, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told reporters during a press briefing today.

The sequestration trigger would result in about $500 billion in defense budget cuts over a 10-year period.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta agreed with Dempsey and told reporters that by mid summer the Office of Management and Budget will have to give DOD and other government agencies some indication of how they should plan for sequestration. The "shadow of sequestration" is already looming within the Pentagon, Panetta said, adding that the defense industrial base is particularly worried.

Panetta said he has not met one member of Congress who doesn't think sequestration is a bad idea. Pointing out another budget issue, Panetta said that as Congress reviews the department's fiscal year 2013 budget request, it is working in a zero-sum game. The Obama administration has forwarded six program cancellations as part of the budget request and Panetta said the department would have to find $9.6 billion in savings "from other areas" if Congress rejects those cancellations.

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