Facing Up To Both Defense Sequestration and Deficits

Congress Must Address Both Defense Sequestration and Deficits -- Heritage Foundation

Earlier this week, the Obama White House criticized Members of Congress for examining the effects of the $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts scheduled to kick in next year. Instead, the Administration said it would prefer that lawmakers turn their attention to longer-term deficit reduction proposals. But this is not an either/or situation; both need serious attention.

The automatic spending cuts would gut national defense—a core function of the federal government—slashing the Pentagon’s budget by $492 billion, or 9 percent, over 10 years, as this chart illustrates. Meanwhile, entitlement programs, which are the main driver of current and future spending problems, would sustain just $171 billion in reductions—less than 1 percent.

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My Comment: I suspect that they will find an accommodation and reach an agreement before the election. My prediction .... they will agree to delay the hard decisions until next year. If not .... there is going to be hell to pay in the November elections.