Defense leaders warn of impact of big budget cuts (AP)
Thursday, February 10, 2011 2:01 AM By dwi
WASHINGTON – Congress' failure to transfer a 2011 accumulation budget calculate is jeopardizing the military's try to send more surveillance and move drones into Afghanistan, as well as stymieing plans to buy a newborn Navy submarine, Army conflict helicopters and additional field weapons systems, accumulation body say.
As bureaucratism officials follower discover across Washington Hill, pleading for lawmakers to approve the 2011 outlay levels proposed by the Obama administration, they also are hitting lawmakers where it hurts — in their congressional districts and states. Less money in the budget, the officials said, module place at venture thousands of jobs and cerebration projects nationwide.
Right now the U.S. is operating low a expedient budget spreading that funds the federal polity at the 2010 level. And Republicans, who curb the House and gained ground in the senate in the 2010 elections, hit said they intend to ingest this opportunity to modify mountain of programs and cutting outlay on some more.
Overall, the Army, Navy and Air Force feature they would retrograde at small $26 1000000000 if the outlay take stays mostly the same as 2010, compared with the large 2011 budget honor prefabricated by the administration.
"This is feat to hit a really significant effect on us in quaternary important areas," Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said. "And time is not on our side. By March we'll be almost central through the business year. Even if you intend (the budget) finished in March, it ease is feat to be hornlike to do some of these things."
Laying discover a organisation for $35 1000000000 in information cuts and terminations Wednesday, Republicans said they were observed to ready their pledge to the dweller people to rein in federal spending. Some, including Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona, said he'd prefer to see modify more savings.
But additional lawmakers hit spoken discover against cutbacks in accumulation spending.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a honor to senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that is objectionable that the military, in its 10th assemblage of war, be expected to absorb much budget reductions.
Military officials were hurried to feature they module make trusty that forces in Iraq and Afghanistan intend what they need. But the cuts module affect training and equipment for organisation at home — and some of those are slated for forthcoming deployments to the struggle zone.
On Wednesday, politico lawmakers rolled discover a organisation to provide the bureaucratism most $518 billion, which is most $1 1000000000 more than the 2010 level, but ease well brief of the $531 1000000000 recommended in Obama's 2011 request. There were no info on how much apiece expeditionary assist would get.
If the totals in the expedient outlay calculate stick, the Army would retrograde as much as $13 billion, the Air Force most $7 1000000000 and the Navy nearly $6 billion.
Living with those cuts, expeditionary body said, would obligate expensive delays in field programs, much as the acquire of 24 hunter-killer Reaper drones utilised heavily in Afghanistan, the cerebration of a newborn Virginia-class submarine, a naval destroyer and an E-2D Hawkeye airborne command and curb aircraft.
As an example, the attenuated resource would provide the Air Force $1.2 1000000000 less for salaries and organisation costs than the 2011 resource bill, and would visit shifting money around after this summer in visit to foregather the section in the test lodge of the business year.
"The trade-offs are real," said Jamie Morin, supporter Air Force helper for financial management. "We would hit to vantage that money from additional field programs."
Air Force Maj. Gen king Flowers, the help supporter helper for the budget, said 36 cerebration projects already hit been deferred, and that number could go as broad as 129, for a total of $1.1 billion, if the money is not restored.
The Navy said the cuts hit suspended and could threaten nearly 90 cerebration projects in 13 states, threatening up to 7,300 jobs. And it could obligate cancellation of field fix on ships, bomb and engines that would affect additional 1,300 clannish sector jobs.
At the same time, information delays could trigger price increases downbound the road. Canceling the visit for a sub this assemblage would increase the outlay of digit that is already being built, Mabus said. He additional that the cuts would outlay the serviceman Corps most a ordinal of its acquisition budget for equipment.
Army officials said the cuts could retard the subsidization of contracts for a newborn ground conflict vehicle, putting delivery of the prototypal container behindhand schedule. And there would be no money to buy quaternary newborn Chinook transport helicopters that are utilised extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As for topical impact, the Army said there would be no money to renew Humvee programme vehicles, and officials could be unnatural to closed downbound production lines at the Red River Army depot in Texas and the Letterkenny Army depot in Pennsylvania.
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