WASHINGTON - Just a few weeks into his tenure as U.S. Secretary of Defense, Ashton Carter is taking the fight against sequestration to Congress. Carter spoke before the Senate Armed Services Committee during a March 3 budget hearing, urging lawmakers to eliminate sequestration cuts that would reduce Pentagon spending by $35 billion in FY16, and by around $155 billion through FY20.

A return to sequestration would not impact all areas of the Pentagon equally. More than one-third of the cuts would come from operations & maintenance, while about half would come from modernization. The DoD is seeking $69.8 billion for RDT&E and $107.7 billion for procurement, and these accounts could be subject to nearly $18 billion in cuts in FY16 if sequestration returns, according to Carter's estimates. The DoD's Overseas Contingency Operations account - immune from sequestration - includes another $7.3 billion for procurement.

Carter also said the Pentagon would be forced to put a hold on programs like the Aerospace Innovation Initiative, the Next Generation Adaptive Engine, a redesigned exoatmospheric kill vehicle for Ground-Based Interceptor missiles, and several space control efforts. In April 2014, the Pentagon released a detailed assessment of how it would respond to sequestration, including details on a number of modernization programs. An updated version of this report is in the works, according to defense officials.

Carter said he won't hesitate to make the necessary cuts if sequestration remains in place come October 1, but warned that adhering to the spending caps cannot be accomplished through incremental cuts. "I will insist that new cuts be accompanied by a frank reassessment of our strategic approach to addressing the threats we face around the world." The Pentagon might have to consider options such as pay cuts, eliminating excess infrastructure outside of the congressional Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, and significant force structure cuts, according to Carter.

Carter recognized in his testimony that he was preaching to the choir. Recently, the leaders of the SASC sent a letter to their colleagues on the budget committee urging them to find a way to eliminate sequestration. Members of the House Armed Services Committee have expressed similar sentiments, though getting appropriators to actually agree on a way to end sequestration is easier said than done. Last month, House Appropriations defense subcommittee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) told Navy officials that his committee would mark up the FY16 bill to adhere to sequestration caps, "barring some dramatic change in course."

Source: Forecast International - International Military Markets
Associated URL: http://www.forecastinternational.com
Author: S. McDougall, North America Analyst