.Gates proposes billions in Pentagon cuts
WASHINGTON – For the first time in more than a decade defined by costly wars in Afghanistan and Iraq , the Pentagon announced plans Thursday to freeze its ballooning budget, forcing the military to shrink the Army and Marines and increase health care premiums for troops and their families.
The Pentagon says it can stop asking for annual budget increases in 2015, adjusting its spending only for inflation. The last time the Pentagon's budget went down was in 1998.
The plan is aimed at helping the nation whittle away at its massive deficit. But the proposal, which requires $78 billion in spending cuts over five years and relies on $100 billion in additional cost-saving moves to cover urgent requirements, is tied to two assumptions: that the war in Afghanistan will end on time and that Congress will agree to cancel popular job-making programs and charge retired military families more for health care.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged that projections about what the world will look like so far in the future have a troubled track record. But the Defense Department is "not exempt" from belt-tightening just because of its charge to defend the nation, he said.
"Looking five years into the future is through a pretty cloudy crystal ball," Gates said. "Any number of these decisions could be reversed."
Although it took Gates more than 30 minutes to read an explanation of the reductions, he called the proposals modest and realistic.
Gone under the Gates proposal: a $14 billion amphibious Marine vehicle, the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, designed by General Dynamics Corp., and a ground-launched missile produced by Raytheon Co. that was to be part of a future combat system for the Army. Much of that money would be invested in other military programs.
In addition, Gates proposed placing the Marine variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, produced by Lockheed Martin, on a two-year probation, giving the company only that long to correct problems in what has turned into the Pentagon's costliest weapons program.
Gates also promised increases in health insurance premiums for retirees still of working age in 2012. He noted that the annual enrollment cost for a retiree in the TriCare system has been $430 since 1995, while premiums for similar insurance for other government workers often were $5,000 a year. He didn't say how much he thought premiums should rise.
Almost immediately the proposal ran into opposition in Congress, including from Republicans who say President Barack Obama is shortchanging the military.
"I'm not happy," said Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., who as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee helps oversee the military budget. "This is a dramatic shift for a nation at war and a dangerous signal from the commander-in-chief."
Dallasnews
The Pentagon says it can stop asking for annual budget increases in 2015, adjusting its spending only for inflation. The last time the Pentagon's budget went down was in 1998.
The plan is aimed at helping the nation whittle away at its massive deficit. But the proposal, which requires $78 billion in spending cuts over five years and relies on $100 billion in additional cost-saving moves to cover urgent requirements, is tied to two assumptions: that the war in Afghanistan will end on time and that Congress will agree to cancel popular job-making programs and charge retired military families more for health care.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged that projections about what the world will look like so far in the future have a troubled track record. But the Defense Department is "not exempt" from belt-tightening just because of its charge to defend the nation, he said.
"Looking five years into the future is through a pretty cloudy crystal ball," Gates said. "Any number of these decisions could be reversed."
Although it took Gates more than 30 minutes to read an explanation of the reductions, he called the proposals modest and realistic.
Gone under the Gates proposal: a $14 billion amphibious Marine vehicle, the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, designed by General Dynamics Corp., and a ground-launched missile produced by Raytheon Co. that was to be part of a future combat system for the Army. Much of that money would be invested in other military programs.
In addition, Gates proposed placing the Marine variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, produced by Lockheed Martin, on a two-year probation, giving the company only that long to correct problems in what has turned into the Pentagon's costliest weapons program.
Gates also promised increases in health insurance premiums for retirees still of working age in 2012. He noted that the annual enrollment cost for a retiree in the TriCare system has been $430 since 1995, while premiums for similar insurance for other government workers often were $5,000 a year. He didn't say how much he thought premiums should rise.
Almost immediately the proposal ran into opposition in Congress, including from Republicans who say President Barack Obama is shortchanging the military.
"I'm not happy," said Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., who as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee helps oversee the military budget. "This is a dramatic shift for a nation at war and a dangerous signal from the commander-in-chief."
Dallasnews
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