WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta Monday condemned the congressional super-committee's failure to reach a deal on deficit reduction, warning of its "devastating" consequences for the Pentagon.
In a statement, Panetta said the 12-member panel's indecision, which would incur massive defense budget cuts, is "a setback for the country's efforts to achieve fiscal responsibility while protecting our national security."
"If Congress fails to act over the next year, the Department of Defense will face devastating, automatic, across-the-board cuts that will tear a seam in the nation's defense," warned Panetta.
The bi-partisan panel announced earlier in the day they failed to ink a deal to slash 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars over the next decade. As a result, automatic cuts across the board would kick off in 2013.
The automatic cuts, called "sequester", consist of a 600-billion-dollar cut on domestic programs and a 600-billion-dollar cut on defense.
Under the Budget Control Act passed in August, the Pentagon is facing 450 billion dollars worth of cuts over ten years, and Panetta said his department "will move ahead with that plan."
However, he warned the 600-billion additional cuts demanded by sequester would lead to a "hollow force incapable of sustaining the missions it is assigned."
"If implemented, sequester would also jeopardize our ability to provide our troops and their families with the benefits and the support they have been promised."
The Congress still has to reach a deal next year to avoid sequester. Panetta said he opposes any attempt to undo the automatic cuts, and urged Congress to pass deficit reduction at least equal to the 1.2 trillion it was charged to pass under the Budget Control Act.
|
|
