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McKeon: Automatic cuts would hit DoD hard

Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) says the cuts that will occur automatically if lawmakers can\'t agree on cuts to reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next 1...

Federal News Network Staff

September 12, 2011 4:07 pm

< a min read

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee says he’s worried about “gamesmanship” on defense cuts, Defense News report.

Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) says the cuts that will occur automatically if lawmakers can’t agree on cuts to reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years will fall heavily on the Defense Department.

McKeon blames the White House for the situation for making certain that 50 percent of any across-the-board cuts fell on the Defense Department to force Republicans to choose between raising taxes or gutting defense.

The White House could unveil a deficit reduction plan as early as next week.

This story is part of Federal News Radio’s daily DoD Report. For more defense news, click here.