— That’s how much every Pentagon account – excepts those dealing with personnel – will have to be cut as of Jan. 2 if Congress and the White House can’t come up with a $1.2 trillion deficit-reduction deal before then, according to a new White House report.
That’s $54.7 billion to be chopped from military spending, a number that has been floating around for while. Lawmakers were upset that the report, which they demanded, didn’t spell out how much individual programs would be cut; Pentagon officials said that save for personnel accounts they’ll all be cut by close to 10% so additional detail is no-value-added.
Besides, Pentagon officials say: we haven’t started planning for sequestration yet. Both parties believe a post-election deal to avert the cash calamity is likely.
