{"id":42234,"date":"2021-02-25T18:24:44","date_gmt":"2021-02-25T18:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/02\/25\/us-military-may-sidestep-budget-cuts-backed-by-progressives\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:29:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:29:43","slug":"us-military-may-sidestep-budget-cuts-backed-by-progressives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2021\/02\/25\/us-military-may-sidestep-budget-cuts-backed-by-progressives\/","title":{"rendered":"US military may sidestep big budget cuts backed by progressives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2015 It\u2019s unlikely Congress will make a sweeping, indiscriminate cut to the defense budget, despite economic pressure from the coronavirus pandemic, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2020\/10\/29\/sen-jack-reed-is-thought-of-as-a-quiet-professional-if-democrats-win-the-senate-hell-be-front-and-center\/\" target=_blank>Senate Armed Services Committee chairman<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re going to deal with a much tighter budget going forward, more flat I think than rising, but within that I think we have to make judicious calls about what is worthwhile,\u201d Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., told reporters Wednesday. \u201cAs far as across-the-board cuts, I do think there are more policy pronouncements than there are good policy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Progressive lawmakers are expected to restart a push to slash the Pentagon budget\u2019s top line, set at $741 billion last year. But Reed would be a powerful opponent, likely alongside lead Republicans on the defense panels and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2020\/10\/19\/hasc-chair-adam-smith-on-a-democrat-led-natsec-policy-modernization-goals-and-a-500-ship-navy\/\" target=_blank>House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith<\/a>, D-Wash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The curtain is rising on a budget cycle with some fresh dynamics. Though Democrats control the White House and Congress, their slim majorities in both chambers suggest an alliance of centrist Democrats and Republicans will shepherd defense spending and policy bills into law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Congressional Progressive Caucus, which tried last year for a 10 percent defense reduction targeting everything other than pay, wants to use the money to boost nondefense spending, a category that covers everything from health and education to foreign aid and housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is a top issue for the CPC,\u201d the group\u2019s chairwoman, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., recently told <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/finance\/537921-senate-democrats-likely-to-face-key-test-of-unity-on-2022-budget\" target=_blank>The Hill<\/a>. \u201cThis is a really important moment for us to move forward on cutting out waste, fraud and abuse in the Pentagon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2021\/02\/12\/sen-jon-tester-takes-defense-appropriations-gavel\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18116840878857.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Sen. Jon Tester takes defense appropriations gavel<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A Montana Democratic will chair the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, handing new clout over the defense budget to a state with nuclear weapons interests.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a key player in last year\u2019s effort, which Reed opposed, recently told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=%E2%80%9Chard+look+at+fraud%E2%80%9D+sanders&#038;oq=%E2%80%9Chard+look+at+fraud%E2%80%9D+sanders&#038;aqs=chrome..69i57.2474j0j1&#038;sourceid=chrome&#038;ie=UTF-8\" target=_blank>Politico<\/a> he will use his new gavel to take a \u201chard look at fraud\u201d at the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSpending $740 billion a year on this one piece of the federal budget is unconscionable\u201d in light of the economic damage wrought by the coronavirus, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said at SASC hearing earlier this month. \u201cA budget is about priorities, and we continue to over invest in defense while under investing in public health and so much more that would keep us safe and that would save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the other side of the Capitol, House Armed Services Committee ranking member Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said he wants to see a defense increase of 3-5 percent annually, and vowed to fight against any broad cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">HASC Chairman Smith has said he couldn\u2019t support an across-the-board defense cut without a new strategy to support it. He told Defense News in October that he backs \u201ca center-left, pragmatic approach\u201d to securing a strong military, though he predicted a flat budget \u2015 which is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2020\/09\/11\/biden-not-planning-defense-cuts-but-they-may-come-anyway\/\" target=_blank>what President Joe Biden has signaled he\u2019s planning<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4000\" height=\"2673\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1231376764.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-78085\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1231376764.jpg.jpg 4000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1231376764.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1231376764.jpg.jpg?resize=768,513 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1231376764.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,684 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1231376764.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1026 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1231376764.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1369 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4000px) 100vw, 4000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., arrives to a U.S. Senate Budget Committee hearing regarding wages at large corporations on Capitol Hill, February 25, 2021 in Washington, D.C.  (Photo by Stefani Reynolds-Pool\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Within that top line, Reed \u2015 a day after holding his first hearing as chairman on emerging technologies \u2015 expressed openness to the military finding savings and reprioritizing in favor of equipment, training and research. In that scenario, lawmakers\u2019 parochial interests will have to take a back seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere are legacy systems, which all the services have asked us to eliminate, and there\u2019s certain reluctance because they\u2019re stationed in our home states or they have an impact. So we\u2019ve got to look, and if there\u2019s a tighter budget, we have to look harder,\u201d Reed said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The acquisition program for the F-35 fighter jet, built by Lockheed Martin, will see scrutiny, but Reed demurred when asked if, amid testing delays, he\u2019d oppose Congress\u2019 practice of adding more F-35s to the budget. The Pentagon will tell Congress how many aircraft it needs, and Congress will hunt for efficiencies, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe need to look at the F-35 program, and it goes to engine reliability, it goes to finishing the combat testing and evaluation, which is long overdue,\u201d Reed said. \u201cI think those assessments will play into our decisions about the F-35 because we cannot just sit back and wait much longer for operational testing and full acceptance by the Air Force. We\u2019re very much concerned about sustainment cost, how can we restructure that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pressure from some Democrats has been mounting against the Pentagon\u2019s planned program to replace intercontinental ballistic missiles with the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, a program awarded to Northrop Grumman last year and expected to top $260 billion over its life span.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2021\/02\/22\/pentagon-budget-must-prioritize-the-navy-air-force-and-cyber-lawmakers-say\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/deleware.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Pentagon budget must prioritize Navy, Air Force and cyber, lawmakers say<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Two sea power advocates in Congress are making the case to grow the Navy&#039;s budget, along with the Air Force and cyber capabilities, at the expense of the other services.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Reed said lawmakers would seek savings within B-21 bomber and Columbia-class submarine programs, and he voiced support for the triad of nuclear capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have to modernize the triad and maintain the triad, in my view, for strategic reasons that have been successful for about 70 years,\u201d Reed said, adding that he hopes the U.S. will engage Russia and China in arms control talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Republicans, led by Rogers and Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, SASC\u2019s ranking member, urged Biden and other Democrats in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2021\/02\/11\/how-republicans-might-accept-a-smaller-defense-budget\/\" target=_blank>opinion piece<\/a> Thursday not to pursue \u201cunilateral disarmament\u201d in the face of Russian and Chinese nuclear weapon development efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDon\u2019t forget: back in 2011, it was President [Barack] Obama who began a multi-decade, just-in-time effort to update America\u2019s nuclear forces and revitalize its weapons design and production facilities,\u201d they wrote. \u201cHe clearly recognized that inaction would mean the loss of our nuclear deterrent and the acceptance of risks our country has not had to contemplate in more than seven decades.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While the cost of the nation\u2019s pandemic response is putting pressure on the defense budget, its unlikely Congress will make a sweeping, indiscriminate cut, according to Senate Armed Services Committee chairman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":83458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"4":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"5":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"6":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"7":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"}}},"categories":[44,8,160,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3446],"class_list":["post-42234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-budget","category-congress","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"5HCVLZIC2VAMLAV6WSSWIBB6I4","arc_canonical_url":"\/congress\/2021\/02\/25\/us-military-may-sidestep-budget-cuts-backed-by-progressives\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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