Paul Ryan: 'We don’t think the generals are giving us their true advice' on budget

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) expressed skepticism Thursday that U.S. military leaders were being honest in their budget requests to Congress.

“We don’t think the generals are giving us their true advice,” Ryan said during a forum on the budget sponsored by the National Journal. "We don't think the generals believe their budget is really the right budget. 

He noted that a strategy review of the Pentagon's budget began shortly after President Obama released his budget request.

"So what we get from the Pentagon is more of a budget driven strategy, not a strategy driven budget," Ryan said.

He went on to say that while there were certainly inefficiencies that could be reduced in the Pentagon's budget, fighting wars in the Middle East and a "dangerous world" necessitated keeping defense spending level.

The comments were in response to a question from National Journal managing editor Kristin Roberts, who asked Ryan why the committee chose "to go against the advice of the generals" in rolling back $487 billion in proposed cuts to the Pentagon's budget over the next decade.

The cuts were supported by Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey when the Department of Defense budget was released in February.

"They will not lead to a military in decline," Dempsey told USA Today. "Rather, this budget will maintain our military's decisive edge and help sustain America's global leadership."

After Ryan's initial remarks, Roberts noted that the budget was something that came from the Defense Department itself, not the Obama administration.

"You don't believe the generals?" Roberts asked.

"What I believe is this budget does hollow out defense," Ryan responded. "I believe this budget goes beyond where we should go to keep people safe."

"I think there’s a lot of budget smoke and mirrors in the Pentagon’s budget," Ryan added, saying his proposal was an "honest Pentagon budget."

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