Senators to announce legislation blocking additional Defense budget cuts

A group of pro-military senators soon will roll out legislation to void additional Pentagon budget shrinkage.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) on Tuesday predicted that the group could announce the legislation as soon as this week.

The bill would wipe out $600 billion in Defense cuts, and make budget reductions from other areas of the federal budget, Ayotte said during a news conference in Washington.

The Defense cuts are scheduled to happen through a process called sequestration, which would be set in motion if Congress fails to cut $1.2 trillion by month’s end — the same task the supercommittee failed to complete.

Ayotte said her group feels it must act “early” because it will take time for the Pentagon to wisely make the new cuts after a previous round of $350 billion in cuts is enacted.

Ayotte said fellow Republican Sens. John McCain (Ariz.), Jon Kyl (Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.), along with Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) are involved in crafting the measure.

She predicted that the “grave consequences” of deeper DOD cuts will allow the group to “build a bipartisan coalition” big enough to void sequestration.

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