Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Thursday welcomed a new push from President Obama to reverse sequestration, including and perhaps especially for the Pentagon.
“I think it’s unanimous, the view that sequestration is a meat ax. It was never intended to be employed,” he told reporters after a panel hearing.
{mosads}“I’m willing to do a number of things in order to prevent sequestration from moving forward,” McCain said, adding he’d been in talks with Democrats on the panel, as well as those on the Senate Budget Committee.
Obama said Thursday that he’s asking Congress to reverse the automatic spending cuts known as sequestration in his annual budget proposal, which will be unveiled next week.
“If Congress rejects my plan and refuses to undo these arbitrary cuts, it will threaten our economy and our military,” Obama said in a blog post published Thursday. “Investments in key areas will fall to their lowest level in 10 years, adjusted for inflation, putting American research, education, infrastructure, and national security at risk.”
The renewed push comes the day after the chiefs of four military branches detailed for lawmakers the toll sequester has taken on their services and issued dire warnings about the choices they would have to make if the budget device was not junked.
Democrats have long argued that sequester should be reversed entirely, while the GOP has dug in its heels that the caps should only be lifted for the Defense Department.
It’s unclear if Obama’s announcement will change any minds, but McCain’s comments indicate willingness to compromise.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement that “the draconian cuts of the sequester have strangled our investments to keep America #1 in the global economy and to ensure our national security.”
“We will continue to champion a budget for the future that strengthens our national defense and invests in the working families who are the backbone of our country,” she added.