Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is “not pleased” with the defense authorization bill passed by the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) earlier this week and is hopeful that as the budget process moves forward lawmakers will recognize the tough choices that need to be made, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said Friday.
HASC rebuffed cuts proposed by the Pentagon for fiscal 2015 to some high profile programs, moves defense officials say are aimed at saving money in an era of reduced defense spending. The Pentagon is seeking to retire the Air Force’s fleet of A-10 close air-support planes, as well as the U-2 spy planes. The Pentagon and Navy also wanted to take 11 cruisers out of service to save money in the short term while placing the ships under long-term modernization.
The committee rejected all of those proposals. Its version of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2015 demands the Air Force keep the A-10s in storage rather than retire them, blocks the use of funds to retire the U-2s, and permits the Navy to enter modernization for only two cruisers while requiring the service to keep all of them active.
Kirby did not speak to specific programs but said that overall Hagel was not happy with the HASC bill.
“I could tell you that the secretary was certainly not pleased by the House Armed Services Committee’s markup of the budget,” Kirby said. “He firmly stands by, resolutely stands by, the budget that we submitted because it was strategic in tone, because it was tied to a defense strategy that made sense … for the kinds of things we’re going to face while accepting very real fiscal realities.”
The HASC authorization bill outlined $496 billion in baseline spending for fiscal 2015 and another $79 billion for overseas contingency operations. It is expected to go to the full House for a vote by the end of this month. The Senate Armed Services Committee has yet to produce its version of the legislation.
Kirby said that as Congress continues to deliberate the 2015 defense bill the Pentagon is hopeful that Senate and House lawmakers reach agreements that reflect placing “national security first over parochial interests.”
“This is the first step in a process here and (Hagel) is hoping that as it gets into conference that Congress will prove willing to make the same kind of tough choices that he has made,” Kirby said.