Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., says the Pentagon requires a further quarter of a trillion dollars over the next five years than the amount it will get unless sequestration is repealed, the Washington Examiner reports.
"What this means is that, over the next five years, our nation must come up with $250 billion just to pay for our current defense strategy and our current programs of record," McCain said at a hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday.
"Just to do what we are planning to do right now, which I think many of us would agree is insufficient to meet our present — let alone our future — challenges."
The four services chiefs agreed that the Budget Control Act of 2011 imposed spending constraints that prevented future readiness and the ability for the military to maintain our armed forces' combat capability. They further agree that the U.S. military will be unable to respond to future threats and defend the country under sequestration.
"To mitigate the risk of deploying an unready force into future combat operations, the Army [is] fully funding and prioritizing readiness over end-strength modernization," Gen. Mark Milley, Army Chief of Staff, said in his testimony.
"In other words, we are mortgaging future readiness for current readiness."
According to Milley, the Army is unable to pursue vital modernization programs just to keep front line troops combat ready.
"The only thing more expensive than deterrence is actually fighting a war, and the the only thing more expensive than fighting a war, is fighting one and losing one. This stuff is expensive. We're expensive. We recognize that, but the bottom line is it's an investment that is worth every nickel."
"In short, we lied to the American people," McCain said. "The Budget Control Act and sequestration have done nothing to fix our national debt.... And what's worse, the people we have punished for our failure are none other than the men and women of our armed services, and many other important agencies."
Republican candidate Donald Trump has called for an end to sequestration. The Defense Department's Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy, thought to be a candidate for Secretary of Defense should Hillary Clinton win the election, called for an end to Budget Control Act caps on Wednesday, according to The Hill.
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