The Pentagon unveiled a $496 billion base budget on Tuesday that shifts the United States from its war-footing for the first time in a dozen years, cutting the size of the military to pay for training and new weapons systems in an era of tighter spending. The budget sets the Obama administration on a collision course with Congress by seeking to eliminate popular older weapons and reform military compensation while proposing an additional $26.4 billion in military spending to be paid for by closing tax loopholes and cutting mandatory spending.
It drew an immediate negative reaction on Capitol Hill, with US Representative Buck McKeon, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, expressing "dismay about the shrinking might of the military reflected in this budget," and noting that Russia and China were arming at "an alarming rate." The department's base budget for the 2015 fiscal year beginning in October would remain essentially flat for a third consecutive year as the Pentagon tries to comply with a congressional mandate to reduce projected spending by nearly $1 trillion over a decade.
The White House said Pentagon's funding levels would enable the military to protect US interests and execute the country's updated defence strategy, albeit with "somewhat increased levels of risk." The risks "would grow significantly" if higher budget cuts go into force in 2016 and beyond as planned, it said. Analysts said the true level of defence spending would not be known until the Pentagon releases its war-funding request for 2015 in coming months.
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