WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican senators are trying to spare the Pentagon from nearly $500 billion in cuts that will kick in automatically next January because the congressional deficit-cutting panel failed to find a way to reduce spending.
Sen. Jon Kyl is the No. 2 Senate Republican, and John McCain is the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee. They unveiled legislation Thursday to freeze pay for federal workers and cut the federal workforce to produce $110 billion in savings for one year.
It's similar to a bill in the House.
President Barack Obama says he will veto any effort to undo the automatic cuts affecting the Pentagon and domestic programs.
Also Thursday, Virginia's congressional delegation has once again sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, calling for the Department of Defense to reconsider its 2008 decision to homeport a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier at Naval Station Mayport, Florida.
The move would pull a carrier from Naval Station Norfolk.
"As we survey the damage of these cuts, which range from early retirements and delayed procurements of Navy ships, to the elimination of Army brigades, the termination of six tactical Air Force squadrons, and the loss of 20,000 Marines, it is clear that the $500 million to $1 billion it would cost to needlessly move a carrier could better be spent elsewhere," said Rep. Randy Forbes (R-4th D.).
Right now, five flattops are homeported at Norfolk. 6,000 jobs and $425 million in annual revenue is attached to each ship.
Last month, top Navy officials announced a carrier could be added to the West Coast fleet, which means yet another carrier could leave Hampton Roads. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, said Wednesday that the Defense Department needs another round of base realignments and closures if the military is to retain its balance. that he Reserve Officers Association that as the military cuts $487 billion over the next 10 years, infrastructure must change accordingly.
Though some say infrastructure -- bases -- cannot be touched, Dempsey said, the money has to come from somewhere, he said. Dempsey acknowledged that the necessary choices ahead won't be easy, but noted that defense leaders have to make them
AP-WF-02-02-12 1704GMT
