The Impact of Sequestration on the National Defense

Sequestration is arbitrary and irrational. While we will learn more today about its impacts on our national defense, with sequestration, as with Continuing Resolutions (CR), government shutdowns, and the recurring looming threat of a default on the Nation's debt, we not only fail to sustain our national security, but also fail to meet our shared obligation to protect and promote public safety, health, transportation, education, and the environment. When we allow this to happen, we put at risk much of what we do and stand for as a Nation and we undermine our position in the world. Throughout the 2 years since the enactment of the Budget Control Act (BCA) and its provisions for sequestration, our military leaders have been warning us of its harmful consequences. If sequestration continues, the Services will have to cut Active and Reserve component end strength, reduce force structure, defer repair of equipment, delay or cancel modernization programs, and allow training levels to seriously decline, which will reduce our ability to respond to global crises, thereby increasing our Nation's strategic risk.