The early skirmishes on the long-term budget debate have been about trimming entitlement programs, like Medicare and Social Security. More quietly, but just as importantly, some Republicans have broached cutting defense/.../"There is a growing divide between the defense hawks and the fiscal hawks (among Republicans), and it is a matter of prioritization,'' said Todd Harrison, a senior defense budget fellow at the nonpartisan Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. "Which do you think is a higher priority right now? Getting our budget in balance or funding defense?''Harrison said that "any real, serious plan to reduce the deficit is going to have to spread the cuts across all the big programs in the federal government, and look at the revenue side.''
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