The chiefs of the U.S. military said they may have to end new weapons programs, close bases and cut civilian personnel as early as next year if Congress allows about $1 trillion in defense cuts during the next decade. The heads of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force, in testimony today before the House Armed Services Committee, joined Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in warning against the reductions.
Analysts Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments /../ in Washington, said if the automatic, government- wide cuts occurred, the fiscal 2013 budget would be reduced to about $472 billion, or the equivalent of the fiscal 2007 budget adjusted for inflation. The number would remain “near that level for the following eight years,” Harrison said.