House Democrats blast GOP efforts to avoid automatic defense cuts

House Democrats on Thursday panned Republican efforts to
change the automatic cuts to defense spending, beginning a contentious debate that’s set to
play out over the next year.

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Lindsey
Graham (R-S.C.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) said Wednesday they
will propose legislation early next year that would stop sequestration
defense cuts, while House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) introduced
a bill to kill the first year of cuts to both defense and non-defense
spending.

{mosads}House Democrats responded Thursday with a letter signed by 92
members supporting President Obama’s veto threat if Congress tries to avoid the
$600 billion in defense cuts without replacing them.

Just as the debate in the supercommittee stalled over
raising taxes, the fight over changing the defense cuts will be waged over how
to mix spending cuts and raising revenues to cut $1 trillion from the budget.

Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who circulated the letter,
acknowledged that many Democrats agree the automatic defense cuts should be
lessened, but said that new revenues had to be included in the conversation.

“There are folks in both parties who are raising legitimate
questions about what’s the proper level of spending for defense,” Welch said at
a press conference Thursday. “If you want to protect a program, whether it’s
infrastructure or defense, there’s a way to do it. It’s to advocate for an
all-in-it-together approach that includes revenues.”

Sens. Graham and Kyl said Wednesday they believe Democrats would support
their plan to change the sequestration trigger.

But Democrats accused them of trying to go back on a deal
they agreed to in the August deal to raise the debt-ceiling. They said revenues have to be on
the table for any changes to sequestration.

“You can’t protect people who make more than $1 million a
year and protect the Pentagon at the same time,” said Rep. George Miller
(D-Calif.).

The Democrats’ press conference, attended by Miller, Welch, Rep. Chris
Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), was scheduled two hours
before McKeon is set to explain his bill, which would reduce the federal workforce
by 10 percent through attrition to stave off the first year of sequestration
cuts.