Thornberry: Sequester ‘needs to be solved’

The incoming chairman of the powerful House Armed Services Committee is warning of looming budget cuts and urging lawmakers to find a solution for sequestration.

“Obviously that’s a big issue. [The] Armed Services Committee cannot solve that problem, but it needs to be solved and so working with others we’re going to do our best to try to solve it,” Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) told reporters Wednesday.

{mosads}The sequester budget caps are due to return in fiscal 2016 and could cut billions of dollars from the Defense Department unless lawmakers act.

Thornberry made his comments immediately after the House GOP conference backed him to head the Armed Services panel. The House Republican Steering Committee named him to the post on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Thornberry said in a statement that he would consult with colleagues in the coming weeks to “hit the ground running in January.” 

The Texas lawmaker on Wednesday said he did not have any “top priorities” yet, but saw “areas of emphasis” to focus on over the next two years.

“Of course there has to be areas of emphasis but right now you got to worry about getting organized and kind of basic stuff,” he added.

“Our job is not to manage the day to day tactical use of the military, it’s to help provide the capability that military needs to deal with a huge array of threats into the future,” he continued.

Thornberry refrained from naming specific weapons program that he intended to review.

“You’d like to say all of them,” he joked.

“Probably in January we’ll talk more about moving forward,” Thornberry said.