Drastic Defense Cuts Would Have Dire Consequences

New Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has been charged with cutting $450 billion from the Defense Department over the next 10 years. In keeping with that goal, the Air Force recently announced a realignment that will ultimately benefit Tinker Air Force Base. Tinker's Air Logistics Center will now become the new single head for Air Force sustainment and logistics, making it one of the military's leading repair and maintenance facilities. The assignment of a sustainment center and 3-star general highlights Tinker's pre-eminent role among air logistics facilities. This is a big gain for Oklahoma and an honor for Tinker.

It's a testament to the importance of Tinker's work and the quality of its workforce that the base has been selected for these vital new tasks. Strong support from the community and the longstanding commitment of Oklahoma's congressional delegation have helped make Tinker a crucial defense asset and a magnet for private contractors.

Tinker has emerged from this process stronger than many other facilities and has great potential to gain additional new missions and jobs in the future As a member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, I will continue to do everything I can to ensure Tinker remains the nation's premier air logistics facility.

While this restructuring creates relatively minor disruptions, the military could face catastrophic cuts if Congress does not pass a responsible deficit reduction plan. Under the terms of the August budget agreement, the Defense Department would face over $500 billion in automatic, across-the-board cuts if the deficit reduction Supercommittee does not produce a plan for spending cuts that Congress will pass.

The nation's military chiefs recently testified before the House Armed Services Committee to explain just how damaging these cuts would be to our military readiness. Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz warned of the "dire consequences" ahead if the defense budget is cut more than $450 billion. Such cuts "cannot be done without damaging our core military capabilities and therefore our national security," Schwartz stated. Marine Commandant James Amos warned that his force "will not be able to do the things the nation needs us to do to mitigate risk."

Adm. Jonathan Greenert, Chief of Naval Operations, cautioned that the cuts would have "a severe and irreversible impact" on the Navy. Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Raymond Odierno, testified that further defense cuts would be “catastrophic to the military and –in the case of the Army- would significantly reduce our capability and capacity to assure our partners abroad, respond to crises, and deter our potential adversaries, while threatening the readiness of our all volunteer force.”

There are plenty of wasteful government programs that would not be missed if they were completely eliminated. However, drastic cuts to the defense budget would have calamitous and long-lasting consequences. It is imperative that members of Congress accept responsible spending cuts in other parts of the budget in order to protect vital funding for the brave men and women who protect us all.