Senators Prepare to Battle Against Military Spending Cuts

McCain, Graham Hint at Tax Hikes as Alternative

Though Congress is not expected to formally address the controversial issue of allowing the automatic defense spending cuts (sequestration) until after the November election, a number of hawks are laying the groundwork for efforts to bypass the cuts.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta termed the possible cuts, which would bring military spending back to 2007 levels, as an “disastrous” conclusion, and demanding that Congress “find the money” to avoid it.

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R – SC) and John McCain (R – AZ) have even raised the prospect of “revenue increases,” a euphemism for tax hikes, as an alternative to allowing their favorite military programs to suffer even a modest cut.

Graham in particular has been pushing the idea of tax hikes since last summer, and while that would be politically disastrous for most Republicans, there may be less resistance after the November vote.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.