Pentagon eyeing cuts in weapons programs(Updated 05:25 p.m.)
2005/11/4
WASHINGTON (AP)
The Pentagon, struggling to pay for a costly war in Iraq, is considering as much as $15 billion (€12.5 billion) in cuts to aircraft, shipbuilding and other weapons purchases as it begins to craft a budget for next year.
Defense analysts and congressional staff say such reductions could hamper efforts to replace equipment worn out in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and outdated Cold War-era weapons systems. Any proposed cuts are likely to set up a fierce battle, as members of Congress _ including majority Republicans _ strive to protect programs that pour millions of dollars and thousands of jobs into their local economies.
Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, said cutting critical programs like the F/A-22 Raptor fighter or the Joint Strike Fighter, a next-generation aircraft, could face resistance.
"Such shortsighted cuts may yield greater budget flexibility now, but will hamper our national security potential far into the future," Cornyn said of possible cuts to funding for both warplanes, which are partly built in Texas.
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John Cornyn and friend.