U.S. Defense Boost May Unravel Into a Deep Cut
- Pentagon faces $65 billion in cuts unless there’s an accord
- Mattis warns a stopgap measure ‘just creates unpredictability’
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U.S. national security funding may be slashed by about $65 billion in January as lawmakers forge ahead with a spending plan that collides with a budget ceiling under a six-year-old law.
A $614 billion bill passed by the U.S. House in H.R. 3219 is caught in a political vise: President Donald Trump and most lawmakers want to see increases in Pentagon spending, yet that intention isn’t backed up by an agreement to undo the 2011 Budget Control Act.