Allen raises issue with defense cuts

Republican Senate candidate George Allen went on the attack on the Obama administration today on a key Republican talking point regarding defense budget cuts.

The Obama administration announced last week that it would not meet the Sept. 7 deadline for providing details on how it plans to implement $500 billion in defense cuts scheduled to begin Jan. 2 that were part of the 2011 debt-ceiling compromise agreed to by Democrats and Republicans.

A White House spokesman said the details would be submitted to Congress this week.

Allen, normally critical of government spending, took a different tact with his statement today, decrying the impact of the possible loss of hundreds of thousands of government jobs in Virginia due to the bipartisan budget deal.

“Virginians continue to see Washington fail to take responsible steps to avert the $500 billion in defense cuts that could force hundreds of thousands of Virginians out of a job,” Allen said. “Hard-working Virginia families are depending on these jobs to feed their families, pay for housing and send their children to school. Now Washington is failing to outline how these devastating cuts will be implemented, leaving Virginia employers and workers in the dark for how they should prepare.

“These looming defense cuts are on top of another nearly $500 billion in defense cuts already in President Obama’s budget, jeopardizing our military readiness and national security. Leadership is about setting priorities, and the Obama administration needs to fulfill their responsibility and disclose their defense cuts plan. Virginians deserve responsible leadership in Washington that will establish accountability and reverse these devastating cuts without using hard-working small business owners as bargaining chips for tax increases in a weak economy,” Allen said.

 

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Response from Tim Kaine campaign spokesperson Lily Adams:

“While George Allen continues to play politics with our defense budget, Tim Kaine is the only candidate in this race who has laid out a plan to avoid these harmful defense sequestration cuts and responsibly reduce our deficit. Washington has enough politicians who promote partisanship and ideology over compromise and common ground. Virginians don’t need another in George Allen.”