US military ordered to prepare for fiscal 'perfect storm'
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday ordered the US military to "prepare for the worst" and take cost-saving measures as it faces the threat of potential deep budget cuts. The steps include scaling back maintenance, freezing civilian hiring and delaying some weapons contracts, Panetta told a news conference. The US military's vast budget is the by far the largest in the world, with proposed spending for fiscal year 2013 of roughly $614 billion, and will remain so -- despite what Panette dubbed a "perfect storm of budget uncertainty." "We have no idea what the hell is going to happen," he added. "All told, this uncertainty, if left unresolved by the Congress, will seriously harm our military readiness." The uncertainty stems from Congress's failure to adopt a defense budget for the current fiscal year 2013, its inability to resolve a stalemate that could trigger massive cuts and a looming crisis over the country's debt ceiling. If lawmakers fail to approve the Pentagon's proposed budget for 2013, the department will suffer an $11 billion cutback to funding for operations and maintenance, he said.
