By Larry Shaughnessy
Sequestration is like the weather in Washington - everybody talks about it, no one likes it, and no one knows what to do about it.
But the Senate has agreed to find out exactly how bad it - sequestration, that is - will be.
Sequestration is the name given the automatic across-the-board spending cuts mandated by Congress if planned budget cuts could not be agreed to.
Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, a vocal critic of sequestration, teamed with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, to offer an amendment passed by the Senate Thursday examining what sequestration would really mean.
Department of Defense officials insist the military has not started planning for the cuts because, as Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has said, the Office of Management and Budget has told them not to. Still, from warnings of sequestration being like taking a "meat cleaver" to the budget, to dire predictions that it would "hollow out the force," the military has tried to warn the effect will be drastic.
The amendment calls on the Pentagon to report by August 15 on the impact of defense sequestration. It also calls on Office of Management and Budget to report within 30 days, and the president to report within 60 days, on the impact of all of sequestration, across both defense and non-defense spending.
"I think this is a strong sign that both sides understand the pain that sequestration would inflict, that both sides believe it is terrible way to cut spending. And my hope is that it will help show both sides that we can and must work together to get a balanced and bipartisan deal," Murray said Thursday morning.
But the amendment won't become law unless the House agrees to it, and if and when that might happen is unclear.
Meanwhile, the uncertainty created by the looming cuts is already making the unemployment problem even worse.
Boeing has cut some jobs because it doesn't know how further defense cuts might hurt its business.
"We don't get into specific numbers, but we've had employment reductions, we've had management reductions and we've had to make facilities decisions," said Chris Raymond, vice president at Boeing's defense, space and security division.
Lockheed Martin has said it has slowed down hiring for much the same reason.
"That, I think, should alarm the American people," McCain said Thursday.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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.well o
cut military dollar billion hundred five a like looks
now look blunder hcr dollar trillion one court supreme the does how
.
CUT ISRAELI AID NOW!!!
We cannot afford to pay for murder...
.
who pays is the question and how
Not a good idea to cut defense funds. The USA needs the advantage to stay ahead as much as possible in the fight against everyone else on the planet. By cutting more funds you are creating a lesser first class military ect. Please do not cut any more funds because we need to know that we are safe from all outside sources.
That's the kind of nonsense DoD would have the gullible suckers believe. They waste far more money than sequestration would cut from their bloated budget. The essence of the problem is that DoD is incapable of managing their budget and will resist reforming their system to the very end. It has become a top heavy ineffective bureaucracy detrimental to national security.
"US against the world"??? I think we need to rethink our model just a little!
I think the DoD would still do just fine with even a 20% cut. They would still be the most expensive military in the world.
Well it took 14 months and now I'm banned from most of CNN....Good Night, and Good Luck America....I'll live only in the internet databases now with over 12,000 comments...
Gives a sh!t.
You should put in a Methane Capture system and do something useful with all that poo...But I don't you meant Poo..
Nobody gives a hoot..
You would know....You were right there watching it all happen, and did nothing, and did nothing afterwards too, but cover up your mistakes...Donald Rumfeld stated 12 different groups and individuals tried to warn of an attack like 9/11/2001...NORAD even had drills like the 9/11 attack, but thought the hijacked planes would come from outside the country...probably from the Atlantic, a hijacked European or Middle East flight..not domestic...Not from our own Airports, our own soil...and never warned our airports, airlines, told our domestic law enforcement agencies...They thought they could handle it....
Nobody was there watching John P. O'Neill...making sure Nobody cared what he was saying either...Nobody cares sits at the right side of The Morning Star...after his fall from grace....and he was cast down to Earth......Nobody cares was always by Morning Stars side..Whispering his message...Nobody gives a hoot.. Like on July 8th 1996 when DIN sent it's warning....loud and clear...no not clear at all...too many symbols...to many double meanings...
Dreamer
Maybe you should just get a new email account, and new screen name...
It does not cost money to organize to find more money for more war when its not your money to start with–you want to fight find the money and take it from someone somewhere not the U.S. or NATO-