Sequestration’s self-inflicted wounds

In a recent Washington Post op-ed, former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta discussed the “mounting evidence that the sequester is doing serious damage to our defense, our society and our economy.” He outlines how the cuts are affecting defense readiness and argues that lawmakers should avoid “political gridlock” and take action. Two recent Hamilton Project papers propose strategies to create greater efficiency in the U.S. defense budget while maintaining our national security: “National Defense in a Time of Change,” by retired four-star Admiral Gary Roughead and Kori Schake, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, and “Making Defense Affordable,” by Cindy Williams of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Williams proposes measures for sustaining a strong military while reducing future annual defense expenditures, mainly through addressing growing internal costs in the defense budget and reshaping military forces in a way that reduces future budgets while preserving strong and ready military capabilities. Roughead and Schake propose restructuring the force to improve the military’s ability to respond to modern challenges, making military procurement of assets more efficient and competitive, and creating benefits packages more in line with troops’ preferences.