Pentagon Needs Resources to Implement US National Security Strategy

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US Congress needs to approve the Pentagon’s 2016 budget and end sequestration in order to provide the military adequate resources to achieve President Barack Obama’s National Security Strategy (NSS) objectives, US Department of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a statement on Friday.

“President Obama and I are urging Congress to end sequestration and approve the defense budget we have submitted for Fiscal Year 2016 — so that we preserve our ability to execute our national security and defense strategies, and maintain the military superiority necessary to underwrite America's global leadership for decades to come,” Hagel said.

The Pentagon stands ready to execute Obama’s national security strategy, which makes clear that a strong military is the bedrock of the US national defense, Hagel stated.

“The strategy wisely calls for drawing on all the sources of our national power — including the unrivaled strength and resilience of America's economy, diplomacy, and military, as well as our values — to strengthen and sustain America's global leadership,” Hagel said.

The Obama administration said it wanted to eliminate sequestration, which called for automatic defense budget cuts of 10 percent until 2021, resulting in $487 billion in cost savings.

The Pentagon is strongly opposed to sequestration, arguing in a 2014 report that defense budget cuts will pose challenges to military readiness and modernization.

On Monday, Obama submitted a $3.9 trillion budget to Congress that includes over $560 billion in spending on national security, $38 billion above the sequester budget caps. Defense spending has declined from its peak of nearly $700 billion in 2010, according to Pentagon data.