Defense & Intelligence Policy, Business and Technology

Mattis: Budget uncertainty leads to questions of whether America 'has the ability to survive'

Military Times: Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis believes that years of budget uncertainty have left the U.S. military in such a precarious position that if it is not solved soon, it will represent an existential threat to American security.

“If we don’t get budgetary predictability, if we don’t remove the defense caps, then we’re questioning whether or not America has the ability to survive,” Mattis said Sept 20. “It’s that simple.”

Secretaries of defense complaining about budget uncertainty is a time-honored tradition, especially since the enactment of the Budget Control Act in 2011. But Mattis’ comments, made during a keynote at the annual Air Force Association conference, may be the most forceful from a sitting secretary.

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