{"id":1930653,"date":"2023-05-14T04:57:54","date_gmt":"2023-05-14T08:57:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/defense-secretary-says-troops-pay-endangered-by-debt-default\/"},"modified":"2023-05-14T04:57:54","modified_gmt":"2023-05-14T08:57:54","slug":"defense-secretary-says-troops-pay-endangered-by-debt-default","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/defense-secretary-says-troops-pay-endangered-by-debt-default\/","title":{"rendered":"Defense Secretary Says Troops\u2019 Pay Endangered by Debt Default"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdefense-secretary-says-troops-pay-endangered-by-debt-default%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1930653&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>          Military pay would become collateral damage if the U.S. government defaults on its debt next month, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                                                                               1\/1                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Skip\u00a0Ad                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Continue watching                                                  after the ad                                                       Visit Advertiser websiteGO TO PAGE                                                        PLAY                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Top Stories                                                                                                                                                                                             by Task &#038; 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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has proposed a plan to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for steep spending cuts, which would reduce the Department of Veterans Affairs budget by 22%.<\/p>\n<p>    President Joe Biden has said that McCarthy\u2019s proposal is a non-starter and his administration will not negotiate over raising the debt ceiling to avoid a possible default.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>    On Thursday, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont,), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, asked Austin how the U.S. military would be affected by a default on the nation\u2019s debt.<\/p>\n<p>     Subscribe to Task &#038; Purpose Today. Get the latest military news, entertainment, and gear in your inbox daily.<\/p>\n<p>     \u201cWhat it would mean, realistically for us, is that we won\u2019t \u2013 in some cases \u2013 be able to pay our troops with any degree of predictability, and that predictability is really important for us,\u201d Austin said. \u201cBut this would have a real impact on the pockets of our troops and our civilians.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>    Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin listens to a question while speaking with reporters after a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at the Pentagon, Monday, May 23, 2022. (Alex Brandon\/AP)    Austin did not specify which troops would not get paid if the U.S. government defaults on its debt. He also did not say whether those troops and civilians would eventually receive back pay.<\/p>\n<p>    Since a U.S. government debt default would be an unprecedented event, the full ramifications for military pay are not yet clear, a U.S. official told Task &#038; Purpose on Thursday. Ultimately, the Treasury Department would determine which government programs would get funded following a default.<\/p>\n<p>    \u201cOur military leaders made it clear today that defaulting on the debt would be devastating for our troops and a win for our foreign adversaries like China,\u201d Tester said in a statement to Task &#038; Purpose on Thursday. \u201cThat is utterly unacceptable, full stop. It is time for Republicans and Democrats to come together to avoid default and deliver a budget that will protect our troops\u2019 pay, makes sure we maintain our military advantage over Communist China, and allows America to maintain our place as the world\u2019s leading economic superpower.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>    McCarthy told reporters on Thursday that the ball is currently in the White House\u2019s court as the clock ticks down to the default deadline.<\/p>\n<p>    \u201cThe House passed a plan that would responsibly raise the debt ceiling \u2013 meaning Republicans have done our part,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cThe House Republican plan limits government spending, saves taxpayer money, grows the economy, and simply authorizes spending levels that the United States was operating off of five months ago. It\u2019s time for President Biden to come to the negotiating table or risk bumbling into default.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>    FILE \u2013 Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks with lawmakers. (Alex Brandon\/Associated Press)    But Rep.Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, said that McCarthy is risking a debt default that would do great harm to military readiness and the Defense Department\u2019s ability to conduct operations at a time when the United States is being challenged by Russia and China while facing persistent threats from Iran and North Korea.<\/p>\n<p>    \u201cIt will inflict injury on the people who serve our country and military families,\u201d Smith said of a possible default. \u201cThat includes impacts to pay and benefits for service members, civilian employees, retirees, and veterans. Investment in critical military infrastructure will be hampered.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>    \u201cPayments to businesses that employ millions of Americans could be limited or delayed,\u201d Smith continued. \u201cThe Department of Defense is the country\u2019s largest employer with over 3.5 million employees. Their pain and the economic loss felt by millions of other Americans will hit every state in the country and ripple around the world.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>    With both sides digging in, there does not appear to be a solution to the debt ceiling impasse coming in the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n<p>    This is far from the first time that service members and their families have faced the prospect of their lives being upended by actions \u2013 or inaction \u2013 of their elected leaders. In 2018, the Defense Department was unable to pay death gratuities to the families of two soldiers killed in a helicopter crash due to a government shutdown.<\/p>\n<p>    FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Capitol Building on March 25, 2020. (Tom Brenner\/Reuters)    Roughly 42,000 Coast Guardsmen later had to work without pay during a much longer government shutdown that ran from December 2018 to January 2019.<\/p>\n<p>    For years, U.S. service members and Defense Department civilians have been used as pawns in the chess match between Republicans and Democrats over taxes and government spending.<\/p>\n<p>    As a result of the 2011 debt ceiling standoff, the Defense Department faced draconian spending cuts known as \u201csequestration,\u201d under which the military branches used accounts for training and maintenance as billpayers and separated experienced service members before they could collect retirement benefits.<\/p>\n<p>    The results for military aviation were catastrophic: Mission capable rates plunged and accidents soared, as did deaths.<\/p>\n<p>    The world situation now is much more dire than it was during the last debt ceiling crisis. The Defense Department has provided Ukraine with more than $37 billion in military assistance, showing that the U.S. military would need a huge amount of artillery shells, rockets, and other munitions in a war against Russia or China.<\/p>\n<p>    Soldiers carry Chinese flag during the opening ceremony of 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, 04 February 2022. (Aleksey Kirchu\/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)    The Defense Department\u2019s budget for next fiscal year \u2013 which Congress has not approved yet \u2013 would invest $30.6 billion in munitions to start a yearslong process of getting the defense industrial base to ramp up weapons production.<\/p>\n<p>    Meanwhile, China\u2019s arsenal of nuclear weapons has doubled to more than 400 warheads, and it is on track to have 1,500 warheads by 2035, a senior defense official told reporters in November.<\/p>\n<p>    In February, an F-22 Raptor shot down a Chinese spy balloon, which had flown across the United States. Sensitive documents that were later allegedly leaked by Airman 1st Class Jack Douglas Teixeira, revealed the U.S. military has encountered three other spy balloons from China, one of which flew over a Navy aircraft carrier group in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n<p>    If the United States goes off the debt ceiling cliff in June, the consequences for the Defense Department would extend beyond pay issues, Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned lawmakers on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>    \u201cChina right now describes us in their open speeches, etc. as a declining power,\u201d Milley said during Thursday\u2019s Senate Appropriations Committee hearing. \u201cDefaulting on the debt will only reinforce and embolden China and increase risk to the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>    UPDATE: 05\/12\/2023; this story was updated with comments from Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee.<\/p>\n<p>    The latest on Task &#038; Purpose     Ukraine claims Russian troops and Wagner mercenaries are fighting each other    Star Wars\u2019 Stormtroopers are a reminder why marksmanship is so important    Marine veteran killed while evacuating Ukrainian civilians from Bakhmut    US Army Special Operations Command has its first female senior enlisted leader     Marine element conducts short-notice air defense deployment to Middle East<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Military pay would become collateral damage if the U.S. government defaults on its debt next month, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on Thursday. 1\/1 Skip\u00a0Ad Continue watching after the ad Visit Advertiser websiteGO TO PAGE PLAY Top Stories by Task &amp; Purpose Video Settings Full Screen About Connatix V268621 Read More Read More Read<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1930654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[5487,15651,3998,26725,5280,3779,9689],"class_list":["post-1930653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-debt","tag-default","tag-defense","tag-endangered","tag-pay","tag-secretary","tag-troops"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1930653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1930653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1930653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1930654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1930653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1930653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1930653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}