Ashton Carter Pleads for a Way out of Sequestration

“I very much hope that we can find a way to the out of the wilderness of sequester. Sequester is risky to our defense. It introduces turbulence and uncertainty that are wasteful. And it conveys a misleadingly diminished picture of our power in the eyes of friends and foes alike. I’m not familiar with the details of the 2016 budget submitted just a couple days ago, and if confirmed, I will come back here for a full posture hearing to discuss that. But I strongly support the president's request for relief from sequester caps in 2016 and through the future year defense plan. If confirmed, I will do my part to assist the president in working with Congress to resolve the overall issues of the country's fiscal future of which the defense budget is a part.”