Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus called the mandatory defense sequestration cuts a “bad idea,” on CNN’s Starting Point on Tuesday.
“We’ve got to fix sequestration. We’ve got to fix the continuing resolution. We’ve got to fix the underlying issue and not just play around the edges and try to make a really bad idea somewhat marginally better,” Mabus said on the program.
The Navy will face about $ 9 billion in cuts if the sequestration cuts occur and the ongoing Continuing Resolution stands until the end of the fiscal year. Those cuts would cut deeply into the operations and maintenance of ships and aircraft and could lose Navy civillians 20 percent of their wages through furloughs.
Mabus will accompany President Barrak Obama on a Tuesday visit to the Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va.
