Thune bill seeks pending budget cut details

The public should know the details of more than $100 billion in cuts to

the Defense Department that will be made at year's end if Congress and

the Obama administration can't agree on an alternative plan, Sen. John

Thune told reporters Wednesday.

"We are trying to determine exactly how those cuts would play out. We

don't know the answer to that," Thune said. "This is a very in-the-dark

process. We are trying to avoid that pileup at the end of the year."

Thune, R-S.D., introduced the Sequestration Transparency Act along with

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and 26 more senators signed on as

co-sponsors.

The bill's title refers to "sequestration," the automatic spending cuts

that were triggered when Congress and its supercommittee failed to agree

on budget-cutting measures after the bitterly partisan debt-ceiling

fight last August.

"Half would come out of the Defense budget even though Defense makes up

less than 20 percent of the budget," Thune said. "National security

officials, including (Defense) Secretary (Leon) Panetta have said this

would be devastating."

Over 10 years, the defense cuts would mount to more than $1 trillion.

The bill would give the Obama administration until July 9 to provide the

details of how and what it plans to cut.

"This would require them to give us a very clear view soon of exactly

how those cuts would be distributed," Thune said. "We want to take

action to prevent what would be devastating cuts to the military budget,

and to make the American people aware of the effects of this."

Thune acknowledged that the bill's purpose is as much to raise awareness

and spark discussion of the pending budget cuts as it is to get answers

from the White House. Waiting until the 11th hour, for what Thune calls

"the tyranny of the urgent," is not healthy policy-making, he said.

"Too often around here, stuff gets done at the 11th hour in the dark. We

need as much transparency as we can possibly get," he said. "This is an

opportunity to act in a responsible way. Too often, Congress fails to

respond until it's here."