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Romney Campaign Press Release - Obama's Defense Cuts Will Leave Pennsylvania Struggling

September 28, 2012

"President Obama's looming defense cuts are threatening to devastate our national security and destroy jobs across the nation. In Pennsylvania alone, the President's cuts are jeopardizing nearly 40,000 jobs, including tens of thousands of jobs at small businesses. Mitt Romney will reverse President Obama's devastating cuts and ensure our troops and veterans never pay the price for failed leadership again." — Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson

Yesterday, Secretary Panetta Warned He Would Take Any Deal To Avoid President Obama's Defense Cuts:

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta: "I'll Take Whatever The Hell Deal They Can Make Right Now To Deal With Sequestration." "Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday said he'd take any deal that would avoid across-the-board cuts to defense spending. Lawmakers have begun floating short-term agreements to stop the $500 billion in defense cuts known as sequestration from beginning in January amid concerns they won't be able to strike a "grand bargain" on taxes and spending. 'I'll take whatever the hell deal they can make right now to deal with sequestration,' Panetta said." (Jeremy Herb, "Panetta Would Take 'Whatever The Hell Deal' Possible To Avoid Cuts," The Hill, 9/27/12)

  • Secretary Panetta: "We Need Stability. You Want A Strong National Defense For This Country? I Need To Have Some Stability." "As Panetta began talking about sequestration, the defense secretary took a much harsher tone than during the rest of his press conference.  'We need stability. You want a strong national defense for this country? I need to have some stability,' Panetta said as his voice raised." (Jeremy Herb, "Panetta Would Take 'Whatever The Hell Deal' Possible To Avoid Cuts," The Hill, 9/27/12)

FLASHBACK: Secretary Panetta Says Defense Cuts Will Result In The "Smallest Ground Force Since 1940, The Smallest Number Of Ships Since 1915 And The Smallest Air Force In Its History." "Defense Secretary Leon Panetta spelled out a doomsday scenario Monday that he said could occur if Congress fails to take action to avoid a $1 trillion cut in defense spending over the next decade. Panetta, responding to a letter from Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham, said cuts of nearly $100 billion a year would leave the United States with its smallest ground force since 1940, the smallest number of ships since 1915 and the smallest air force in its history." (David Alexander, "Panetta Spells Out Budget Cut Doomsday Fears," Reuters, 11/14/11)

Why Is Secretary Panetta So Concerned? President Obama's Cuts Will Devastate Our National Security And Destroy Jobs In States Like Pennsylvania:

President Obama's Defense Cuts Will Threaten Over A Million Jobs Across The Nation. (Stephen S. Fuller, "The Economic Impact Of The Budget Control Act Of 2011 On DOD And Non-DOD Agencies," Report, 7/17/12)

Pennsylvania Is One Of The States That Will Be Hit Hardest By President Obama's Massive Defense Cuts. (Stephen S. Fuller, "The Economic Impact Of The Budget Control Act Of 2011 On DOD And Non-DOD Agencies," Report, 7/17/12)

In Pennsylvania, President Obama's Defense Cuts Are Threatening 39,941Jobs, Nearly $3.5 Billion In Gross State Product, And $1.7 Trillion In Income. (Stephen S. Fuller, "The Economic Impact Of The Budget Control Act Of 2011 On DOD And Non-DOD Agencies," Report, 7/17/12)

  • Pennsylvania's Job Losses Include 19,063 Small-Business Jobs. (Stephen S. Fuller, Committee On Small Business, U.S. House Of Representatives, Testimony, 9/20/12)

George Mason University's Stephen Fuller: "Small Businesses Shoulder A Disproportional Share Of The Jobs Losses..." "Not only will small businesses shoulder a disproportional share of the jobs losses attributable to sequestration but their ability to survive these losses and remain viable further challenges the efficacy of sequestration." (Stephen S. Fuller, Committee On Small Business, U.S. House Of Representatives, Testimony, 9/20/12)

And President Obama's Response? He's More Concerned With His Own Re-Election And Tax Hikes Than Avoiding The Defense Cuts:

President Obama's Top Advisers Proposed The Idea For Sequestration "With Half The Cuts From Defense." "Lew, Nabors, Sperling and Bruce Reed, Biden's chief of staff, had finally decided to propose using language from the 1985 Gramm-Rudman-Hollings deficit reduction law as the model for the trigger. It seemed tough enough to apply to the current situation. It would require a sequester with half the cuts from defense, and the other half from domestic programs. There would be no chance the Republicans would want to pull the trigger and allow the sequester to force massive cuts to Defense." (Bob Woodward, The Price Of Politics, 2012, p. 339)

  • "Simply Put, The White House And The Democrats Were Going To Be Able To Sell A Deal To Their Rank And File Because Of Defense Cuts." (Bob Woodward, The Price Of Politics, 2012, p. 204)

President Obama Refused Requests From House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi To Reconsider The Defense Cuts Because Doing So Would Surrender His "Leverage" On Tax Hikes. "Obama told the former speaker what he had been saying for months — that he wasn't budging on the defense cuts. Doing so would surrender his only leverage in forcing House Republicans to accept the expiration of tax cuts for the wealthy — the only weapon he had against their efforts 'to delegitimize me,' as he put it." (Glenn Thrush, Obama's Last Stand, 2012)

  • "Moreover, He Bluntly Called On Hill Democrats To Reorient Their Priorities — From Them To Him." (Glenn Thrush, Obama's Last Stand, 2012)

Vice President Biden, On The Prospect Of Defense Cuts: "This Is A Dangerous Area ... But We Should Look At It." "On the national side, including Defense, the State Department, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs, Lew said, 'We are beginning a strategic review — a fast strategic review is being initiated. But it's possible to talk about the numbers without Defense being on the table.' 'Veterans Affairs,' Biden interrupted in some wonderment. The military was sacred, and it could be political suicide for Democrats to consider cuts for vets. 'This is a dangerous area,' he acknowledged, 'but we should look at it.'" (Bob Woodward, The Price Of Politics, 2012, p. 115)

Mitt Romney, Romney Campaign Press Release - Obama's Defense Cuts Will Leave Pennsylvania Struggling Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/302926

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