Republicans and Democrats alike have voiced their concern over the looming threat of across-the-board military budget cuts, known as sequestration, and now a bipartisan team of six senators has formed in an effort to avoid the deep slashes, Military Times reports.
The group, which includes both chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Sen. Carl Levin and Sen. John McCain, sent a letter to the rest of the upper chamber and said the two sides need to reach a bipartisan agreement. Not doing so could result in $500 billion in cuts to the defense budget over the next 10 years.
"We face a critical challenge in the next few months: balancing the need to reduce the deficit with the need to safeguard important priorities, particularly protecting our national security, vital domestic programs, and our economic recovery," the letter said, according to the publication.
Despite the willingness of several members of the Senate to work together, it could be quite some time until any progress is made. Congress is taking a break as the presidential election heats up, and when they reconvene there will be only two months left to reach a deal.