A congressional subcommittee has recently taken up military benefits, threatening the pay, healthcare and retirement packages of future servicemembers.
According to the Military Times, House Armed Services subcommittee chairman Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va. is in favor of cutting benefits and pay for future troops. However, he is intent on blocking base closures and cuts to armed services structures.
Wittman also insists that the potential cuts to military pay and other benefits will not affect current active-duty members.
"I think we have a moral commitment as a nation to say this is the agreement, while not legal but I think a moral agreement, under which you came into the services," Wittman said in a recent televised interview with C-SPAN Newsmakers. "I think we need to stand by that."
Wittman, who according to the news source controls roughly 40 percent of the defense budget told the television program that he believed pay cuts would be fair and not result in less dedicated troops.
Although Congress has long been against cuts to military pay, the stress of the sequester has placed a heavy burden on both the legislative branch and the military, reports Military.com. The battle over the defense budget comes to a head Oct. 1, when the military faces a $52 billion reduction in the new fiscal year.
According to the news source, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel stated last month that military benefits account for half of the defense budget.