Senator says Defense chief will reveal budget cuts ahead of Obama

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., said Tuesday he expects Defense Secretary Robert Gates to announce defense budget cuts and other major Pentagon program decisions before the Obama administration releases the detailed fiscal 2010 budget this spring.

During a year when some of the military's top weapons programs are expected to take a hit, the Defense secretary's early announcement would allow him to "take some of the heat for these decisions for the president," Levin said during a breakfast with reporters. "It's the right thing to do."

Lawmakers and the defense industry have been eagerly awaiting details of the Pentagon's $533.7 billion base fiscal 2010 budget, which is not expected on Capitol Hill until May. Levin did not say when Gates would announce changes in major defense programs, but several sources that track budget negotiations have said the Defense secretary could reveal his decisions as early as next week.

Gates canceled plans to attend the NATO 60th anniversary summit in France this weekend so he could stay in Washington to wrap up work on the budget. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said in an e-mail Monday the budget was "still being built" and that Gates had not set a date to reveal his decisions.

The Pentagon's internal budget negotiations have been tightly guarded; senior department officials and military brass are required to sign nondisclosure forms barring them from revealing any information about spending plans. But once Gates sends the budget to the Office of Management and Budget, major players on Capitol Hill and within the defense industry expect information to flow more freely.

By going public with his rationale for cutting certain programs, Gates might be able to frame the debate over an increasingly expensive crop of new military weapons systems. "It's kind of a novel approach -- sort of taking the bull by the horns," Levin said. But he acknowledged the lag time between the Pentagon's announcement and the administration's formal rollout could prompt heavy pushback leading to changes in the final defense budget.

Levin's panel will meet Wednesday with Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, for a hearing expected to focus largely on President Obama's strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, which was announced Friday. Levin said he would not back the proposed $1.5 billion in aid for Pakistan until the Pakistani government showed it was ready to battle extremists within its own borders.

"If I thought we could buy stability, I would buy it," Levin said. "I have no reluctance in purchasing stability if it's effective. But I don't think it's effective unless the recipient of the support sees where the threat is to them. I think otherwise it can backfire."