House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon was joined at a press conference today by HASC Vice Chairman Mac Thornberry, Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee Chairman Michael Turner, and Senators Inhofe, Ayotte, McCain, and Graham, where they unveiled the Down Payment to Protect National Security Act of 2013.

You can also view video of today’s press conference Here

The Hill newspaper reported on today’s press conference:   

“I visited with our top leaders and they have told me we have gone past cutting the fat. We've gone past cutting the meat. We're into the bone,” said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.).

“It's time for the president to face up to what the real responsibility is, what the real problem is, and that's to look at mandatory spending.”

The one-year delay, which is being spearheaded by McKeon and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), was a plan that was “as painless as possible to protect our troops,” McKeon said.

The legislation would reverse the $85 billion in sequester cuts still on the books after the two-month delay that was included in the “fiscal cliff” deal. The funds would be offset by cutting the federal workforce by 10 percent over the next decade through attrition, by hiring back one worker for every three who leave.

The bill would also include a congressional pay freeze.”

Read the full article here: GOP Proposes Alternative Sequester Plan

To learn more about The Down Payment to Protect National Security Act of 2013, see the HASC Fact Sheet.