Mattis: no enemy has done more to harm US military than sequestration

Mattis: no enemy has done more to harm US military than sequestration

US Defense Secretary James Mattis declared that he was "shocked" upon his return to the Pentagon by the poor state of the US military's readiness for combat.

He put most of the blame on Congress for its inability to approve budgets on time or repeal a law that strictly limits defense spending.

Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, Mattis said Congress has "sidelined itself from its active constitutional oversight role" by failing to deliver a steady stream of funding to pay for new weapons and other critical gear.

"It has blocked new programs, prevented service growth, stalled industry initiative and placed troops at greater risk," Mattis said. If the budget caps mandated by the law are breached, automatic spending reductions known as sequestration are triggered.

"For all the heartache caused by the loss of our troops during these wars, no enemy in the field has done more to harm the readiness of our military than sequestration," CBSNews cited Mattis as saying.

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