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Senator sees painful weapons cuts ahead

A key senator predicted Wednesday that weapons modernization will suffer as a result of what is likely to be sustained combat and security operations in Afghanistan.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., an Army veteran who chairs the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on seapower, said he sees no possibility of rolling back temporary increases in troop levels that have made possible the sustained operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he also does not believe the defense budget will be increased.

The result, Reed said at a breakfast meeting with defense reporters, will be reduced spending on weapons programs. “It is going to be a difficult time,” he said.

Reed said he expects that funding will continue to be scarce for marginal weapons that suffer cost overruns or other problems. And weapons programs that continue likely will be scaled down and purchased in smaller numbers, Reed said, describing these effects as “painful adjustments.”

Higher levels of defense spending, which would allow for both higher troop levels and weapons modernization, will take a backseat to more pressing national economic problems, he said, with creating jobs as the first priority.

After that, the next priority will be paying for the expensive economic stimulus measures that have been and will be enacted, Reed said.