Wicker tours Shelby, speaks about defense cuts | News

CAMP SHELBY, MS (WDAM)- Sen. Roger Wicker was in Hattiesburg Friday, touring Camp Shelby and issuing a warning about the effects of deep cuts to the nation's defense budget which begin in January. Wicker, who visited the post's Base Supply Center, said he's concerned about the impact of automatic, across-the-board cuts which would slash another half-trillion dollars from defense programs over the next 10 years.

He said that could mean the loss of one million jobs, including more than 11,000 in Mississippi.

"It makes no sense for us to fall back on these automatic, meat axe, across-the-board cuts to the Defense Department when we really ought to be looking at the programs that are growing so much, the health-related programs that are growing at three times the rate of inflation," Wicker said.

Wicker said we should know more about how those cuts will affect defense after Sept. 6, when the President submits a detailed report to Congress.

Copyright 2012 WDAM. All rights reserved.