WASHINGTON - A top Pentagon official says automatic cuts in defense spending would force the military to reduce training for warfighters and trim the number of weapons purchased.<br />
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Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter outlined the impact of the $55 billion in across-the-board reductions that would hit Jan. 2 if Congress fails to produce a budget plan.<br />
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He testified Wednesday before a House panel along with the White House's acting budget chief, Jeff Zients.<br />
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Zients said domestic programs would suffer too, with $55 billion in cuts to education, FBI agents, Head Start.<br />
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Zients called the cuts a "blunt, indiscriminate instrument" and urged Congress to reach a compromise.<br />
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President Barack Obama would exempt military personnel from any automatic defense spending cuts, the White House says amid the congressional clamor for specifics on how the administration would implement the looming across-the-board reductions.<br />
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Zients had said Tuesday what military leaders had been suggesting for months - the president would exercise his authority under the budget law and spare uniformed men and women.