Defense companies, congressional lawmakers and industry representatives plan to stage a rally Monday to stop a draconian spending measure that could severely impact the defense budget over the next 10 years.
The “stop sequestration” rally is slated to take place at an Arlington, Va., hotel. Invited speakers include Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R), congressional members of the Virginia delegation and top defense executives, Northrop Grumman [NOC] said in a release.
Northrop Grumman, along with General Dynamics [GD], is one of the two major defense firms headquartered in Virginia. ATK [ATK] also recently moved its headquarters to Arlington, Va.
Defense firms have said that sequestration could result in the loss of more than 1 million jobs in the defense sector.
The Pentagon is already facing $480 billion in reduced defense spending over the next 10 years, but if lawmakers and the White House cannot agree on a blueprint for reining in the national deficit and debt by January, the cuts in defense spending could more than double under the sequestration measure in the Budget Control Act of 2011.