The Senate Appropriations Committee, chaired by Hawaii’s Sen. Daniel Inouye, wants to freeze defense spending and make dramatic cuts across the board to meet a $1.043 trillion cap in overall spending next year.

“Each subcommittee has been cut dramatically below the amount sought by the administration,” Inouye said in prepared remarks to the Appropriations Committee this week. “These cuts are real and are difficult to implement, but that is the will of the Congress and the charter of this Committee.” 

Inouye said the cuts are “not easy,” and represent $79 billion less than President Barack Obama requested in his version of the budget. Cuts to defense spending represent about one-third of that amount.

“Together with the funding reductions approved for fiscal year 2011, the Congress has cut the Administration’s request for these two years by more than $157 billion,” Inouye said. “This makes our funding recommendations the largest reduction by Congress of any President’s requests in history over this two year period.”

Read the senator’s complete remarks. Review a table that compares the committee’s plans for spending to 2011 levels and to the president’s requests. 

Read more analysis of the Senate’s appropriators from The Hill and from Politico.