GOP to offer budget blueprint with Medicare, food stamp cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) -- GOP defense hawks are pressing to find ways to boost the Pentagon's bottom line as the annual budget debate cranks up on Capitol Hill, as tension between defense hawks and budget hard-liners is already making it difficult for Republican leaders to assemble a majority behind their soon-to-be-revealed budget blueprints.

Even before top Republicans unveil budget plans with promises to balance the nation's budget within a decade and rein in major programs such as food stamps and Medicare, efforts were underway to ease automatic budget cuts set to slam the military.

Senate Armed Service Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., said Monday he'd like to swap a 10-year deficit-cutting plan to reverse two years' worth of Pentagon cuts, which total more than $100 billion over 2016-2017