Sens. McCain and Ayotte on holding Town Halls on defense spending, say $500 billion in cuts 'very serious'

Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are visiting four key states this week - Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and New Hampshire - to highlight pending defense cuts.

At the end of this year, the Defense Department budget could see $500 billion in cuts if Congress and President Obama do not act. The cuts are part of the Budget Control Act of 2011, which was passed last year to avoid a fiscal crisis. It slashed more than $1 trillion from the budget, split evenly between non-defense and defense programs.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has warned that the cuts to defense could be disastrous for the US military.

Sen. McCain and Sen. Ayotte, members of the Armed Services Committee, explain the purpose of their Town Halls on how defense budget cuts could harm US security.