A proposal to slash the Anniston Army Depot�s funding by almost $588 million came under fire at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday, according to testimony obtained by The Anniston Star.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, grilled top Army brass over the proposed cuts to the defense budget, which would slice $3 billion from President Bush�s $72.4 billion supplemental war-spending request. The cuts could slow repairs on hundreds of armored vehicles coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan, possibly causing hundreds of civilian layoffs.

�You say that as we proceed we might be even at a point where refurbishment lines would be broken and then have to be reconstituted at greater costs,� Sessions said in the hearing. �I understand you would say that�s not so, and you won�t allow that to happen, but isn�t that a concern for us?�

Gen. Richard Cody, the Army�s vice chief of staff, replied that Sessions� figures were accurate.

But, he said, the Army has a Plan B: a $50 billion �bridge fund� (so called because it bridges the �06 and �07 budget requests) which the Pentagon hopes to receive by July.

Cody and Claude Bolton, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, testified in the hearing that if the Defense Department doesn�t get the additional money by then, the depot�s repair of Abrams tanks will falter and employees there and at other bases will be laid off.

�The timing is absolutely critical,� Bolton told Sessions. �If we don�t get in the June/July timeframe, we�re going to have to break the lines.�

If that happens, employees will be lost, along with their valuable experience, he said.

�So we�re pushing very hard,� Bolton said. �My job right now is to take a real hard look at Anniston.�

Cody added that the flow of money to the depot and other bases every two months has made the repair of armored vehicles smooth and dependable. But the cuts, which were made on orders from the White House, would change that.

In total, five brigade combat teams would be affected by the cuts, Cody said.

The Abrams tank production line would lose $1.2 billion, affecting the Anniston Army Depot and Lima Army Tank Plant in Ohio.

Meanwhile, Red River Arsenal in Texarkana, Texas, would lose $1.5 billion for the repair of Bradley fighting vehicles.

Sessions� office said after the hearing that the proposed cuts could prevent soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan from receiving necessary equipment.

�Senator Sessions is very concerned � and used the earliest opportunity to raise this with a very senior member of the Army,� spokesman Mike Brumas said. �So he�s concerned about this and wanted to get their explanation.�

Anniston Army Depot officials did not answer repeated calls at work and home for comment Wednesday.

The $72.4 billion supplemental request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is part of President Bush�s nearly $440 billion defense budget request for fiscal 2007, which was sent to Congress for approval last week.