On July 12 a group of GOP Senators and Representatives sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel in which they claimed President Obama gambled with national security to implement sequester.

In particular, they cited three recent failed intercepts conducted during tests of “the ground-based midcourse defense system (GMD).” The latest failed test of the missile defense system was on July 5.

The letter was signed by Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala), as well as Reps. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Cal) and Mike Rogers (R-Ala).

According to Fox News, the GOP lawmakers claim it is increasingly “clear that President Obama’s decision to drastically cut funding for the GMD program since he came to office and ‘to curtail additional GMD development’ has drained funding available to conduct needed tests of this system.”

Between 2008 and 2012 the GMD budget was cut in half–and “more cuts are projected over the next five years” because of sequester.

President Obama signed sequester into law on August 2, 2011.

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins