A federal union representing 270,000 Defense Department workers is urging Rep. Mac Thornberry to scrap his plan for deep cuts in military support agencies.

The Texas Republican, the House Armed Services chairman, should pull his bill proposing about $25 billion in across-the-board cuts to 28 DOD agencies and instead opt for reviews every five years without setting goals for reducing spending, the American Federation of Government Employees wrote in a letter Thursday to the chairman.