Congress Plans $550M Upgrade to Its Jet Fleet

Confusing rules result in weird set of complications

(NEWSER) - Thanks to a confusing system of federal regulations, tens of thousands of war widows can’t fully collect on insurance bought by their late husbands—unless they marry someone else. There’s more: that remarriage must occur when the widows are 57 or older to count, the AP reports . The complications stem from a rule known as the "widows' tax," which says spouses can’t get both the insurance’s annuity benefits and monthly survivor benefits. The latter is subtracted from the annuity payment. More»

GOP to attack government pay in lame-duck Congress

(NEWSER) - The number of federal government employees making at least $150,000 a year is 10 times what it was five years ago, and it has doubled since President Obama’s inauguration, says a study by USA Today . House GOP members are hoping to pounce on the issue as the lame-duck Congress begins next week, attempting to bar Obama’s intended 1.4% raise for federal workers. More»

(NEWSER) - The scrapping of the F-22 has sent the US Air Force into an abrupt about-face, Time reports. Newly installed officials are asking for 100 cheap, multirole planes that can attack ground positions and also be used to train other countries' pilots in their use. The aircraft must have a range of 900 miles and travel at 200mph. The F-22 makes 1500mph—and costs 50 times more. More»

Says tens of billions in contracts lack decent US supervision

(NEWSER) - Though US defense contracting has reached “unprecedented proportions” in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Defense Department isn’t adequately monitoring the contracts, according to an independent watchdog. A report to be presented to Congress tomorrow says the government lacks central records showing the identities, activities, and pay of some 240,000 private workers contracted for tens of billions of dollars, the AP reports. More»

(NEWSER) - A House member is incensed that a Pentagon official, reporting a 25% increase in combat-zone sexual assault against women, said servicemen should “wait until she's sober,” the New York Daily News reports. “This woman is not in the right line of work,” Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-NY, says of Dr. Kaye Whitley. Whitley said the remark was inspired by a recruiting poster entitled “My Strength is for Defending.” More»