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NEWS ABOUT: defense spending

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Gates Has Unlikely Ally in Defense Fight: Tea Party

Conservative group willing to shrink military

(Newser) - Robert Gates wants to impose a new fiscal discipline on the military by slashing millions from weapons programs—and he may have an unlikely ally in his uphill battle: the Tea Party. The conservative group is so dedicated to cutting government spending that many of its members are backing off... More »

Eying Deficit, Obama Plans $447B Freeze

17% of US budget affected, not including defense, entitlements

(Newser) - The latest detail to trickle out about initiatives President Obama plans to serve up in Wednesday’s State of the Union address is one aimed at cutting the $1.4 trillion federal budget deficit. Obama will announce a 3-year freeze on $447 billion in spending, a measure that could save... More »

Next Hurdle for Afghan Surge: Paying for It

Dems don't want to pony up for Obama's plan

(Newser) - Getting Congress to fund Barack Obama’s new Afghanistan strategy might be as arduous a process as the strategic review that devised it. Democrats, cold to the idea of sending more troops, don’t want to foot the bill; some are proposing a war tax to cover it. “If... More »

Lobbyist Cozy With Lawmaker Wins Jackpot

Visclosky funnels $44M in earmarks to clients not even in his state

(Newser) - If you’ve got a tech company looking for a handout from the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, might we recommend calling Rep. Peter Visclosky? Or more accurately, call K&L Gates, a lobbying firm that boasts in its marketing documents, “a very good relationship” with Visclosky, the third-ranking member of... More »

Afghan War Costs US $3.6B Per Month

Figure will go even higher if more troops are sent

(Newser) - Waging a war in Afghanistan ain’t cheap. The US is spending roughly $3.6 billion a month there, according to data from the Congressional Research Service, and that number is likely to rise precipitously as the Obama administration sends more troops. That estimate is based on 51,000 troops;... More »

Murtha Institute Hands Money to Murtha Friends

Funds to beef up security are showered on connected firms

(Newser) - The John P. Murtha Institute for Homeland Security may look like a mostly deserted basement below an Indiana University of Pennsylvania dormitory, but over the years it’s overseen $50 million in federal funds—almost all of it going to Murtha’s friends and industry allies, a Washington Post investigation... More »

Congress Relents, Slashes Unwanted Jet Order

(Newser) - House leaders are slashing their $550 million order for eight new executive jets for use by senior government officials, caving to pressure from fellow lawmakers and the Pentagon, Politico reports. John Murtha’s Defense Appropriations Subcommittee had more than doubled the Pentagon’s original request for $220 million to buy... More »

Senate Grounds F-22 Money

(AP) - The Senate has sided with the Obama administration in agreeing to cut off new spending for the F-22 jet fighter program. The 58-40 vote today removes $1.75 billion set aside in a defense policy bill to build seven more F-22 Raptors, adding to the 187 stealth fighters already in... More »

Obama Vows to Veto His Own Defense Bill Over F-22s

Congress tries to tack on $1.75B for planes

(Newser) - Barack Obama has found himself in the odd position of threatening to veto his own defense spending bill, after senators tacked on a last-minute amendment to spend $1.75 billion on seven F-22 fighter jets, Fox News reports. The jets are outdated, costly to fly, require frequent maintenance, and have... More »

Obama's Cell Phone Plea Helps Clear War Funds

Last-minute tensions healed; measure set to pass next week

(Newser) - Congressional leaders settled on a $106 billion spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan last night, but it took a last-minute intervention by President Obama via Rahm Emanuel's cell phone. When talks got bogged down over the release of detainee photos, Emanuel rushed to the Capitol and had... More »

Lobbyists Open War Chests to Battle Obama

(Newser) - In his address to Congress, President Obama made it clear certain industries are in his crosshairs, from agribusiness to defense to health care. But those industries aren’t taking it lying down, the Wall Street Journal reports. They’re spending big on lobbyists, hoping to derail—or at least reshape—... More »

Obama Shoots Down New Helicopter Fleet

Joins McCain in dissing costly Marine One chopper upgrade

(Newser) - John McCain should know by now that Barack Obama is not an easy target. Yesterday, at the White House fiscal summit, Obama gave the floor to McCain, who tried to put some heat on his host by criticizing a plan to procure a new presidential helicopter fleet, ABC reports. Obama... More »

War on Terror Nears $1 Trillion

And that doesn't count long-term costs

(Newser) - Washington's war on terror is about to cost $1 trillion, and even that is just the beginning, Mark Thompson writes in Time. Three recent government reports racked up the bills, showing that long-term costs like veterans health care and interest on loans are yet to come in. The trillion-dollar figure... More »

Why Gates Should Stay —and Why He Shouldn't

(Newser) - Conventional wisdom has it that Barack Obama will ask Robert Gates to keep his post as Secretary of Defense, but there’s no conventional wisdom about how wise that is. “It has more minuses than pluses,” opines one ex-Pentagon official, but others disagree. Some pros and cons:
  • Gates
... More »

Obama Letters Promised Gov't Workers an Overhaul

He wooed bureaucrats with expanded roles

(Newser) - With the election fast approaching, Barack Obama sent letters to seven federal agencies, hoping to win the votes of their employees with detailed—and generally very generous—promises, the Washington Post reports. Obama promised to make departments more powerful and effective, to improve worker rights, and eliminate unpopular Bush practices.... More »

Al-Qaeda Crows About US Credit Crisis

Some supporters hope for McCain victory

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda websites are celebrating the crippling crisis sweeping the US economy and financial markets, with some internet postings crediting al-Qaeda for luring the nation into a war that has exhausted its resources, reports the Washington Post. Some writers are penning messages expressing hope for renewed terror attacks and a John... More »

Army Overseer Ousted After Rejecting Bogus Iraq Bills

Says he was replaced after vowing not to pay dubious bills

(Newser) - Did a top Army official lose his job for trying to save the Army money? Charles Smith was ousted from his job after refusing to pay then-Halliburton subsidiary KBR more than $1 billion in charges deemed bogus by Army auditors. “They had a gigantic amount of costs they couldn’... More »

War Killing Economy, Democrat Says

Lawmaker calls war a 'leading cause' of economic woes

(Newser) - While President Bush touted a "turnaround" in Iraq today, one lawmaker called the war "a leading cause" of America's economic woes, the Swamp blog reports. Test-driving the Democrat’s new anti-war argument, Kentucky Representative John Yarmuth blasted General Petraeus for advocating “more of the same, with U.... More »

John Murtha, War Critic, Backs Clinton

Congressman says Hillary has 'similar position' on Iraq

(Newser) - John Murtha, the Pennsylvania congressman who has become a leading critic of the Iraq war, is endorsing Hillary Clinton for president, CQ Politics reports. “I know that Senator Clinton has a similar position that I have in regards to the war in Iraq,” Murtha said. While both he... More »

Dems May Block Record $3T Bush Budget 'Til Next Prez

Mammoth budget combines tax cuts with huge security spending hikes

(Newser) - President Bush today introduces a record $3 trillion budget into opposition from congressional Democrats so fierce that they could hold up the spending plan until the next president takes office, reports AP. Bush's plan envisions at least $400 billion in deficits this year and next, twice 2007's $163 billion debt.... More »

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