It’ll take some time before Defense Secretary Bob Gates issues his fiscal 2010 budget, capped by the White House at $537 billion, not including the cost of the
It’ll take some time before Defense Secretary Bob Gates issues his fiscal 2010 budget, capped by the White House at $537 billion, not including the cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Before Congress and the Obama administration even get around to appropriating that money, though, Gates has told the White House that he’s going to need at least $83 billion more to cover operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through September 30, when this fiscal year ends. Jacking up troop levels in Afghanistan makes up the lion’s share of the difference. Given that there was already a separate funding request for fiscal-2009 war costs last year, this would bring total war costs in fiscal 2009 to $149 billion. Good thing there isn’t a worldwide economic crisis or anything.
Gates indicated in Senate testimony last month that he wants to end the practice of covering war costs in so-called supplemental funding requests, a dubious innovation of the Rumsfeld Pentagon that discouraged Congress and the Pentagon from taking hard looks at irrelevant and wasteful defense programs by making them appear detached from the immediate demands of the war. I will resist making an obvious joke about the parallels between supplements in Pentagon budgeting and in baseball.
Rep. Patrick McHenry: Please, Conservatives, Fill Out Your Census Forms!
The conservative congressman from North Carolina, a constant critic of the census -- one of the people who sounded the alarm about politicization when the
Rep. Paulsen allies with medical device industry to relax FDA oversight
Source: Flickr; Republicanconference (www.flickr.com/photos/republicanconference) On the heels of the Minnesota Independent story last week about U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen’s cozy financial relationship with the medical device industry, the New York Times reported Tuesday that some health professionals are alarmed by Paulsen’s push to relax Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight
Rep. Parker Griffith (R-Ala.)
One of the most conservative Democrats in the House -- a freshman who said he couldn’t support Nancy Pelosi again -- is going to switch over to the GOP. Josh
Rep. Paulsen touts balanced budget constitutional amendment
In a post for the conservative blog True North , U.S. Rep
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Rep. Erik Paulsen and former Bush staffer Karl Rove were both showered with glitter at the Midwest Leadership Conference Friday
Rep. Paul Ryan to deliver SOTU response
Chairman of the House Budget Committee Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will deliver the Republican response to the State of the Union Tuesday, according to Mike Allen
Rep. Perlmutter criticizes House measure that would eliminate 800K federal jobs
Congressman Ed Perlmutter today issued a scathing statement criticizing the House of Representatives for passing a spending bill that could put nearly a million federal employees out of work. The Colorado delegation voted strictly on party lines, with all four Republicans voting in favor of the bill and the three Democrats voting in opposition. Perlmutter’s statement: “My number one priority is to get people back to work because that’s the best thing we can do to pay our debt and move forward toward economic stability
Rep. Perlmutter to hold constituent meet-up in grocery store
Colorado Congressman Ed Perlmutter will hold a Government in the Grocery constituent meet-up this evening from 5-7 at the Safeway at 38th and Wadsworth in Wheat Ridge. The address is 3900 Wadsworth. The meeting, where Perlmutter typically sits at a folding table and talks to whomever shows up, is free and open to the public
Rep. Peace, ACLU seek investigation of soldier’s allegations of racial discrimination in Afghanistan
Both Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM) and the American Civil Liberties Union agree: There needs to be an investigation into Spc.
School of Hock
A growing number of college grads are defaulting on their student loans as the economy worsens.