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House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha, D-Pa., said Wednesday that he expects the fiscal 2010 Defense spending bill will include funding to buy about 10 C-17 Globemaster III cargo planes, but signaled he is worried about the $250 million price tag for each aircraft. Before he signs off on the additional planes, Murtha said he wants Boeing Co., the plane's maker, to give the government a price more comparable to the roughly $200 million per plane the government paid as part of the last multiyear procurement deal for C-17s, which ended in 2007. The House-passed Defense Appropriations bill included...

“Getting Around Congress?” It’s Much Worse than That by John Armor (632 words) The Treasury Department announced today that it would “convert its preferred stock in the nation’s largest banks into common stock.” The stated advantages were that this would allow Treasury to aid more banks without going back to Congress for more money than what was already approved. Some Administration officials even said that this would “get around Congress.” That alone would be bad enough. But the actual meaning of this action subverts the entire Constitution and is an assault on the American people. It is a take-over of...

The Senate voted overwhelmingly to preserve thousands of earmarks in a $410 billion spending bill on Tuesday, brushing aside Sen. John McCain's claim that President Barack Obama and Congress are merely conducting business as usual in a time of economic hardship. McCain's attempt to strip out an estimated 8,500 earmarks failed on a vote of 63-32. The Arizona senator's proposal also would have cut roughly $32 billion from the measure and kept spending at last year's levels in several federal agencies. Last year's Republican presidential candidate said both he and Obama pledged during the campaign to "stop business as usual...

The US Senate's oldest and longest-serving member, Robert Byrd, announced Friday he was stepping down as chairman of the appropriations committee. For the last 10 years, the 90-year-old Democratic dean from West Virginia has headed the committee which helps the government decide how to spend its money. Byrd, re-elected for his ninth Senate term in 2006, has spent nearly 50 years as a committee member and senator, casting a record 18,000 ballots as of last year. "A new day has dawned in Washington, and that is a good thing," Byrd, who endorsed Illinois Senator Barack Obama this year in his...

Last week, AUSA President Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, USA, Ret., urged congressional leaders to move quickly on the fiscal 2009 Defense Authorization and Appropriations Bills. In a letter to the House and Senate leadership, Gen. Sullivan said, “Our ability to win the Global War on Terrorism and sustain the all volunteer force is dependent upon timely defense authorizations and appropriations. The bills must meet the Army’s baseline budget and fund the war. I stress the necessity of getting the bills to the president for signature before September 30, the end of the fiscal year.” While the House finished its version...

All eyes will be on Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) Wednesday. The 90-year-old senator is expected to chair a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on an Iraq war spending bill and his appearance should send “an important signal” as to whether he can continue as chairman. But that may not happen. At least two Democratic sources said Tuesday that Byrd’s health remained a question and that staffers had taken the extremely rare step of holding off scheduling a time for the hearing. A notice finally went out at the end of the day, announcing the hearing would take place at noon on...

Senior executives of the Texas Department of Transportation can expect some heavy grilling from state legislators when the state Legislature convenes next January, state Rep. Jim McReynolds said Friday. Speaking to the monthly First Friday luncheon of The Chamber, Lufkin-Angelina County, McReynolds said many legislators, especially those from rural East Texas, are unhappy with TxDOT leaders over the Trans- Texas Corridor project and how it has incorporated plans for an Interstate 69 through the region. McReynolds said he attended all four of the TxDOT hearings on the TTC held in his district, which included one in Diboll, and "never heard...

Make It Jeff Flake! Help Fight Pork: Support Rep. Flake for the Appropriations Committee "With Roger Wicker being named a United States Senator, there is an opening on the Appropriations Committee for the U.S. House of Representatives. The Republicans get to fill the seat. The Republican leadership has a great opportunity to prove that it is serious about earmark reform and a conservative approach to spending. It's time to put some action behind their rhetoric." --RedState: The Road to Recovery Begins with Jeff Flake on Appropriations "In four terms in Congress, Mr. Flake has never sought a special bridge, courthouse,...

Have the Senate Democrats decided to dump their most egregious porker from his leadership position? The Politico reports this morning that Robert Byrd may get pressured to leave his position as chair of the Appropriations committee, a move that could call into question his ability to function at all in the Senate. Pork has nothing to do with this move: A group of Senate Democrats has begun quietly exploring ways to replace the venerable Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) as chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, believing he’s no longer physically up to the job, according to Democratic senators and...

Deficit may top $1.8 billion by fiscal 2012 with current slate of road projects AUSTIN — The Texas Department of Transportation, working to fend off a funding shortfall, intends to cut hundreds of millions of dollars budgeted for everything from consulting engineers to right-of-way purchases. The plan wouldn't affect existing road projects, and it's "difficult to say" what future projects would be delayed as a result, agency spokesman Randall Dillard said Friday. Projections show that if existing plans on awarding contracts and expenditures were to go forward, the department would have at least a $1.8 billion deficit by fiscal year...

Texas Representative Ron Paul, along with several other Democrats, told Bush that the War in Iraq will end once enough Democrats and Republicans stop bending over backwards to every financial whim of the Bush administration over the war's continued escalation. These words were penned in a letter to Bush this week and signed by 88 Democratic representatives, along with Ron Paul, the sole Republican on the list of endorsers. The letter states that the signers will only support further funding on the War in Iraq for the eventual pullout of troops from the area in a safe manner before Bush's...

Even if it's just for a moment, let us give credit where credit is due. The Texas Department of Transportation has realized — finally — that it has an image problem when it comes to convincing Texans of the need for a vast network of toll roads and the Trans-Texas Corridor. The realization, however, comes with a price tag of $7 million to $9 million that, rather than going to build highways, will fuel an advertising campaign centered around a memo titled, "Keep Texas Moving: Tolling and Trans-Texas Corridor Outreach." This is where I get off the track. Outreach? The...

AUSTIN – State Transportation Commission Chairman Ric Williamson is proud that he can still work a bulldozer, a skill he learned early on the ranch and in the gas fields. Others would say he still drives it at meetings, committee hearings and town hall gatherings. Mr. Williamson, 55, is one of the most influential men in Texas. He has the ear of the governor, with whom he speaks almost daily. He is the architect behind the state's road plan for the next 25 years. He is smart, studious, self-made. And critics, who seem as endless as a West Texas highway,...

Urge Support for Pro-Life Policies in Annual Funding BillsFiscal Year 2008 begins October 1, 2007. Between now and then Congress has the task of passing the 12 annual appropriations bills. Passage of these bills – or temporary Continuing Resolutions – is necessary if the federal government is to have the money to continue to function.A number of pro-life policies are attached as riders to appropriations bills. These riders must be included in the bills each year. For example: the Hyde Amendment restricting government funding of abortions (Labor/HHS/Education); the Kemp-Kasten Amendment that enables the Administration to deny funding to the United...

Recent attempts by congressional Democrats to cut off funding for our troops naturally prompt us to show that it wasn't long ago that they were saying they would never cut off funding for our troops... From sources: Sen Harry Reid (D-NV): “…I don’t think anyone can find a war that this country was engaged in where the funds were cut off. No one is talking about cutting off the funds.” Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY): “I do not support cutting funding for American troops.” Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI): “We're not going to cut off funding to the troops … no one...

Melancon Votes for Massive Hurricane Disaster Assistance Bill Contact: Robin Winchell (202) 225-4031 March 23, 2007 WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon voted today for the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill, which would provide $6.4 billion in disaster relief for hurricane recovery along the Gulf Coast. The bill passed the House by only one vote. Rep. Melancon had worked with House leadership to include specific funding and waiver language in the supplemental to help expedite the recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in south Louisiana. "People in south Louisiana are tired of waiting for help from their government," Rep. Melancon...

Appropriations Policy Brief H.R. XX — Making Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for FY 2007 Global War on Terror Funding (Title I): In millions Department of Defense Request House Military Personnel 12,145 13,566 Operations & Maintenance 50,316 52,499 Afghanistan Security Fund 5,906 5,906 Iraq Security Fund 3,842 3,842 Iraq Freedom Fund 206 156 Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Fund 2,433 2,433 Strategic Reserve Readiness Fund 0 2,500 Procurement 24,900 24,814 R&D, Test & Evaluation 1,448 1,035 Defense Working Capital Fund 1,316 1,316 Drug Interdiction & Counter Drug Activities 259 259 Intelligence Community Management Account 67 57 Defense Health Program 1,073 2,790 National...

Critics charge that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is abusing the perks of power by asking for a jumbo military jet with sleeping accommodations for her flights across the country. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Pentagon agreed to provide the speaker, who is second in the line of presidential succession, with a military plane for added security during trips back home. Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican, flew in a small commuter-sized Air Force jet. Pelosi wants a larger aircraft that can fly to her San Francisco district without stopping to refuel. Some sources are claiming that Pelosi...

IN THE November 2006 election, the voters demanded congressional ethics reform. And so, the newly appointed chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is now duly in charge of regulating the ethical behavior of her colleagues. But for many years, Feinstein has been beset by her own ethical conflict of interest, say congressional ethics experts. As chairperson and ranking member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee (MILCON) from 2001 through the end of 2005, Feinstein supervised the appropriation of billions of dollars a year for specific military construction projects. Two defense contractors whose interests were largely controlled by...

Most private contractors keeping tabs on billions of dollars in governmental spending for the U.S. House Appropriations Committee have been let go. With about 60 investigators gone, the shakeup leaves only 16 full-time employees in the unit, USA Today reported. Committee spokesman John Scofield said that the quality of the unit's work had been questioned by leaders of the Republican-controlled committee. Scofield said the ongoing investigations include the $62 billion federal relief package for Hurricane Katrina.

WASHINGTON The House ethics committee has approved a $2 million payout from a lobbying firm to a top Appropriations Committee staffer. The lobbying firm's ties to Appropriations Chairman Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., are under federal investigation. Jeff Shockey got $1.96 million in severance payments when he left Washington-based Copeland, Lowery, Jacquez, Denton, & White early last year to become deputy staff director of the Appropriations Committee. The payments have been criticized by government watchdog groups because Copeland, Lowery, which specializes in helping clients that want federal funding for projects, frequently lobbies the Appropriations Committee. "It appears that the terms of your...

Under a spending bill passed Thursday by the Senate Appropriations Committee approximately $2.5million would be appropriated for public beach and wildlife habitat purchases on Dauphin Island out of the next federal budget. The bill was created by Republican Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama. Senator Shelby heads the subcommittee that crafted the spending bill. Why is this happening, you ask? Because Shelby knows Dauphin Island needs these things for its continued growth as a socio-economic entity. Because Dauphin Island officials don't have the resources to do this themselves. And because he's in a position to allocate a small portion of pork...

Getting tough on immigration apparently means refusing to provide funds for programs that have already been approved. When the immigration issue was at the boiling point in the spring, the US Senate voted to erect a mere 370 miles of security fencing along the US-Mexican border. However, last week many of the same senators voted against providing funds to build it. "We do a lot of talking. We do a lot of legislating," said Senator Jeff Sessions, the Alabama Republican whose amendment to fund the fence was killed on a 71-29 vote. "The things we do often sound very good,...

GOP lawmakers want Pelosi to remove MollohanBy Patrick O’Connor House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during a taping of 'Meet the Press' at the NBC studios in Washington Sunday May 7, 2006. Pelosi promised 'honest leadership and open government' should the Democrats take control of the House after the November elections. (AP Photo/NBC Meet the Press, Alex Wong) Republican Reps. John Carter (R-Texas) and Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) are expected to send House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) a letter tomorrow asking her to remove Rep. Alan Mollohan (W.Va.) from the Appropriations Committee. Mollohan stepped aside as the ranking...

This is the Fifth and Final - for now - Report on the Campaign for the 11th District in NC. The eight-term Congressman, Charles Taylor, has defeated me for the nomination of the Republican Party. However, Mr. Taylor's career as a Member of Congress is now over. That paradoxical conclusion is not a matter of my opinion. It is based on observations of lifelong residents in western Carolina who've been active in politics most of their adult lives. Consider the parameters of this race: Charles Taylor is a long term incumbent who worked his way up the ladder to a...

Some big bills are about to come due for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and rebuilding along the Gulf Coast. A Senate G-O-P aide says President Bush is set to request 70 (B) billion dollars in special funding for the two wars. And the official says Bush will seek another 18 (B) billion dollars for rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. That number's in addition to the 85 (B) billion already committed to the Gulf Coast reconstruction.

The Bush administration said Thursday it will ask Congress for $120 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and $18 billion more for hurricane relief this year. The White House acknowledges the upcoming requests would cause total spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since Sept. 11, 2001, to soar well past the $400 billion mark, while spending for hurricane relief would top $100 billion. Details of the requests are not final, but the 2007 budget proposal that President Bush is to submit next week will reflect the totals for planning purposes. The president also will ask...

Bush cuts off cash for rebuilding Iraq By Alec Russell in Washington (Filed: 03/01/2006) The Bush administration has made clear that there will be no more money for rebuilding Iraq when the £10.7 billion originally allocated has been spent. Although many projects have been disappointments, the decision not to ask Congress for more cash in next month's draft budget underlines the consensus that it is time to start winding down the costly commitment to the country. It also highlights how, since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in April 2003, the focus of the reconstruction effort has shifted from electricity, roads...

Bush administration does not intend to seek any new funds for Iraq reconstruction in the budget request going before Congress in February... Developing...

WASHINGTON — The Senate blocked oil drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge Wednesday, rejecting a measure that had been put into a must-pass defense spending bill in an attempt to garner wider support. Drilling supporters fell four votes short of getting the required 60 votes to avoid a threatened filibuster of the defense measure over the oil drilling issue. Senate leaders were expected to withraw the legislation so it could be reworked without the refuge language. The vote was 56-44.

One of the overlooked stories of President Bush's Budget is what the President's focus is in the near-term future by his budget projection out to the year 2010. When President Bush submitted his Budget this year for Fiscal Year 2006, he also was required to submit projections four years out. It is the trend of the major categories (called "Superfunctions") which is both the most important and also the most shocking. "Human Resources" is the broadest measure of social welfare. It is also the largest expense in the USA's budget. For Fiscal Year 2006, the projection is 65.3 cents of...

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is in the early stages of drafting a wartime request for up to $100 billion more for Iraq and Afghanistan, lawmakers say, a figure that would push spending related to the wars toward a staggering half-trillion dollars. That would be in addition to $50 billion Congress is about to give the Pentagon before lawmakers adjourn for the year for operations in Iraq for the beginning of 2006. Military commanders expect that pot to last through May. "They were very ambitious," said Loren Thompson, a military analyst with the Lexington Institute, a Washington-based think tank, who has...

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2005 – Earlier this year, President Bush asked Congress to pass critical legislation to give U.S. troops the resources they need to fight and win the war on terror. That was one of the key victories accomplished during the congressional session that wrapped up this week, the president said during his weekly radio address this morning. Bush signed into law on May 11 legislation that provides $82 billion in supplemental funding, most of it to help cover the cost of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The measure provides $75.9 billion for the Defense Department, including funds for...

In short, this legislation requires federal employees to spend time near Constitution Day at their department's direction. The new rules do not refer to a 'living document.' It also changes US Code describing September 17th to be Constitution Day instead of citizenship day. See also Indy Pendance's WP article thread: Skip to comments. New Law Requires Workers To Learn About Constitution (Federal Employees)

House Readies More War Funding June 17, 2005 The House of Representatives on Thursday considered an additional $45 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan next year on a presumption that U.S. troops will need the money to defeat insurgencies and defend the nascent democracies there. Although the measure came up late Thursday, the House postponed a vote on it until Monday. The money would be above the $82 billion approved for the same purpose in May. President Bush did not request the additional money, which is being added to the Defense Department budget rather than approved separately, as has been done...

WASHINGTON, 13 May 2005 — President George W. Bush signed Wednesday an $81 billion package to finance military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The emergency package includes $76 billion for military operations, with the rest going to civilian spending and international aid to Sudan, the Palestinians and victims of a tsunami that hit Asia late last year. The monies are intended to fund US military operations through the end of the 2005 fiscal year, which ends September 30. The legislation also includes $92 million to aid displaced persons in Sudan and 907 million dollars for Asian countries struck by December’s...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress approved an additional $82 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan and combating terrorism worldwide on Tuesday, boosting the cost of the global effort since 2001 to more than $300 billion. The Senate approved the measure by a 100-0 vote Tuesday. The House easily approved the measure last week. It now goes to President Bush for his signature, which is certain. The fifth such emergency spending package Congress has taken up since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the bill includes sweeping immigration changes, a nearly tenfold increase in the one-time payment for families of troops killed in...

From The Kansas City Star: WASHINGTON — Nearly $100 million in Iraqi reconstruction cash — intended to be handed out by U.S. workers in shrink-wrapped bricks of $100 bills — can't be accounted for, federal auditors reported Wednesday. A criminal investigation into possible fraud in a handful of cases is under way to determine what happened to some of the $96.6 million earmarked to rebuild south-central Iraq, according to a report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. The money came from Iraqi oil sales and other local revenue, not from U.S. taxpayers, and it was to be distributed...

Army Running Out Of Money WASHINGTON - The Army is close to running out of money for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the Pentagon. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld informed Congress Wednesday the Army's operating fund will be exhausted early next month, and the Army is already slowing its spending. The war in Iraq costs more than $1 billion a week, and most of the cost is incurred by the Army. The Afghan operation costs about $250 million a week. Although the House and Senate have approved a $82 billion supplemental appropriation for this year's military operations, the...

The Senate moved toward approving $81 billion for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on Thursday in a measure that would push the total cost of combat and reconstruction past $300 billion. Both the Senate and House versions of the measure would give President Bush much of the money he requested, but the chambers differ over what portion should go to military operations versus other assistance. Immigration changes, a U.S. embassy in Baghdad, military death benefits and an aircraft carrier are among the many other issues of conflict that will have to be sorted out by Senate and House negotiators. Congressional...

WASHINGTON-The Senate moved toward approving $81 billion (?62 billion) for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on Thursday in a measure that would push the total cost of combat and reconstruction past $300 billion. Both the Senate and House versions of the measure would give President George W. Bush much of the money he requested, but the chambers differ over what portion should go to military operations versus other assistance. Immigration changes, a U.S. embassy in Baghdad, military death benefits and an aircraft carrier are among the many other issues of conflict that will have to be sorted out by...

Senate sides agree on how to handle issues attached to supplemental funding for Iraq, Afghanistan. WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans and Democrats worked out a deal Friday on how to handle immigration issues attached to a spending measure for U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The immigration measures spilled into the Senate's debate over an $80.6 billion military-spending bill after the House included measures in its version to deny driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and make it harder for foreigners to stay in the United States on claims of asylum. One measure to be voted on , sponsored by Sen. Larry...

THE WASHINGTON TIMES Senate Democrats are threatening to bog down the emergency war-spending bill with a broad debate on immigration if Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist doesn't win a guarantee from House Republicans to drop driver's license limits from their chamber's version. Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, said yesterday that he wants to ensure the eventual House-Senate conference will not include the House-passed Real ID Act, which cracks down on illegal immigrants' ability to use driver's licenses and restricts asylum claims. Click to learn more... "The problem that is here is that when they go to conference, they just...

IT'S ONE THING to read about the "Summer of Threat," as we do in the government's new WMD report. That's history. What's unnerving is to discover that Washington, D.C. has neglected to spend even half of the $145 million it's been allotted for counterterrorism by the federal government. The Washington Post solemnly reports that $120 million received by the national capital region between 2002 and 2004 remains unspent. The money in question is "earmarked for such critical items as hospital beds and protective gear for rescue workers." Admittedly, this isn't quite as shocking as Camilla Parker Bowles' wedding hat, but...

My friends lib hubby (she's conservative) sent her a link to this site. Does anyone you there know where you can find dollar figures for this stuff? Is this website anywhere close to accurate? Thanks for any help - I plan to send her a link to this thread once a few responses are posted!

US House cuts back military aid for Poland 2005-03-17, 14:17 The US House of Representatives approved an $81.4 billion war spending bill that would slash President George Bush's foreign aid request and add nearly $2 billion more than he sought for defense. The bill cuts $400 million that Bush had asked for to reward war allies within the so-called Solidarity Fund. One fourth of the fund money was supposed to be given to Poland – according to the promise president Aleksander Kwasniewski brought back from his talks with GW Bush earlier this year. In a statement the White House asked...

WASHINGTON, March 15 - The House on Tuesday tied a contentious immigration bill to a measure to provide an additional $81.3 billion for military operations and foreign aid, potentially complicating negotiations with the Senate on both issues. Most of the money in the spending bill would go to Iraq and Afghanistan, and the day's debate offered Republicans and Democrats a platform to debate foreign and budgetary policy. Several members criticized the Bush administration for seeking the money outside the usual appropriations process even though many of the expenses were long anticipated. Drawing particular criticism was a provision to spend $590...

Action Alert: War, baseball & national ID March 14, 2005 Tomorrow evening or Wednesday morning the U.S. House will vote on the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief -- all rolled into one awful bill: H.R. 1268. We urge a "no" vote because of what the bill contains tonight. (We can only imagine what will be added during the next 24 hours when members' pet projects are funded to buy those members' votes.) At $87.5 billion, it will be the second largest supplemental appropriations bill in the history of the world (and...

The debate continues about US troop strength and its impact on the ability of our forces to conduct sustained combat operations in the War on Terror. Recently, The Weekly Standard published a bi-partisan Open Letter to the majority and minority leaders of both houses of Congress. The letter urges the Congressional leaders to enact legislation to increase the size of the US Army and the US Marine Corps by 25,000 per year over a period of “several years.” The letter is signed by an impressive group of retired military leaders, military historians and analysts, and former members of the civilian...

WASHINGTON - President Bush was poised to officially ask Congress Monday for an estimated $82 billion to cover the costs of continuing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and a myriad of other internationally related expenses, including training Iraqi security forces and aiding victims of the tsunami. The White House was to send the supplemental budget request to Capitol Hill late Monday, White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters. Included in the request is $74.9 billion for the Defense Department, including $5 billion for transforming Army divisions and brigades and $5.7 billion for training and equipping Iraqi military and...