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The US is going to destroy about $7 billion worth of military equipment in Afghanistan because it would cost too much money to ship it home or because the gear wouldn't be of much use anymore, reports the Washington Post. That includes about 2,000 hulking MRAPs—mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles that cost $1 million apiece. The excess equipment is being turned into scrap metal.

The funniest thing about the Democrats’ ridiculous “sequester theater,” in which they pretended that increasing government spending by 6 percent instead of 8 percent would leave America in ruins, is that they didn’t waste any effort on maintaining the pretense. Even while they were trying to scare us with the alleged horrors of austerity, the government was throwing big money into various frivolities. Once the sequester drama was over, the champagne corks popped, and the caviar resumed flowing, with breathtaking speed. So, even as the President gears up for a $100 million junket to Africa (hastily cancelling a big Tanzanian...

The International Monetary Fund on Friday urged the United States to repeal sweeping federal budget cuts that will be a severe drag on economic growth this year. "The deficit reduction in 2013 has been excessively rapid and ill-designed," the IMF said. "These cuts should be replaced with a back-loaded mix of entitlement savings and new revenues, along the lines of the (U.S.) administration's budget proposal." The IMF warned the sequester cuts to education, science and infrastructure spending could reduce U.S. potential growth in the medium-term. Economists believe the expiration of payroll tax cuts and the increase in taxes on richer...

You may have heard that White House tours were cut due to across-the-board federal spending cuts known as the sequester. Or that Congress made sure to minimize disruptions to air travel. Or perhaps you know someone being furloughed as a result of the cuts. But did you know a major fight is being waged over sequester cuts to some cancer drugs? After Congress failed to pass a budget this spring, a 2 percent cut to Medicare chemotherapy drug reimbursements went into effect April 1 as part of the across-the-board federal spending cuts designed to save $85.4 billion this year. Many...

Recovery: Liberals are apoplectic about "austerity," claiming that draconian spending cuts are killing jobs and economic growth. But it's President Obama's tax hikes, not spending restraint, that are hurting growth prospects. Everywhere you turn these days, liberals are bemoaning the harm caused by "austerity." The left-wing Center for American Progress claims spending cuts will cost 2 million jobs over the next seven years. The Brookings Institution says they've already cost 2 million. [snip] But researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco looked at the data and came to a completely different conclusion.

**SNIP** According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, sequestration will slash $2 billion from housing assistance and community development programs funded through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Blacks received 43 percent of housing vouchers to supplement housing costs. Whites received 36 percent of housing vouchers. Without the vouchers, these families would see those costs skyrocket. Other families will lose counseling services that help distressed homeowners navigate foreclosure proceedings. **SNIP** “Due to sequestration, 337,000 victims of domestic violence, child sexual abuse, adult sexual assault, and other crimes will lose critical support and services they receive through the...

The White House sought to pressure House Republicans into a budget conference with the Senate on Monday, warning President Obama would veto any 2014 spending bills based on the House GOP budget. In Statements of Administration Policy, the White House said Obama would veto all spending bills unless they pass Congress "in the context of an overall budget framework that supports our recovery and enables sufficient investments in education, infrastructure, innovation and national security for our economy to compete in the future." That language suggests the administration, like congressional Democrats, wants to use the conference to turn off the automatic...

In addition to leaving Inspector General posts at key agencies vacant, a March 5 report from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform claims the Obama administration has ignored 16,906 recommendations from 73 agency OIG’s that could potentially save taxpayers $67 billion per year. “This report chronicles $67 billion in unimplemented reforms that non-partisan Inspectors General have identified,” said Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R–CA). “President Obama should listen to the recommendations of his Administration’s own Inspector Generals and work with Congress to implement common sense spending cuts that target wasteful and poorly performing programs instead of settling for the...

The sequester cuts have grounded the Thunderbirds and other U.S. military flight demonstration teams, but it hasn’t stopped Air Force Academy graduates from getting their own ceremonial flyover. With the help of donations, nine World War II era planes, flown by pilots from the Texas Flying Legends Museum and the National Museum of World War II Aviation, performed at the U.S. Air Force Class of 2013 commencement ceremony in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday.

Yup, 11 Mondays of furlough starting 8 July until the end of the fiscal. We had a briefing today from our GO (Major General, USA) and FY14 & 15 is not looking good. Reduction in force (RIF) looks probable for both the active and civilian Army force. Myself - being associated , active duty (Navy), contractor or civilian with the military since I was 17, it is very depressing. I am the first to admit that there are areas of personnel waste to trim, but we are at the point of "gutting" our defense. IMOHO This may be worse then...

The budget cuts known as sequestration were supposed to wreak havoc, forcing the shrinking of critical workforces including airport security officers and food inspectors. But since sequestration kicked in March 4, the government has posted openings for 4,300 federal job titles to hire some 10,300 people. The median position has a salary topping out at $76,000, and one-fourth of positions pay $113,000 or more, according to an analysis by The Washington Times of federal job listings. Altogether, the jobs will pay up to $792 million per year. Including job postings that have been open since before sequestration, the government is...

The “World Famous Rocketeers” were flying high two months ago. The Air Force fighter squadron had returned safely with its F-15E Strike Eagles and aircraft crews from a six-month Middle East deployment, and in March the entire wing passed a readiness evaluation with an unusually high rating. That was then. In April, the Air Force ordered the Rocketeers — more formally, the 336th Fighter Squadron — to stop flying because of the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration. Now, the squadron’s two dozen F-15s are parked underneath canopies on the flight line, with red covers over their gaping afterburners to...

The day after a four-lane interstate bridge in Washington state collapsed, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is using the incident to blame Republicans for the "dangerous consequences" of the sequestration spending cuts that started in March. "For 62 days, the American people have waited for House Republicans to move forward with the budget process and replace the devastating sequester cuts that are slashing into our country's safety net, national security, and public infrastructure," Pelosi's office said in a press release. "Yesterday, an Interstate 5 bridge north of Seattle collapsed after an oversized truck hit the structure. Thankfully, no one...

WASHINGTON, May 23 (UPI) -- The Internal Revenue Service and three other U.S. government agencies will be closed Friday as employees take a forced unpaid holiday due to spending cuts. The Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Office of Management and Budget are also set to be closed due to furloughs, CNN Money reported. The one-day shutdown of the IRS, at a time when many people want to know when to expect their tax refund checks, is likely to have the most noticeable impact, CNN said. snip IRS offices and hotlines will...

The Obamas announced today that they will be hosting another “Performance at the White House” event on May 28 to honor American singer and songwriter Carole King: As part of their “In Performance at the White House” series, the President and First Lady will host a concert in the East Room honoring singer-songwriter Carole King, who will be awarded the 2013 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. President Obama will present the award as he did when the Library of Congress honored Stevie Wonder (2009), Sir Paul McCartney (2010), and the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal...

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama urged Congress on Thursday to fund upgrades to US embassy security around the world, as a way of truly honouring the memory of four Americans killed in Benghazi. Obama made the call in his latest bid to regain the initiative after Republicans accused his administration of covering up details of the September 11 attack to safeguard his re-election hopes last year. The president said he was committed to improving security at US posts abroad as recommended by a State Department review board set up to probe the attack on the US mission in the eastern Libyan...

SIERRA VISTA — Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has ordered the furlough of Defense Department civilians to begin in early July. Today, Hagel directed 11 furlough days for civil service employees which is half of what was initially anticipated.

How long ago is seems now.Bob Woodward complained in February about heavy handed administration treatment after Woodward reported that Obama was untruthful about who came up with the idea of the Sequester:http://www.youtube.com/embed/FdfHEdeCC0QThe reaction from the left media in particular was savagery, belittling Woodward, making is seem as if the words used by the White House “you will regret” were blown out of proportion by a self-aggrandizing Woodward: Wow, looks like Woodward is going the full David Mamet/Judy Miller combo.This is gonna be fun to watch— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 28, 2013 Kevin Drum at Mother Jones exclaimed, Seriously, WTF Is...

Defense Department civilians to go on unpaid leave for 11 days Photo 10:29am EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will announce on Tuesday that most of the Defense Department's 800,000 civilian employees will be placed on unpaid leave for 11 days, as the military scrambles to comply with budget cutting targets by the end of September. Hagel will announce the decision at a town hall meeting with Defense Department employees scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EDT (1630 GMT). The furlough is shorter than the earlier estimates of 14 days issued in March and 22 days in February, but...

With furloughs looming, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter this week paid tribute to the job done by the Pentagon's civilian work force while warning that there soon would be fewer of them doing it. In a series of appearances that fell during Public Service Recognition Week, Carter said the department had yet to come to a decision on how many furlough days to impose to meet the budget-cutting demands of the Congressional sequester process in the current fiscal year. Carter called the across-the-board sequester cuts "stupid," and said they would result in the loss of five to six percent of...