White House Pushes Pentagon To Rein In Spending

[Judi Lynn]

From the Los Angeles Times

White House Pushes Pentagon To Rein In Spending
December 19, 2004
By MARK MAZZETTI, Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON -- The White House is pressing Pentagon officials to cut tens of billions of dollars from their proposed budgets over the next several years, signaling that the Bush administration's massive defense buildup during the years following the Sept. 11 attacks is coming to an end.

The White House move to rein in Pentagon spending - described by defense officials and outside experts monitoring the negotiations - comes as the nation faces rising budget deficits and growing costs for the Iraq war, currently about $4.4 billion a month.

The Pentagon budget cuts will not affect spending on the war in Iraq and operations in Afghanistan, which are paid through separate emergency allocations. The Pentagon is preparing a supplemental war budget for 2005 that officials said could total $80 billion, up from $66 billion the previous year.

If the Pentagon's emergency supplemental budget for 2005 is approved, Congress could end up authorizing nearly $500 billion for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year.
(snip/...)

http://www.ctnow.com/news/nationworld/hc-pentagon1219.artdec19,1,1775453.story?coll=hc-headlines-nationworld

~~ OR ~~

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-pentagon19dec19,0,7662284.story?coll=la-home-headlines

(Free registration required at both links)

[da_chimperor]

1. Aww, rumsfailed doesn't get any shiny new cruise missiles for x-mas.

:nopity:

[HuffleClaw]

2. creative accounting 101

i'd like to see a TOTAL of ALL 'emergency', 'supplemental', or like budgets granted them since this fiasco began.

[hadrons]

3. I guess even the WH numbnuts see the coming financial trainwreak

[amber dog democrat]

5. but wait, maybe its so

we can have more tax cuts for the top 1% wealty constituants.

[sweetheart]

10. and there are no brakes!

too little too late.

[annabanana]

4. maybe they should kick Halliburton off the gravy train

and take some of the money they're shoveling at mercenaries and use it for the kids we should be using it for.

[mirounga]

6. Kerry

Do you mean that,'like Kerry', the * administration is trying to cut the pentagon budget? Why, the country won't stand for it. I'm shocked. shocked!!

[gratuitous]

12. {Gasp}

The Bush administration doesn't support the troops!

Of course, any "cuts" in the Pentagon budget will be for little niggling items like armor for vehicles. Money for expensive boondoggles like Star Wars? The faucet's open and running at capacity.

[underpants]

7. More of the fake infighting in the W regime

Total BS.

[rocktivity]

8. They can start by cutting off Halliburton.

:headbang:
rocknation

[VegasWolf]

9. Quietly cut down on body armor. n/t

[Az_lefty]

11. So much for "up armor" kits. n/t

[TahitiNut]

13. More privatization ... less for privates and corporals.

When Reichpublicans "rein in spending" it's always to the least wealthy in favor of the wealthy and powerful. They'll outsource and offshore everything except profits - profits for the fewest and most wealthy,