(March 2, 2009 - Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images AsiaPac)
The Senate passed a $680 billion Pentagon Policy bill yesterday 68-29. The bill was a piece of legislation that emerged out of a Conference Committee between both Houses to resolve conflicting bills. Support obviously reached across party lines as both sides walked away from this measure claiming victory in the $680 billion bill. It should be pointed out that this not the Pentagon’s annual budget regardless of the high number. The Pentagon budget under the past few presidencies has been a bit of a piece-meal endeavor, which calls upon supplemental funding and appropriations measures masked as “policy” legislation such as this one. It’s a clever little game that they play so that neither side of the aisle really knows how much is being spent or what its being spent on. I think you will be surprised by how much was in this bill and after reading it, you will be equally surprised that you heard nothing about it. Here is a list of what both sides were able to squeeze into this thing.
The Good Side of the Bill
3.4 % pay increase for military personnel – this may not sound like much but it is .5% more than the average in the private sector.
Prohibits any detainee, being held at Gitmo, from being transferred to the US for trial until 45 days after the administration has given notice to Congress.
$560 million for an alternative engine program for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter – The main engine is being built in in Connecticut by Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp. The measure will provide funding for an alternative engine to be built by GE and Rolls Royce in Indiana. The President had threatened to veto any bill that slowed the process of developing the F-35 but it has since backtracked.
Allows the US to provide the Afghan army with new military equipment
Authorizes cash payments to Afghans to try to gain support and their loyalties in the fight again the Taliban.
Raises troop levels to 1,425,000 – an increase of 55,000 troops.
Increases, from $500 to $1,100, the supplemental allowance paid to service members with large families to make sure they earn at least 130 percent of the federal poverty line. (This may be the saddest part of the bill that it takes such an increase to keep our service men and women above the poverty line – they are defending our freedom and they need $500 to stay above poverty levels? Very sad)
The Bad Side of the Bill
Obama / Reid / Pelosi – who by the way only become fiscally aware when it comes to cutting military spending. Just thought I should point that out before we proceed and it seems like they are interested in the bottom line here.
Termination of the F-22 fighter jet project which has been in the works since the first Bush administration.
Cuts the VH-71 Helicopter program from the President’s fleet – remember this is that fleet of billion dollar choppers that McCain so proudly called the President on in a Press Conference. We should probably call this one a push but we will list it here for now.
Cuts the missile defense program by 12%
Affirms the Obama decision to eliminate the missile defense system im Eastern Europe
Only a 4% increase in Pentagon funding – big win here for Dems. Republican Senator James Inholfe said of this small increase, “The bill is the beginning of a downward spiral in defense spending… We have reached a crossroads and have chosen not to invest in the long-term modernization and readiness of our military.”
The balancing provision: You didn’t think all of this military spending could come without a price did you?
A measure to strengthen federal hate crimes laws to include “violence against homosexuals.” It will provide federal protection for individuals attacked because of their sexual orientation or their gender – tell me how this belongs in this bill? I don’t care where you come down on this issue. It is a matter for another day. When will the idiots quit playing politics with important matters?
Relatively Neutral
* Changes to voting procedures for U.S. troops and other American voters overseas.
* Grants $130 billion request from the President to fund wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
* Alters the process for trial of enemy combatants by military commissions to conform with a Supreme Court Ruling.
You can read more on the reaction to the Hate Crimes provision here. Fox News
It is a shame that this bill was passed in silence as I am sure there is much on all your lists that all parties would find objectionable.
When did everything become a “hate crime?” Now killing someone, raping someone, or assaulting someone is not enough? Now there is an extra penalty that takes the Intent standard to a whole new threshold? How in this nation, can we stand for a statute that would allow a jury of our peers to not only judge our level of intent but also the motivations for that intent. It is nothing short of a sci-fi Hollywood script in the making. Now if a white man kills a black man it is a hate crime? If a straight man kills a gay man it is a hate crime? What happens when a gay man molests a little boy? Is it a hate crime as well? I have no doubt that it will not be. lets punish the criminals not make political statements.
I am confused here. What is the compromise for these liberals to agree to make these military spending moves? Is it just the hatecrimes bill that you are right has no place in this bill?
Yes it would appear that the hate crimes provision was the compromise here. Most of the bill was a no brainer and could have been included in the neutral column. Sure, the administration and some on the Left wanted to see many of these projects scaled back, but they did get a big win with the cut to missile defense as well. I feel certain that there is a bigger story with the alternative engine bid debate and i am looking into it. If anyone has insight into this feel free to share as I have no doubt that favors and backdoor dealing is involved.
[...] chump change. In the last month alone his caucus has gone quietly as the Senate signed off on a $680 billion defense bill riddled with pork and waste, passed a $1.1 trillion appropriations bill that increased [...]