Chief executives from Lockheed Martin Corporation have predicted they may have to fire 10,000 workers if sequestration budget cuts are forced on Congress, but prophecies of economic doom if defense spending is cut aren't up to snuff. Former Vice President Dick Cheney,...
Warfare State Sending US Off ‘Fiscal Cliff’
The US budget deficit grew by nearly $60 billion in June, and is on track to exceed $1 trillion for the fourth straight year. By the end of this fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30, the full budget deficit will total $1.17 trillion, according to the Congressional...
$513 Billion DoD Budget Won’t Budge
A top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said Wednesday that the $513 billion defense budget for 2013 cannot be negotiated upwards. Or downwards. Rep. Adam Smith said the scheduled amount is what Congress approved last year as part of the Budget Control...
Congress Tries to Avoid Mandated Budget Cuts, Especially for Defense
Republicans are hurriedly searching for ways to avoid any cuts to the defense budget after the super-committee's failure to propose overall cuts locked in automatic across the board cuts to defense in 2013. The approximately $1.2 trillion in automatic budget cuts -...
Congress is Trying to Scuttle Committee’s Legal Obligation to Cut Defense
The initial deal to reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next decade in exchange for raising the debt ceiling contained what is called a trigger mechanism: if the debt committee couldn't pass a budget cutting proposal, automatic across the board cuts would be...