Congressional Task Force Recommends Slashing Military Budget

[Chris_]

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/06/navy_force_cuts_062810w/

Task force: Budget fix requires extreme cuts

By Lance M. Bacon - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jun 28, 2010 13:59:10 EDT
   
Cut two carriers and 40 percent of new ballistic-missile subs, then slash the fleet to 230 ships and eight air wings. Terminate the F-35, Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle and V-22 Osprey. Drop down to six expeditionary strike groups, eliminate the maritime prepositioning force and place greater emphasis on surging smaller naval groups as needed.

These are but some of the eyebrow-raising recommendations provided to Congress on June 10 by the Sustainable Defense Task Force. The group was formed at the request of Reps. Barney Frank, D-Mass.; Walter B. Jones, R-N.C.; and Ron Paul, R-Texas; and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. The task force proposal amounts to $1.1 trillion in defense cuts over 10 years. Slightly more than half of that amount comes from personnel budgets; the rest comes by cutting research, development and procurement of weapons systems.

While acknowledging that its recommendations will be hard for some to accept, the task force defended its report, saying a “significant number of the cuts that we propose and review represent outdated, wasteful and ineffective systems that could be foregone without any arguable impact on our national security.”

But not everyone is in full agreement — and that begins with one of the lawmakers who helped form the task force.

Jones told Navy Times that a strong military is absolutely necessary, but he requested the task force be formed because “this country is in very deep financial trouble, and I think it’s going to get worse.” He desires careful and complete review of federal spending — including defense spending — but said he does not agree with all of the task force’s recommendations. Specifically, he supports the continuation of the V-22 and opposes a reduction of Navy ships.

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Balance at link......

doc

[DumbAss Tanker]

Looking at the cast of characters, what a surprise.  Not.

Those are some to-the-bone cuts, really into the bone when you get down to cases.  In addition to crippling any credible response capability in Korea and taking us to the breaking point in Afghanistan, it would probably do fatal collateral damage to the aerospace industry and what remains of our shipbuilding/shipfitting capability.   

[Mike220]

Holy shit... 

[cavegal]

You know if they get there way eventually people will be killed because of them.... They already are on the border just for votes.

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

3 fags and Barney Frank.

That's a helluva crew.

[RightCoast]

gotta pay for healthcare somehow...

[rich_t]

It's Carter on steroids.

[Thor]

It's Carter on steroids.

You took the words right out of my mouth, more or less.