Defense budget cuts to pay for teacher bailout

[unhappycamper]

Defense budget cuts to pay for teacher bailout
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Aug 6, 2010 16:24:33 EDT

A $10 billion teacher bailout bill that is on a fast track to congressional approval is paid for, in part, with a $3.3 billion cut in defense programs.

The defense cuts may not cause much harm because it is money previously approved but unspent that is simply being rescinded, including $683.5 million unspent from last year’s economic stimulus package and $325 million that was supposed to pay for construction projects.

However, diverting money from the defense budget to education programs would eliminate any opportunity for the Defense Department or Congress to take unobligated money from one defense program to spend on another defense program.

That could be a significant loss as pressure increases to hold down the Pentagon budget. For example, the House defense appropriations subcommittee approved a $7 billion cut in the 2010 defense budget on July 27 that depended on unspent account balances for a large part of the reduction, according to Rep. Norm Dicks, the subcommittee chairman.

The Senate Appropriations Committee, which won’t get around to preparing its version of the 2011 defense budget until September, has an even higher goal of reducing defense spending by $8 billion.



unhappycamper comment: Want to cut a quick $8 billion from the military budget? Don't buy 30 of those $243 million dollar F-35s.

[aquart]

1. Wait. Somebody is cutting the military budget? For TEACHERS?

Am I hallucinating?

[leftofcool]

2. I thought I was having a flashback

[aquart]

3. To when?

[Starry Messenger]

4. While I'm grateful, that's a drop in the bucket from military spending.

Why then are they also taking out 14 billion from the food stamp budget in 2013? http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2010/08/food_stamps_or_teachers_congre.html

[eppur_se_muova]

5. Seriously? No :sarcasm: ?

I had to check what country this was. Still in shock!

[Wounded Bear]

6. A sign of the apocalypse....

Does this mean that the progressives have finally taken over?

15% of the defense budget would pay for healthcare. ;)

[Qutzupalotl]

7. Let the Pentagon have a bake sale if they really need those F-35s.

As in the famous bumper sticker.