Defense Supporters Anxious over Picks for Super Committee
- August 11, 2011
- comments: 1
None of the 12 lawmakers named to the congressional committee tasked with trimming the deficit by $1.5 trillion is considered a defense hawk, but defense proponents say there still are reasons to believe the Pentagon’s budget largely will be spared a second round of deep cuts.
Their hopes primarily rest on the prospect that the committee will come to some sort of ‘grand bargain’ and avoid triggering up to $1.2 trillion in spending cuts, half of which would be imposed on DOD.
According to one House Armed Services Committee staffer’s take on the selections of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), the super committee will focus on entitlements, reported the Hill newspaper. “And that is entirely appropriate since there are no more savings possible in the DOD budget,” the aide said.
Defense supporters also are pinning their hopes on two members from the Senate — Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.). They note that Murray is a strong advocate for Boeing and Kyl is a backer of Raytheon due to the presence of those defense manufacturers in their states.
Still, the largest risk to Pentagon spending lies in the likelihood that the committee deadlocks and the automatic spending cuts go into effect. That outcome is more likely than not, Bob Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, told GovernmentExecutive.com.
Three of the committee members — Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) and Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) — all served on the Simpson-Bowles commission created by the president, but voted against its plan to reduce the deficit through a combination of spending cuts and tax increases, Bixby pointed out. A fourth member, Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), named after Bixby was interviewed, also voted against the Simpson-Bowles commission’s $4 trillion deficit reduction plan, reported CQ Today.
August 12, 2011 at 5:04 pm, Gene McCarthy said:
THIS IS A GAME CHANGER
With all the current talk on Wall Street and in Washington concerning the state of our economy, maybe it’s time to stop looking at individual plans and think about what we really want and need…
WHAT IF there was a method of getting capital to flow into the redevelopment of Brownfields thereby immediately creating jobs using NO TAX PAYER MONEY.
WHAT IF there was a way to create well planned communities and infrastructure that at the same time PAYS FOR CLEANING UP THE LEGACY ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITIES.
WHAT IF this new process ATTRACTS CAPITAL that is currently sitting on the side lines and provides a safe, high return even in today’s markets.
WHAT IF together we could create JOBS in America, clean up blighted areas that exacerbate urban decay, AND increase tax bases—ALL WITHOUT PUBLIC FUNDS.
WE CAN
This solution doesn’t have to be imagined, it is here. It doesn’t require new legislation or regulation; it WORKS WITHIN EXISTING LAWS. We don’t need “reform” or more rules that take time and bog down the system even further and allow the culpable parties greater leverage in the legal system. We all benefit. An easier solution to budget problems is to focus on the creation of new profits and related tax revenues as well as continuing to cut costs. The result is sustainable job creation, new tax bases, and improved inner-city infrastructure.
This process is built around THREE ISSUED PATENTS that protect the process, product and intellectual property. Accounting opinion is from Price Waterhouse Coopers and legal opinion from Skadden Arps. The underwriting process and financial Instrument brings together all of the parties needed to characterize, remediate, finance, insure, entitle, land-plan and redevelop previously used sites into a single set of inter-dependent agreements, at a single point in time,
BEFORE significant expenses are incurred and capital is invested. Therefore all parties are protected i.e. site owner, developer, investor, etc. for the first time and new economics are produced.
We would like to start a dialogue with you today. Please call me and we can discuss this further. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank You, Gene McCarthy
973-239-1217
973-941-5155
PS—We have had numerous meetings with the GSA & USAF