Monday, September 25, 2006

What's $50 billion between friends?

The Army is looking for $50 billion more for FY2008. This would bring its budget to $139 billion. Rumsfeld wants it capped at $114 billion. General Schoonmaker, the head Army honcho, has yet to submit his budget even though it was due August 15. This is highly irregular.

Schoonmaker has said, "There's no sense in us submitting a budget that we can't execute, a broken budget." He wants the money in part to pay to repair equipment that has seen a lot of service in Iraq. He has also said that he can't keep the commitments expected of the Army without a lot more money. Some feel that a fair portion of the extra money wanted is for new weapons, not directly related to the cost of the war.

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