Brook Reinhold was riding in an armored truck last July with soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when the vehicle’s gunner stood to look out of the turret. As he moved into position, the gunner inadvertently stepped on an antenna cable, shorting out the vehicle’s radio.
Read MorePentagon’s Worst Nightmare 0
The Daily Beast: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/03/pentagon-braces-for-steep-defense-budget-cuts-after-debt-deal.html During a decade of warfare, the Pentagon mostly had its way with budgets, as Congress was reluctant to turn down many spending requests for troops in the field. There was billions here for IED-detection and billions there for weapons like the F-35 joint strike fighter, the Virginia class of submarines, or […]
Read MoreNew Jockeying in Congress for Next Phase in Budget Fight 0
Republicans and Democrats maneuvered for advantage on Wednesday in the next battle over federal spending, trying to influence the choice of members and frame the agenda for a powerful “supercommittee” that is supposed to recommend at least $1.5 trillion of additional deficit reduction measures.
Read MorePanel May Trigger Lobbying Bonanza 0
Roll Call: http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_18/panel-may-trigger-lobbying-bonanza-207939-1.html Two of the biggest spenders on lobbying, the health care and defense industries, might end up working against each other in a furious four-month campaign focused on the deficit reduction committee-to-be. The tension between the two heavy hitters centers on the provision of the debt ceiling agreement that triggers $1.2 trillion in […]
Read MoreContractors Assess Default 0
The Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903635604576472380486091522.html?KEYWORDS=NATHAN+HODGE U.S. defense firms and government contractors are starting to prepare for the unthinkable: The possibility that the U.S. government, the ultimate reliable customer, may not be able to pay its bills on time. As the clock ticks down in debt ceiling talks, defense industry officials say they are contemplating a […]
Read MoreDefense Industry Fears More Budget Cuts 0
Arms manufacturers are trying to fend off a new round of defense-budget cuts they fear could result from deficit-reduction talks under way in Washington.
Read MoreStreet Talk: The Dream of Recess Deferred 0
The day after the Fourth of July should be the start of one of the sacrosanct recess weeks. It’s so ingrained in the internal clocks of lobbyists, staffers and journalists you wouldn’t even need to consult a calendar.
Read MoreLobbying 2011: Not an Easy Sell 0
The 112th Congress, besieged as it is with continued partisan gridlock and obsessed by a federal budget melodrama, will accomplish next to nothing.
Read MorePentagon Trying to Avoid Across-the-Board Cuts 0
The Pentagon is offering new clues on how it plans to meet a White House goal of trimming the military budget by $400 billion over the next decade as it winds down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Read MoreLobbyists Get Busier as Shutdown Looms 0
A federal government shutdown would close some of Washington, D.C.’s most popular attractions and important outposts, but the influence industry won’t even slow down.
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