Associated
Press
Donna
Cassata
May 12, 2011
We have been waiting for this bit of Divine intervention
on behalf of our men and women in arms.
We have repeated over recent months that this dirty stuff through deal
from the Democrat Senate and President in the last days of their gross majority
– would not sail through to the military branches as first beleived,
but would be halted for the remainder of this ungodly president’s term.
By a vote of 60-1, the House Armed Services Committee approved the broad, $553 billion defense blueprint that would provide a 1.6 percent increase in military pay, fund an array of aircraft, ships and submarines, slightly increase health care fees for working-age retirees and meet the Pentagon's request for an additional $118 billion to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The lone no vote was Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif.
The Republican-controlled panel challenged the Democratic president on
scores of issues, from building an extra fighter jet engine to his
decision-making on the fate of terrorist suspects at
Emotions were raw over whether Pakistan was complicit in protecting al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden deep inside the country, but the committee rejected an effort to cut $100 million from the $1.1 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars for the reluctant ally in the terrorist fight. The effort failed on a voice vote.
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Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., the committee chairman, said the U.S.-Pakistani relationship is tenuous and cutting funds could further damage ties. "We have to use some constraint," McKeon said.
Days after
Obama is nearing a decision on the size and pace of
The House will consider the bill the week of May 23, with lawmakers certain to revive many of the budget and political fights that marked the committee's 16 hours of sometimes rancorous debate.
In a series of contentious votes, the panel added provisions that strike at repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The votes came even as Americans increasingly support an end to the 17-year-old ban, with polls finding three-quarters say openly gay men and women should be allowed to serve in the military.
The committee, on a 33-27 vote, adopted an amendment by Rep. Duncan Hunter Jr., R-Calif., that would require all four service chiefs to certify that the change won't hurt troops' ability to fight. The repeal law only requires certification from the president, defense secretary and the Joint Chiefs chairman.
"I want them to sign off on the repeal of `don't ask, don't tell,'" Hunter said of the military leaders, arguing that Obama never served in the military, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, has never been in ground combat and Defense Secretary Robert Gates is a political appointee. "I, and others in this room, have more combat experience than the folks who sign off on `don't ask, don't tell.'"
That drew a rebuke from Rep. Adam Smith of
"That's a dangerous thing to say, that they're not quite qualified to make military decisions," Smith said of Obama, Gates and Mullen. "The president decides to go to war, they decided to take out Osama bin Laden."
In fact, the service chiefs have told Congress they communicate frequently with Gates and Mullen, and their opinions on whether the policy would undercut readiness are carefully considered. Last month, in testifying to the House panel, the four service chiefs largely echoed Gates' assessment that repeal would have little impact on the military.
Obama signed the law reversing the ban in December. Final implementation would go into effect 60 days after the president and his senior defense advisers certify that lifting the ban wouldn't affect readiness. Military leaders say training should be completed by midsummer, setting the stage for certification.
That timetable — plus strong opposition in the Democratic-controlled Senate — likely will render the House panel's provisions moot.
Still, the committee approved a provision by Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., that would prohibit the use of military facilities for same-sex marriage ceremonies and bar Defense Department employees from conducting such ceremonies. The vote was 38-23.
On Tuesday, the Navy abruptly reversed its decision that would have allowed chaplains to perform same-sex unions if the Pentagon certifies openly gay military service later this year.
The House panel on Wednesday also approved an amendment by Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman for the purpose of military benefits, regulations and policy. The vote was 39-22.
Earlier in the day, the panel voted to limit Obama's authority to reduce the nation's nuclear arsenal and implement a U.S.-Russia arms control treaty overwhelmingly ratified by the Senate in December.
Over the objections of the Defense Department and Democrats, the panel
approved an amendment that would prohibit money to take nuclear weapons out of
operation unless the administration provides a report to Congress on how it
plans to modernize the remaining weapons. The panel also adopted an amendment
that says the president may not change the target list or move weapons out of
The New START treaty, signed by Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in April 2010, would limit each country's
strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550, down from the current ceiling of 2,200. It
also would establish a system for monitoring and verification.
The provisions added by the House panel are unlikely to survive in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Still, they elicited a fierce and lengthy debate in the committee.
Provisions in the bill also limit Obama's authority to transfer terrorist
suspects from
Smith offered two amendments to undo the legislation, pointing out that some
400 terrorist suspects have been tried in federal courts, convicted and sent to
"They're here and being held safely, it proves we can do it," he said. The measures both failed.
The legislation also would prohibit family members from visiting detainees
at
Frustrated with Obama's consultation with Congress on Libya, the committee unanimously approved a measure seeking "any official document, record, memo, correspondence or other communication of the Department of Defense ... that refers or relates to any consultation with Congress" on Libya.
The bill takes a step toward reviving an extra engine for the next generation F-35 fighter plane despite objections from the administration and Gates that the engine is not needed.
The Pentagon recently notified General Electric/Rolls Royce that it had terminated its contract and work was stopped a month ago, saving $1 million a day. The company said last week it would spend its own money to build the engine.
The bill would force the Pentagon to reopen competition for the engine if defense officials have to ask Congress for more money so Pratt & Whitney can build the chosen design.
Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., called the effort a "back-door way" of getting the engine back in.