Bush’s 2009 Budget Is ‘As Good As It Gets For Defense Contractors’
Bush’s 2009 Budget Is ‘As Good As It Gets For Defense Contractors’
Last week, President Bush submitted his $515.4 billion defense spending budget for FY ‘09. Contained within that budget is a windfall for defense contractors — “$104.2 billion for weapons procurement and nearly $80 billion for research and development.” This budget is 7.5 percent higher than the current year’s.
Even Defense experts are surprised at how generous the Bush administration is willing to be with the taxpayers’ money, in light of a faltering economy and deep cuts to domestic programs:
“The expectation has been that it can’t continue to increase as it has,” Phil Finnegan, a defense analyst at the Teal Group in Fairfax, said of defense spending. “But it has surprised everyone to see how long this increase has continued. This budget was a great budget for all defense contractors.” [...]
“The fiscal year 2009 budget may be about as good as it gets for defense contractors,” said Steve Kosiak, vice president of budget studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. “We have had eight years of quite dramatic growth in [the Defense Department's] weapons acquisition accounts. Whoever the next president is, it is unlikely that we are going to continue a major buildup.
The administration may get its way on many of these spending requests. The military has dispatched “legions of lobbyists and defense contractors” to Capitol Hill to push for approval. Several lawmakers are actually asking for spending above what the administration requested. Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and James Inhofe (R-OK), for example, are lobbying for F-22 fighter planes, even though Defense Secretary Robert Gates has deemed more of these useless planes unnecessary.
A 2007 report by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform found that between 2000 and 2005, procurement was the “fastest growing component of federal discretionary spending.” Non-competitive and sole-source contractors rose “by 115% from $67.5 billion in 2000 to $145 billion in 2005.”
The biggest beneficiary of the Bush administration’s generosity toward contractors? Halliburton.
UPDATE: Noah Shachtman has more on the Air Force’s astronomical requests, which include $13 million for “dorm furnishings.”
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We need to not increase any budget this year, defense included. When the president decreases or holds steady entitlement program spending across the board, I will also ask that he does the same with defense spending.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:09 pmThe Congress needs to squash this like a bug.
Where’s Tom Delay, when you really need it?
Removing the troops from Iraq will be a good start toward a rational economic fix for our nation.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:13 pmCan we please stop calling it “defense”? Invading other people’s countries isn’t defensive, it’s offensive, in every sense of the word.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:13 pmWhoever the next president is, it is unlikely that we are going to continue a major buildup.
Fu(king right.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:14 pmCan we please stop calling it “defense� Invading other people’s countries isn’t defensive, it’s offensive, in every sense of the word.
Comment by Gary Kleppe — February 11, 2008 @ 12:13 pm
Gary, AMEN!
February 11th, 2008 at 12:15 pmBush, serving his base.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:15 pmSame two words to w and cheeennney that Jon Stewart used to bid willard romney adios….
February 11th, 2008 at 12:16 pmIt’s going to be great being able to ride one of those F-22 fighter jets to the poorhouse. Now that’s styling!
February 11th, 2008 at 12:16 pmSaint Ronnie was right when he told us the Soviet Union had nothing on us!
More corporate welfare from the un-American, fascist, reich-wing.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:17 pmFourteen Defining Characteristics of Fascism
# 4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism. Ruling elites always identified closely with the military and the industrial infrastructure that supported it. A disproportionate share of national resources was allocated to the military, even when domestic needs were acute. The military was seen as an expression of nationalism, and was used whenever possible to assert national goals, intimidate other nations, and increase the power and prestige of the ruling elite.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:18 pmAnyone who hasn’t seen the film “Why We Fight” should go out and rent it ASAP. This movie should be mandatory watching for ALL our representatives on the Hill. It’s become apparent that defense lobbyists see this year as a rush to the trough before cutbacks begin next year with a Dem in office. They’re clamoring for every taxpayer’s penny they can get their bloodstained hands on.
“Politics would be a helluva good business if it weren’t for the goddamned people.”
Richard M. Nixon
February 11th, 2008 at 12:18 pmRove knew what he was saying when predicting Iraq won’t be an issue this election. He’s setup so many bombs for Dems they won’t know what to do. Surprize……
February 11th, 2008 at 12:21 pmYep, it’s called Pork. Its only purpose is to enrich themselves and their buddies at the expense of the taxpayers.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:22 pmIt must stink something awful in Washington with all the bullshit and pork poop spread around, not to mention the chickenshit legislators who are afraid to speak up or vote no.
we dont need no stinkin’ recession, just as long as we can borrow the cash from china and then build 10 million more walmarts to make sure china gets their money.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:23 pmThe third reich is coming! The third reich is coming!
February 11th, 2008 at 12:28 pmHere comes the right wing talking point, sponsored by United Defense Industries: “Freedom is not Free!”
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Republicans are great with slogans, and absolutely suck at national security.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:30 pmOn page 2 of that WashPo article:
CACI’s president and chief executive, Paul M. Cofoni ‘expects that as the military draws down troops in Iraq, the “expenses necessary to house them, to feed them, to provide ammunition for them, all get reduced.
“Those funds can be redeployed to other needs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines,” he said. “So the money’s going to go to things like intelligence and homeland security. That’s where we’re well positioned.” ‘
In other words just because the Iraq occupation will probably be ended it doesn’t mean his gravy train will grind to a halt–in fact as long as the US keeps borrowing Chinese money and doesn’t spend a dime on rehabilitating returning veterans, his future looks brighter than ever. What a patriot!
February 11th, 2008 at 12:34 pmTens of thousands of former military are unable to find employment regardless of the technical field they are trained in and the fraudulent recruitment marketing touting great civilian job prospects.
Thousands of reservists are denied their old civilian jobs back.
The Medical Board process and the VA are low-balling injury claims, loosing medical records and claims.
The military is being screwed while Bush and his friends make blood-money.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:37 pmRove knew what he was saying when predicting Iraq won’t be an issue this election -=Zappatero=-
I disagree, its all that McCain [less jobs - 100 years of war] along with the Neo-cons talk about. It is true however that people are more concerned about the economy, however they see getting out of these quagmires as a way to fix our economical woes. I think Rove was wrong. Bush bolsters that by saying its wrong to focus on him [war] but thats exactly what we should focus on, “The course”[disaster] that he wants McCain to follow.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:40 pmPigs at the trough.
Animal Farm.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:42 pmDefense budget this year, $500+ billion.
Cost of the entire 9-11 operation and attack estimated $500,000.
Cost of Iraq thus far $500+ billion
Didn’t excessive military spending and a pointless land war in South East Asia lead to the collapse of the USSR?
February 11th, 2008 at 12:43 pmJust think, we got more deficit, more debt, inflation, growth of government, extended military actions, fibs galore, under Bush and he wants McCain to follow this path?
Of course the conservatives are dissing McCain, he and Bush are not conservatives at all. And for all the railing against socialism thats exactly what we see here with this record setting pork budget. Corporate socialism.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:44 pmXis ~ Bingo, Exactamento. Corporate Socialism, from our wallets to their bottom lines.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:47 pmDaryll must be drooling right now.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:47 pmThis should surprise nobody, least of all defense analysts. It just represents BushCo’s last chance to grab the taxpayer $ and run — squeezing the last ounce of pork out of the public coffers that they can before they return to their private sector jobs and reap the benefits of what they’ve sown for the last 8 years.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:49 pmAnd the most blatantly shocking sentence in the article:
“The biggest beneficiary of the Bush administration’s generosity toward contractors? Halliburton.”
Who didn’t know that?
February 11th, 2008 at 12:55 pmRebuglycans, the PRO-DEATH party.
February 11th, 2008 at 12:57 pmThe money is going in the right direction. We all told you after the Berlin Wall fell that we were no longer going to live under a socialist society. We were going to do away with the pensions, health care and other benefits that we were forced to provide when there was a communist threat. We have been successful to restoring the proper balance in our society. We are the capitalists and you are nothing more than disposable assets.
February 11th, 2008 at 1:01 pmThe Haves and Have Mores of Bush’s base are thrilled I’m sure. And they’re probably double plus happy since McBomb is promising them 100 years of uninterrupted conflict.
February 11th, 2008 at 1:23 pmComment by JMOHR — February 11, 2008 @ 1:01 pm
Uh oh, JMOHR, this one is so good that perhaps you should have used the /sarc tag.
February 11th, 2008 at 1:24 pmI see Roger_Roger is taking his meds. See RR it does help you think right when you take them daily.
Buck Fush
February 11th, 2008 at 1:25 pmBig surprise- it’s his last opportunity to raid the till… Unless, he uses that provision in the Patriot Act to declare Martial Law and suspend elections for the “good” of the democracy… Then of course it is just Republican business as usual.
February 11th, 2008 at 1:36 pmAnd to think that part of the Neocon mantra is that Reagan, by talking weapons all the time, caused the Soviet Union to spend its way into bankruptcy by bolstering its military weapons.
And Stupid Question: Didn’t Haliburton move its corporate offices to the middle east ? So why are we not spending our tax money on AMERICAN companies who will put the money back into our economy (instead of putting it into the poor economies of oil producing nations??)
February 11th, 2008 at 1:50 pmWay to go idiot chimp! When it comes to crashing the economy : nobody does it better! Run up that defense bill! Contractors jumping off their seats like butterbeans! Make them jump out of the pot!!! Better be quick IDIOT FREAK you’re running out of time! If you’re lucky and hit BULLSEYE we’re talking major economic meltdown so you can declare martial law and cancel elections! You got us on 9/11 so trust me IDIOT FREAK we’re watching you closely! This time WE”LL GET YOU! IT’S OUR TURN IDIOT FREAK!
February 11th, 2008 at 1:54 pmThis must be the deal that get’s Feinstein’s vote on wire tapping and Mukasey and what ever other spook operation the Cheney crowd wants to push through in the next 11 months.
February 11th, 2008 at 1:56 pmIn a country where the industrial military complex is the cornerstone of its economy this makes perfect sense: borrow money to build a better war machine. This is Reaganism revisited. And this is the REAL Washington stimulus package.
February 11th, 2008 at 2:08 pmRe comment 28: Yes, it is indeed meant to be sarc. However, a series of WSJ op eds after the fall of the Berlin wall did make these exact points.
February 11th, 2008 at 2:28 pmSmaller government?
Yeah, freakin’ right.
February 11th, 2008 at 2:34 pmthe lost opportunity cost to humanity of US military spending is a crime against humanity of enormous proportions.
February 11th, 2008 at 3:24 pm.
It’s become apparent that defense lobbyists see this year as a rush to the trough before cutbacks begin next year with a Dem in office. They’re clamoring for every taxpayer’s penny they can get their bloodstained hands on.
Comment by A Patriot Acting
Congress needs to appropriate just enough money to keep the military going. Cut out all the fancy new equipment that will not be needed in Iraq because President Obama is going to apologize to Iraq for ruining their country and then bring our soldiers home. The only thing the government needs to do as far as heavy equipment is concerned is to replace all the equipment they stole from the National Guard.
February 11th, 2008 at 3:25 pmwhere’s my conspiracy theory peeps, out there?
now, if American Forces remain at surge levels (or if we even shuffle more to Afghanistan)… why all of the extra weaponry? have we another “oppressed” population to grace with Democracy, eh, Dubyah?
this… man… doesn’t want to depart from his “rug”, next January.
February 11th, 2008 at 3:28 pmOur resident troll Francine thinks that the few jobs created by these hog defense contractors would go away if we stop feeding them the billions of dollars a year to make way. I guess, by his line of thinking, we should start a couple of new wars so we would need more defense contractors so they can hire more American workers. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really work like that. It is not the American workers who are getting rich off of the military industrial complex, it is the Defense contractors themselves.
Now, if we took that money and put it towards rebuilding our own country, all those workers who were no longer working for defense contractors can work for the companies that work to rebuild our country. To me that’s a win-win situation. Endless war to feed the Military Industrial Complex is a lose to everyone except for the people at the top who are getting rich. It certainly does nothing to enhance this nation.
February 11th, 2008 at 3:32 pmre: 42
You’ve got it backwards. The wars are an excuse for the defense spending, not the other way around. The usual script is simply to buy more and more weaponry while leaving it all untested. Bush/Cheney went off the tracks for a while there, but the usual way of doing business will be back by next year.
February 11th, 2008 at 7:07 pmJust like the cold war when everyone who didn’t agree with the U.S. was either a communist or a communist sympathizer. toki This poor crazy guy spent half a decade being tortured because a bunch
of stupid politicians araç sorgulama were sure the NVA
was in bed with the Russians (minimal help) and/or the Chinese (ancient enemy of the vietnamese). ssk sorgulama You would think he would have learned from others’
mistakes. Guess not. Republicans need an enemy. key ödemeleri This
century it apparently will be all Muslims, health all of whom must
be alQaeda operatives.
February 28th, 2009 at 7:55 pm