After Sparing Aid To Israel, Will McCain Also Make Exceptions For Military Housing?
After Sparing Aid To Israel, Will McCain Also Make Exceptions For Military Housing?
Yesterday, ThinkProgress noted that Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) plan to abolish earmarks from the federal budget would result in the elimination of U.S. funding assistance to Israel. McCain’s presidential campaign responded to the finding by saying that, as president, McCain would “ensure America remains committed to the security of Israel, including maintaining America’s assistance levels.”
But the campaign’s response is indicative of the wider problem with McCain’s earmark elimination proposal: It’s all bark and no bite. McCain seems to be more interested in the political rhetoric his plan generates rather than understanding what it actually does.
He repeatedly boasts that it will save up to $60-65 billion:
– “We could eliminate $35 billion in the last two years that the president put in earmark projects. You can eliminate the $60 billion that are already in there.” [4/15/08 CNBC]
– “I can show you $35 billion just in the last two years of pork barrel projects that should be eliminated that would certainly help pay for a lot of that. And $65 billion that’s already on the books.” [4/16/08 MSNBC]
While McCain does not identify the $65 billion in earmarks he would cut, his campaign has cited the Congressional Research Service analysis of earmark spending as the basis for his plan because it offers the biggest amount of earmarks — up to $52 billion.
McCain has already made an exception for the $3 billion in foreign aid to Israel that is cited by the CRS. But he apparently is still willing to cut the rest of the earmarks in the CRS report. According to an analysis by Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Scott Lilly, that CRS report includes assistance to Egypt, Jordan, and Haiti as an earmark. Moreover, it includes funding for military family housing:
The Congressional Research Service analysis counts not only the [military] family housing units added by Congress as earmarks but also those requested by the Pentagon and the White House.
CRS identified $6.6 billion in spending in the 2005 Military Construction Appropriation bill associated with earmarks. This included 205 units at Fort Huachuca at a cost of $41 million and 250 units at Davis-Monthan Air Base at a cost $48.5 million—both in McCain’s home state of Arizona.
So is McCain willing to cut military housing to pay for his corporate tax cuts?
At best, this question shows the shallow and sloppy work that went into the preparation of McCain’s economic plan. At worst, it illustrates an approach to government in which the facts don’t matter.
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You’d better cut it out. You’re going to piss the old coot off.
April 17th, 2008 at 4:45 pmDidn’t he say the other day that he wants to freeze discretionary spending except for military and veteran’s stuff?
He may be a lot of things but he’s not a total idiot. He’ll make sure that both Israel and the military get everything they want.
April 17th, 2008 at 4:46 pmHAHAHAHA….I LOVE IT
THIS STUPID IDIOT AND HIS BLANKET CLAIMS ARE SO EMPTY AND FULL OF HOLES.
GO GET ‘EM THINKPROGRESS
April 17th, 2008 at 4:46 pmIf that’s what it takes to get him elected, McCain will cut anything and everything that would benefit the brave men and women in our military.
-AF
April 17th, 2008 at 4:49 pmAndrew Sullivan Is A Fraud
It’s another case of a politician making promises that he has no intention of keeping, but is just saying them to make some political capital off of it. Fortunately, there are people around who are willing to throw the BS flag when McSame starts making stuff up on the fly….
Unfortunately, its not the ‘watchdog’ media that’s doing the job….
April 17th, 2008 at 4:54 pmIs he using a titleist golf ball as a terbakky chaw?
April 17th, 2008 at 4:55 pmHe’s against unwarranted spending except:
For Israel
Any pork in AZ
Any favor for his lobbying buddies
Anything that would help the troops.
And people actually want to vote for this person?
April 17th, 2008 at 4:57 pmcan’t fund housing for the troops and their families, but plenty of loot to pass out to fat corporate pigs who need more $$$ like I need a colostomy.
support the troops my ass!
April 17th, 2008 at 4:57 pmThe McBush plan: “billions for Israel, Iraq and a new war in Iran — but not one plug nickle for Amurkan families!”
April 17th, 2008 at 5:00 pmsince when have facts mattered to Republicans?
April 17th, 2008 at 5:04 pmI STILL WANT TO KNOW WHERE HE GOT THAT EXTRA $40+ BILLION FROM?
OBVIOUSLY HE MUST BE USING (AND STILL REMEMBERS) THAT OLD HOOVER DEPRESSION ERA MATH.
BUT AFTER HE MAKES EXCEPTIONS FOR ISRAEL AND THE MILITARY EARMARKS HE’S GOING TO HAVE TO PULL ANOTHER FEW BILLION OUT OF THIN AIR SOMEWHERE.
April 17th, 2008 at 5:05 pmNot a limerick, but a haiku:
April 17th, 2008 at 5:11 pmSenile John McCain
Wants to be your president.
Too bad that he lies.
C’mon! Cut McBush a break. He was just talking campaign jive! He didn’t mean it. He had his fingers crossed behind his back for heaven’s sake! You didn’t think he was seriously putting forth a well-thought out proposal? Check for smoke up your skirt and wise up!
April 17th, 2008 at 5:16 pmSo why is Aid to Israel passed as an Earmark, instead of going thru the regular legislative process with votes and debate and ammendments??
My guess is that the congress would attach strings regarding the building of NEW Settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territory.
So are we really doing Israel and the prospects of a peacefull Middle East a favor by offering a Blank Check to Israel …passed as an Earmark?
April 17th, 2008 at 5:21 pmThis is the same old Republican mantra. McCain supports reforms of earmarks – simple, until you get to the details. McCain will support excusing those earmarks for political purposes that he supports from the ax. As for the others, well, we will see some escape that help McCain’s political allies and others that have too much political support. Those supporting Democrats or their causes will be ruthlessly cut.
April 17th, 2008 at 5:57 pmAnd $65 billion that’s already on the books.”
A billion here and a billion there, as Ev Dirksen usta say, and pretty soon you’re talkin’ REAL money. I mighta actually read about it when he said it…
$65 BILLION???
April 17th, 2008 at 6:12 pmchump change, johnny
= 10 days in Iraq? 2 weeks?
They tossed a couple of billion in $20 and $100 bills, all bundled, neatly, on pallets, out into the momma-boffin desert…
death of a thousand political cuts is the only thing thats going to sink mccain…the press loves him too much….if someone had a picture of him p1-ssing on a baby, the headline woudl read “mccain helps thirsty children”…
just keep mccain to keep talking, keep “claifying”, keep flip flopping..that will undo him..
good work TP.. your banner should have read “Does McCain want to make veterans homeless”?
April 17th, 2008 at 6:29 pmMcCain’s whole life is one exception after another. Every single position, and action he takes is for McCain’s benefit. He’s no maverick but a OLD supply-sider war-mung-er.
April 17th, 2008 at 6:29 pmA good military man/woman comes home from their third tour in the Middle East, their family has sacrificed both financially and emotionally, they need to move on-base to live a bit better and McCain is rolling out the “We Don’t Want You Here” sign.
Nice!
I’m sure Johnie Gone Stupid will spin this with his “straight talk”. Maybe the families will now ship out with the troops to save on the overhead. A 100 year occupation does need residents in a colony, does it not?!
April 17th, 2008 at 6:46 pmThe veterans of WWII got help after the war. The veterans now can have housing — when the War on Terror is over.
So check back in 2107 for a progress report. Then again it is on terrorism which the Romans faced milennia ago, so…
April 17th, 2008 at 6:51 pmObviously McCain is not any better at Math than he is on Economics. No wonder he graduated 5th from the bottom of his class; he has never paid any attention to details. If your going to do something do it right the first time or don’t bother doing it at all.
Is this the way you will run the government. With half-finished plans and changing your mind every other day on policies; absolutely nothing will be accomplished. The american people cannot afford another 4 years of this kind of abuse.
April 17th, 2008 at 8:31 pmAnd no earmark money for the 300,000 “War on Terror” vets who’ve finally come home but are emotional DESTROYED either, or the next 300,000.
Anybody know how many boots on the ground in Iraq dear old friend Israel has?
You got it.
ZERO. Anybody know why?
I am no Holocaust denier or anti-semite – just sick of being owned by a 2% minority – no matter who they are.
Anybody else think we should just combine N Dakota and South Dakota into one, and then annex Israel – then we can keep 50 stars on the flag.
We did it with Alaska and Hawaian Islands…why not call a spade a spade?
April 17th, 2008 at 10:15 pmGood grief again. Why is my comment awaiting moderation?
April 17th, 2008 at 10:42 pmIsrael is a bit more complex than that, but we’ll always give to have the open door to Jerusalem and to kick around the Palestinians. Plus the Israeli’s buy our weapons of war. We bankroll them for an open door “in case of emergency” and help fund religious tourism for their chambers of commerce.
And we get the quick-whited comedians and Jewish American Princesses who don’t marry until they’re 42. And the winner in all of this is…Mel Brooks!!!! My inner and outer laughing man salutes him.
April 17th, 2008 at 10:59 pmSo you’re telling me that to do away with earmarks, McCain is making a shopping list of his earmarks that he will make sure remain ?
April 18th, 2008 at 1:35 amYes and Yes again! McCain wakes up in the middle of the night, screaming in fear of the earmarks he has to cut. So drenched in a cold sweat, he calls emergency tele-conference calls on how to double-talk the issue to get it past Joe and Jane American Taxpayer. He knows few will look at the issue if he puts a happy go lucky American hero smiley face on it. And if that doesn’t work, he’ll talk up the Iranians and the Gulf of Tonkin…errrr…the threat that those damn “training centers” pose to our boys in Iraq.
April 18th, 2008 at 3:12 amPentagon institute calls Iraq war ‘a major debacle’ with outcome ‘in doubt’
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20080418/wl_mcclatchy/2913186;_ylt=Al3IZILVDtoBTlhaDTEj8WMUewgF
April 18th, 2008 at 7:21 amA good military man/woman comes home from their third tour in the Middle East, their family has sacrificed both financially and emotionally, they need to move on-base to live a bit better and McCain is rolling out the “We Don’t Want You Here” sign.
Nice!
I’m sure Johnie Gone Stupid will spin this with his “straight talk”. Maybe the families will now samsung q10 battery,samsung q20 battery ship out with the troops to save on the overhead. A 100 year occupation does need residents in a colony, does it not?!
October 15th, 2008 at 8:55 amWe get the quick-whited comedians and Jewish American Princesses who don’t marry until they’re 42. And the winner in all of this is…Mel Brooks!!!! My inner and outer laughing man salutes him.asus A6000 Series laptop batteries
March 8th, 2009 at 12:26 pm