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Once again, the Pentagon wants to scrap a weapon – in this case, the Abrams tank – that Congress has an interest in preserving. But with 'sequester' cuts, the tradeoff will be civilian furloughs. Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno testifies on Capitol Hill on April 23. The Army’s hulking Abrams tank, built to dominate the enemy in combat, is proving to be equally hard to beat in a budget battle, because of a bipartisan push to spend an extra $436 million on tanks, which the Pentagon does not want. Even as the Pentagon struggles to make some tough, congressionally...

We recently learned that the Blue Angels, the USAF Thunderbirds, the Golden Knights and all the Military Demo Teams have cancelled their entire Airshow season due to the Sequester. The Military will not take part in Airshows in any way – not static displays, not flying, nothing. This information has sent the Airshow Industry back to their drawing boards to see how they can move on from here. The Military Demonstration Teams are an enormous draw for these events. Military Teams can increase attendance by up to 30% while bringing many attendees from long distances which increase tourism for their...

Dozens of air shows that draw tens of thousands of people and generate millions of dollars for local economies have been cancelled this year after the military grounded its jet and demonstration teams because of automatic federal budget cuts. For years, the biggest draws at air shows have been the military's two elite jet teams, the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force's Thunderbirds, and their intricate stunts. The armed services also have provided F-16, F-18 and F-22 fighter jets and the U.S. Army Parachute Team, known as the Golden Knights. All the teams were grounded as of...

In his weekly address, Pres. Obama threatened Americans with more sequester “pain” if they don’t convince Congress to pass his budget. First, Obama exploited the sequester’s effect on children, the elderly, and airline travelers … And, there’s more pain on the horizon, Obama warned: “These cuts are scheduled to keep falling across other parts of the government that provide vital services for the American people.” …

Hestilow encouraged readers to “copy and properly amend this letter to send to your own senators and members of the U.S. House.” The following is his letter in its entirety. The Honorable Senator John Cornyn, State of Texas United States Senate 517 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Re: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and that agencies preparation for war against citizens of the United States of America. Dear Senator Cornyn, It is with gravest concern that I write to you today concerning the recent appropriation of weapons by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that can only be...

Add Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to the growing list of senior administration officials returning some of their pay as employees face furloughs. Napolitano will donate five percent of her salary to foundations that benefit department personnel, a spokesperson told POLITICO. The State Department made a similar announcement about Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday and Attorney General Eric Holder will give back

That’s the simple reality of Friday’s vote to ease the pain for the Federal Aviation Administration. By assenting to it, Democrats have agreed to sequestration for the foreseeable future. In effect, what Democrats said Friday was that in any case where the political pain caused by sequestration becomes unbearable, they will agree to cancel that particular piece of the bill while leaving the rest of the law untouched. The result is that sequestration is no longer particularly politically threatening, but it’s even more unbalanced: Cuts to programs used by the politically powerful will be addressed, but cuts to programs that...

SEOUL — The Army’s chief of staff has warned Congress that steep military budget cuts and canceled training exercises are hurting the Army’s readiness, including the ability to respond to a potential conflict on the tense Korean peninsula. While troops in South Korea are “obviously at a high state of readiness,” Gen. Ray Odierno told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that sequestration has led to a reduction in training for 80 percent of the Army. Among the cuts: 37,000 flying hours, impending furloughs for civilian workers, and six brigade maneuver combat training center rotations. The cancellation of...

This chart is brought to us courtesy of Guy Benson/Freedom Works, see Bensons piece on this here.

It could have been a powerful tool. Obama blew it and blew it big. The real answer was simple. The idea of the sequester came from the White House: "In 2011, President Obama proposed the devastating sequestration cuts and stood by them. Now the Democrats continue saying Washington doesn’t have a spending problem, showing just out of touch the Democrats are with the American people. House Republicans have passed two bills that provide common-sense solutions that would reduce spending and preserve and strengthen our safety net for future generations. Instead of admitting we have a problem, Obama and the Democrats...

On a slow news day, this qualifies as breaking news. Democrats and Republicans have come together in rare bipartisan fashion to slap down the FAA’s sequester antics by increasing the spending flexibility of the agency to deal with a 4% reduction of a budget that’s gone up almost 10% over the last six years: In rare bipartisan accord, normally quarrelsome U.S. lawmakers passed a measure designed to end budget-related air traffic controller furloughs blamed for widespread flight delays.The House of Representatives approved the legislation, capping a major congressional initiative as delays snarled traffic at airports. The House vote comes a...

MILFORD — Milford Beach will remain open this summer after all, after a campaign waged by community activists, business owners, and elected officials to stop the closure set off by across-the-board spending cuts known as the federal sequester. John Donahue, superintendent of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area, said he had to close Milford Beach to trim his budget. This ruffled many feathers in Pike County, as Milford Beach is a big draw for both residents and visitors alike during the summer. The closing would cost businesses in Milford and the surrounding area a lot of money in an...

It took them the better part of 4 years, butt I guess the Congress that passed the bill finally got around to reading it. When they did, they didn’t like what they passed. At least not for themselves. So, instead of repealing it for everyone, they are quietly looking into excepting themselves and their staffers from some of the onerous aspects of the “train wreck” they caused. Good luck with that - now that the cat’s out of the bag. It’s like I always say, “Buyer’s Remorse” is the most embarrassing, uh,  embarrassment. I don’t know why, butt that reminded...

WASHINGTON – Legislation to end furloughs of air traffic controllers and delays for millions of travelers is headed to a House vote after a dark-of-night vote in the Senate that took place after most lawmakers had left the Capitol for a weeklong vacation. The bill passed late Thursday without even a roll call vote, and House officials indicated it likely would be brought up for quick approval there. Under the legislation, the Federal Aviation Administration would gain authority to transfer up to $253 million from accounts that are flush into other programs, to "prevent reduced operations and staffing" through the...

<p>WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate late on Thursday approved legislation to provide enough funding for federal air traffic controllers through Sept. 30 to end furloughs that have brought widespread airline delays. Several Senate aides said an agreement had been reached on a bill giving the Department of Transportation new flexibility to use unspent funds to cover the costs of air traffic controllers and other essential employees at the Federal Aviation Administration.</p>

The lawyers defending Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are dealing with federal budget cuts that will force them to take three unpaid weeks off even as they prepare to defend one of the most complicated criminal cases in the nation.

USBC News Wire- After a failure to move forward on meaningful budget planning earlier this year, budget cuts known as the "sequester" were put in place. The Obama White house cuts some agencies important to safety but continues funds to other agencies important to its own political policies. While the White House has officially described these cuts as harmful, Obama's administration has missed the Federally mandated deadline to submit a new federal budget to Congress four out of his five years as president. This year, the mandated budget was two months late. Many have cited this lack of leadership as...

The uncomfortable effects of government actions are being felt everywhere. Obamacare concerns are, anecdotally, delaying hiring, causing firms to change benefits for the people, and increasing taxes on the great majority. On the other hand, in the context of the "sequester", which is merely a slowdown in the breakneck rate of government spending, anyone who has traveled by plane in the last month knows the full court press efforts under way to ensure the American public knows just how 'devastating' the sequester cuts are - with delays rising exponentially with every dollar removed from the FAA budget. But there...

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Wednesday backed a plan that would temporarily eliminate spending cuts disrupting U.S. air travel, while lawmakers in Washington scrambled to avoid blame as the impact of the reductions began being felt across the country.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday equated the Tea Party to a non-violent “anarchist” group because, in his mind, Tea Partiers don’t believe in any form of government. He was speaking about the sequester and other financial issues on the Senate floor. “We have a situation where this country has been driven by the Tea Party for the last number of years,” Reid said. “When I was in school, I studied government and I learned about the anarchists. Now, they were different than the Tea Party because they were violent. But they were anarchists because they did not...

The White House on Wednesday backed a proposal to temporarily eliminate spending cuts disrupting U.S. air travel, while politicians in Washington scrambled to avoid blame as the effects of the cuts started to be felt around the country. White House spokesman Carney on Wednesday blamed Republicans for underestimating the negative impact of the spending reductions. "Republicans in Congress made a political tactical decision to embrace the sequester," he said. Cuts proposed by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan would bite even more deeply than those under the sequester, he added. "We share the frustration and we warned about these very...

Army could lose 100,000 soldiers due to sequestration. Of all the military services facing budget pressure this year, the Army is in the direst of straits. The budget Congress finally passed a month ago will help matters, but the service says it's still more than $15 billion short of funds in fiscal 2013. Army senior leaders told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday that the elimination of a continuing resolution and the passage of a formal budget only fixed about a third of the funding problem they face this year. The sequestration cuts that Congress left in place will force...

Since the sequester was a cut in the increase, not a cut in the baseline spending, why is the FAA cutting $600 million dollars and blaming the furloughs on the sequester? Did I miss something? BTW, didn't Bob Woodward say that the sequester was Lew's idea and was jumped on by Obama?

USGS to Discontinue Streamgages Due to Sequestration: The U.S.Geological Survey (USGS) will discontinue operation of up to 375 streamgages nationwide due to budget cuts as a result of sequestration. Additional streamgages may be affected if partners reduce their funding to support USGS streamgages. The USGS is working to identify which streamgages will be impacted and will post this information as it becomes available. Streamgages are used nationwide to predict and address drought and flood conditions by monitoring water availability. The USGS and over 850 Federal, State, and local agencies cooperatively fund the USGS streamgaging network, which consists of over 8,000...

It was a tough start to the week for many air travelers as federal budget cuts led to cascading delays along the East Coast Monday morning. Some flights out of New York and Washington were delayed by more than two hours as the Federal Aviation Administration kept planes on the ground. The federal agency has said furloughs of air traffic controllers could lead to delays if there weren't enough people to monitor busy air corridors. *** Government budget cuts that kicked in last month are forcing the FAA and other agencies to cut their spending. FAA officials have said they...

Despite the organization being linked to Al-Qaeda and after having several pictures surface online of fighters grilling a decapitated human head, the United States pledged to give Syrian opposition forces $123 million in new defense aid – doubling the aid previously pledged by the Obama Administration. The announcement was made early Sunday morning by Secretary of State, John Kerry, who is meeting in the Turkish capital with opposition leaders. -snip Dave Frederick, a defense analyst is baffled by the administration’s behavior. “This is a true embarrassment for our country and something the Obama Administration should be very ashamed of. In...

The headlines about government spending and the sequester have faded into the background. But for Virginia, they remain on people’s minds. After all, Virginia leads all states in terms of percentage of GDP from government at 13.9%. So, yes Virginia, sequestration is a potentially important issue. And Arlington, the home of million dollar bus stops, is the big winner in terms of defense spending in Northern Virginia. But with the Federal government spending $30,000 for each household in America (while taking in $20,000 from each household), growing entitlement spending will likely evolve into less spending on everything else along with...

President Barack Obama delivered an impassioned speech Thursday at the memorial service for victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. But that was to be expected. We all know Obama can give a stem-winder. What wasn’t expected was that this would be by far the toughest week of the Obama presidency—the first time I can remember the president being dealt an unequivocal policy defeat. Only the “shellacking” of the 2010 midterm comes close, and even there a case can be made that achieving the decades-old progressive dream of universal health care was worth losing the House of Representatives and a filibuster-proof...

WASHINGTON — The Marine helicopter squadron responsible for flying President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, cabinet members and other VIPs has a new aircraft: An MV-22 Osprey. HMX-1’s tilt-rotor aircraft is painted green and will be used in a support role, transporting the president’s staff and the media, Marine spokesman Capt. Richard Ulsh confirmed. Helicopters that transport the president are typically painted white on top and referred to as “white tops.” “The Osprey is a staple within our fleet. It has proven itself in the most difficult environments as a capable and reliable asset,” Ulsh said, noting that including...

The IRS will shut down entirely for five days this year in order to try to meet its slimmed-down budget under the sequesters, a labor union that represents Treasury Department employees said on Friday. The IRS will close its doors on May 24, June 14, July 5, July 22 and Aug. 30, and employees are being told there could be two other days as well. “On those days all public operations of the IRS will be shut down, leaving taxpayers without access to information and assistance from frontline workers,” the National Treasury Employees Union said.

Flight delays of up to 3-1/2 hours are expected at some busy U.S. airports this summer because of furloughs of air-traffic controllers, the top U.S. aviation regulator warned on Thursday. The estimate from the Federal Aviation Administration is the first to detail, in minutes and hours, the potential delays from the agency's decision to furlough 10 percent of its staff, starting Sunday, as it struggles to meet budget cuts required under so-called sequestration. Other groups, including the air-traffic controller's union, have warned of potentially long delays and reduced capacity to handle airplanes, which could force airlines to cut flights. But...

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) decided to politicize the bombings that took place at the Boston Marathon on Monday, saying that they were “proof” that some of the sequester cuts were “irrational.” We should have known that this would be forthcoming from a Democrat’s lips and so we are not shocked, but we are most assuredly sickened by Hoyer’s comments. Hoyer claimed that the bombings demonstrate “why having the ability to dress security concerns is important” and then tied that with cutting off sequestration.

At a Tuesday press conference, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) politicized the Boston Marathon bombings by blaming Monday's tragedy on the sequester, saying the bombings were "proof" that some of the sequester cuts were "irrational." Hoyer is the House Minority Whip and second-ranking Democrat in leadership.

I can't believe what Steny Hoyer said concerning the sequester cuts. But, according to Bob Woodward, the sequester cut was Jacob Lew's (Obam's choice to be Treasury secretary) idea, and the idea was jumped on by Obama.

Former congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) went on MSNBC this morning to react to yesterdayÂ’s bombing at the Boston Marathon. In a shameless moment of advocacy, Frank used the tragedy to make a political statement about revenue and the size of government. Considering that this happened on MSNBC, you might expect the host to condone the congressmanÂ’s liberal activism, but anchor Thomas Roberts actually called Frank out for his despicable attempt to politicize this tragedy. Early in the interview, Frank stressed that none of us know much about who and what were behind this event as of yet. So the former...

Democrats, including Hoyer, today blamed the Boston Marathon bombings on the Republicans. According to them, the Republican Sequester so damaged our intelligence community that it caused the Marathon bombers to get away with it. Took then just 24 hours to blame conservatives for the lives and limbs lost. I am no fan of the Democrats, but this lowers the level of their loathsomeness to a new bottom.

Under criticism for handing over personal data on farmers and ranchers to environmental groups, the Environmental Protection Agency defended its actions as “cost-effective under current budget constraints.” “Normally, we’d harry these despoilers of the environment ourselves,” said Bob Perciasepe, Acting EPA Administrator. “But with the budget being hemmed in by the sequester we have to seek other ways of achieving our objectives. We saw arming these environmental groups with potentially useful information as a way of multiplying or leveraging our forces. We thought we’d get more bang for the buck, so to speak.” if you missed any of this week's...

Even as the mandated sequester bites into U.S. federal spending -- and newly appointed Secretary of State John Kerry boasts that he is cutting his budget by 6 percent -- the State Department is planning to boost spending on the United Nations in 2014 by more than 4 percent to at least $3.6 billion

Obama continues with his crusade against the American public with his sequester nonsense, which I’ve pointed out before isn’t a real spending reduction but rather a decrease in the spending increase from last year to this year. The latest casualty: Fleet Week in south Florida. For the last 22 years, the US Navy docked at Port Everglades and the thousands of sailors enjoyed some shore leave and did quite a few charitable projects. The event also gave thousands of locals the chance to go aboard the navy ships. Wonder how many current sailors joined up after touring the ships in...

77--Bagpipe and Drum Supplies Solicitation Number: PR20074261 Agency: Department of Homeland Security Office: Customs and Border Protection Location: Procurement Directorate - DC This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice.The solicitation number is PR20074261 and is issued as an invitation for bids (IFB), unless otherwise indicated herein.The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 2005-66. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 339992 with a small...

As federal departments and agencies deal with automatic budget cuts and the possibility of furloughs for federal workers, those forced pay cuts have now arrived on Capitol Hill, as Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) became the first lawmaker to officially announce staff furloughs due to the $85 billion sequester. "Begich’s staff began mandatory furloughs in mid-March and more than half of his staff will experience a cut in their salary this year," said a press release issued by Begich's office on Wednesday. The same release also said that Begich would be returning some of his salary to the Treasury to match...

NORFOLK, Va.— A top general says federal budget cuts that will ground one-third of the U.S. Air Force´s active-duty force of combat planes including fighters and bombers means "accepting the risk that combat airpower may not be ready to respond immediately to new contingencies as they occur."Gen. Mike Hostage, commander of Air Combat Command at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia, issued the warning Tuesday as the Pentagon braces for more effects of the automatic spending cuts triggered by the lack of a budget agreement in Washington. Hostage said that only the units preparing to deploy to major operations,

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — President Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled a budget that would cut entitlement programs, tax the wealthy and reduce the U.S. budget deficit by nearly $2 trillion while funneling new money to education and infrastructure in an effort to bolster the middle class. The 10-year blueprint contains an offer made to House Speaker John Boehner during the “fiscal cliff” talks late last year, and Obama calls the measure a compromise that demonstrates his goal of a tax and spending deal with Republicans. “The package I am offering includes some difficult cuts that I do not particularly like,” Obama...

Waste: How many federal agencies does it take to inspect a catfish? Three, apparently. No joke. It's just one of many outrageous but all-too-true examples of billions of dollars in waste uncovered by a new government audit. The Government Accountability Office's latest annual report on government waste and duplication found 31 areas in the government that overlap, duplicate efforts or are egregiously inefficient. That's on top of the 131 found in its previous two annual reports. In many cases, the government has no idea whether any of these programs actually work. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who pushed for this report,...

The White House closed to the public is open to wealthy 1% Clebes. May each one be called to task for being traitors to the people.

I can't explain how sick I am. I don't like drudge much, but he is doing a good job exposing the clown tonight.

http://www.drudgereport.com/

The Blue Angels, the Navy's revered aerial acrobats, have been grounded for the rest of the year due to sequestration cuts.

According to internal documents obtained by Air Force Times, beginning on Apr. 9, 2013, the U.S. Air Force will begin grounding front line combat units as a consequence of sequestration and the need to deal with budget cuts. Seventeen squadrons belonging to the various U.S. Air Force commands are going to be affected by the stand down order. The grounding is aimed to save the 44,000 flying hours (worth 591 million USD) through September. The funded 241,496 flying hours will be distributed to those squadrons that will remain combat ready or are expected to keep a reduced readiness level called...

NEW YORK (AP) -- A judge in New York says he finds it "stunning" that federal budget woes could delay the start of a terrorism trial for Osama bin Laden's son-in-law. ~~snip~~ Kaplan suggested he might set a trial date as early as September. But Ghaith's lawyer complained, saying public defenders are being furloughed for more than five weeks because of automatic budget cuts. ~~snip~~ In other news: Obama Plans $195 Million in Renovation and New Construction at Guantánamo/a>